Volleyball player Aleksandar Nikolov and weightlifter Karlos Nasar were named among the ten nominees for the best athletes of the Balkans for 2025 in the 52nd edition of the traditional survey of the Bulgarian News Agency "Athlete of the Balkans".
Balkan vote with broad participation
The survey included national news agencies from the entire region – BTA (Bulgaria), ANA-MPA (Greece), AGERPRES (Romania), Anadolu Agency (Turkey), TANJUG (Serbia), MINA (Montenegro), MIA (Republic of North Macedonia), HINA (Croatia), FENA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), CNA (Cyprus), ATA (Albania) and KosovaPress (Kosovo), which gives serious weight and representativeness to the ranking.
Bulgaria's volleyball leader
Aleksandar Nikolov solidified his position as a leading name in European and world volleyball after becoming the top scorer at the World Championship in the Philippines. He played a key role in the silver medals won by the Bulgarian national team, and his exceptional performance was also recognized with his inclusion in the tournament's All-Star team.
For Bulgarian volleyball, this is another strong international recognition, which highlights Nikolov's importance not only as a scorer but also as a leader in decisive moments at the biggest forum.
Karlos Nasar's golden year
Karlos Nasar also experienced a remarkable season. He triumphed with the world title in the up to 94 kg category, setting a world record in the clean & jerk. His successes continued at the European Championship, where in the up to 96 kg category he won the gold medal with world records in both the clean & jerk and the total.
Strong competition from elite names
The top 10 for 2025 also included a number of other stars from world sports – Turkish basketball player Alperen Şengün, Romanian swimmer David Popovici, judoka Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo, Greek athlete Emmanouil Karalis, Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutić, Serbian basketball icon Nikola Jokić, rower Stefanos Ntouskos, and Greek basketball leader Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Broad Bulgarian presence
A total of 47 athletes were mentioned in the survey, and among the Bulgarians who received points, names such as Aleksandar Vezenkov, Angel Rusev, Bozhidar Saraboyukov, Stiliyana Nikolova, and Tervel Zamfirov stand out – proof of the strong and diverse Bulgarian presence on the Balkan sports scene.
Awaiting the final vote
The winner and the final results of the survey will be announced on February 16 in Sofia, on the symbolic date when the first news bulletin of BTA was published in 1898.
Top 10 in the "Athlete of the Balkans" survey for 2025 (in alphabetical order):
Aleksandar Nikolov (Bulgaria) – volleyball
Alperen Şengün (Turkey) – basketball
David Popovici (Romania) – swimming
Distria Krasniqi (Kosovo) – judo
Emmanouil Karalis (Greece) – athletics
Zrinka Ljutić (Croatia) – alpine skiing
Karlos Nasar (Bulgaria) – weightlifting
Nikola Jokić (Serbia) – basketball
Stefanos Ntouskos (Greece) – rowing
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) – basketball
For Bulgarian volleyball, the inclusion of Aleksandar Nikolov in this company is a clear sign that the domestic sport continues to have a strong and recognizable voice at the highest Balkan and world level.
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
