Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships

(Redirected from Balkan Indoor Championships)

The Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships, also known as the Balkan Indoor Games (Greek: Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες Κλειστού Στίβου), is an annual international regional indoor track and field competition between athletes from the Balkans. Following a test event in 1991,[1] it was officially launched in 1994.[2] Organised by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations (ABAF), it is typically held in February.[3][4][5] The competition complemented the long-running annual outdoor track and field tournament: the Balkan Games.[6]

Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships
Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες Κλειστού Στίβου
First event1994
Occur everyYear
PurposeIndoor track and field event between Balkan nations
OrganiserAssociation of the Balkan Athletics Federations

It received strong support from the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association – until 2002, the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus,[7][8] Greece was the permanent host, as this was the only international standard indoor track and field arena in the region at that point. The Peania Indoors Arena, in the Metropolitan area of the Greek capital, took on hosting duties from 2003 to 2006, then began alternating with the Faliro, Piraeus stadium.[2] The event was cancelled in both 2010 and 2011 due to the insolvency of the Greek athletics body, linked to the Greek government-debt crisis.[9] The event was continued in 2012 with Turkey as the new host nation, which had built the Ataköy Athletics Arena for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The Balkan competition served as a major test event for the global championships.[10][11]

The programme of events has been similar to that of the IAAF World Indoor Championships, except for the omission of the combined track and field events and (usually) the 4 × 400 metres relay. Women's pole vault was introduced in 1998, giving the sexes event parity, and the 200 metres for both sexes was dropped after 2005 in line with international standards. The 1994 championships featured racewalking competitions, but these were dropped for subsequent editions.[2] In addition to individual titles, a men's and a women's team title is awarded to the best performing nation in each section. Both medal tables and points tables are collated, with the points score contributing to the team title.[12][13] The points table was introduced in 2002.

A total of seventeen nations have entered the competition during its history, with Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro being former competitors; all successor states of Yugoslavia have since competed independently, bar Kosovo.[12] The initial competition was between six nations, which expanded to nine by the end of the 1990s. The number of competing nations was further expanded between 2011 and 2014, with five more countries being admitted by the ABAF. Azerbaijan has also competed as a guest nation; its performances were discounted for medal and points-scoring purposes.[14] Romania and Greece have historically been the most successful nations at the event, although Turkey has been the most dominant since 2012.

Editions

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Edition Year Stadium City Country Dates No. of
events
No. of
athletes
Men's winner[nb1] Women's winner[nb1]
1991 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece January 22   Romania   Romania
1 1994 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 20 February 25   Romania   Romania
2 1995 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 25 February 23   Greece   Romania
3 1996 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 24 February 23   Greece   Romania
4 1997 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 22 February 23   Greece   Romania
5 1998 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 22 February 24   Romania   Romania
6 1999 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 13 February 24   Greece   Romania
7 2000 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 12 February 24   Bulgaria   Romania
8 2001 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 18 February 24   Greece   Greece
9 2002 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 23 February 24   Greece   Greece
10 2003 Peania Indoors Arena Paiania Greece 4 March 24   Romania   Greece
11 2004 Peania Indoors Arena Paiania Greece 28 February 24   Romania   Romania
12 2005 Peania Indoors Arena Paiania Greece 16 February 24   Greece   Romania
13 2006 Peania Indoors Arena Paiania Greece 22 February 22   Romania   Romania
14 2007 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 21 February 22   Romania   Romania
15 2008 Peania Indoors Arena Paiania Greece 9 February 22   Romania   Romania
16 2009 Peace and Friendship Stadium Piraeus Greece 21 February 22   Romania   Romania
2010 Cancelled
2011 Cancelled
17 2012 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 18 February 22   Greece   Turkey
18 2013 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 23 February 22   Turkey   Romania
19 2014 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 22 February 22   Turkey   Romania
20 2015 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 21 February 22   Turkey   Turkey
21 2016 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 27 February 22   Romania   Romania
22 2017 Kombank Arena Belgrade Serbia 25 February 22   Turkey   Greece
23 2018 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 17 February 24   Romania   Romania
24 2019 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 16 February 24   Turkey   Ukraine
25 2020 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 15 February 24   Ukraine   Romania
26 2021 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 20 February 24   Turkey   Ukraine
27 2022 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 5 March 24   Turkey   Turkey
28 2024 Ataköy Athletics Arena Istanbul Turkey 10 February[15]
  • nb1 Team winners decided by medals up to 2001, with the points scoring format introduced in 2002.

Ranking

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Year Ranking by Medals
1 2 3 Source
1994   Romania   Bulgaria   Greece [16]
1995   Romania   Greece   Bulgaria [17]
1996-2021
2022   Turkey   Romania   Slovenia [18]
2024   Turkey   Romania   Slovenia [19]

Medals (1994-2024)

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Romania208144110462
2  Greece130148118396
3  Bulgaria8210391276
4  Turkey749498266
5  Serbia313545111
6  Croatia22182565
7  Yugoslavia16265395
8  Albania16101844
9  Ukraine1512835
10  Slovenia14111136
11  Bosnia and Herzegovina1391335
12  Moldova12161846
13  Cyprus98522
14  Armenia64414
15  Israel3069
16  Austria2237
17  Azerbaijan2114
18  Montenegro17311
19  North Macedonia15713
20  Georgia1438
21  Kosovo0202
Totals (21 entries)6586596401,957

Source:[20]

Participation

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Nation First appearance
  Greece 1991
  Albania 1991
  Bulgaria 1991
  Romania 1991
  Turkey 1991
  North Macedonia 1996
  Moldova 1996
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1998
  Serbia 2007
  Montenegro 2007
  Croatia 2011
  Armenia 2013
  Cyprus 2014
  Slovenia 2014
  Georgia 2014
  Israel 2016?[21]
  Ukraine 2019
  Yugoslavia 1991
  Serbia and Montenegro 1994–2002[nb2]
2003–2006

Championships records

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Key:   Defunct event

Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Meet Place Ref
60 m 6.58 Georgios Theodoridis   Greece 13 February 1999 1999 Championships Athens, Greece
200 m 21.25 Ioan Vieru   Romania 28 February 2004 2004 Championships Paiania, Greece [22]
400 m 46.35 Iliya Dzhivondov   Bulgaria 12 February 2000 2000 Championships Athens, Greece
800 m 1:48.19 Oleg Myronets   Ukraine 20 February 2021 2021 Championships Istanbul, Turkey [23]
1500 m 3:37.49 İlham Tanui Özbilen   Turkey 23 February 2013 2013 Championships Istanbul, Turkey
3000 m 7:42.49 Polat Kemboi Arıkan   Turkey 18 February 2012 2012 Championships Istanbul, Turkey
60 m hurdles 7.57 Gheorghe Boroi   Romania 20 February 1994 1994 Championships Athens, Greece
High jump 2.32 m Cristian Popescu   Romania 20 February 1994 1994 Championships Athens, Greece
Pole vault 5.76 m Ivan Horvat   Croatia 25 February 2017 2017 Championships Belgrade, Serbia [24]
Long jump 8.10 m Bogdan Tudor   Romania 25 February 1995 1995 Championships Athens, Greece
Triple jump 17.51 m Marian Oprea   Romania 22 February 2006 2006 Championships Paiania, Greece
Shot put 20.77 m Stipe Žunić   Croatia 25 February 2017 2017 Championships Belgrade, Serbia [25]
Mesud Pezer   Bosnia and Herzegovina 17 February 2018 2018 Championships Istanbul, Turkey [26]
4 × 400 m relay 3:10.36 Andrei Remus
Mihai Dringo
Simon Denis
Robert Parge
  Romania 5 March 2022 2022 Championships Istanbul, Turkey [27]

Women

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Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Meet Place Ref
60 m 7.13 Tezdzhan Naimova   Bulgaria 21 February 2007 2007 Championships Athens, Greece
200 m 23.70 Angela Moroșanu   Romania 16 February 2005 2005 Championships Paiania, Greece [28]
400 m 51.06 Vania Stambolova   Bulgaria 22 February 2006 2006 Championships Paiania, Greece
800 m 1:59.82 Mihaela Neacșu   Romania 21 February 2007 2007 Championships Athens, Greece
1500 m 4:06.89 Luiza Gega   Albania 27 February 2016 2006 Championships Istanbul, Turkey
3000 m 8:55.22 Cristina Grosu   Romania 23 February 2002 2002 Championships Athens, Greece
60 m hurdles 8.02 Andrea Ivančević   Croatia 27 February 2016 2016 Championships Istanbul, Turkey
High jump 1.97 m Stefka Kostadinova   Bulgaria 20 February 1994 1994 Championships Athens, Greece
Pole vault 4.60 m Iana Gladiichuk   Ukraine 20 February 2021 2021 Championships Istanbul, Turkey [29]
Long jump 6.96 m Ivana Španović   Serbia 25 February 2017 2017 Championships Belgrade, Serbia [30]
Triple jump 14.84 m Hrysopiyi Devetzi   Greece 4 March 2003 2003 Championships Paiania, Greece
Shot put 19.30 m Anca Heltne   Romania 21 February 2009 2009 Championships Athens, Greece
4 × 400 m relay 3:33.76 Kateryna Klymiuk
Tetiana Melnyk
Anastasiia Bryzgina
Anna Ryzhykova
  Ukraine 16 February 2019 2019 Championships Istanbul, Turkey [31]

References

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  1. ^ Ματιές στα Σπορ (Survey of Sports), vol. 29 (January 1992), p. 43.
  2. ^ a b c Balkan Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  3. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (2013-02-24). World leads by Lavillenie in Metz and Lendore, Duncan and Dendy in Fayetteville. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  4. ^ Oprea eager for Moscow gold and World record - Balkan Indoor Champs report. IAAF (2006-02-23). Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  5. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (2014-02-22). Beitia clears two metres, Fassinotti sets Italian record – indoor champs round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  6. ^ The Balkan Games in transition. IAAF (2001-02-19). Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  7. ^ "Results | Balkan Athletics Official Website". 29 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες (Balkan Games) | StivoZ.gr". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  9. ^ No Athens Indoor meeting this year or Balkan Indoor Games Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  10. ^ Turkish medal hopes and venue tested - Istanbul 2012 . IAAF (2012-02-20). Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  11. ^ Results. Association of Balkan Athletic Federations. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  12. ^ a b Balkan Indoor Championships 2015 TEAM POINTS - MEN Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Association of Balkan Athletic Federations. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  13. ^ Balkan Indoor Championships 2015 TEAM POINTS - WOMEN Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Association of Balkan Athletic Federations. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  14. ^ 20th Balkan Indoor Championships 2015 Istanbul, TUR/Men/Full Results Men.pdf Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. ABAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-04.
  15. ^ "Events Calendar | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Athletics Podium".
  18. ^ "Athletics Podium".
  19. ^ "Athletics Podium".
  20. ^ "Athletics Podium".
  21. ^ 21st Balkan Indoor Championships 2016 Istanbul, TUR --- Results (Women's) --- Balkan-Athletics.EU
  22. ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  23. ^ "2021 Balkan Indoor Championships – Men's Results" (PDF). ABAF. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Pole Vault Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Shot Put Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Balkan Indoor Championships 2018 Results" (PDF). TAF. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  27. ^ "2022 Balkan Indoor Championships – Men's Results" (PDF). TAF. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  28. ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  29. ^ "2021 Balkan Indoor Championships – Women's Results" (PDF). ABAF. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Long Jump Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  31. ^ "Balkan Indoor Championships 2019 Men's Results" (PDF). ABAF. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
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