SOFIA, Bulgaria — On Friday, Miltiadis Tentoglou, the Greek long jumper, was honored as the Best Balkan Athlete of the Year for 2024.
The 26-year-old athlete achieved significant milestones, including winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year, and he currently holds titles as the reigning world indoor champion and European champion.
Tentoglou secured the top spot in the voting process with a total of 61 votes, marking the first time in 15 years that a Greek athlete has clinched this prestigious recognition.

In the rankings, Romanian swimmer David Popovici finished in second place, while Serbian NBA player Nikola Jokic came in third.
The results from the annual poll were released by the Bulgarian News Agency, with a total of 38 athletes receiving votes this year.
Notably, Bulgarian weightlifter Carlos Nasar and Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, an eight-time award recipient, tied for fourth place.

The Balkan poll, which determines the region’s most outstanding athletes, is traditionally coordinated by various national news agencies from countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.