Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

first participated at the Summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. They missed the next four games, three of them for political reasons due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

1984 Summer Olympics boycott The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies, led by the Soviet Union, which initiate ...

and 1988 boycotts, but returned for the Barcelona

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. They have appeared in all games since then. They made their

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. The country has not yet won an Olympic medal. Along with

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, Albania is one of four current European participants that have never won an Olympic medal. They have been represented by the

Albanian National Olympic Committee The Albanian National Olympic Committee ''( Albanian: Komiteti Olimpik Kombëtar Shqiptar - KOKSH)'' is a non-profit organisation and the legal authority of Albania's participation in the Olympic Games. As a member of the International Olympic Com ...

since 1972.

History

Albania first competed at the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

1972 Summer Olympics with five participants over two events;

Fatos Pilkati Fatos Pilkati (born 15 March 1951) is an Albanian shooter who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 197 ...

and Afërdita Tusha in the mixed 50 metre free pistol, Ismail Rama and

Beqir Kosova Beqir Kosova (born 20 May 1949) is an Albanian shooter who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in the 50 metre rifle prone 50 meter rifle prone (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an International Shooting Sport ...

in the mixed 50 metre rifle, prone, and

Ymer Pampuri Ymer Pampuri (30 April 1944 – 18 January 2017) was an Albanian weightlifter who in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games became the first Albanian to break an Olympic record, the first Albanian to become a World Champion and the last World Champion ...

in the men's 60 kg weightlifting. who in the

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

became the first Albanian to break an Olympic record, in military press, since the discipline was no longer allowed to be practiced internationally after 1972 In the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics:

Alma Qeramixhi Alma Qeramixhi (born November 9, 1963 in Korçë) is an Albanian heptathlete who represented her country in the 1992 Summer Olympics. She competed in the women's heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of se ...

competed in the

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

;

Kristo Robo Kristo Robo (born 7 December 1948) is an Albanian shooter who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol 25 meter rapid fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is shot with .22 LR pistols. The event h ...

in the

25 metre rapid fire pistol 25 meter rapid fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is shot with .22 LR pistols. The event has been a part of the Olympic program ever since the beginning in 1896, although its rules changed greatly before World War II, after which ...

;

Enkelejda Shehu Enkelejda Shehu (born 23 January 1969) is an Albanian shooter who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games and the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. She competed in the women's 10 metre air pistol event at the 2016 Summer Olympics for the United State ...

in the

25 metre pistol 25 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often known as sport pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It was devised as a women's event in the 1960s, based upon the rules of 25 meter center-fire pistol but shot with a .22-caliber spo ...

; Frank Leskaj in the 50 metre freestyle,

100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

, and 100 metre breaststroke; Sokol Bishanaku and Fatmir Bushi in the under 67.5 kg weightlifting; and Dede Dekaj in the under 110 kg weightlifting. For the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Albania had seven athletes—4 female and 3 male.

Mirela Manjani Mirela Maniani ( el, Μιρέλα Μανιάνι, , 21 December 1976) is a Greek retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. Life and athletic achievements Albania Maniani was born as Mirela Manjani on 21 December 1976 in ...

were the flag bearer for the Olympic Games in that year. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Albania's delegation consisted of two male and two female athletes. They had seven competitors (two female, five male) in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. In Beijing at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the nation had eleven athletes (four female and seven male). For the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Albania had nine athletes consisting of three women and six men.

Romela Begaj Romela Aleksandër Begaj (born 2 November 1986) is an Albanian weightlifter. On 11 November 2014 in Almaty she became world champion in the Snatch style for the category up to 63 kg. Previously Begaj represented Albania at the 2008 Europe ...

the flag bearer for Albania at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

would compete in

Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 58 kg The Women's 58 kilograms weightlifting event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, took place at ExCeL London on 30 July. Summary Total score was the sum of the lifter's best result in each of the snatch and the clean and j ...

category finishing in 9th at the end, after lifting 216 kg in total.

Briken Calja Briken Calja (born 19 February 1990, Elbasan) is an Albanian weightlifter, Olympian, and European Champion competing in the 69 kg category until 2018 and 73 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganize ...

would achieve the best result for Albania at the

in which he would finish 6th in

Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 69 kg The Men's 69 kilograms weightlifting event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, took place at ExCeL London on 31 July 2012. Summary Total score was the sum of the lifter's best result in each of the snatch and the clean and je ...

after lifting 320 kg. Briken Calja competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in the 69kg division where he finished in 5th place after lifting 326 kg. Birken Calja would compete at the following

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in the 73kg division. The European Weightlifting champion in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

would finish in 4th after lifting. It would be the best result in the History for Albania at the Summer Olympics. In the

Luiza Gega Luiza Gega (born 5 November 1988) is an Albanian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase since 2016. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2016 European Championships, and a gold in 2022 setting ...

wrote history for Albania. As she would be the first athlete from Albania, to qualify for the finals in

Athletics at the Summer Olympics Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient Greek Olympics. The modern program in ...

. After she finished 5th in Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9:23.85 in the end enough to progress to the finals. At the final run, she would finish in 13th. Albania has no Olympic medalists.

Medalists from Albania at the Olympic Games

Albania remains without a medal win, although Albanians competing for different nations would win medals in other Olympic Games: *

competed for Albania at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, but chose to represent Greece in Javelin throw at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney, winning silver, as well as bronze at the 2004 Games. *

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

Luan Krasniqi who is born in Junik won the bronze medal representing Germany at Heavyweight boxing in the

in Atlanta. *

Fatmire Alushi Fatmire "Lira" Alushi (; born 1 April 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. She placed third in 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or competition, an annual award given to the world's best player. Club career ...

born in Istog from Kosovo winning for the Germany women's national football team the bronze medal in

Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and several other cities in the People's Republic of China from 6 to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 team ...

in Beijing. She is also the first

women to win a medal in

Football at the Summer Olympics Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wor ...

. *

Kosovare Asllani Kosovare Asllani (born 29 July 1989) is a Swedish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Italian first division Serie A ...

with Kosovo Albanian descent competed for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. She would win twice silver first in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and in the following Women's tournament in Tokyo 2020. She is the first

female to win silver medals in Football at the Summer Olympics for her Country. *

Majlinda Kelmendi Majlinda Kelmendi (; born 9 May 1991) is a Kosovan-Albanian former judoka and judo coach. In 2014, Majlinda topped the IJF Women's Prestige World Ranking List. On 7 August 2016, she became the first Kosovan athlete to win a medal at the Olymp ...

a Judoka born in Peja, Kosovo. She would compete for

Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics Albania competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. The National Olympic Committee of Albania sent a total of 11 a ...

in Judo. Majlinda would choose Kosovo at the

in which she would win Gold in

Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 52 kg The women's 52 kg competition in judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held on 7 August at the Carioca Arena 2. The gold and silver medals were determined by a single-elimination tournament, with the winner of the final ta ...

after beating

Odette Giuffrida Odette Giuffrida (born 12 October 1994 in Rome) is an Italian judoka. She competed at the 2023 World Judo Championships, where she placed third in the women's 52 kg. Career She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the ...

in the final, to win Kosovo's first ever medal at the Summer Olympics. *

Distria Krasniqi Distria Krasniqi (; born 10 December 1995) is a Kosovar judoka. She received a gold medal in the women's 48-kg judo competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In August 2021, she was awarded the Honor of the Nation Decoration of Albani ...

is a Judoka from Kosovo but with Albanian ethnicity, who competed for Kosovo at the

. She would compete in

Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 48 kg The women's 48 kg competition in judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 24 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan. Results Finals Repechage Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D References External links * Draw {{DEFAULTSORT:Ju ...

category. In the finals she would beat Funa Tonaki to win the second gold medal ever for Kosovo. * Nora Gjakova is a Judoka from Kosovo. She would make her debut in

Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 57 kg The women's 57 kg competition in Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics, judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 26 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan. Results Finals Repechage Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D References External ...

in which she would Gold in the finals against Sarah-Léonie Cysique to secure the final Medal for Kosovo at the

held in Tokio. There were plenty of ethnic Albanians who did compete for

Yugoslavia at the Summer Olympics Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and would win medals in various sport competitions as well: *

Shaban Tërstena Shaban Trstena ( mk, Шабан Трстена, Šaban Trstena, sq, Shaban Tërstena; born 1 January 1965) is a Macedonian-Yugoslavian former freestyle wrestler. Trstena was born in Skopje, SFR Yugoslavia and is of Albanian ethnicity. Growi ...

was an Albanian wrestler who represented Yugoslavia at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. He won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and also won the silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Being the most successful Wrestler for Yugoslavia, at the Summer Olympics. He was also declared the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1984 being the second ethnic Albanian to achieve this feet, after Sejdiu did in 1977. *

Aziz Salihu Aziz Salihu (born 1 May 1954 in Pristina, Kosovo) is one of the best retired Super heavyweight boxer of Kosovar Albanian descent. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and won the bronze me ...

competing in boxing for Yugoslavia at the

winning the bronze medal in

Super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...

. *

Shaban Sejdiu Shaban Sejdiu ( mk, Шабан Сејдиу; born 6 May 1959) is Macedonian retired freestyle wrestler. An ethnic Macedonian Albanian, Sejdiu, as part of the Skopje Wrestling Club, was trained by notable coaches Risto Takov, who had also train ...

is an Albanian Wrestler who competed for Yugoslavia in the Olympics. He would win twice Bronze in the

. First at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

held in Moscow. He would win again Bronze at the

in Los Angeles. Being the first ethnic Albanian to win multiple medals, for

Yugoslavia at the Olympics Teams from Yugoslavia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1920. Previously, several athletes from Croatia, Slovenia and northern Serbian province Vojvodina had competed for Austria or Hungary when those countries were part of the Empire of A ...

. In total the Albanian athletes winning 14 Medals at the

in which of them being four gold, two silver and six bronze medals in various sports competitions, for several different countries, in the history.

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Olympics

Medals by Winter Olympics

2010 Opening Ceremony - Albania entering

Flagbearers

References

External links

* * * {{Albania topics