Sporting Witness
Sporting Witness
Kosovo’s first Olympic medal
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September 8, 2022
9 minutes
Available for over a year
At the Rio 2016 Olympics, judoka Majlinda Kelmendi competed to bring home the first medal for Kosovo since the small country gained independence. A two-time World Champion from a nation that had endured years of oppression and war, she had previously had to compete under the Albanian flag. The Olympics recognised Kosovo in 2014, and in 2016 she went on to win the gold medal. It was a moment of great symbolic importance for the young nation, whose statehood remained disputed on the international stage.
(Majlinda Kelmendi of Kosovo celebrates winning the gold medal in Rio 2016. Getty Images)