site.btaBTA Director General: 2024, Year of Paris Olympics, Is Proof that We Are Stronger Together in the Balkans

Speaking at the award ceremony for the BTA Balkan Athlete of the Year poll for 2024 here on Friday, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that "2024, the year of the Paris Olympics, is proof that we are stronger together in the Balkans". "If we combine the medals of all countries with territories on the Balkan Peninsula – including Italy with a small part around Trieste – we would rank third, immediately after the much larger United States and China in terms of population and territory. Moreover, when the Balkan countries unite, we have a greater chance of hosting world competitions, including the Olympics, or having leaders in global sports organizations," Valchev said.

"Today, at its National Press Club in Sofia, BTA announces the results of the 51st anniversary edition of the Balkan Athlete of the Year poll," he said. "In last year's 50th anniversary edition, I remarked that this is a competition where each Balkan country, whose national news agencies vote, is always a winner. This is because the people in our region of Southeastern Europe are so close and interconnected that ‘Balkan’ is a term we use to describe our shared attributes," Valchev noted. 

"This poll, organized 51 times by BTA since 1973 - except for 2020, when there were no sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic - is not merely an expression of regional affiliation but also of our ability to acknowledge the successes of our neighbours. This is in a part of the world often associated with discord and conflict," Valchev said.

In 2024, BTA further expanded its network of national press clubs by establishing one in Belgrade, Serbia. There are already offices in Skopje, North Macedonia; Bucharest, Romania; Ankara, Turkiye; and Bosilegrad, Serbia. In 2025, BTA plans to add a press club in Athens, Greece. In Valchev's words, over the past four years, BTA has covered all significant events in the Balkans with special correspondents. The Agency has also established agreements for the daily exchange of news with the national news agencies of all Balkan countries, following the conclusion of such an agreement with Tanjug in Serbia in 2024.

"A dedicated department for Balkan countries was established in the Agency in 1951, and since 2021, the 'Balkans' has become a directorate, signifying that the 'B' in BTA stands for not only 'Bulgarian' but also 'Balkan' News Agency," Valchev said.

This collective Balkan approach benefits all of Europe, which is why Bulgaria dedicated its first presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018 to the expansion of the Union to the Western Balkans, the BTA Director General noted. For two consecutive years, BTA has organized a series of regional forums with the support of the European Commission, under the titles "Europe on the Balkans: A Common Future" and "Europe on the Balkans: Together through Knowledge," he added.

In the 49 editions to date, there have been 27 female winners and 22 male winners in the survey, with women occupying the top three positions exclusively in 1986, 1987, and 1989. This is set against the backdrop of global debates, including in Western Europe, on ensuring gender equality, Valchev said.

Winners have emerged from a variety of sports, regardless of their "commercial appeal" - from athletics (19 times) and tennis (10 times) to basketball, boxing, biathlon, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, rowing, and sports shooting, each represented once, he added.

"Although the survey is conducted in Bulgaria, BTA has never been tempted to select only Bulgarian winners. However, a Bulgarian athlete has always received universal recognition from all Balkan agencies. The first Balkan Athlete was sprinter Svetla Zlateva, who set a world record in the 800 meters in 1973. Bulgarian athlete Stefka Kostadinova has won the BTA survey five times (1985, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997), deservedly so, as she still holds the world record in the high jump at 209 cm, set 36 years ago on August 30, 1987. From this edition, we are introducing the Bulgarian Athlete of the Balkans award, which will be given to the highest-ranked Bulgarian," Valchev noted.

"It can be said that in 2024, one of the news items is that the 'Balkan Athlete' is not Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who holds the most victories in the ranking—eight (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023)," he concluded.

Greek long jump athlete Miltiadis Tentoglou has been named Balkan Athlete of the Year for 2024 in BTA's poll. Swimmer David Popovici of Romania and basketball player Nikola Jokic of Serbia rounded out the top three, while the fourth place was shared by Bulgarian weightlifter Carlos Nasar and Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic.