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 an 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.
The Olympic Committee of Kosovo is the National Olympic Committee representing Kosovo. Officially established in 1992, the OCK became a full member of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement on 9 December 2014. It is responsible for Kosovo's participation at the Olympic Games.
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.
Japan–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between Japan and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and Japan recognized it on March 18, 2008. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on February 25, 2009.
Sport in Kosovo has established tradition and plays a prominent role in society. Popular sports in Kosovo include football, basketball, volleyball, handball, and rugby, whereas major individual sports include wrestling, judo, swimming, boxing, karate and skiing.
Majlinda Kelmendi is a Kosovan-Albanian former judoka and judo coach.
Albania competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. The National Olympic Committee of Albania sent a total of 11 athletes to the Games, seven men and four women, to compete in four sports. Weightlifter Hysen Pulaku was officially removed from the team on the first day, after failing a drug test for the banned anabolic steroid substance, as announced by the International Olympic Committee. Albania, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
During the Parade of Nations within the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes and officials from each participating team marched in the Maracanã Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.
Kosovo participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was represented by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (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 and Majlinda Kelmendi, 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.
Albin Tahiri is a Kosovo Albanian World Cup alpine ski racer. He represented the Kosovo Olympic Committee for the first time in Winter Olympic Games in February 2018. Tahiri is a dentist by profession and he trained in Slovenia, Austria and Italy.
Kosovo (KOS) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (KOK/OKK). The nation had previously participated in the Summer Olympic Games on one occasion in 2016. A total of 11 athletes, five men and six women, were selected by the national committee to compete in six sports. Initially scheduled to take place during the summer of 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 in relation to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Kosovo competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022.
During the Parade of Nations within the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 4, athletes and officials from each participating country marched in the Beijing National Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer bearing the respective country's name. Each flag bearer was chosen either by the nation's National Olympic Committee or by the team of athletes themselves.
Kiana Kryeziu is a Kosovan alpine skier. She competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Yugoslavia (1920–1992W)
Independent Olympic Participants (1992S)
Serbia and Montenegro (1996–2006)
Serbia (2008–2012)