The star of Bulgarian volleyballAleksandar Nikolovwas chosen as"Athlete of Sofia" for 2025- an acknowledgement that fully reflects the magic he created during the year. The top scorer at the World Championship in the Philippines led Bulgaria tosilver medals, and his performance ignited emotion and pride in an entire nation. With his 36 points, Nikolov convincingly won the poll and was ranked first in more than half of the votes.
Behind him were alpine skierAlbert Popov, who recorded a historic World Cup victory in slalom, and world snowboarding championTervel Zamfirov, who brought Bulgaria its first planetary title in snow Olympic sports.
The poll, conducted among ten authoritative sports journalists, also honored leading names from rhythmic gymnastics, motorsport, tennis, snowboarding, and fencing.
Overall Ranking "Athlete of Sofia 2025":
Aleksandar Nikolov (volleyball) - 36 pts.
Albert Popov (alpine skiing) - 21 pts.
Tervel Zamfirov (snowboarding) - 16 pts.
Stiliyana Nikolova (rhythmic gymnastics) - 8 pts.
Nikola Tsolov (motorsport) - 5 pts.
Malena Zamfirova (snowboarding) - 2 pts.
Aleksandar Vasilev (tennis) and Yoana Ilieva (fencing) - 1 point each.
The award ceremony will traditionally take place inThe Museum of Sport, with the date being coordinated with the competitive commitments of the award recipients.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
