By Şevket F. ERBAY
All 22 nations registered with the Balkan Athletics Union have contested the deeply rooted Balkan Seniors Athletics Championships in the Greek city of Volos. The action-packed two days ended with Turkish & Greek rivalry, as the two teams took a combined 67 of the 174 medals available. However, Turkey returned to the top ahead of Greece after amassing 13 titles.
The final men’s event of the programme sees a massive feat. In the 4x400 metres, the four-time defending champion Ukraine competed against strong rivals such as Turkey and Slovenia. The Turkish quartet secured the lead after the second change but was challenged by Slovenian until the end. But hurdler Ismail Nezir stormed to the finish line ahead of Lovro Mesec Kosir of Slovenia to stop the clock at 3:03.04 - championship record. The previous mark set by the former Yugoslav team in Ankara in 1988, 3:03.94, remained unbroken until today.
Australian-born Maltese half-miler Jared Micallef headlines one of the day's stories. The 28-year-old contested the 800 metres and defeated pre-favourite Omer Faruk Bozdag of Turkey on the final stretch. Micallef greatly accelerated in the neck-and-neck battle against Bozdag, clocking 1:46.93 to claim gold. This hard-fought victory gave Malta its first-ever Balkan title since its participation began in 2023.
Armenia’s Yervant Mrktcyan hits 10 medals in total after winning the 3000 metres ahead of young Turk Mert Selek. He was strongly tested by Selek but secured the title by establishing a personal best of 7:52.75. Mkrtcyan has won five golds, three silvers, and two bronzes at the Balkan Champs since 2016.
FIRFIRICA EQUALLED SILLAS
Romanian discus thrower Alin Firfirica claimed his eighth Balkan title in 11 years, becoming the second man to do so after Greece’s 1930s star Nikolaos Syllas. The 14-time Balkan champion Syllas won eight discus throws in the 1932-40 period, and added another six victories in the Greek-style discus event during that time. The 31-year-old Firfirica has equalled the most wins by a Balkan athlete in the discus throw and seems set to easily surpass Syllas in the near future.
Young Greek runner Iouliana Roussou took victory in the 1500 metres over compatriot Koraini Kyriakopoulou, earning a historic medal for the host nation. Previously, Greece had scored a single victory in that very event, and Roussou brought the second one after 25 years.
The experienced pole vaulter and former Olympic champion, Ekaterina Stefanidi, claimed her first-ever Balkan title in her 20-year-long career. She tied with fellow Greek athlete Ariadni Adamopoulou in 4.48 metres, but sealed the gold after a countback.
And the summary has to conclude with a couple of notes from the veterans: The 46-year-old Olympic champion Yipsi Moreno won a silver medal in the hammer throw contest. She changed her nationality from Cuba to Albania a couple of years ago and represented the Balkan nation at Tokyo 2025 last year. And, another veteran, the 44-year-old Dmitrios Tsiamis, an evergreen Greek jumper, secured yet another medal in the triple jump. He leapt 16.18 metres and grabbed a bronze medal in the final.
