She won a gold medal, but it is much more than just a medal. For Kosovo’s Majlinda Kelmendi, she is representing her country’s first ever Olympic games in which the small Balkan country took part, and in which they won. Twenty-five year-old Kelmendi won gold last week in the 52kg category of judo fighting, and on Sunday thousands of people lined the streets of Kosovo’s capital “to give a hero’s welcome.”

“It still looks as a dream,” Kelmendi told reporters after walking on the red carpet rolled out for her at Pristina’s airport, where she was welcomed by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. “All the hard work and sacrifice I made, I did them for my country and my people.”  Majlinda also has two world titles and three European crowns that she’s won since 2013, and is now ranked #1 in the world. She went on to say, “I just proved to them that even after the war, even after we survived a war, if they want something they can have it. If they want to be Olympic champions, they can be –even if we come from a small country, a poor country.”