BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year
The BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year, or simply Balkan Athlete of the Year (Bulgarian: БТА спортист на Балканите, romanized: BTA sportist na Balkanite) is an annual sports athlete of the year award. The winner of each year's award is announced by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA). The award is given to the year's top performing individual athlete that has citizenship from one of the nations of the Balkans region, which includes the twelve nations of: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey, and previously included the former nations of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. The award winners are chosen by the votes of a panel of sports journalists and editors from the following ten Balkan nation's news media outlets: the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), which also announces each year's winners, the Romanian AGERPRES, the Greek Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), the Turkish Anatolian Agency (AA), the Croatian News Agency (HINA), the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federal News Agency (FENA), the North Macedonia Media Information Agency (MIA), the Montenegrin News Agency (MINA), and the Serbian TANYUG Correct.
| BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Balkan Athlete |
| Country | The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro (previously), Slovenia, Turkey, Yugoslavia (previously) |
| Presented by | Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA) |
| First awarded | 1973 |
| Most awards |  Novak Djokovic (7×) |
| Website | www |
All athletes that have citizenship from a country that is a part of the Balkans region, both men's and women's, and that compete in all age categories and all levels of competition, are eligible for the award. Balkan athletes from all sports competitions, both individual sports and team sports, are eligible for the award. Balkan athletes are also eligible for the award regardless of what country in the world that they compete in, as they do not have to compete in a Balkans nation to be eligible to win the award.
The first Balkan Athlete of the Year award was given for the year 1973. It was won by Svetla Zlateva, a Bulgarian sprinter and middle-distance runner. The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, has won the most awards, having won the award a total of seven times (2011–2015, 2019, 2021).
Balkan Athlete of the Year award winners (1973–present)
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References
- "Spanoulis named Balkan athlete of the year". reuters.com. December 23, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Zlateva beats Djokovic to win Balkan athlete of year". www.ft.lk. December 23, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- India TV News Desk (December 14, 2011). "Djokovic Chosen Balkan Athlete Of The Year". indiatvnews.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- James Crook (February 2, 2013). "Djokovic named Balkan Athlete of the Year". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Modric wins Balkan athlete of the year award". tribuna.com. December 27, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- Mia / Zaman.mk (January 18, 2017). "Croatia's Perkovic named Balkan Athlete of the Year". zaman.mk. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- Adam Addicott (December 18, 2017). "Grigor Dimitrov Tops Halep To Be Named Balkan Athlete Of 2017". ubitennis.net. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Luka Modric beats Novak Djokovic to win Balkan athlete of year". hindustantimes.com. December 27, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Novak Djokovic named best Balkan athlete for record 7th time; Giannis Antetokounmpo finishes runner-up". espn.com. Associated Press. December 29, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Romanian swimmer Popovici named Best Balkan Athlete of 2022". Associated Press News. apnews.com. December 28, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
External links
- BTA official website (in English)
- BTA official website (in Bulgarian)