PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Liana Mutia describes her personality as bubbly.
“My name is Liana. My favorite color is pink, my favorite food is sushi and my favorite animal is the domestic cat. I feel like that sums up my personality quite a bit.”
How about this? The 25-year-old Philadelphia resident throws opponents down to the mat on a regular basis as one of the top judo competitors in the world. She’ll be traveling to Paris this summer for the 2024 Paralympic Games. It will be her second time competing in the Paralympic Games.
A lot of hard work and discipline has paid off for the Filipina American who started to lose her vision in her teens after having a seizure.
“My optic nerves don’t really work,” Mutia said. “And in addition to that, I have other conditions as well that developed after my seizure that caused vision loss. And that’s how I got to being totally blind like the way I am now.”
Her life changed, but her love for judo did not — and she wanted to hold onto it.
“It just was something that gave me a sense of normalcy while I was losing my vision. Did not really want to face my vision loss, so it was a good distraction as well. It was a good outlet.”
Now, on top of the 40 hours a week she puts in as a software consultant, she pours in at least 20 hours for training.
“That also includes any lifting, any mobility, physical therapy — as well as judo itself,” she said. “Because winning a match — there’s just so much that goes into it. You can’t just show up, do a little bit of judo, and that’s it.”
Her goal this summer: a gold medal.
And her message to others: “It’s important to find what you love and pursue it — fervently, ardently, strongly — with every single fiber that you have in your body.”
