Akil and Nora Gjakova will be Kosovo’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
For the first time in Olympic history, two people from the same family will have the honour of carrying their country’s flag and leading their delegation at the opening ceremony. Akil and Nora Gjakova were selected by their Olympic committee. Both judo athletes, Nora Gjakova is the reigning Olympic champion in the under 57 kilos category, while Akil was the European champion in the under 73 kilos category.
Nora is the eldest of the siblings, born in 1992. After finishing ninth at the first Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, she won the Olympic title in her category in 2021, and comes to Paris with the ambition of defending her title, notably against the Frenchwoman Sarah-Léonie Cysique.
His brother Akil, four years his junior, started judo at the age of six. He is participating in his second Olympic Games in Paris after having already been flag bearer at the Tokyo Games in 2021. He won European gold in Lisbon in 2021, becoming the first Kosovar judoka to win a men’s judo title. He comes to Paris with good chances of a medal, following his bronze medal at the European Championships in 2023.