Balkan Games

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Balkan Athletics Championships
Greek: Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες
Poster of the first Balkan Games (1929)
First event1929
Occur everyyear (except 1941–1945, 1948-1952, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1995)
Last event2025
Next event2026
PurposeAthletics event for nations of the Balkans
Websitebalkanathletics.org

The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games (Greek: Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες) is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans as well as other associated states, and organized by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations. The first games were held in Athens in 1929,[1] and the most recent were being held in İzmir in 2024.[2]

Organization

The Games of 1929 were unofficial, and organized by the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS). They became formalized after 1930 and have been held regularly since, with the exception of the 1940–1953 period due to the Second World War and post-war turmoil. In 1946 and 1947, unofficial Games were organized, under the name Balkan and Central European Games, which Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary (1947) also participated.[3]

SEGAS were also central to the creation of the Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships in 1994 – a sister indoor event to the main outdoor competition.

Balkan Games

Balkan Games was held 1953 - 1980s (See: Balkan Athletics Championships). In recent years separate Balkan Championships will be held instead of Games.[4][5][6]

Nations

Former nations

Editions

Number Year Host City Country Events
Name:Balkan Games
[7]1929Athens Greece
11930Athens Greece
21931Athens Greece
31932Athens Greece
41933Athens Greece
51934Zagreb Yugoslavia
61935Istanbul Turkey
71936Athens Greece
81937Bucharest Romania
91938Belgrade Yugoslavia
101939Athens Greece
111940Istanbul Turkey
1941-1952: Not Held
[7]1946Tirana Albania
[7]1947Bucharest Romania
Name:Balkan Athletics Championships
121953Athens Greece
131954Belgrade Yugoslavia
141955Istanbul Turkey
151956Belgrade Yugoslavia
161957Athens Greece
171958Sofia Bulgaria
181959Bucharest Romania
191960Athens Greece
201961Belgrade Yugoslavia
211962Ankara Turkey
221963Sofia Bulgaria
231964Bucharest Romania
241965Piraeus Greece
251966Sarajevo Yugoslavia
261967Istanbul Turkey
271968Piraeus Greece
281969Sofia Bulgaria
291970Bucharest Romania
301971Zagreb Yugoslavia
311972İzmir Turkey
321973Piraeus Greece
331974Sofia Bulgaria
341975Bucharest Romania
351976Celje Yugoslavia
361977Ankara Turkey
371978Thessaloniki Greece
381979Piraeus Greece
391980Sofia Bulgaria
401981Sarajevo Yugoslavia
411982Bucharest Romania
421983İzmir Turkey
431984Athens Greece
441985Stara Zagora Bulgaria
451986Ljubljana Yugoslavia
461988Ankara Turkey
471989Serres Greece
481990Istanbul Turkey
491992Sofia Bulgaria
501994Trikala Greece
511996Niš Yugoslavia
521997Athens Greece
531998Belgrade Yugoslavia
541999Istanbul Turkey
552000Kavala Greece
562001Trikala Greece
572002Bucharest Romania
582003Thiva Greece
592004Istanbul Turkey
602005Novi Sad Serbia and Montenegro
612006Athens Greece
622007Plovdiv Bulgaria
632008Bar Montenegro
642009İzmir Turkey
652010Larissa Greece
662011Sliven Bulgaria
672012Eskişehir Turkey
682013Stara Zagora Bulgaria
692014Pitești Romania
702015Pitești Romania
712016Pitești Romania
722017Novi Pazar Serbia
732018Stara Zagora Bulgaria40
742019Pravets Bulgaria40
752020Cluj-Napoca Romania42
762021Smederevo Serbia42
772022Craiova Romania42
782023Kraljevo Serbia42
792024İzmir Turkey43
802025Volos Greece43
812026Volos Greece

Ranking

Source:[8]

Year Ranking by Medals
1 2 3 Source
1930 Greece Bulgaria Yugoslavia[9]
1931 Greece Yugoslavia Romania[10]
1932-2021
2022 Greece Romania Turkey[11]
2023 Turkey Serbia Ukraine[12]

Results

Full Results:[13]

Medals (1930-2023)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Romania7546996412,094
2 Bulgaria5635384881,589
3 Greece5445395151,598
4 Yugoslavia3863653611,112
5 Turkey165215271651
6 Serbia786271211
7 Serbia and Montenegro375778172
8 Ukraine35341786
9 Croatia243640100
10 Moldova224343108
11 Slovenia17132050
12 Bosnia and Herzegovina15253777
13 Albania15193064
14 Cyprus11131640
15 Austria78217
16 Montenegro641424
17 Armenia63211
18 Israel3101225
19 North Macedonia331319
20 Authorised Neutral Athletes161118
21 Azerbaijan1001
22 Kosovo0516
23 Georgia0336
Totals (23 entries)2,6932,7002,6868,079

Source:[13]

Indoor

Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships[14]

Race Walking

Balkan Cross Country Championships[15]

Cross Country

Balkan Race Walking Championships[16]

Masters

Balkan Masters Athletics Championships

Others

  1. Balkan Mountain Running Championships
  2. Balkan Half Marathon Championships
  3. Balkan Marathon Championships
  4. Balkan Athletics U20 Championships
  5. Balkan U20 Indoor Athletics Championships
  6. Balkan U18 Athletics Championships
  7. Balkan Relay Championships

Championships records

Men

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Championships Place Ref.
100 m 10.11 (+0.5 m/s) Jak Ali Harvey  Turkey 1 August 2015 2015 Championships Pitești, Romania
200 m 20.50 (−0.6 m/s) Sergii Smelyk  Ukraine 3 September 2019 2019 Championships Pravets, Bulgaria [17]
400 m 45.36 Oleksandr Pohorilko  Ukraine 22 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [18]
800 m 1:45.73 Luciano Sušanj  Yugoslavia 2 August 1974 Sofia, Bulgaria
1500 m 3:40.40 Petre Lupan  Romania 5 August 1972 İzmir, Turkey
5000 m 13:42.43 Michalis Kousis  Greece 1978 Thessaloniki, Greece
110 m hurdles 13.28 (+0.9 m/s) Milan Trajkovic  Cyprus 23 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [19]
400 m hurdles 48.71 Yasmani Copello  Turkey 22 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [20]
3000 m steeplechase 8:22.77 Florin Ionescu  Romania 28 June 1997 Athens, Greece
High jump 2.31 m Sorin Matei  Romania 16 July 1988 Ankara, Turkey
Pole vault 5.92 m Emmanouil Karalis  Greece 27 July 2025 2025 Championships Volos, Greece [21]
Long jump 8.36 m (−0.3 m/s) Miltiadis Tentoglou  Greece 20 June 2026 2026 Championships Volos, Greece [22]
Triple jump 17.24 m Marian Oprea  Romania 13 July 2003
28 July 2013		 Thebes, Greece
Stara Zagora
Shot put 21.50 m Armin Sinančević  Serbia 26 June 2021 2021 Championships Smederevo, Serbia [23]
Discus throw 65.44 m Ion Zamfirache  Romania 15 August 1982 Bucharest, Romania
Javelin throw 83.60 m Andrian Mardare  Moldova 20 September 2020 2020 Championships Cluj-Napoca, Romania [24]
Hammer throw 79.16 m Aléxandros Papadimitríou  Greece 12 July 2003 Thebes, Greece
Decathlon 7995 pts Saša Karan  Yugoslavia 1990 Istanbul, Turkey
4 × 100 m relay 39.09 Ertan Ozkan
Kayhan Ozer
Batuhan Altintaş
Ramil Guliyev		  Turkey 22 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [25]
4 × 400 m relay 3:03.94  Yugoslavia 17 July 1988 Ankara, Turkey

Women

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Championships Place Ref.
100 m 10.96 (+0.8 m/s) Ivet Lalova  Bulgaria 2 July 2011 Sliven
200 m 22.45 (+1.2 m/s) Ivet Lalova-Collio  Bulgaria 3 September 2019 2019 Championships Pravets, Bulgaria [26]
400 m 50.98 Jelica Pavličić  Yugoslavia 3 August 1974 Sofia
800 m 1:56.42 Paula Ivan  Romania 16 July 1988 Ankara
1500 m 4:04.56 Corina Dumbrăvean  Romania 24 July 2005 Novi Sad
5000 m 15:16.47 Luiza Gega  Albania 20 June 2022 2022 Championships Craiova, Romania [27]
100 m hurdles 12.26 Yordanka Donkova  Bulgaria 7 September 1986 Ljubljana
400 m hurdles 54.23 Vania Stambolova  Bulgaria 2 July 2011 Sliven
3000 m steeplechase 9:17.89 Luiza Gega  Albania 19 June 2022 2022 Championships Craiova, Romania [28]
High jump 2.01 m Stefka Kostadinova  Bulgaria 6 September 1986 Ljubljana
Pole vault 4.48 m Katerina Stefanidi  Greece 20 June 2026 2026 Championships Volos, Greece [29]
Long jump 7.14 m (+1.2 m/s) Mirela Dulgheru  Romania 5 July 1992 Sofia
Triple jump 14.60 m (+1.7 m/s) Paraskevi Papachristou  Greece 20 July 2018 2018 Championships Stara Zagora, Bulgaria [30]
Shot put 21.11 m Verzhinia Veselinova  Bulgaria 14 June 1980 Sofia
Discus throw 70.20 m Daniela Costian  Romania 17 July 1988 Ankara
Hammer throw 73.97 m Zalina Marghieva  Moldova 2 August 2015 2015 Championships Pitești, Romania
Javelin throw 62.83 m Elina Tzengko  Greece 26 July 2025 2025 Championships Volos, Greece [31]
Heptathlon 6304 pts Emilia Dimitrova  Bulgaria 7 September 1986 Ljubljana
4 × 100 m relay 42.89  Bulgaria 1988 Ankara
4 × 400 m relay 3:27.39  Romania 1985 Stara Zagora

1940 athlete naming

The 1940 shot put champion was listed as Arat Ararat from Turkey. The birth name of this athlete was Sokratis Ioannidis, a Greek Orthodox born in Istanbul. Due to political friction between Turkey and Greece at that time, the Turks decided it would be more politically correct to change his name to Arat Ararat. This was the name he was known by in the athletic circles.

See also

References

  1. Balkan Games - Philately
  2. Balkan Games - website
  3. BALKAN GAMES/CHAMPIONSHIPS
  4. "About Us – Balkan Cycling Union".
  5. "Oλymπiakoi Aγωneσ".
  6. "Balkan Games/Championships".
  7. Unofficial Games
  8. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  9. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  10. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  11. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  12. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  13. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  14. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  15. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  16. "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  17. "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  18. "400m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  19. "110m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  20. "400m Hurdles Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  21. "Pole Vault Results". rosterathletics.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  22. "Long Jump Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  23. "2021 Balkan Athletics Championships Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  24. Jon Mulkeen (20 September 2020). "Mardare highlights Balkan Championships with record-breaking throw". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  25. "4×100m Relay Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  26. "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  27. "5000m Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  28. "3000m Steeplechase Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  29. "Pole Vault Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  30. "Triple Jump Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  31. "Javelin Throw Results". rosterathletics.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.