PARIS, France — Prisca Awiti Alvarez became the first Mexican Olympian to win a medal in judo by reaching the final round of the women's -63kg competition.
Awiti lost to Slovenia's Andreja Leski in the gold medal match, earning a silver medal in the process. Awiti scored a waza-ari in the first 30 seconds of the match before Leski executed an ippon that ended the match. An ippon is the highest score a judo competitor can earn and automatically grants a win to the athlete who scores it.
Even with the loss, Awiti pulled off a feat no other athlete had made in Mexico's history. She breezed through the preceding rounds and pulled off an upset in the round of 16 by defeating Poland’s Angelika Szymanska, the No. 4 ranked women's judo competitor in the world.
Awiti competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but lost in the first round. Mexico's previous best judo competitors only reached the round of 16 (1964, 1996, 2008, 2016).
Awiti was born in London, England, and competes for Mexico by having a Mexican mother. She is ranked 18th in the world in the women's -63kg judo category.
