site.btaBTA Presents Results of Balkan Athlete of 2025 Poll, Winner Is Romanian Swimmer Popovici
A ceremony to present the results of the Bulgarian News Agency's 52nd Balkan Athlete of the Year poll was held at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia on Monday. A total of 47 athletes received votes in this year’s poll. The winner is Romanian swimmer David Popovici, followed by Serbian basketball player Nikola Jokic. Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar placed third and received BTA’s special prize.
The traditional poll included votes from the national news agencies of the region: the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) of Bulgaria, Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency (ANA-MPA) of Greece, AGERPRES of Romania, Anadolu Agency of Turkiye, Tanjug of Serbia, MINA of Montenegro, Mia of the Republic of North Macedonia, HINA of Croatia, FENA of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus News Agency (CNA) of Cyprus, Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) of Albania, and KosovaPress of Kosovo.
Popovici, who became world champion in the 100m and 200m freestyle, received 70 points and won the award for the second time after 2022. In a recorded video message, he said the Balkan Athlete of the Year award was "a great honour", and expressed gratitude to his team, supporters and the organizers of the 52nd edition of the award. "To be part of this moment, which also marks 128 years of tradition of BTA makes this award even more special to me," he said.
Jokic placed second with 46 points after another strong season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Denver Nuggets, improving several league records.
Bulgarian weightlifter Nasar earned 41 points after another excellent year. He won the world title in the up to 94kg category with a world record in the clean and jerk, and the European title in the 96kg category, setting world records in the clean and jerk and in the total. Nasar did not attend the ceremony but sent a video address thanking journalists for nominating him again and everyone who voted for him and backed him.
Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo finished fourth with 39 points. He helped Greece win bronze at the European Basketball Championship and was named to the tournament’s all-star team. Antetokounmpo was also selected to the NBA First Team for the season and played in the league’s All-Star Game.
Croatian alpine skier Zrinka Ljutic ranked fifth with 35 points. She took three World Cup wins and won the small Crystal Globe in the slalom.
Greek track and field athlete Emmanouil Karalis finished sixth with 33 points. He became the European indoor champion in the pole vault and also won silver medals at the World Championships outdoors and indoors.
Basketball player Alperen Sengun placed seventh with 30 points. He was a key figure for Turkiye’s team that won silver at EuroBasket 2025. Sengun was named to the team of the tournament and also played in the NBA All-Star Game.
Kosovan judoka Distria Krasniqi finished eighth with 24 points. She became European champion and world runner-up in the up to 52kg category.
Bulgarian volleyball player Aleksandar Nikolov ranked ninth with 23 points. He was the top scorer at the World Championship, where Bulgaria won silver medals, and was also named best opposite at the tournament.
Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskos took 10th place. He is a world champion and European runner-up in the single sculls.
You can see the full list of winners in BTA's Balkan of the Year poll from 1973 to present here.
Opening Monday's ceremony, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that Balkan Athlete of the Year is a competition where all 12 countries are always winners because people in Southeast Europe "are so close and connected that 'Balkan' is the word we use for what we share." He announced that that the award will now be presented annually on February 16. "We also updated our written rules today, including our Ethics Code, to explicitly set guidelines for using artificial intelligence. The rules are simple: a journalist must always be involved at the start and end of any AI-assisted work, asking questions accurately and verifying answers before publication. But there is one clear area where AI can never intervene - and that is sports. The winner will always be a living person,” he commented.
/DS/
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