On this day in 2018, the Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang were not only special for South Korea, which was hosting these for the first time, but also for Kosova as it constituted its debut at the Winter Olympics. Albin Tahiri, Kosova’s representative, ranked 37th in alpine skiing men’s combined, an outcome considered positive by trainer Agim Pupovci given the uncommonly severe weather, which had caused around 30 skiers to fail to finish the race.

Aside from that, performing sports under severe and cold weather conditions has not been within the repertoire of the Olympic Games from its genesis on. Let alone the absence of winter sports in the ancient games in Olympia from 776 BC, but winter sports had neither been part of the Olympic Games repertoire when they were revived in a modern notion in 1896. It was only in 1924 that winter sports were accommodated within the Olympic Games. At that time, it was considered pure innovation as they were created without any historical reference.

Regarding historical references, while Kosova’s participation at the Winter Olympics in 2018 was novel, so was not the practice of winter sports in Kosova, especially the practice of skiing. First records of skiing date back to the 1920s with the first races and competitions being held in 1932 in Zatër, near the city of Peja. Currently, different ski areas, such as Brezovica, Bogë, and Prevalla, are increasingly attracting skiers as well as investors. Such developments and also the participation of sportspeople from Kosova at international competitions such as the Winter Olympics are developments promising the revival of this historically disrupted tradition.