Jane Stockdale’s lush, personable photographs of the Kosovo Olympic team

There are few young photographers better charged with the task of capturing an Olympic training season than Jane Stockdale. No stranger to documenting athletes, she brings out the almost psychological element of competitive sportsmanship, which we have seen in her photographs of England’s football team and portraits of a Team GB sprinter.

The 2016 Olympics will mark the first time in history that Kosovo will compete in the Games, and to preserve this moment of anticipation, Jane has been on the sidelines of the training program, beautifully documenting the Kosovo team as they prepare. “They’re all really humble, really hard working and a lot of them can’t believe they have this chance,” she says. “Some of them have brothers and sisters who are also really great athletes but they just never had the opportunity to compete.”

The series is a work-in-progress, and as part of the Independent Photography Festival, a preview goes on show tonight at Peckham Springs with exhibition graphics designed by Freytag Anderson. “Just as the athletes are training for Rio 2016, this is a work-in-progress and we hope to document the team right the way to the Olympic Games,” says Jane. It won’t be her first time in Brazil for a world event either, having traveled to Rio to extensively document the World Cup in 2014.

A mix of lush, saturated colours and Jane’s personable, documentary style, this is only the very beginning of what looks set to be an outstanding series.

Kosovo Olympic Team opens tonight at Peckham Springs as part of the Independent Photography Festival.