European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi attended the Kosovo National Olympic Committee’s (NOC) celebration of 10 years since it became a full member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The evening was hosted by Kosovo NOC President Ismet Krasniqi and Secretary General Besim Aliti, with IOC President Thomas Bach among the distinguished guests who joined the celebrations. President Bach, President Capralos, President Krasniqi and Mr Pagnozzi were earlier part of a delegation received by the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
Kosovo’s debut at a multi-sport event came at the European Games Baku 2015 when Nora Gjakova won a bronze medal in judo and it followed that with an Olympic debut at Rio 2016, where Majlinda Kelmendi earned a historic gold medal.
Kosovo has since won two golds at Tokyo 2020 through Gjakova and fellow judoka Distria Krasniqi, who also clinched a silver at Paris 2024 along with a bronze for Laura Fazliu, also in judo.
It has additionally been awarded hosting rights for the 2030 Mediterranean Games in Pristina.
President Capralos highlighted Kosovo’s accomplishments during his congratulatory speech.
He said: “These are achievements you can all be very proud of. They have helped to inspire young people across Kosovo, and made an important contribution to spreading the Olympic values. I believe others in Europe have learned many good things about Kosovo from the performance of your athletes.
“On behalf of the EOC, I would like to congratulate everyone who has made it such a successful first 10 years for Kosovo in the Olympic Movement.
“I am sure sport will continue to thrive here, and you will have many more achievements to reflect on when you celebrate your next anniversary.
“Thank you to President Krasniqi – the EOC looks forward to continuing our support for the Kosovo NOC as you become an increasingly important member of the European Olympic Family.”
