European indoor long jump champion Bozhidar Saraboyukov opened his season in excellent form with an outright lifetime best of 8.26m on home soil at the International Lokomotiv Meeting in Plovdiv on Wednesday (21).
Saraboyukov added four centimetres to his lifetime best which dates back to the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships when he won silver behind Mattia Furlani.
Saraboyukov started with an attempt of 8.22m to equal his lifetime best before surpassing his best ever mark with 8.26m in the fourth round, also a world lead at this early juncture of the season. The 21-year-old finished the competition with a marginal foul in the sixth round but his attempt was over 8.30m.
Saraboyukov upset Furlani for the European indoor long jump title in Apeldoorn last March and the pair are due to clash for the first time in 2026 at the Meeting de Paris Indoor, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, on Sunday.
The line-up in Paris also includes Erwan Konate who defeated Saraboyukov for the European U23 long jump title in Bergen last year.
2024 European U18 100m champion Radina Velichkova won the 60m in a 7.43.
Photo: Ivaylo Donchev/BFLA
