Olympic versus political games

By Rozafa Kelmendi

The Olympic Games are considered as a medium to spread the message of unity and peace, while celebrating the spirit of sportsmanship. Organizers of the Summer Olympics “London 2012” and States that have safe participation in this activity, the greatest sports event that will take place on July 27, 2012, have started the count down to the opening of these Games. In the same continent where the big event will take place, there is a small country that is struggling to join the big sports family. And there is a particular young lady that carries the sporting dream of her nation.

Since 1991, when Kosovo’s athletes quit racing in ex-Yugoslavia, they have not been able to compete on an international level. The war against Serbia was the first stopper for the athletes. It ended in 1999, but since then the Kosovarian athletes have been trapped in a game of politics.

The Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK) was officially established in 2003, but still it is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and therefore its athletes are not entitled to participate in the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. As such, the OCK has not been granted an abbreviation or code to represent Kosova in international sporting events. To achieve that, Kosovo should be recognized by the United Nations as an independent State and meet various sports requirements before gaining the Olympic status. As a precondition for this there is the international acceptance of Kosovo’s five Olympic federations, but Kosovo currently has four internationally recognized Olympic federations.

 While the effort to be accepted internationally continues, athletes from Kosovo are unable to compete at international competitions.  The only competition that was offered to them is Kosovo and few neighbor countries, where there can be no quality increase of sports activities and careers of talented athletes. Many young girls and boys in Kosovo are doomed to have only local sports career, which takes place under very difficult conditions and usually ends quickly. They might train for years and then not get to compete at international competitions, and that is causing Kosovo lost of generations of talented sportsmen. Isolation of Kosovo sports has made clubs try to go abroad individually and develop games with foreign opponents.

‘‘Ippon’’ Judo Club from the city of  Peja achieved the biggest success in that direction. The work and professionalism demonstrated at the club made International Judo Federation allow the athletes to participate in high-level competitions under the federation’s flag. Majlinda Kelmendi, an athlete from this club is considered the best athlete in Kosovo, and she is the only one in the country fighting for Olympic rate.
Judging on her success, she is expected to reach this rate, but it is not known if she can represent her country at OG London 2012.

 She started her international sports career as 8 year old at a competition in Sarajevo, where she won the bronze medal. Since then she won a lot of medals at international competitions, including a gold medal at the European Championships in Yerevan, where she had no other choice than to compete under the Albanian flag, a situation enabled by her double citizenship. She went gold also at junior World championship of Paris, in 2009, becoming the world Number 1 in the 52 kilograms category.

Now at the age of 20, this young Kosovarian judoka is fighting against international politics which are standing in her way of competing at Olympic Games under the flag of her country.

 Having that in mind sport is one area where no participant is worried about another’s nationality, race, religion or wealth, and where the only concern is fair play, the current situation is quite demoralizing for Majlinda and all Kosovarian athletes.
Engagement in athletic activities is recognized as significant for building character, self-esteem, ethics and a sense of community among young people. And that is a reason why the opportunity to join the Olympic competition would give young Kosovarian athletes new opportunities, as the country tries to move on from the devastating war of the 1990s and build a better future.

It is the Olympic symbol itself that represents the unity of the world. The Olympic flag that we are familiar with, consists of five intertwined rings that represent five inhabited continents: America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. So why can’t Kosovo  be there?

Olympic Games also are not living up to Coubertin’s ideals:
‘’The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.’’

And that’s what Majlinda is one of the worlds best at!