Sport in Albania revolves mostly around team sports, such as football, basketball, volleyball and handball. Other sports includes boxing, weightlifting, tennis, swimming, judo, karate, athletics, table tennis, rugby, cricket, and chess. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Albania national football team making its debut at the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national football team also qualified for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Albanian athletes have also achieved significant success and have won European and Mediterranean titles in numerous sports during the years, such as wrestling, football, athletics and weightlifting. Albanian athletes have won a total 49 medals for Albania in 8 different Mediterranean sports. Albania has had some success in others sport such as volleyball and basketball as well.
Mirela Maniani is a Greek retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw.
Yemen sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was their third appearance at a Summer Olympic Games as a unified country. The Yemeni delegation consisted of two track and field athletes, Basheer Al-Khewani and Hana Ali Saleh. Neither advanced beyond the first round of their respective events.
Albania first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. They missed the next four games, three of them for political reasons due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics boycott and 1988 boycotts, but returned for the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics. They have appeared in all games since then. They made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting, and wrestling. The country has not yet won any Olympic medal. Along with Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta and Monaco, Albania is one of five current European participants that have never won an Olympic medal. They have been represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee since 1972.
Kosovo made its Olympic debut as a member state in 2016. Its team is organized by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK), created in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 9 December 2014. It won its first medal in its debut appearance in 2016, when judoka Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in the women's -52 kg category. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nora Gjakova won gold in the women's judo -57 kg class, and Distria Krasniqi won gold in the women's judo -48 kg class.
Albania (ALB) competed at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain with a total number of 58 participants.
Tsholofelo Thipe is a South African sprinter, who specialized in the 400 metres. She set a personal best time of 51.15 seconds by winning the 400 metres event at the 2009 South African Championships in Stellenbosch. She was born in Rustenburg, North West Province.
Batgereliin Möngöntuyaa is a Mongolian sprinter, who specialized in the 400 metres. Batgerel represented Mongolia at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she competed for the women's 400 metres. She ran in the sixth heat against seven other athletes, including Jamaica's Novlene Williams and Great Britain's Nicola Sanders, both of whom were heavy favorites in this event. She finished the race in last place by three seconds behind Albania's Klodiana Shala, with a time of 58.14. Batgerel, however, failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed forty-seventh overall, and was ranked below three mandatory slots for the next round.
Maria Benedicta Chigbolu is an Italian sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 4 × 400 m relay.
Luiza Gega is an Albanian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase since 2016. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2016 European Championships, and a gold in 2022 setting the championship record in the process. Her silver was the first ever Albania’s European medal, while her gold was the first ever title for the country at the European Athletics Championships.
The 400 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 400 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896 but nearly seventy years passed before the introduction of the women's 400 m, which has been held continuously since the 1964 Games. It is the most prestigious 400 m race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying rounds leading to a final race between eight athletes.
Albania competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Olympics after its debut in 1972. The National Olympic Committee of Albania sent a total of six athletes to the Games, three per gender, who competed in three sports.
Salwa Eid Naser is a Nigerian-born Bahraini sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She was the 2019 World champion with the third fastest time in history of 48.14 seconds, becoming the youngest-ever champion in the event and also the first woman representing an Asian nation to win that event at a World Championships. The mark places her only behind contested results of Marita Koch and Jarmila Kratochvílová. Over the distance, at only 19, Naser was the 2017 World silver medallist. She has also won, as a member of Bahraini mixed-gender 4x400 m relay team, the 2019 World Championships bronze medal.
Albania has competed at every celebration of the Mediterranean Games since the 1987 Mediterranean Games. As of 2022, Albanian athletes have won a total of 49 medals. The country's ranking in the history of the Games is the 17th place.
Lada Vondrová is a Czech track and field athlete who specializes in sprint races. She won several Czech national titles.
Albania (ALB) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee (KOKSH). Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Distria Krasniqi is a Kosovar judoka. She received a gold medal in the women's 48-kg judo competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In August 2021, she was awarded the Honor of the Nation Decoration of Albania by the President of Albania.
Femke Bol is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, where she is the 2023 World Champion, and in the 400 metres, where she is the short track world record holder. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion with the Dutch women's team.
The Albania national badminton team represents Albania in international badminton team competitions. The Albania national team is controlled by the Albania Badminton Federation and is under the Badminton Europe confederation. Being part of the Balkan region, the Albania team competes in the Balkan Badminton Championships.
The 2030 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the XXI Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Prishtina 2030, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event that is scheduled to be held from 24 July to 4 August 2030 in Pristina, Kosovo.
