Andorra is a petite, independent territory situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains. It’s known for ski resorts and a tax-haven status which often encourages duty-free shopping. Andorra is the sixth-smallest country in Europe with an area of 468 square kilometres and a population of approximately 79,034. The capital city, called Andorra la Vella, located at the East side of the country is considered to be the highest capital city of Europe.
From the judo aspect, the National Judo Federation of Andorra was established in 1989. Today, there are approximately 350 judoka across seven judo clubs practicing judo. Throughout the past 30 years, Andorra had representatives in judo across the globe at all levels of events, including the Olympic Games. The Olympic debut was achieved by Toni MOLNÉ when competing in the Barcelona Games in 1992 as well as in Atlanta, 1996. At Athens 2004, Toni BESOLÍ represented the vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra. Daniel GARCIA followed on with a double success when he headed to both Beijing 2008 and London 2012. The last person to represent Andorra at the leading international sporting event was Laura SALLÉS, competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
With the recently introduced Small States European Championships, Andorra was able to celebrate the total of six freshly won continental medals, two of which under the cadet division and the remaining four at the senior stage. At the very same event, Alda BABI became and remains their sole European gold medallist when she won the -52kg category. Andorra will be part of the upcoming Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) which will be held in Malta in two months time, an event where they have banked enormous amount of successes previously. For more information on judo in Andorra you can visit their site: www.fandjudo.ad
Off the mat…Did you know?
- Andorra is the only country on earth where the official language is Catalan.
- Andorra has historic roots: Andorra is the 14th oldest country in the world dating back to 803 AD, making Andorra 1216 years old.
- Andorra is ruled by two princes: The Bishop of Urgell and the President of France are co-rulers together.
- Andorra has never had its own currency: Although the country has adopted the Euro, it never had its own currency. It used to use the French franc and Spanish peseta.
- Andorra is popular: 8 – 10 million people visit Andorra each year taking advantage of winter sports.
Author: Szandra Szogedi