| 2019 Balkan Athletics Championships | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2–3 September |
| Host city | Pravets, Bulgaria |
| Venue | Pravets Sports Complex |
| Level | Senior |
| Type | Outdoor |
| Events | 40 |
| Participation | 19 nations |
| Records set | 3 championship records |
The 2019 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 74th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at the Pravets Sports Complex in Pravets, Bulgaria on 2 and 3 September. It was the first time that the city hosted the competition.
Three championship records were broken: both 200 metres records were improved (the men's by Ukraine's Serhiy Smelyk in 20.50 seconds, and the women's by Bulgarian Ivet Lalova-Collio, who ran 22.45 seconds), while Greek men's pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis cleared a record height of 5.66 m. Lalova-Collio won a sprint double in the women's 100 metres and 200 m while Smelyk won golds for Ukraine in the 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay. Ukraine was the most successful nation at the competition, topping the medal table with 18 medals (nine of them gold). Romania also won 18 medals, though only five golds. Greece, Turkey and host nation Bulgaria all won five or more gold medals. [1]
Romanian men's throwers Andrei Gag and Alin Alexandru Firfirică successfully defended their titles. In women's jumps Mirela Demireva (high jump), Buse Arıkazan (pole vault) and Paraskevi Papachristou (triple jump) all repeated their victories from 2018. Serbia's Teodora Simović (5000 m) was the sole individual to retain a track title while her compatriot Marija Vučenović took her third straight javelin throw title.
| 1 |  Ukraine | 9 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| 2 |  Greece | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 |  Turkey | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 4 |  Romania | 5 | 8 | 5 | 18 |
| 5 |  Bulgaria | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| 6 |  Serbia | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 |  Cyprus | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 |  Israel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Armenia | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| 10 |  Croatia | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| - |  Slovenia | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| 12 |  Moldova | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 13 |  Kosovo | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| 14 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | - | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 15 |  Montenegro | - | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 |  Georgia | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| 17 |  Albania | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 42 | 42 | 40 | 124 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed to IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1987. The current name was adapted with the name change of the sports governing body in 2019.
The 2003 European Athletics Junior Championships was held in Tampere, Finland from 23 to 27 July 2003. A total of 44 events were contested; 22 by men and 22 by women. Germany had the biggest medal haul with nine golds and a total of 26, closely followed by Russia. Great Britain was third with 17 medals, while Romania was fourth with ten medals. Four championship records were set at the competition, although three were as a result of using lighter implements in the men's throwing events.
Ivet Miroslavova Lalova-Collio is a Bulgarian athlete who specialises in the 100 metres and 200 metres sprint events. She is the 13th-fastest woman in the history of the 100 metres. She finished fourth in the 100 metres and fifth in the 200 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her career was interrupted for two years between June 2005 and May 2007 due to a leg injury sustained in a collision with another athlete. In June 2012 she won gold at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in the Women's 100 metres. In July 2016 she won two silver medals at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in both the Women's 100 and 200 metres. She has participated in five editions of the Olympic Games.
Tezdzhan Naimova is a Bulgarian sprinter of Turkish descent. She specializes in both the 60, 100 and 200 metres.
The 1989 Asian Athletics Championships was the eighth edition of the international outdoor athletics competition between Asian nations, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. The six-day competition was held from 14–19 November at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India. It featured 40 events, 22 for men and 18 for women, with the steeplechase, pole vault, triple jump and hammer throw competitions being for men only. China comfortably topped the medal table, winning over half the events with 21 golds among a total of 42. The host nation, India, was clear runner-up with eight golds and 22 medals, while Japan was the only other nation to breach double figures. A total of 19 nations reached the medal table.
The athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place in the Stadio Cibali in Catania, Sicily (Italy) at the end of August 1997, shortly after the World Championships in Athens, Greece. New events were the women's hammer throw, pole vault and half marathon competition. The marathon was dropped from the programme in favour of the half distance. A total of 23 men's and 22 women's events were contested.
At the 1994 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held in July at the Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 were by male and 22 by female athletes. The marathon event was dropped for the 1994 edition and racewalking events took place on the track, making the entire athletics programme a track-and-field-onlyaffair. The United States won the most gold medals (18) in the athletics competition, but Russia had the greatest total medal haul, winning 41 medals, 10 of which were gold. Cuba, Great Britain and Kenya were the next best achievers in the medal count.
The 1996 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics was the seventh edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations which was held at the Estadio Alfonso Galvis Duque in Medellín, Colombia from 9–12 May.
At the 2001 SEA Games, the athletics events were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 46 events were contested, of which 24 by male and 22 by female athletes. The track and field events were hosted at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, the marathons were held around Merdeka Square, and the racewalking events took place at Titiwangsa Lake Gardens.
At the 2013 National Games of China, the athletics events were held at the Crystal Crown in Shenyang, People's Republic of China from 7–11 September, 2013. The walks and marathon events were held in May, prior to the main track and field competitions.
Gabriela Mihalcea is a Romanian former track and field athlete who competed in the high jump and pole vault. She holds the Romanian record of 4.25 m for the pole vault. She was two-time national champion in high jump and a six-time pole vault champion.
In 2017, the foremost athletics event was the World Championships in London. The other major global-level competition in 2017 was the World Cross Country Championships.
The 2018 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 73rd edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Beroe Stadium in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria on 20 and 21 July. It was the fourth time that the city hosted the competition, following the 1985, 2011 and 2013 editions.
The Bulgarian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Bulgarian Athletic Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Bulgaria.
The Romanian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Romanian Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Romania.
The Ukrainian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ukrainian Athletic Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Ukraine.
The 2015 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 74th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Stadionul Nicolae Dobrin in Pitești, Romania on 1 and 2 August. The host nation Romania won the most medals at the competition, with 28, and the Turkey won the most gold medals, at 10. The competition was originally scheduled to take place in Serres, Greece, but the venue was changed due to a lack of funding, in the context of the Greek government-debt crisis.
The 2014 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 67th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Stadionul Nicolae Dobrin in Pitești, Romania on 26 and 27 July. The host nation Romania topped the medal table with fourteen gold medals among a total haul of 32. Turkey and Bulgaria each won seven gold medals.
The 2013 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 66th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Beroe Stadium in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria on 27 and 28 July. Romania topped the medal table with eleven gold medals among a total haul of 26. The host nation Bulgaria had the second highest number of gold medals, with nine in a total of 21, while Turkey had the second highest medal total with 23. Turkey won the men's side of the competition while Romania won the women's side.
The 2011 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 64th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Stadion Hadzhi Dimitar in Sliven, Bulgaria on 2 and 3 July.