Majlinda Kelmendi (; born 9 May 1991) is a Kosovan-Albanian former

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

ka 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

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 ...

when she claimed gold in the women's −52 kg category at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. She also represented

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Majlinda Kelmendi was born on 9 May 1991 into a

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 ...

family in the city of

Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...

, then part of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, present-day

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. She was the cousin (aunt's daughter) of the Swedish footballer of Kosovan descent

Labinot Harbuzi Labinot Harbuzi (4 April 1986 – 11 October 2018) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Early life Harbuzi's family migrated to Sweden. His father, Ismet, was a table tennis player in Kosovo. He was the cousin (aun ...

Career

In 2009, Kelmendi won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 2010, she came 5th at the World Junior Championships in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and finished 9th in the 52 kg category at the

2010 World Judo Championships The 2010 World Judo Championships were held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan from 9 to 13 September. Schedule Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{International judo Worl ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. She defeated Jaana Sundberg in the first round of the

2012 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 ...

but then lost to

Christianne Legentil Marie Christianne Legentil (born May 27, 1992, in Port Mathurin) is a Mauritian judoka who competes in the women's 52 kg category. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won against later double world champion Majlinda Kelmendi and was Judo at the ...

in the second round. At the

2013 World Judo Championships The 2013 World Judo Championships were held at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 26 August to 1 September. Schedule ''All times are local ( UTC−3).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events R ...

, Kelmendi gave Kosovo its first ever judo world title as she beat Brazil's Erika Miranda in the −52 kg gold medal match in Rio de Janeiro. The 22-year-old – the first Kosovar judoka to win a medal at the championships since

Kosovo's declaration of independence The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be a state independent from Serbia, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including the P ...

in 2008 – was not a shock winner as she came to Rio de Janeiro ranked number one in her category having won the prestigious Masters event. Kelmendi retained the world title in 2014. She only lost twice in 2013 and had beaten everyone of note in her division. She did not defend her title the following year due to injury. In February 2016, she won the gold medal at Paris Grand Slam, making her third consecutive title after winning in 2014 and 2015. Two months later, she earned a gold medal at the

2016 European Judo Championships The 2016 European Judo Championships were held in Kazan, Russia, between 21–24 April 2016. Medal overview Men Women Medal table References External links * ResultsTeam results {{European championships in 2016 Eu ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, Russia. 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 ...

she became the first ever Kosovan athlete to win a gold medal, or any medal at all, for Kosovo at an Olympic Games. Controversy arose when reports emerged that she had declined to take an unscheduled doping control test in June in France; her trainer insists she is clean, and that she refused due to the tester having no authorisation from WADA. Due to the resistance of

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, Kelmendi was unable to represent Kosovo at the

in London. Also, IOC turned down Kelmendi's request to compete as an independent athlete. Kelmendi chose to represent Albania, as the vast majority of Kosovars are ethnic Albanians. In October 2014, the

provisionally recognised the

Olympic Committee of Kosovo The Olympic Committee of Kosovo ( sq, Komiteti Olimpik i Kosovës, sr, Олимпијски комитет Косова / ''Olimpijski komitet Kosova'') is the National Olympic Committee representing Kosovo. Officially established in 1992, the O ...

and gave it full membership on 9 December 2014. Kosovo participated at the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the country's first appearance at an Olympic event. Kelmendi was Kosovo's flag bearer during the

Parade of Nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

of the opening ceremony in Rio. Her gold medal in those games was Kosovo's first ever Olympic medal. She is also a citizen of

and has an Albanian passport. In 2021, she won one of the bronze medals in her event at the

2021 Judo World Masters The 2021 Judo World Masters was held in Doha, Qatar, from 11 to 13 January 2021. Medal summary Medal table Source Men's events Source Women's events Source Prize money The sums written are per medalist, and with the two additional best ...

held in Doha, Qatar. A month later, she won one of the bronze medals in her event at the

2021 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv The 2021 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv was held at the Drive in Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel from 18 to 20 February 2021. Medal summary Men's events Source Results Women's events Source Results Medal table Event videos The event will air fre ...

held in Tel Aviv, Israel. She competed in the women's 52 kg event at the

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 Tokyo, Japan.

Statistics

Medals record

Source: ;2009 : World Cup − 52 kg,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

;2010 : World Cup − 52 kg,

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

: European Cup − 52 kg,

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

: World Cup − 52 kg,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

;2011 : World Cup − 52 kg,

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

: World Cup − 52 kg,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

: World Cup − 52 kg,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

: World Cup − 52 kg,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

;2012 : European Cup − 52 kg,

: World Cup − 52 kg,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

;2013 : Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...

: European Championships − 52 kg,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

: IJF World Masters − 52 kg,

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

: World Championships − 52 kg,

;2014 : Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

: European Championships − 52 kg,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

: World Championships − 52 kg,

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

: Grand Slam − 52 kg,

;2015 : European Cup − 52 kg,

: World Cup − 52 kg,

: Grand Slam − 52 kg,

;2016 : Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: European Championships − 52kg,

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

: Olympic Games − 52 kg,

;2017 : Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: European Championships − 52kg,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

;2018 : Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

;2019 : Grand Prix − 52 kg,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

: Grand Slam − 52 kg,

: European Games − 52 kg,

: World Championships − 52 kg,

: Grand Slam − 52 kg,

;2021 : IJF World Masters − 52 kg,

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelmendi, Majlinda 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Peja World judo champions Judoka trainers Kosovan female judoka Olympic judoka of Kosovo Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in judo Olympic gold medalists for Kosovo European Games medalists in judo European Games gold medalists for Kosovo Judoka at the 2019 European Games Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Albanian female judoka Olympic judoka of Albania Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics