When Harutyun Mutafyan needs motivation to keep training, he asks himself one question: “If they can do it, why can’t you?”

Mutafyan, a senior majoring in political science, said it was this mindset that helped him win the gold medal in the 90-kilogram weight class at the 2026 National Collegiate Judo Association Collegiate Nationals on March 28. Mutafyan is currently ranked fourth in the U.S. in his weight division, according to the International Judo Federation.

“I would always say [to myself], ‘What are you missing from the people who are winning?’’’ said Mutafyan. “I do my best to fill those gaps, and that [has] led me to my success.”

Bulat Khorloev coaches Mutafyan at judo, a type of martial art in which competitors earn points for trying to subdue their opponents or throw them on the ground. Khorloev said Mutafyan’s success comes from making judo such a big part of his life.

“You need to take an active part in this process,” Khorloev said. “Judo is not just a sport. … It’s life. You need to be inside the sport. You wake up, [and] you think about judo. You go on to training, [and] you think about judo.”

Judo is a family affair for Mutafyan

When Mutafyan was 7 years old, his father put him and his younger brother, Hrach Mutafyan, into judo.

Hrach Mutafyan said their father also participated in judo in his youth, training alongside Olympic athletes in Russia during the Soviet era.

“Not many parents talk to their children about … what it takes to win the Olympics or any high-level competitions,” Hrach Mutafyan said. “My dad has been talking to us about how we should train and what we’re doing right [and] what we’re doing wrong to the best of his ability.”

Although Harutyun Mutafyan didn’t initially fall in love with judo, he said that by age 16 or 17, he decided he wanted to compete professionally.

Consistent training has driven success

Mutafyan’s journey to winning the 2026 collegiate judo title comes after recent defeats on the world stage. In 2025, he lost his first-round matches at Grand Prix tournaments in Austria and Australia.

His brother said these setbacks only increased Mutafyan’s motivation to improve and accomplish his goals.

“After all of these losses, he’s not willing to quit,” Hrach Mutafyan said. “All he’s thinking about [and] all he talks to me about is going to training camps, how we’re going to train, [and] how we’re going to structure our training for the next two years.”

Whenever he trains, Mutafyan said that giving full effort every time has helped him stand out from other athletes.

“Everyone could show up to a training session, [but] not everyone can put 100% in that training session there,” Mutafyan said. “This is the difference — just doing the training, or doing what [the] coach says and doing what you think you need to do on top of that to be the best.”

Mutafyan said that the most important factor in his current and future success is keeping up a  high level of training and believing in himself.

“I know that just being in [judo] for long enough will help you outshine people who are not in it as much as they should be,” he said. “You just need to be on it consistently, and trust that the results will bring back what you want.”

Mutafyan hopes to qualify for Olympics

Following his collegiate national championship, Mutafyan said his ultimate goal is qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Because the U.S. is hosting the Olympics in 2028, one American athlete will automatically qualify in each weight class.

In order to reach the Olympic mat, Mutafyan said that he needs to make sure he is already a judo champion in his own mind.

“You have to be living [judo] day in, day out,” Mutafyan said. “Of course you have to love it, and you have to put 100% of your heart into it, because if you’re not, you need to understand that you’re competing against thousands of people who are putting their heart into it.”