High school student and wrestler Liana Mutia is legally blind. ABC 11 NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO – A 17-year-old blind Filipina American high school wrestler who is going blind got the attention of Raleigh, North Carolina television news recently.
Liana Mutia, a Millbrook High School senior, told ABC 11 News in Raleigh, “I usually can tell by the handshake how strong (my opponents) are. “The touch of the handshake is about the only pre-match gauge she’s got.
She describes her myopia and astigmatism: “It’s like having a large blind spot in the center of my vision with a lot of distortion around the edges.”
Mutia has been losing her sight since her sophomore year and is now legally blind. Judo is her primary sport, but she added wrestling two years ago both for the conditioning benefits and self-reliance as her vision deteriorated.
“I didn’t want to be useless. I wanted to be useful to someone, somehow and if that meant getting into a spot and wrestling, then so be it.” Mutia told ABC News 11.
Mutia could have graduated last year at age 16 – she has a 4.7 GPA, carrying exclusively AP classes this year.
Next year, it’s off to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she’ll train for the 2020 Paralympic Games. She will also be in pre-med at the University of Colorado.
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