Liana Mutia and Christella Garcia Qualify for Paris Paralympic Games
by Nicole Jomantas
(Colorado Springs, CO) – After seven Grand Prix tournaments, two World Championships and two Pan American Championships, Liana Mutia (Philadelphia, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) and Christella Garcia (Sacramento, CA / Team Sacramento Judo) have each punched their tickets to the Paris Paralympic Games.
Mutia and Garcia will be returning to their second and third Paralympic Teams respectively after combining for a total of 10 Grand Prix and three Senior World Championship medals between the two of them.
A Tokyo Paralympian at 63 kg, Mutia moved down to 57 kg when the weight categories were restructured after the 2021 Games and ended the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in the world after back-to-back bronze medal wins at the 2022 IBSA World Championships and IBSA World Games in the J1 57 kg event.
Mutia, the first U.S. athlete ever to earn a No. 1 IBSA World Ranking, earned her fourth Grand Prix medal on Sunday with a bronze medal finish at the Tbilisi Grand Prix in Georgia.
In her first tournament of the 2023 season, 25-year-old Mutia started aggressively in the round of 16, throwing Paula Karina Gomez (ARG) for a waza-ari (half point) during the first exchange and transitioning straight into a pin to clinch the match.
Mutia threw Maria Manzanero Ruiz (ESP) for two waza-ari scores in the quarter-finals, but missed the opportunity to fight for her second career Grand Prix title when she lost by a pair of waza-aris to 2022 IBSA World Champion Dondu Yesilyurt (TUR).
Fighting for bronze, Mutia, a former high school wrestler, pinned Uljon Amrieva (UZB) in the opening minute to claim her fourth Grand Prix medal in just over a year.
“While I didn't get the color I wanted in this tournament, I think qualification has ended on a high note. But my goal for Paris is a gold medal. It is always an honor to be able to represent my country on the mat and I’m excited for Paris.”
At 45 years old, Garcia will be the oldest U.S. woman to represent USA Judo on the Paralympic stage, but the 2016 Rio Paralympic bronze medalist has become one of the most consistent athletes on the circuit during the last two years, winning six straight Grand Prix medals in the J1 +70 kg division going into this weekend as well as the 2023 IBSA World Games bronze medal.
Garcia opened the tournament in Tbilisi with a win by choke in the quarter-finals against Feruza Ergasheva (UZB), but was thrown by the two-time reigning IBSA World Champion Anastasiia Harnyk (UKR) in the semifinals.
Garcia kept the bronze medal final against Danitza Yoccelin Sanabria Alcala (VEN) close, but lost on penalties to finish fifth overall.
With just two finishes off the podium in the last 10 tournaments, Garcia is a top contender to return to the podium in Paris.
With the international season ending until September, Garcia continued that “My goal is to stay focused, trust the process and prepare for Paris.”
Although the automatic qualification period for the Paris Games has completed, 30 slots remain available for selection by the International Blind Sports Association and will be finalized by June 25.
All selections are pending final approval by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“In London, I became a Paralympian. After Rio de Janeiro, I was a Paralympic medalist. It would be such an honor to earn a medal at my third Paralympic Games."
Although the automatic qualification period for the Paris Games has completed, 30 slots remain available for selection by the International Blind Sports Association and will be finalized by June 25.
All selections are pending final approval by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.