# Albania at the Olympics

Albania first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. After that, Albania boycotted the next four games for political reasons, as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics boycott and the isolationist stance of Albania at the time. They returned for the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics and have appeared in all games since then. Albania made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting, and wrestling. They have been represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee since 1972.
Albania won two bronze medals in wrestling at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Its first ever Olympic medal came on 10 August 2024 when Chermen Valiev won bronze in the men's freestyle 74 kg and second medal came on 11 August 2024 when Islam Dudaev won bronze in the men's freestyle 65 kg.

## Medalists from Albania at the Olympic Games

| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
| Bronze | Chermen Valiev | 2024 Paris | Wrestling | Men's freestyle 74 kg |
| Bronze | Islam Dudaev | 2024 Paris | Wrestling | Men's freestyle 65 kg |
In addition, Mirela Manjani had competed for Albania in the women's javelin throw at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing 24th. She chose to represent Greece after marrying a Greek citizen in 1997, and won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics while competing for Greece. aswell as Majlinda Kelmendi who competed for Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics in Judo. In the first round she defeated Jaana Sundberg from Finland. Before losing in the round of 16 to Mauritian Judoka Legentil. Four years Later she would win Kosovo's first ever Gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Winning her final Match against Odette Giuffrida to secure her country its first ever medal win at the Olympic Games history.

## History

Albania first officially competed at the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics with five participants over two events; Fatos Pilkati and Afërdita Tusha in the mixed 50 metre free pistol, Ismail Rama and Beqir Kosova in the mixed 50 metre rifle, prone, and Ymer Pampuri in the men's 60 kg weightlifting.
In the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics Albania sent 7 athletes: Alma Qeramixhi competed in the heptathlon; Kristo Robo in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol; Enkelejda Shehu in the 25 metre pistol; Frank Leskaj in the 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre freestyle, and 100 metre breaststroke; Sokol Bishanaku and Fatmir Bushi in the under 67.5 kg weightlifting; and Dede Dekaj in the under 110 kg weightlifting. The weightlifter Ymer Pampuri achieved a great feat as he is the first and only Albanian to break an Olympic record, in military press, after lifting 127,5 kg respectively.
For the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Albania sent seven athletes—4 female and 3 male. Mirela Manjani was the flag bearer for the Olympic Games that year. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Albania's delegation consisted of two male and two female athletes. They had seven competitors (two female, five male) in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. In Beijing at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the nation sent eleven athletes (four female and seven male), their highest ever total.
For the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Albania sent nine athletes consisting of three women and six men. Romela Begaj, who was the flag bearer for Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics, competed in the women's 58 kg weightlifting category finishing in 9th after lifting 216 kg in total.
Briken Calja achieved the best result for Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 6th in men's 69 kg weightlifting after lifting 320 kg. He competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing in 5th place in the men's 69 kg weightlifting after lifting 326 kg. Calja would compete at the following 2020 Summer Olympics in the men's 73 kg weightlifting category. The European Weightlifting champion in 2018 would finish in 4th after lifting 341 kg. His 4th-place finish was the best result in the history for Albania at the Summer Olympics until 2024. Also, in the 2020 Summer Olympics Luiza Gega became the first athlete from Albania to qualify for the finals in athletics. She finished in 5th place in the heats for the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9:23.85, a season's best. In the final run, Gega finished in 13th place.
In the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Albania won their first-ever medals of the Olympic Games. Two Russian-born athletes with Albanian citizenship, Chermen Valiev and Islam Dudaev, won bronze medals competing for Albania in men's freestyle 74 kg and men's freestyle 65 kg, respectively.

### Participation in Olympic qualifiers

In 1964, Albania participated for the first time in qualifiers for the football tournament at the Olympics. Albania faced Bulgaria in the opening round, losing both matches 1–0 and failing to qualify for the next round. Albania participated in the qualifiers for the football tournament at the 1972 Summer Olympics. They faced Romania in the opening round, losing both legs 2-1, despite goals from Medin Zhega and Panajot Pano, respectively.
Albania men's national basketball team has tried twice to qualify in basketball at the Summer Olympics. In 1972, Albania participated in the Olympic qualifiers for basketball. They played three qualifying matches, losing all three games, however two were close encounters, with Albania losing 83–82 against Belgium and 84–81 against the Netherlands. This was Albania's best-ever Olympic qualification attempt in their Basketball History. Albania next participated in the basketball qualifiers 20 years later in 1992 competing in Group B. Albania secured their first win at this competition against Switzerland 84–85, which was their only win in their campaign. Albania failed to qualify for the Olympics, with a 5th-place finish in the group. Albania has never participated in an Olympic Team sport discipline in their entire Olympic history.

## Flagbearers

Summer Olympics :
| Games | Athlete | Sport |
| 1972 Munich | Afërdita Tusha | Shooting |
| 1992 Barcelona | Kristo Robo | Shooting |
| 1996 Atlanta | Mirela Maniani | Athletics |
| 2000 Sydney | Ilirjan Suli | Weightlifting |
| 2004 Athens | Klodiana Shala | Athletics |
| 2008 Beijing | Sahit Prizreni | Freestyle wrestling |
| 2012 London | Romela Begaj | Weightlifting |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Luiza Gega | Athletics |
| 2020 Tokyo | Luiza Gega Briken Calja | Athletics Weightlifting |
| 2024 Paris | Zelimkhan Abakarov Kaltra Meça | Wrestling Swimming |
Winter Olympics :
| Games | Athlete | Sport |
| 2006 Turin | Erjon Tola | Alpine skiing |
| 2010 Vancouver | Erjon Tola | Alpine skiing |
| 2014 Sochi | Erjon Tola | Alpine skiing |
| 2018 Pyeongchang | Suela Mehilli | Alpine skiing |