Kosovo at the Olympics

Kosovo has made its Olympic debut as a member state in 2016.[1] Its team is organized by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK), created in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 9 December 2014.[1] It won its first medal on its debut appearance in 2016, when judoka Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in the women's -52 kg category.

Kosovo at the
Olympics
IOC codeKOS
NOCOlympic Committee of Kosovo
Websitewww.noc-kosovo.org (in Albanian, English, and Serbian)
Medals
Gold
1
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
 Yugoslavia (1920–1992 W, 1996–2002)
 Independent Olympic Participants (1992 S)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2004–2006)
 Serbia (2008–2012)

History

From 1920 to the 1992 Winter Olympics, Kosovar athletes participated as part of the Yugoslavian team. In 1960 Summer Olympics three football players born in Kosovo (Milutin Šoškić, Fahrudin Jusufi, Vladimir Durković) won gold medal as part of Yugoslavia national football team. In the 1984 Summer Olympics, boxer Aziz Salihu became the first individual athlete from Kosovo winning an Olympic medal, a bronze in Super heavyweight.[2]

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Olympic Committee of Kosovo was established 1992.[3] However, only Kosovar athletes with Serbian ethnicity participated as part of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia Olympic team. On 17 February 2008 Kosovo's Parliament declared independence from Serbia. World junior champion in judo Majlinda Kelmendi qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and she wanted to compete under Kosovo flag, but OCK was not recognized by International Olympic Committee at the time. Also, IOC turned down Kelmendi's request to compete as an independent athlete. Olympic Committee of Serbia invited all athletes from Kosovo to join Serbian team.[4] Kelmendi chose to represent Albania,[5] while Kosovo Serbs athletes participated under the flag of Serbia.

In April 2013, the Brussels Agreement was concluded between the Serbian and Kosovan governments. Kosovo was recognised as a provisional member of the IOC on 22 October 2014, before becoming a full member on 9 December 2014.[6] At that time, Kosovo was not a member or observer state of the United Nations, but it has gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 97 out of 193 UN member states. It has been announced that Kelmendi, who had gone on to become World and European judo champion in 2013 and 2014, will carry Kosovo's flag during the Parade of Nations within the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.[7]

Serbia protested Kosovo's admission to the IOC, as it officially claims that Kosovo is an autonomous province of Serbia. However, Serbia, considering the harmful effects of Yugoslavia's expulsion in 1992, decided against boycotting the 2016 Rio Olympics as a consequence.[8] Some athletes from Kosovo, ethnic Serbs such as volleyball player Milena Rašić and basketball player Marko Simonović, continued to play for the Serbian national team.

Medal tables

Medals by sport
SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Judo1001
Totals (1 sports)1001

List of medalists
Medal Name Games Sport Event
 GoldMajlinda Kelmendi 2016 Rio de Janeiro JudoWomen's 52 kg

References
  1. "Kosovo granted full IOC recognition; can send own team to Olympics in Rio de Janeiro". The Republic. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  2. "Unrecognized states at the Olympics". 4 November 2014.
  3. "IOC grants provisional recognition to Kosovo Olympic Committee". olympic.org. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  4. ""Ovo ne sme da ugrozi naše nastupe"".
  5. "London 2012: Judoka's Kosovo Olympic bid turned down". 25 May 2012 – via www.bbc.com.
  6. "127th IOC Session comes to close in Monaco". olympic.org. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  7. "Majlinda Kelmendi carries the flag of Kosovo at Rio 2016". 100Judo.com. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. Grohmann, Karolos. "Kosovo earns Olympic recognition, Serbia furious".
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