Marshall Islands Newcomer Takes On Brit In Taekwondo At Beijing Olympics
Anju Jason, 20, was the picture of calm on Sunday despite the fact most fellow athletes from the Pacific Islands have finished their competitions in the 2008 Olympic Games —but his isn’t until this Friday, August 22.
The taekwando athlete said he’s learned to cope with stress. “Before I used to be very nervous and let it get to me. Now, because I’ve competed in so many tournaments, it doesn’t get to me as much,” said Jason.
That’s no small feat considering that more than half of the population of 56,000 in his native Marshall Islands is expected to watch him compete. Large Marshallese communities in Arkansas and Hawaii will also be watching him.
He goes up against Aaron Cook of England in opening round action this Friday. Jason is considered a 100 to 1 odds outsider to win, according to the BBC.
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Anju Jason at the Beijing Olympic Village earlier this week. Photo courtesy of Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee.
For small nations such as the Marshall Islands, just being able to send athletes to the Olympics is no small endeavor — this Olympics is the first for the RMI.
To get an athlete like Jason who qualified to compete on merit is considered an accomplishment in itself. Jason is the only one of the Marshalls’ five Olympic athletes who got into the world’s largest sporting event on merit. Other athletes also had to have performed well in championships to be invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
For Jason, the road to the Beijing Olympics is one of hard work, long hours and personal sacrifices.
As a child, he liked to imitate the kicks and punches of the Power Rangers and began training when he was 11 to 12 years old. When taekwando became an Olympic sport in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jason said he thought: “That’s cool, maybe I can do this.” However, his father, a longtime former mayor of Jaluit Atoll, wanted him to focus on school.
While Jason got into college and majored in electrical engineering at the University of Hawaii, he continued to compete in taekwando tournaments. Jason is one of two Marshall Islands athletes who won IOC scholarships, but the money doesn’t pay for everything.
To pay for tuition, training and competitions, he works full-time at Panda Express — a large Chinese fast food chain in the United States — every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Just as he’s able to balance mental alertness with physical capability in the ring, Jason said it was not hard juggling training, work and school.
But in order to train properly for the Olympics, Jason, a junior in college, had to take two semesters off school.
In 2006, the Marshall Islands became the 203rd nation to get into the Olympics. Last December, Jason found out he qualified to participate in the world’s largest sports event by winning a gold medal in New Caledonia at the Oceania Championships, an Olympic qualifying event, and that helped him win over his father, who had pushed him to finish school.
“When (my dad) found out we qualified for the Olympics, he supported me. He said: ‘We’re behind you 100 percent. Just do your best. Everyone in the country is behind you,’” Jason said during an interview in Beijing.
Jason said he’s excited about the chance to compete with the best from around the world.
At the Olympic Village where the athletes are staying, Jason maintains a rigorous schedule of working out in the gym each morning and running twice a day.
In the evenings, he tries to kick back by getting to know other athletes and listening to music that relaxes him, such as hip hop and reggae.
“My goal is to do my best and to get past that first round. My preliminary will be my catapult to get me up,” said Jason.
The best part about being here, he said, is having the chance to represent his country and all the people who have supported him, including the taekwando school that trained him, his family, the Marshall Islands Olympic community, as well as his boss at Panda Express who’s paying him his salary for the time he’s in Beijing and an elementary school in Uliga, whose students sent him letters.
“I wouldn’t be here without some of the people back home. Now it’s my time to repay them,” said Jason.
Regardless of whether he wins a medal, Jason said he plans to make it to the Olympics two or three times.
“It makes me feel good because I get to represent these people who have been supporting me,” said Jason. “This (being in the Olympics) is something I’ll never forget.”
For more Pacific Magazine coverage at the Beijing Olympics, see:
http://www.pacificmagazine.net/page/features/NoMedalsExpected/
