Team Guam Olympic profiles: Joshter Andrew (judo)

Joshter Andrew won't have to travel too far for this year's Olympic Games. Andrew attends Ryutsu Keizai University in Ibaraki Japan on an Olympic scholarship.

Andrew told KUAM Sports, "It's really big, it's way bigger than myself. I'm very honored to be out there and to participate for the Olympic Games and have the whole country behind me. The whole island actually behind me. I'm very nervous and very excited at the same time and looking forward to it and really do my best at the games."

Joshter was a gold medalist at the 2019 Pacific Games held in Apia Samoa. Ranked #119 in the world the work he's put in doesn't go unnoticed. He's had to sacrifice a lot to get to where he is now.

Andrew added, "Right now I can't express the words on how I feel with the games. Everything leading up to this Olympic Games. It's been a very long journey. The travels alone. The injuries that I've went through. Everything, all of that. It just boils down to that one moment which is the Olympic Games. Really taking it all in."

Andrew has attended training camps in Budapest, Hungry, New Caledonia, Spain and France. His weight is on point so he doesn't have to cut too much before competition.

Andrew said, "Everyday been training. Right now at the moment we're not really training as hard but the quality is still there. Just because of the Olympic Games is soon, so just trying to avoid injuries and stuff. But I've been training every morning at 8:00 am and also in the afternoon I make sometime and train for myself. We're training a lot on the mat but we also do some dojo training which is weights and ropes. Lots of cardio but mainly standing and ground Judo."

Joshter has racked up a wealth of experience competing overseas. He's competed in the Oceania Championships, Budapest Grand Prix,  Western Australia Open, Osaka Grand Slam, World Championships in Baku and the Jeju Cup International to name a few. He's had to sacrifice a lot to get to where he is now.

Andrew said, "The sacrifices of leaving home, It was a lot. Something I had to really adapt to. It wasn't just my family but also moving to a foreign country which was Japan. I had to learn and adapt to a lifestyle and eat new food. It was hard I'm not going to lie but to me it really pays off. Every hardship along the way was worth it."