Kosovo’s first Olympic medal
Majlinda Kelmendi won the first medal for Kosovo since the country gained independence.
Sporting Witness · BBC World Service
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
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)