The Bulgarian men's national volleyball team was chosen as Team of the Year in the "Sports Icarus" poll of the "Bulgarian Sport" Foundation. The award came with full unanimity after the historic second place at the World Championship in the Philippines – a result that returned our men's volleyball among the leading forces on the planet.
"This was the most successful and most emotional year for Bulgarian volleyball. We started with the U19 world champions. We finished fittingly with second place at the men's World Championship. We united the entire nation and showed that when you work correctly, when everyone – athletes, coaching staff, federation, and fans – looks in the same direction, things happen," stated the President of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Lyubomir Ganev, during the ceremony.
The "Sports Icarus" award for Athlete of the Year was awarded for the second consecutive year to the Olympic and world weightlifting champion Karlos Nasar. He was not personally present at the ceremony, which began with a minute of silence in memory of the departed great Bulgarian athletes and figures Boyan Radev and Ivan Evstatiev. In the past season, Nasar became European champion for the third time at the championship in Moldova, and later triumphed at the World Championship in Norway, where he set a world record in the clean & jerk in the up to 94 kg category.
In the other categories, Radoslav Yankov received the award for championship longevity. The Breakthrough in World Sport awards were presented to snowboarder Malena Zamfirova and volleyball player Simeon Nikolov – another recognition of volleyball's strong presence among the elite of Bulgarian sport. For their commendable performance, his brother Aleksandar Nikolov, European indoor athletics champion Bozhidar Saraboyukov, and biathlete Milena Todorova were honored.
Special awards in the Paralympics and Deaflympics categories were awarded to Ruzhdi Ruzhdi and Nikolay Hristov, respectively. A large portion of the award winners did not take part in the ceremony.
