site.btaBulgaria Wins Three Gold, Two Silver Medals at Balkan Indoor Athletics Championships

Bulgarian long jumper Bozhidar Saraboyukov, high jumper Tihomir Ivanov, and sprinter Hristo Iliev won titles, while Andrea Slavova took silver in the 400 metres event and Devora Avramova claimed silver in the 3000 metres event at the Balkan Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Bulgaria ended the competition with three gold and two silver medals, finishing second in the overall medal standings behind Turkiye. A total of 32 Bulgarian athletes took part in the event.

Bulgaria’s Athlete of the Year and reigning European indoor champion in Apeldoorn, Saraboyukov, won the long jump with a leap of 8.42 metres, achieved on his sixth and final attempt, successfully defending the title he won in 2025.

The Bulgarian, who set a new national record just days earlier, defeated the multiple Olympic and world champion in the long jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, who finished second with 8.14 metres. Another Greek athlete, Nikolaos Stamatonikolos, placed third with 7.76 metres.

In the high jump, Tihomir Ivanov triumphed after clearing 2.19 metres, achieving a season-best result with just two successful attempts out of three.

Hristo Iliev took the Balkan title in the 60-metre sprint with a personal best time of 6.53 seconds. Slovenia’s Anej Curin Prapotnik finished second in 6.57 seconds, followed by Turkiye’s Ertan Yuzkan in third with 6.61. Iliev’s time is both a new Bulgarian national record and a new European under-23 record.

Andrea Savova secured a silver medal for Bulgaria in the women’s 400 metres. She was beaten only by Turkey’s Eda Nur Tulum, who won the title in their heat with a time of 54.17 seconds.

In the women’s 3000 metres, Devora Avramova crossed the finish line second in 9:31.74, while Turkiye’s Sumeyye Erol claimed gold with a time of 9:30.10.