| Kosovo at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | KOS |
| NOC | Olympic Committee of Kosovo |
| Website | noc-kosovo.org (in Albanian and Serbian) |
| inRio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 8 in 5 sports |
| Flag bearer | Majlinda Kelmendi[1] |
| Medals Ranked 54th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Yugoslavia (1920–1992W) Independent Olympic Participants (1992S) Serbia and Montenegro (1996–2006) Serbia (2008–2012) | |
Kosovo participated at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was represented by theOlympic Committee of Kosovo (KOK/OKK) with a delegation of eight people, including three men and five women.[2] 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: judokaNora Gjakova (women's 57 kg) andMajlinda Kelmendi (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.[3]
Kosovo left Rio de Janeiro with its first Olympic medal of any color, an Olympic gold medal, won by Kelmendi.[4]
This was Kosovo's first participation in theOlympics since gaining membership by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2014.Serbia protested Kosovo's admission to the IOC, as it officially claims that Kosovo is anautonomous province of Serbia. However, Serbia, considering the harmful effects ofYugoslavia's expulsion in 1992, decided against boycotting the 2016 Rio Olympics as a consequence.[5] Kosovo is currently recognised as a state by 97 UN member states.
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold | Majlinda Kelmendi | Judo | Women's 52 kg | 7 August |
Kosovar athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[6][7]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Musa Hajdari | Men's 800 m | 1:48.41 | 7 | Did not advance | |||
| Vijona Kryeziu | Women's 400 m | 54.30 | 7 | Did not advance | |||
Kosovo received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a rider competing in the men's road race to the Olympics.[8]
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qëndrim Guri | Men's road race | Did not finish | |
Kosovo qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games.Nora Gjakova andMajlinda Kelmendi, who previously representedAlbania at the2012 Summer Olympics, were ranked among the top 14 for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[9]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final /BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
| Majlinda Kelmendi | Women's −52 kg | Bye |  Tschopp (SUI)W 100–000 |  Legentil (MRI)W 000–000S |  Nakamura (JPN)W 000–000S | Bye |  Giuffrida (ITA)W 001–000 | |
| Nora Gjakova | Women's −57 kg |  Amarís (COL)W 100–000 |  Căprioriu (ROM)L 000–002 | Did not advance | ||||
Kosovo 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.[10]
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Urata Rama | Women's 10 m air rifle | 402.3 | 48 | Did not advance | |
Kosovo received a universality invitation fromFINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[11][12]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Lum Zhaveli | Men's 50 m freestyle | 24.53 | 57 | Did not advance | |||
| Rita Zeqiri | Women's 100 m backstroke | 1:12.31NR | 34 | Did not advance | |||
