The Balkan Masters Athletics Championships is an annual international athletics competition between masters athletes aged 35 and over from nations in the Balkans. It is typically held over two or three days in September. It features a full programme of track and field events, plus a half marathon. [1] Organised by Balkan Masters Athletics, it was first held in 1991 and has been held every year since. The competition was the organisation's first regular championships, and was followed by a Balkan Masters Cross Country Championships in 2007 and a Balkan Masters Indoor Athletics Championships in 2015. [2] [3]
| Edition | Year | City | Country | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | Athens | Greece | 21 September |
| 2 | 1992 | Istanbul | Turkey | 19 September |
| 3 | 1993 | Bucharest | Romania | 18–19 September |
| 4 | 1994 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 17–18 September |
| 5 | 1995 | Istanbul | Turkey | 16–17 September |
| 6 | 1996 | Athens | Greece | 28–29 September |
| 7 | 1997 | Bucharest | Romania | 6–7 September |
| 8 | 1998 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 11–12 July |
| 9 | 1999 | İzmir | Turkey | 23–24 October |
| 10 | 2000 | Katerini | Greece | 9–10 September |
| 11 | 2001 | Belgrade | Serbia | 15–16 September |
| 12 | 2002 | Istanbul | Turkey | 7–8 September |
| 13 | 2003 | Katerini | Greece | 20–21 September |
| 14 | 2004 | Istanbul | Turkey | 11–12 September |
| 15 | 2005 | Novi Sad | Serbia | 24–25 September |
| 16 | 2006 | Athens | Greece | 23–24 September |
| 17 | 2007 | Plovdiv | Bulgaria | 6–7 October |
| 18 | 2008 | Bar | Montenegro | 4–5 October |
| 19 | 2009 | İzmir | Turkey | 26–27 September |
| 20 | 2010 | Larissa | Greece | 18–19 September |
| 21 | 2011 | Domžale | Slovenia | 2–4 September |
| 22 | 2012 | İzmir | Turkey | 21–23 September |
| 23 | 2013 | Zagreb | Croatia | 6–8 September |
| 24 | 2014 | Bucharest | Romania | 19–21 September |
| 25 | 2015 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 18–19 September |
| 26 | 2016 | Novi Sad | Serbia | 23–25 September |
| 27 | 2017 | Stara Zagora | Bulgaria | 22–24 September |
| 28 | 2018 | Celje | Slovenia | 21–23 September |
| 29 | 2019 | Bucharest | Romania | 19–22 September |
| 30 | 2021 | Korce | Albania | 17–19 September |
| 31 | 2022 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 23–25 September |
2020 not held.
Source: [5]
1991-2022: [6]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Greece | 1,971 | 1,445 | 1,074 | 4,490 |
| 2 |  Romania | 1,578 | 1,077 | 740 | 3,395 |
| 3 |  Bulgaria | 1,267 | 829 | 603 | 2,699 |
| 4 |  Turkey | 1,117 | 994 | 699 | 2,810 |
| 5 |  Slovenia | 749 | 402 | 251 | 1,402 |
| 6 |  Serbia | 522 | 479 | 354 | 1,355 |
| 7 |  Croatia | 329 | 244 | 169 | 742 |
| 8 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 132 | 93 | 53 | 278 |
| 9 |  Albania | 117 | 88 | 156 | 361 |
| 10 |  Montenegro | 103 | 74 | 55 | 232 |
| 11 |  Moldova | 59 | 33 | 24 | 116 |
| 12 |  Kosovo | 5 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| 13 |  North Macedonia | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Totals (13 entries) | 7,952 | 5,768 | 4,194 | 17,914 | |
2015-2018: [10]
 | This article needs to be updated.(November 2022) |
The Balkans, corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria.
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of the region, due to political, economic, historical, cultural, and geographical considerations.
The 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005. This was the first edition to be held in an odd year since switching to the biennial format, so as not to occur in the same as the outdoor European Athletics Championships and also recently moved IAAF World Indoor Championships. To accommodate this change, there was a two-year gap since the previous edition. It also marked the last time that the 200 metres were contested at the event.
The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched on Bulgaria's initiative in 1996. At the Bulgaria-chaired meeting in Sofia, the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries laid the foundations for regional co-operation for the purposes of creating an atmosphere of trust, good neighbourly relations and stability.
The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the European Boxing Confederation. The first edition of the tournament took place in 1924, although the first 'competitive' championships were hosted by the city of Stockholm (Sweden) in 1925.
The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games 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, and the most recent were being held in İzmir in 2024.
Darko Šarović is a Serbian medical doctor, PhD in child psychiatry, Master of Science in psychology, and former professional athlete who specialised in the short sprint events, holding a national 100m record. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He holds both Serbian and Swedish citizenships.
The Balkan Cross Country Championships has since 1958 been an annual regional international competition in cross country running amongst athletes from the Balkans. It forms part of the Balkan Games, the latter an event to encourage the relations amongst the participating nations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and it traces its history back to 1940. There were no races in 2010). It is organised by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations
The 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 5 to 8 March 2015 in the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships, also known as the Balkan Indoor Games, is an annual international regional indoor track and field competition between athletes from the Balkans. Following a test event in 1991, it was officially launched in 1994. Organised by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations (ABAF), it is typically held in February. The competition complemented the long-running annual outdoor track and field tournament: the Balkan Games.
Izmir Smajlaj is an Albanian athlete who specialises in the long jump. He won the gold medal at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, the first gold medal for his country at a major athletics competition, setting a new national and personal record of 8.08 metres in 2017.
The 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held between 3 and 5 March 2017 at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. This was the second time this event was held in the city after the 1969 edition then known as the European Indoor Games, and the first time in more than 30 years that the competition was held in Eastern Europe. The three-day competition featured 13 men's and 13 women's athletics events and took place over two morning and three afternoon sessions.
The Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations, commonly known as Balkan Athletics is the organisation which organises the annual senior Balkan Athletics Championships and Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as other competitions at junior and youth level on track and field and other surfaces.
The 2017 Balkan Athletics Championships was the 76th edition of the annual track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held at Novi Pazar Athletics Stadium in Novi Pazar, Serbia on 15 and 16 July. The host nation Serbia won the most titles at the competition, with nine, and also shared the highest medal total with Romania, at 21. Romania finished top of the team points table.
The 2019 Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships was the 24th edition of the annual indoor track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held on 16 February at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.
Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel is a Romanian freestyle wrestler. She won one of the bronze medals in the 72 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a three-time medalist, including gold, in her event at the European Wrestling Championships.
The 18th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 18 to 20 March 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Buse Arıkazan is a Turkish pole vaulter. She is a member of Enka SK in Istanbul. She holds national records both outdoor and indoor. She studied Exercise and Sport Science at Hacettepe University in Ankara.
The 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held from 2 to 5 March 2023 at the Ataköy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, the first time the event took place in this country although the venue did stage the 2012 World Indoor Championships for which this 7000-seater was specifically built. The four-day competition was held during the centenary year of the Republic of Turkey, and featured 13 men's and 13 women's athletics events over three morning and four afternoon sessions.
