Text size

Romanian swimmer David Popovici voted Best Athlete in the Balkans, Bulgaria's Vezenkov placed 8th

published on 12/28/22 1:10 PM

David Popovici in Lima, Peru

Photo: David Popovici/Facebook

The 18-year-old Romanian swimmer David Popovici is the winner of the 49th edition of BTA's "Best Athletes of the Balkans" survey for 2022. The only Bulgarian in the top 10 - the basketball player Alexander Vezenkov - was ranked 8th.

Popovici won the world and European titles in the men's 100m and 200m freestyle, while also setting a new world record in the 100m freestyle. He added a total of ten gold medals from the World and European Junior Championships. This week he was also named the #1 swimmer in Europe for the season.

The national agencies of the countries of the region participated in the traditional survey - BTA (Bulgaria), ANA-MPA (Greece), AGERPRESS (Romania), Anadolu Agency (Turkey), Tanjug (Serbia), MINA (Montenegro), MIA (North Macedonia), HINA (Croatia), FENA (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and ATA (Albania).

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!

Radio Bulgaria Sport Alexander Vezenkov athlete Balkans basketball BTA David Popovici swimmer swimming

More from category

Karlos Nasar aims for gold in the men's 94-kg weight class at the World Weightlifting Championships

Olympic, world and European champion Karlos Nasar will take to the podium on Thursday at the World Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway, competing for gold in his new 94kg category. Victory would earn Nasar his third world title in three..

published on 10/9/25 5:49 PM

Sofia vies with Varna for hosting European volleyball championship

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev expressed the wish for the European volleyball championship in 2026 to take place in Sofia and not in Varna as planned. We confirm the invitation, along with the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, to host the European..

published on 10/9/25 10:24 AM

Maccabi defeats Hapoel in first Israeli basketball derby in Sofia

Hapoel Tel Aviv lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv by 90:103 (25:24, 20:21, 25:27, 20:31) at Arena 8888 in Sofia, in a match from the third round of the Euroleague Basketball - men. This is the first derby between Israel’s two basketball favourites,..

published on 10/9/25 8:56 AM

WEATHER

Pick city: Sofía

Mostly Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 16

BULGARIA IN PICTURES

Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?

Grigor Dimitrov receives yet another nomination for a prestigious sportsmanship award

Grigor Dimitrov has been nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the season on the highest level of men’s tennis – the ATP Tour ...

published on 11/21/25 6:29 PM

Another American joins the Bulgarian women’s national basketball team

The Bulgarian women’s national basketball team will rely on another naturalized player following Khaalia Hillsman. Coach Tanya Gateva will be able to..

published on 11/21/25 10:37 AM

Share