site.btaBTA Poll Names Romanian Swimmer Popovici Athlete of the Balkans for 2025

Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Balkan Athlete of Year poll for 2025 on Monday.

Serbian basketball player Nikola Jokic finished second, while Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar placed third and received BTA’s special prize for a Bulgarian athlete in the Balkans.

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.

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.

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.

A total of 47 athletes received votes in this year’s poll. Among Bulgarians outside the top 10 were basketball player Aleksandar Vezenkov, who shared 11th place with 20 points, rhythmic gymnast Stiliana Nikolova, who has a total of nine medals from the World and European Championships, and European indoor long jump champion Bozhidar Saraboyukov, who shared 20th place with 12 points each. European weightlifting champion in the up to 55kg category Angel Rusev shared 26th place with 8 points, while world snowboarding champion Tervel Zamfirov ranked 33rd with 6 points.

Final standings in the BTA Sportsman of the Balkans poll for 2025:
1. David Popovici (Romania) – swimming – 70
2. Nikola Jokic (Serbia) – basketball – 46
3. Karlos Nasar (Bulgaria) – weightlifting – 41
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) – basketball – 39
5. Zrinka Ljutic (Croatia) – alpine skiing – 35
6. Emmanouil Karalis (Greece) – track and field – 33
7. Alperen Sengun (Turkiye) – basketball – 30
8. Distria Krasniqi (Kosovo) – judo – 24
9. Aleksandar Nikolov (Bulgaria) – volleyball – 23
10. Stefanos Ntouskos (Greece) – rowing – 22

Best placings for athletes from countries outside the top 10 and for Bulgarians:

11. Aleksandar Vezenkov (Bulgaria) – basketball – 20
15. Lara Colturi (Albania) – alpine skiing – 14
20. Stiliana Nikolova (Bulgaria) – rhythmic gymnastics – 12
20. Bozhidar Saraboyukov (Bulgaria) – track and field – 12
23. Martin Serafimov (Republic of North Macedonia) – handball – 9
26. Angel Rusev (Bulgaria) – weightlifting – 8
35. Tervel Zamfirov (Bulgaria) – snowboarding – 6
38. Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro) – basketball – 3
43. Dzanan Musa (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – basketball – 2