SOFIA

The 51st Balkan Athlete of the Year Awards were presented at a ceremony organized by the Bulgarian State News Agency (BTA) in Sofia on Friday.

Greek athlete Miltiadis Tentoglou came first in the voting by Balkan news agencies, including Anadolu.

Romanian swimming champion David Popvici came second, while Serbian NBA star Nikola Jokic was third.

Yusuf Dikec, who became a worldwide phenomenon with his shooting style at the Paris 2024 Olympics, managed to enter the top 10 in the classification where 38 athletes competed.

"The Balkan Athlete of the Year Awards ceremony, which is organized for the 51st time this year and which we are attending today, is an event that we, as Anadolu Agency, have been attending with interest for many years with the invitation of BTA," said Anadolu's Sports News Director Cuma Kaan Elbir.

"Congratulations to all the athletes who received awards today at the ceremony held at our neighbor and partner BTA," he added.

Bulgaria-Türkiye cooperation in sports

"Bulgaria and Türkiye have always had a good cooperation in the field of sports," Bulgarian Youth and Sports Minister Ivan Pesev told Anadolu.

Emphasizing that many sports clubs in Bulgaria train in Türkiye, Pesev said: "Our bilateral cooperation is very important. I hope that this mutual cooperation will continue and develop further in different channels and organizations in the future."

Pointing out that the awards are one of the best examples of cooperation in the Balkans, BTA General Manager Kiril Valchev said: "When we look at the number of medals received by the countries at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Balkans received the most medals after the US and China. This result shows that we are stronger in unity and solidarity."

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp