World pole vault medallists Emmanouil Karalis and Tina Šutej were named Balkan Athletes of the Year at an awards ceremony in Ptuj, Slovenia, on Friday (3).
Greek athlete Karalis built on his breakthrough season last year, winning gold at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, silver at both the World Indoor Championships and the World Athletics Championships, adding to the Olympic bronze and European silver he claimed in 2024. He also cleared six metres in 12 competitions during the year.
Evergreen 36-year-old Slovenian Šutej enjoyed one of the best seasons of her career, winning her first-ever World Athletics Championships medal with bronze in Tokyo.
She also earned silver medals at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the World Indoor Championships in a prolific campaign.
Saraboyukov and Topić win Rising Star awards
Rising Star awards went to Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Saraboyukov, who won gold in the men’s long jump at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and Serbia’s Angelina Topić, who claimed bronze in the women’s high jump at the World Athletics Championships and gold at the Bergen 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships – completing a full set of European age-group titles.