A fascinating clash between Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou and European indoor champion Bozhidar Sarâboyukov is among the most eagerly anticipated events at the Balkan Athletics Championships on 26-27 July, which will be streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
The annual championships have a rich history stretching back almost a century to the first edition in Athens 1929 as the Balkan Games. The event returns to Greece this year in Volos and Olympic, world and European champion Tentoglou leads the home challenge.
But Bulgarian Sarâboyukov is not to be taken lightly, he won gold at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Indoor Championships and also took silver at the recent Bergen 2025 European U23 Championships.
Tzenkgo, Španović, Topić head high quality field entries
A total of 22 nations will be represented in Volos, consisting of Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Kosovo, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.
In-form javelin thrower Elina Tzengko is another leading medal hope for the hosts; she has won three Diamond League meetings already this season and also secured maximum points for Greece at the Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division.
The women’s long jump features Serbian contenders Ivana Španović, the world and twice European gold medallist and Milica Gardašević, who was fourth at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Indoor Championships.
Another major Serbian hope for gold is Angelina Topić in the women’s high jump. Fresh from winning gold at the Bergen 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships, the twice European medallist will start favourite amongst a field that also includes Türkiye’s defending champion Buse Savaşkan, who was sixth at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.
The standout name in the men's pole vault is home favourite Emmanouil Karalis who has picked up medals at the last two major championships, including joint gold at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. Karalis recently cleared 6.00m on home soil at the Fly Athens meeting.
Stars of Bergen 2025 chasing more medals
Several more medallists from the Bergen 2025 face a quick return to the championships arena, including Türkiye’s Dilek Koçak in the women’s 800m and 1500m and Romania’s Alexia Ioana Dospin in the women’s triple jump.
Koçak, who took gold over 1500m in Bergen, will start favourite in both middle distance events, but her greatest challenge will likely come over two laps from Greece’s Georgia-Maria Despollari who won 800m bronze at the previous European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo 2023.
Dospin, who breached 14 metres for the first time in her career to win gold in Bergen with 14.05m, faces an experienced field including Španović, Slovenia’s Neja Filipič - sixth at the World Athletics Indoor Championships this year – and Romania’s Paris Olympics finalist Elena Andreea Talos.
Romanian stars pack throws
In the throws, Romania has big medal hopes through 2022 European champion Bianca Ghelber in the women’s hammer, European indoor champion Andrei Toader in the men’s shot put and Paris Olympics finalist Alin Firfirică in the men’s discus.
Although Serbia’s 2022 European silver medallist Armin Sinančević should provide some threat to Toader’s aspirations for gold.
In the men’s hammer, Greece’s Angelos Mantzouranis will be looking to bounce back from his disappointments at Bergen 2025, where he topped the qualification stage, but failed to record a valid throw in the final. He will be keen to quickly get back to the form that brought him a 78.61m personal best this season.
Sub-45 400m men set for exciting clash
On the track, there is a sizzling 400m in prospect. Slovenia’s Rok Ferlan was a brilliant winner in front of his home fans at the Maribor 2025 European Athletics Team Championships 2nd Division in a national record. The same weekend at the 1st Division in Madrid, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Pohorilko clocked a superb national record of 44.81. The two will go head-to-head this weekend.
The men’s 800m looks to be another interesting contest, including Croatia’s 2017 European U20 champion Marino Bloudek and the twice world medallist Amel Tuka of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Armenia’s big medal hope is in the men’s 3000m through Yervand Mkrtchyan who heads the entries.