#prishtina

How judo changes gender and social norms in Kosovo - Emerging Europe

Tokyo 2020 is only the second Olympic Games in which Kosovo gets to compete as an independent country. At Rio 2016 — the country’s Olympic debut— its small delegation of eight athletes already managed to bring home one medal. This year in Tokyo, Kosovo secured two gold medals during the first week of the Games. And guess what, they’re all in women’s judo!

Young judokas at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Festival in Prishtina, Kosovo

“When Majlinda Kelmendi won the first gold medal in 2016, I was in Peja at the Hotel Dukagjini restaurant, which only seats about 100 people and all the TVs were on the last judo match. The second she won, I felt like I was surrounded by a million fans cheering and clapping; the ambience was at a level I didn’t think it would ever experience. I will never forget the feeling.”