Fighting for More than Gold: Nina Cutro-Kelly on Building the U.S. Deaf Judo Team

Nina Cutro-Kelly made history in 2022 as the first American to compete and win gold in Judo at the Deaflympics. She did so without a Judo coach by her side, but with unwavering determination to represent her country and sport with pride. Stepping into unfamiliar territory, she was supported by Rusty Nawrocki, a Taekwondo and Wrestling coach who learned the rules of Judo and served as her warmup partner. They met for the first time in Brazil.

A Judo Olympian turned trailblazer, Nina has since become the driving force behind the U.S. Deaf Judo Team, helping athletes of all backgrounds come together to compete on an international stage.

In this Q&A, we sit down with Nina to learn more about her journey, her passion for inclusion in sports, and the unique challenges facing D/deaf athletes — from communication barriers to limited visibility and support. Her insights offer a powerful reminder that awareness is the first step to change, and that true inclusion means meeting athletes where they are and empowering them to thrive.

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1. At the 2022 Deaflympics, you were joined by Rusty Nawrocki — a Taekwondo and Wrestling coach who stepped up to support you despite not coming from a Judo background. What did that experience mean to you, and how did it reflect the kind of support you believe D/deaf athletes deserve?

I honestly went into the 2022 Deaflympics with no real idea what to expect. Rusty, who has become a great friend, had emailed with me beforehand and guided me through the process, but I didn’t really know what I was walking into. Upon my arrival, Rusty and the sole Taekwondo athlete, Maya, really made me feel welcome and included. At the time, I couldn’t sign more than my name, so Rusty and I communicated in writing, even face to face :) Maya, who has a cochlear implant, sometimes helped translate, as she signs some.

I enjoyed myself from the minute I arrived. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and no one cared that I couldn’t sign. The head of World Deaf Judo is Damien Antoine, and he is French. I am also French, so it was cool to speak to him, as France is a Judo powerhouse.

The day I fought, I had to face an Algerian competitor who was actually Junior National Champion in hearing Judo. Algeria is a French-speaking country, so it was funny that I got to speak more French right off the bat instead of using sign language. I threw the Algerian girl for ippon (full point) and went on to throw and pin the Ukrainian girl in the semifinals. Poor Rusty had to keep letting me grip fight and throw him, then get out of the gi to sit in the coach’s chair for me. By the finals the French Judo team had come to find me and I warmed up with their male +100kg player to give Rusty a breather.

It was beyond cool to have the stands PACKED with American athletes and coaches, waving flags and supporting me. I choked the Polish athlete in 39 seconds in the finals, so I’m not sure how much Judo the audience got to see. But I was so proud to represent my country and the DHH community, while bringing exposure to a sport I’ve built my life around.

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2. You were the driving force behind growing and expanding the U.S. Deaf Judo Team from the ground up. What motivated you to take on that challenge, and what’s been most rewarding about seeing the team come together?

After the 2022 Deaflympics in Brazil, Rusty and I decided to band together to create a nonprofit that included multiple martial arts. His reasoning was that we were already in smaller sports, and attracting DHH athletes from smaller sports would mean drawing from a smaller population. Additionally, he and I were a good team, so I guided him and his wife Eleasha on the Judo side as they formed USA Martial Arts of the Deaf (USAMAD). The nonprofit now encompasses Taekwondo, Judo, and Karate.

Due to time constraints, and the fact that I spend a lot of time project-managing adaptive sports for my full-time job at Move United, I chose to serve in a smaller, more focused role as High Performance Director of Judo.

When it came time to find athletes, I scoured the internet for D/deaf and Hard of Hearing wrestlers and jiu-jitsu athletes. I knew hearing loss doesn’t impact someone’s ability to do Judo. It just requires a different approach: hand signals, pre-match coaching, talk-to-text apps, etc. I wanted to prove that DHH athletes can do Judo — and do it well.

Eventually, the athletes started to trickle in:

• Ryoshi and Hiroshi Nakama – brothers who train under their father (a 5th degree black belt) in California’s Judo-rich Japanese-American community
• Garrett Scott – a 3rd degree black belt in BJJ and college wrestler
• Ty Blocker – an internationally ranked Veteran athlete who has been hard of hearing since toddlerhood
• Melissa Haynes – a DeafBlind powerhouse out of Alabama specializing in MMA and BJJ superfights. She’s also a hopeful for the 2029 Deaflympics and in the running for the 2028 Paralympics due to her low vision. Known as the hardest-working member of the team, she’s determined to gain more Judo experience before competing on the Deaflympic stage.
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For me, the motivation to build this team comes from a complex place. I grew up with a lot of negativity around my hearing loss. I got hearing aids at age four, and I used to sign, but I remember being punished for using signs at daycare. That gave me a mental block. As I got older, I became ashamed of being HoH. I’d hide my hearing aids or sometimes refuse to wear them.

So for me, participating in the Deaflympics and helping grow this team has been like coming home — to a community I’ve always been part of, and one I now feel at home in.

The most rewarding part has been the friendships and watching these athletes improve in Judo. We had a training camp in April in Plano, TX at Eastside Dojo. In May, I coached several of them at the 2025 Senior National Championships in Alabama. Just last week, I hosted Garrett and Melissa at my house for a four-day, nine-session “Rocky-style” training camp with Judo, BJJ, yoga, and strategy sessions.

Any time the USAMAD team works together, it’s such a joy to share my knowledge while watching them grow — both as athletes and as a team.

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3. Coaching athletes across the D/deaf and hard of hearing spectrum requires flexibility. How does that experience compare to coaching hearing Olympians — and what accessibility tools or communication strategies have helped you support your athletes effectively?

I’m a very animated person, and I have a Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. I taught people who didn’t speak English as their first language for 17 years, so I’m pretty good at miming! I also structure my Judo classes with a teacher’s brain. Judo is a very visual sport, and people learn in different ways. I might demonstrate a move, do the move on the athlete, or physically guide their body into the correct position. In that sense, my coaching style doesn’t really change between hearing and DHH athletes. I use those strategies with everyone.

Where it does differ is when I need to explain a concept verbally — an analogy, a tactical adjustment, or feedback. In those cases, I’ll use talk-to-text apps or voice-captioned videos. I also stomp on the floor to get attention during class transitions, and I now proudly fingerspell anything, especially the Japanese names of techniques. I’ve also learned signs for “change,” “groundwork,” “go go go,” and “water.”

One funny story: I used to tell the athletes to do “more,” but apparently the sign I was using was very close to “kiss” — so I was basically encouraging them to kiss each other between drills. That got cleared up pretty fast!

And then there’s Indy, my hearing support service dog. Her job is to alert me to noises I might not hear from far away. When Garrett came to train with me a few weeks ago, I forgot to mention that to him. So when he laughed loudly at a video in my office, Indy came running, barking and circling to get my attention. Once Garrett found out what she was trained to do, he pranked her by playing loud noises at top volume. She short-circuited trying to process them all, then gave him dirty looks for hours. It was hilarious, but also a great reminder that accessibility sometimes comes with a four-legged assistant.

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4. Looking ahead to the 2025 Deaflympics and beyond, what are your goals for the team — and what would a “successful” Tokyo Deaflympics experience look like for you and your athletes?

Obviously, we want to come home with medals. But to me, success also means having a full team. Some of our athletes are well-established black belts, while others are brown belts who are just transitioning into Judo.

With such a range of experience levels, it’s hard to predict outcomes until I know who we’ll face in each weight class. But rest assured, I’ll be studying every potential opponent so our team is as prepared as possible.

Beyond 2025, I’d love to serve as head of delegation for USAMAD and continue growing the DHH Judo community by recruiting more athletes and coaches.

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‍5. Many people still confuse the Deaflympics with the Paralympics — or don’t know the Deaflympics exist at all. What do you wish more people understood about Deaf athletes and the barriers they face? And for those who want to help, what’s the best way to support D/deaf athletes or contribute to fundraising efforts?

Many people still don’t realize what the Deaflympics is or how they differ from other events. If I had a nickel for every time someone confused the Paralympics, Deaflympics, and Special Olympics, I’d be rich! All three are important, but they’re very different. The Deaflympics is the second-oldest multi-sport event in the world, older than the Paralympics, and hearing loss is not an International Paralympic Classification. We have our own Games.

I think the biggest thing people can do is listen. Try to communicate, even if it’s awkward. Get to know DHH athletes at your gym. Don’t let language barriers stop you — we live in an age of amazing technology. There’s so much that can help bridge those gaps.

To support USAMAD:
📧 usamartialartsdeaf@gmail.com

To support Deaflympians across all sports:
📧 info@usdeafsports.org

Right now, our biggest need is financial support. All nine members of our team are fundraising to cover travel and lodging for the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo. Flights alone range from $1,000 to $1,500 per athlete, and hotel costs add up quickly. Personally, I’ve chosen to skip the host hotel so I can stay alongside the team. The community experience means more to me than convenience.

Thanks to my partnership with USA Judo Gear Adidas, we already have white gis, provided at cost. Our next hurdle is raising funds for blue uniforms, which we hope to cover at our October fundraiser in Riverside, CA. Every contribution — whether through donations, fundraising, or simply spreading the word — helps ensure that our athletes can proudly represent the U.S. on the Deaflympic stage, while showing the world what D/deaf athletes are capable of.