The World Games in Chengdu may not have the clamour of the Olympics for some, but for Albion Ymeri (KOS), the roads and transitions of Duathlon here echoed with an almost Olympic resonance.
Competing on 14 August at the beautiful yet punishing course nestled around Xinglong Lake, Ymeri crossed the line in 1:19:54—22nd out of 34 elite men.
In that moment, he earned something far greater than a finishing position: the pride of being the first Kosovan athlete ever to compete at The World Games.
A year ago, though, Ymeri had not even heard of the multi-sport event.
“This is not a very famous event globally, not even in our country,” said Ymeri on the moment he first glimpsed The World Games in the schedule. “I noticed it on the calendar one year ago. I started researching about it and saw there's going to be another one in Germany (Karlsruhe 2029).”
“It was amazing for me because this is such an important event. It's not as big as the Olympics, but very close and it feels like it for me because triathlon is much harder to qualify for so, duathlon is a better option.”
“It was amazing, especially because I'm the first one to do so for my country.”
Like the endurance required for his sport, qualification had been a marathon, not a sprint.
To qualify as one of the 35 male duathletes in Chengdu (37 in total with two places given to host nation China), competitors such as Ymeri had to amass enough qualification points from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2025 in races or be a top four finisher in a continental or top 10 in a World Championship.
The 29-year-old achieved the former by winning a race in Egypt last year to book himself onto the plane to Sichuan Province although due to visa issues, he arrived at midnight on 11 August, less than three days before the Men’s race.
Factoring in the drawn-out process of overcoming jet lag plus the lack of practise he would’ve liked, it was far from ideal preparation but Ymeri and Kosovo were never going to let this piece of history disappear.
“The biggest support comes from my National Federation, which is part of the NOC,” he replied on who helped him the most to reach Chengdu. “They are my biggest supporters because they support me financially to go to races all over the world.
“That’s the biggest help because it’s very expensive to compete. Just to qualify, you need to travel… I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support.”
Every great athlete has a great team behind them but on race day Ymeri could only do it himself.
His time of 1:19:54 admittedly was not one he was fully satisfied as Chengdu’s intense humidity was a test for many athletes on the day.
The Balkan Athletics 3000m champion said the conditions made it into one of the hardest races in his career but a transition slipup onto the bike was what cost him dearly.
“I messed up the first transition because my bike fell,” he added. “When I was taking my bike off in transition, it fell, so I lost to very strong guys on the bike.”
“Those guys eventually went with the first group, so it was disappointing to lose them. Transition is very important, I lost a few seconds there and just lost the group, then I had to connect with another group, but it wasn’t the strong guys.”
It wasn’t the blistering start to a career at The World Games he would have hoped but the Duathlon in Chengdu tracks far beyond Ymeri’s own lane.
He revealed he is scheduled to meet with Kosovo NOC officials to see how other duathletes and athletes from other sports can best prepare for the 13th edition of The World Games in Karlsruhe.
The “Heart of Europe” is only a mere a two-hour direct flight from the country meaning that logistically speaking it should be far easier for athletes to get there.
Furthermore, in the broader spectrum of Kosovo’s sporting culture, where Judo has dominated with five Olympic medals, 2029 could be emblematic of a broader evolution and perhaps Ymeri can be a part of that.
But for now, his plans remain focused onto next year’s European and World Championships in duathlon - not triathlon as he started later than most in swimming and now knowing he can work towards a major event that includes it.
“I started when I was 21 with running and cycling. I started swimming even later and could never improve to that level, because apparently you need to start swimming when you’re very young, like 5 or 6.”
“It’s almost impossible, or very hard, to reach the top level later.”
Albion Ymeri’s performance in Chengdu may read as a mid-table finish in the record book, but for Kosovo, it marks history: a bold first stride into The World Games, through an athlete that ran with grit, vision, and the heart.
An embodiment of an athlete determined not just to arrive, but to pave the way for one of the latest countries to join The World Games family.