48 hours before her bronze success in Prague, we caught up with Josie Steele to discuss all things judo, injury setbacks and Olympic aspirations.
Josie first stepped onto the mat at Highland Budokan in Inverness, under the coaching of Robert Inglis. “I played a lot of sports when I was younger, but I loved my first session there. Robert was great with the kids, so I stuck with it,” she recalls. As her Cadet career advanced, her achievements followed suit. “I started competing internationally and doing well. In my final year as a Cadet, I won a medal at the European Youth Championships.” Determined to advance further, Josie made the decision to relocate. “At 16, I moved to Edinburgh, left school after fifth year, and joined the Performance Programme at JudoScotland while starting at Heriot-Watt University.”
Going from training twice a week at Highland Budokan to everyday at the National Performance Centre took some adjusting, “It was quite intimidating at the start I’m not going to lie; I was young and it was my first time away from home. The first 6 months were tough but that was also to do with starting university. I didn’t know anyone at first, being able to make friends definitely helps. I noticed very quickly a big improvement in my performance level once I started training full time.” Josie expressed her gratitude to Malin Wilson, Rachel Tytler, and Abbi Blackie, acknowledging their support in helping her settle in at the National Training Centre: “They were great, really helping me settle in and made sure I was always ok.”
Training alongside Olympic medalist, Sally Conway, Josie took the opportunity to learn good habits to advance further, “I picked up loads of good bits from Sal, the biggest one was actually not overtraining. Doing six good high quality randoris is better than doing 10 average ones and being at risk of injury. It doesn’t mean you work any less hard but when you’re at training just to make sure you are training.”
The success continued as she moved into the Junior ranks, picking up medals abroad and competing at the Junior European and World Championships in her first year training full time.
As is often the case in high-level sports, injuries became part of Josie’s journey. In her second year as a junior, she suffered a snapped elbow ligament, followed by a bulging disc in her neck, leading to an extended period away from the mat. After nine months of recovery, lingering neck issues resurfaced just three months later, prompting her to opt for surgery, where two metal discs were inserted into her neck.
Taking more time away from the mat led to Josie questioning whether she would be able to continue: “The rest is nice for the first couple of weeks, but I’ve had injuries and obviously covid has made me lose about 3-4 years. An injury is ok if you get told when you’ll be back. Initially the doctors weren’t actually sure if my neck would get better so it was a waiting game. I got three different scans on it and it wasn’t getting better at first. Injuries are really tough, especially your first major injury it feels like the end of the world but there is always things you can improve on when you’re injured. I did consider quitting but after the surgery I felt great. But I couldn’t imagine not doing the sport, whether that was recreationally or a performance level. I was also so young, only 22 so I felt I still had a lot to give. I was also still able to study and work so that balance was ideal.”
Recovering from the injury, Josie made the decision to go up and compete in the -63 category. “Moving up has been good for my overall health in terms of avoiding injury. I got a bronze in Latvia at the European cup, it was a big marker for me as it’s the first medal back since being injured and going up a weight. It was really important for myself as I knew I could still compete I also had my first Grand Prix earlier this month which didn’t go to plan but it was good to be competing in that level of competition as I feel I’m still just finding my feet.”
On long term goals, she says: “I take it week by week, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be the best in the world. I’d love to be an Olympic champion, I want to compete for Scotland and GB. It’s very important to me and my goal is to be the best in the world.”
“I watched the first day of the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Steph Inglis was from my club and seeing her do well was a really big deal, and seeing Scotland do well was so good. Watching it I remember thinking I’d love to compete there, the Worlds and the Olympics.”
With our call nearing an end, the conversation moves to gender and what it’s like competing in a male dominated sport: “You definitely do face challenges based on your gender, mainly the lack of women in the sport and you tend not to have as many peers around you. As I get older it doesn’t affect me anymore, often you can be the only girl in the dojo. That’s fine with me now but as a young girl that would definitely be more difficult. I’d say it is getting better in the sport but I’m used to it.”
Though Josie reflects positively on the close bonds formed with her peers. “There are challenges in the sport, but it also means the girls who do it are usually quite close. You don’t have a choice — that might sound bad, but it’s actually really nice. You have to get along, so we form a close-knit group because there aren’t many of us, which is really nice. The girls here, especially, have always been a great group, and we’ve always got on.”
We end the call with advice she’d pass on to younger girls who are thinking of taking up the sport, “I would say get stuck in. Bring a friend if you feel a bit uncomfortable. There are loads of opportunities for girls in the sport, it’s not just a sport for guys – girls can fight too.”