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

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 event2023
Next event2024
PurposeAthletics event for nations of the Balkans
WebsiteOfficial website

Organization

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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.

Nations

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Former nations

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Editions

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Number Year Host City Country Events
Name:Balkan Games
[4] 1929 Athens   Greece
1 1930 Athens   Greece
2 1931 Athens   Greece
3 1932 Athens   Greece
4 1933 Athens   Greece
5 1934 Zagreb   Yugoslavia
6 1935 Istanbul   Turkey
7 1936 Athens   Greece
8 1937 Bucharest   Romania
9 1938 Belgrade   Yugoslavia
10 1939 Athens   Greece
11 1940 Istanbul   Turkey
1941-1952: Not Held
[4] 1946 Tirana   Albania
[4] 1947 Bucharest   Romania
Name:Balkan Athletics Championships
12 1953 Athens   Greece
13 1954 Belgrade   Yugoslavia
14 1955 Istanbul   Turkey
15 1956 Belgrade   Yugoslavia
16 1957 Athens   Greece
17 1958 Sofia   Bulgaria
18 1959 Bucharest   Romania
19 1960 Athens   Greece
20 1961 Belgrade   Yugoslavia
21 1962 Ankara   Turkey
22 1963 Sofia   Bulgaria
23 1964 Bucharest   Romania
24 1965 Piraeus   Greece
25 1966 Sarajevo   Yugoslavia
26 1967 Istanbul   Turkey
27 1968 Piraeus   Greece
28 1969 Sofia   Bulgaria
29 1970 Bucharest   Romania
30 1971 Zagreb   Yugoslavia
31 1972 İzmir   Turkey
32 1973 Piraeus   Greece
33 1974 Sofia   Bulgaria
34 1975 Bucharest   Romania
35 1976 Celje   Yugoslavia
36 1977 Ankara   Turkey
37 1978 Thessaloniki   Greece
38 1979 Piraeus   Greece
39 1980 Sofia   Bulgaria
40 1981 Sarajevo   Yugoslavia
41 1982 Bucharest   Romania
42 1983 İzmir   Turkey
43 1984 Athens   Greece
44 1985 Stara Zagora   Bulgaria
45 1986 Ljubljana   Yugoslavia
46 1988 Ankara   Turkey
47 1989 Serres   Greece
48 1990 Istanbul   Turkey
49 1992 Sofia   Bulgaria
50 1994 Trikala   Greece
51 1996 Niš   Yugoslavia
52 1997 Athens   Greece
53 1998 Belgrade   Yugoslavia
54 1999 Istanbul   Turkey
55 2000 Kavala   Greece
56 2001 Trikala   Greece
57 2002 Bucharest   Romania
58 2003 Thiva   Greece
59 2004 Istanbul   Turkey
60 2005 Novi Sad   Serbia and Montenegro
61 2006 Athens   Greece
62 2007 Plovdiv   Bulgaria
63 2008 Bar   Montenegro
64 2009 İzmir   Turkey
65 2010 Larisa   Greece
66 2011 Sliven   Bulgaria
67 2012 Eskişehir   Turkey
68 2013 Stara Zagora   Bulgaria
69 2014 Pitești   Romania
70 2015 Pitești   Romania
71 2016 Pitești   Romania
72 2017 Novi Pazar   Serbia
73 2018 Stara Zagora   Bulgaria 42
74 2019 Pravets   Bulgaria 42
75 2020 Cluj-Napoca   Romania 44
76 2021 Smederevo   Serbia 44
77 2022 Craiova   Romania 44
78 2023 Kraljevo   Serbia 44
79 2024 İzmir   Turkey 44

Ranking

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Source:[5]

Year Ranking by Medals
1 2 3 Source
1930   Greece   Bulgaria   Yugoslavia [6]
1931   Greece   Yugoslavia   Romania [7]
1932-2021
2022   Greece   Romania   Turkey [8]
2023   Turkey   Serbia   Ukraine [9]

Results

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Full Results:[10]

Medals (1930-2023)

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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:[11]

Indoor

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Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships[12]

Race Walking

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Balkan Cross Country Championships[13]

Cross Country

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Balkan Race Walking Championships[14]

Masters

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Balkan Masters Athletics Championships

Others

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  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

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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 [15]
400 m 45.36 Oleksandr Pohorilko   Ukraine 22 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [16]
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 [17]
400 m hurdles 48.71 Yasmani Copello   Turkey 22 July 2023 2023 Championships Kraljevo, Serbia [18]
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 5.70 m Emmanouil Karalis   Greece 27 June 2021 2021 Championships Smederevo, Serbia [19]
Long jump 8.18 m NWI Konstadínos Koukodímos   Greece 4 July 1992 Sofia, Bulgaria
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 [20]
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 [21]
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 [22]
4 × 400 m relay 3:03.94   Yugoslavia 17 July 1988 Ankara, Turkey

Women

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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 [23]
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 [24]
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 [25]
High jump 2.01 m Stefka Kostadinova   Bulgaria 6 September 1986 Ljubljana
Pole vault 4.45 m Nikoléta Kiriakopoúlou   Greece 19 July 2008 Argos Orestiko
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 [26]
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 60.60 m Marija Vučenović   Serbia 20 July 2018 2018 Championships Stara Zagora, Bulgaria [27]
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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Balkan Games - Philately
  2. ^ Balkan Games - website
  3. ^ BALKAN GAMES/CHAMPIONSHIPS
  4. ^ a b c Unofficial Games
  5. ^ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  6. ^ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  7. ^ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  8. ^ "Athletics Podium". Athletics Podium. 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. ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  16. ^ "400m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  17. ^ "110m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  18. ^ "400m Hurdles Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  19. ^ "2021 Balkan Athletics Championships Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  20. ^ "2021 Balkan Athletics Championships Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  21. ^ Jon Mulkeen (20 September 2020). "Mardare highlights Balkan Championships with record-breaking throw". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  22. ^ "4×100m Relay Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  23. ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  24. ^ "5000m Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  25. ^ "3000m Steeplechase Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Triple Jump Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Javelin Throw Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
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