Isabella Garriga ’24: Aggie judoka sits among the best in international competition

Congratulations to Isabella Garriga ‘24 for placing 7th in judo at the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games!

The competition began July 28th in Chengdu, China as part of a sporting event hosting 18 sports total, ranging from archery to wushu (better known as Kung fu).

Contestants from universities across the globe gathered in Sichuan Province over the next few days for the games, and after multiple days of competition, Garriga earned 7th out of nearly 300 judoka , maintaining her impressive position from last year’s World Championships Juniors in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

This competition marks part of a broader campaign for Garriga as she looks to represent Team USA in judo at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Currently, she is the highest-rated American judoka in the International Judo Federation (IJF), which emboldens her perseverance during her campaign for the Olympics.

“In judo, you need to compete a lot internationally to gain points to qualify for the Olympics,” Garriga said. “So basically, every competition you go to counts.”

She continued, “The steps are literally just to compete at every international competition you can compete at. I’ve already started doing that… you just go to competitions and try to get on the podium, and from there the points start piling up.”

This weekend, Garriga is competing in the Zagreb Grand Prix 2023, which will host over 500 judoka from 84 countries in Zagreb, Croatia.