Bozhidar Saraboyukov and Plamena Mitkova are Bulgarian track and field athlete for 2023 – Around the world and in our country

Horizontal jumpers Bozhidar Sarboyukov and Plamena Mitkova were named winners of the “Athlete and Athlete of Bulgaria” poll for 2023.

The team of “Athletics” magazine, experts, sports journalists and editors covering athletics in the country, cast their vote in the poll in November. To the votes of the specialists, one vote from the fans of the magazine “Athletica” was added by voting on the publication’s profile on the social network “Facebook” (Meta).

Bozhidar Sarboyukov (long jump and triple jump) convincingly won the first place with 289 points, being ranked first by all 28 experts in the poll, and only in the fan vote he lost to Lachezar Valchev (triple jump).

Second in the survey with 212 points is Tihomir Ivanov (high jump), who was “Athlete of Bulgaria” in 2017, and third is Valchev, who scored a total of 209 points.

For women, Plamena Mitkova (long jump) is #1 with 260 points, and very close to her in the second position is the strongest athlete in long distance running, Militsa Mircheva, with 251.5 points. The third place goes to Alexandra Nacheva (triple jump), who collected 187 points.

The youngest nominee in the poll – 15-year-old Radina Velichkova (100 meters and long jump), is fourth in the standings with 154 points, but with first place among the fans’ votes.

Bozhidar Saraboyukov, who turned 19 on August 6, has had a very strong season in both the junior and men’s divisions. The athlete from Harmanli successfully tries the two horizontal jumps – long jump and triple jump. Back in the winter, the 203-centimeter Saraboyukov improved the national long jump record for under-20s to 7.97 meters and took fourth place at the European Indoor Championships for men and women in Istanbul. His achievement was just a centimeter away from the European indoor junior record.

In the summer, he got off to a flying start in elite athletics with his record long jump run at the U20 European Championships in Jerusalem, Israel. The Bulgarian talent twice improved the national long jump record with 8.18 and 8.22 meters and made three more attempts over eight meters, falling just 1 centimeter short of the European junior long jump title, but receiving a quota for the men’s world championships and women. In the triple jump, the graduate of coach Dimitar Karamfilov won a second silver medal in Jerusalem with a personal record of 16.25 meters and climbed the ladder of honor together with another Bulgarian, Lachezar Valchev, who was third with 16.16 meters.

Plamena Mitkova, who won the girls’ world long jump title in 2022 and continued her excellent performances in 2023 to win the “Athlete of Bulgaria” poll for the second time. Mitkova made her women’s debut at a major competition this season at the European Indoor Championships. Despite nursing an injury over the summer, she won a silver medal at the Under-20 Girls’ Continental Championships in Jerusalem and finished fifth at the European League Two Team Championships. The personal record for the year of Mitkova, who also turned 19 on September 18, is 6.54 meters – the strongest result in Bulgarian athletics for the year.

Results:

Men:
1. Bozhidar Sarboyukov (long jump and triple jump) 289 points.
2. Tihomir Ivanov (high jump) 212
3. Lachezar Valchev (triple jump) 209
4. Hristo Iliev (100 m) 175.5
5. Valentin Andreev (hammer) 160
6. Ivo Balabanov (long distance running) 148
7. Ivan Minkov Ivanov (800 m and 1500 m) 97
8. Stanislav Stankov (110 m hurdles) 80
9. Slavi Mutafov (60 m, 100 m and 200 m) 75
10. Dimitar Tashev (triple jump) 48
11. Georgi Nachev (triple jump) 47
12. Todor Petrov (shotgun) 26.5
13. Martin Balabanov (800 m and 1500 m) 11
14. Yordan Gyurov (400 m and 400 m hurdles) 7
14. Dimo ​​Andreev (hammer) 7
16. Evgeni Enev (shepherd’s jump) 4

Women:
1. Plamena Mitkova (long jump) 260 points.
2. Militsa Mircheva (long distance running) 251.5
3. Alexandra Nacheva (triple jump) 187
4. Radina Velichkova (100 m and long jump) 154
5. Iren Sarboyukova (high jump) 146
6. Marinela Nineva (long distance running) 122
7. Deva-Maria Draghieva (400 m and 400 m hurdles) 103
8. Milena Mitkova (long jump) 73
9. Kristen Radukanova (100 m and 200 m) 57.5
10. Devora Avramova (long distance running) 53
11. Yasna Petrova (long distance running) 51
12. Petya Bozukova (triple jump) 46
13. Kristina Borukova (400 m hurdles) 28
14. Galina Nikolova (60 m and long jump) 19
15. Liliana Georgieva (800 m and 1500 m) 13
16. Nikol Andonova (100 m hurdles) 11

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