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| Kiana Kryeziu |
With work and dedication, the dream of the 17-year-old skier from Kosovo, Kiana Kryeziu, is becoming a reality. She qualified for the Beijing Winter Games starting on February 4th. This is the first time that a skier from Kosovo secures participation in the Olympics.
Participation in the Beijing Olympics is a big step for the 17-year-old skier Kiana Kryeziu and the country she represents.
She is the first athlete from Kosovo to participate in the Winter Games, after the qualifying competitions held in Italy.
"I did not expect it to happen so early. It was my main goal, a dream of mine that is becoming a reality. Maybe last year’s hard work paid off. "I went to the last races confident and full of confidence that I would qualify", says Kiana.
She explains that the journey so far has not been easy, after training with only four hours of rest a day and the challenges of securing the funds to cover the costs of this expensive sport.
Kiana says that she provided the main financial support from private businesses while thanking the Kosovo Ski Federation, the Olympic Committee, and the Ministry of Sports for their support.
"Sports conditions are good, they are improving every day. But now we want to work on long-term projects. Instead of working on short-term projects, we want to work on long-term projects, training children starting from 4 years and then achieving the best results", says Agim Pupovci, a trainer from the Ski Federation of Kosovo.
Kryeziu started in this sport at a young age. Her father, Visar Kryeziu, a photographer for the Associated Press news agency, was the one who noticed his daughter's talent.
"I have taught Kiana to ski since she was 5 years old. At the age of 10 she started competing. Then I realized that if I invest 10 percent of my time in it, the result will be 110 percent. "I saw the opportunities for her to develop and become a good skier", says Mr. Kryeziu.
Her training was unaffordable for the family budget, but financial support from private businesses enabled her to train in Austria and Italy last year.