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 ...

participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

, Brazil from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was represented by 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 ...

(KOK/OKK) with a delegation of eight people, including three men and five women. Most of them were awarded places in their respective sporting events through wild card entries and Tripartite Commission invitations. Two Kosovar athletes, on the other hand, qualified directly for the Olympics on merit: judoka Nora Gjakova (women's 57 kg) and

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 ...

(women's 52 kg), the lone returning Olympian on the team after representing Albania four years earlier in London. The world's top-ranked judoka in her weight category and the frontrunner for the country's first Olympic medal, Kelmendi was selected to become Kosovo's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Kosovo left Rio de Janeiro with its first Olympic gold medal, won by Kelmendi.

Background

This was Kosovo's first participation in the Olympics since gaining membership by the

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 ...

(IOC) in December 2014.

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

protested Kosovo's admission to the IOC, as it officially claims that Kosovo is an

autonomous province Autonomous province is a term for a type of province that has administrative autonomy.Collins Dictionar ...

of Serbia. However, Serbia, considering the harmful effects of Yugoslavia's expulsion in 1992, decided against boycotting the 2016 Rio Olympics as a consequence. Kosovo is currently recognised as a state by 97 UN member states.

Medalists

Athletics

Kosovar athletes have achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events

Cycling

Road

Kosovo has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a rider competing in the men's road race to the Olympics.

Judo

Kosovo has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Nora Gjakova and

, who previously 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, were ranked among the top 14 for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Shooting

Kosovo has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a women's 10 m air rifle shooter to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by March 31, 2016.

Swimming

Kosovo has received a Universality invitation from

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.

References

{{Country at games navbox, Kosovo, Olympics Olympics

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...