Teen is 1st female to ski for Kosovo at Olympics

Taking part in the giant slalom at the Beijing Olympics will be a giant step for 17-year-old Kiana Kryeziu. Kryeziu is the first female athlete from Kosovo at the Winter Games after she met the required standards, with the last races held in Italy.

"It was something that I really didn't expect would happen this early," Kryeziu told The Associated Press. "It was one of my biggest goals, it was one of my dreams and now it's becoming reality."Not that it's been easy, she says, with a lot of hard training and only four hours to relax each day, plus finding the money in an expensive sport. 

Kryeziu started to race as a skier around 10 or 11 years old. Her training drained the family's budget but financial support from sponsors allowed her to train in Austria and Italy last year.  Kryeziu's ambition is not to be more than 10 seconds behind the winner in Beijing.