site.btaMarinela Nineva Wins Balkan Marathon in Skopje

Bulgaria's Marinela Nineva became a Balkan marathon champion for the second time in her career, following 2023 in Athens. Nineva clocked 2:45:36 hours in the classic 42.195 km distance to finish second in the Skopje Marathon, behind Kenya's Irene Jeruto, who won in 2:38:30 but was not eligible for the regional championship classification.

Azerbaijan's Anna Yusupova finished third overall in 2:48.10, winning the Balkan Championship silver, while another Bulgarian, Radostina Balova, who placed fourth in 2:54:33, took the bronze in the regional ranking.

Among the men, Kolyo Raychinov was the best-performing Bulgarian, finishing seventh overall in 2:31:21, which placed him fourth in the Balkan Championship standings. A newcomer to the marathon distance, national 3,000-m steeplechase record holder Mitko Tsenov came out tenth in 2:36:01.

Skopje's Dario Ivanovski won both the marathon and the Balkan title, clocking 2:14:50 to beat Kenya's Julius Kipkoech by 30 seconds. Georgia's Daviti Kharazishvili came in third in 2:19:59 to take the Balkan silver, while Turkiye's Yavuz Agrali, who placed fourth in the overall Skopje Marathon with 2:24:23, earned the bronze in the regional competition.

In the women's half marathon, Bulgaria's Teodora Petkova placed fourth in 1:26:25. The event was won by Gresa Bakraci of Kosovo in 1:20.50.

Among the men, Bulgaria's Daniel Kubashliev was the fastest Bulgarian, finishing sixth in 1:13:56. The winner was Albania's Albion Ymeri in 1:07:57.

The half marathon was not part of the Balkan Championship classification.