The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games (Greek: Βαλκανικοί Αγώνες) is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans and organized by Balkan Athletics. The first games were held in Athens in 1929,[1] and the most recent were being held in Craiova, Romania, in 2022.[2]
 Poster of the first Balkan Games (1929) | |
| First event | 1929 |
|---|---|
| Occur every | year (except 1941–1945, 1948-1952, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1995) |
| Last event | 2022 |
| Next event | 2023 |
| Purpose | Athletics event for nations of the Balkans |
| Website | Official website |
Organization edit
The Games of 1929 were unofficial, and organized by the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS). They became formalized after 1930 and have been held regularly since, with the exception of the 1940–1953 period due to the Second World War and post-war turmoil. In 1946 and 1947, unofficial Games were organized, under the name Balkan and Central European Games, which Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary (1947) also participated.[3]
SEGAS were also central to the creation of the Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships in 1994 – a sister indoor event to the main outdoor competition.
Nations edit
Greece (from 1929)
Romania (from 1929)
Bulgaria (from 1929)
Turkey (from 1931)
Albania (from 1946)
Slovenia (from 1992)
Croatia (from 1992)
North Macedonia (from 1992)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (from 1992)
Moldova (from 1992)
Montenegro (from 2006)
Serbia (from 2006)
Armenia (from 2013)
Cyprus (from 2014)
Georgia (from 2014)
Israel (from 2015)
Kosovo (from 2016)
San Marino (from 2016)
Ukraine (from 2016)
Azerbaijan (from 2017)
Austria (from 2018)
Former nations edit
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1940)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1953-1990)
Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2005)
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Editions edit
Ranking edit
Source:[5]
| Year | Ranking by Medals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Source | |
| 1930 |  Greece |
 Bulgaria |
 Yugoslavia |
[6] |
| 1931 | Greece |
Yugoslavia |
 Romania |
[7] |
| 1932-2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Greece |
Romania |
 Turkey |
[8] |
| 2023 | Turkey |
 Serbia |
 Ukraine |
[9] |
Results edit
Full Results:[10]
Medals (1930-2023) edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 754 | 699 | 641 | 2094 |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 563 | 538 | 488 | 1589 |
| 3 | Greece | 544 | 539 | 515 | 1598 |
| 4 | Yugoslavia | 386 | 365 | 361 | 1112 |
| 5 | Turkey | 165 | 215 | 271 | 651 |
| 6 | Serbia | 78 | 62 | 71 | 211 |
| 7 |  Serbia and Montenegro | 37 | 57 | 78 | 172 |
| 8 | Ukraine | 35 | 34 | 17 | 86 |
| 9 |  Croatia | 24 | 36 | 40 | 100 |
| 10 |  Moldova | 22 | 43 | 43 | 108 |
| 11 |  Slovenia | 17 | 13 | 20 | 50 |
| 12 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 15 | 25 | 37 | 77 |
| 13 |  Albania | 15 | 19 | 30 | 64 |
| 14 |  Cyprus | 11 | 13 | 16 | 40 |
| 15 |  Austria | 7 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
| 16 |  Montenegro | 6 | 4 | 14 | 24 |
| 17 |  Armenia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 18 |  Israel | 3 | 10 | 12 | 25 |
| 19 |  North Macedonia | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 |
| 20 |  Authorised Neutral Athletes | 1 | 6 | 11 | 18 |
| 21 |  Azerbaijan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 |  Kosovo | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 23 |  Georgia | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Totals (23 entries) | 2693 | 2700 | 2686 | 8079 | |
Source:[11]
Indoor edit
Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships
Source:[12]
Race Walking edit
Balkan Cross Country Championships
Source:[13]
Cross Country edit
Balkan Race Walking Championships
Source:[14]
Masters edit
Balkan Masters Athletics Championships
Others edit
Championships records edit
Men edit
Women edit
1940 athlete naming edit
The 1940 shot put champion was listed as Arat Ararat from Turkey. The birth name of this athlete was Sokratis Ioannidis, a Greek Orthodox born in Istanbul. Due to political friction between Turkey and Greece at that time, the Turks decided it would be more politically correct to change his name to Arat Ararat. This was the name he was known by in the athletic circles.
See also edit
- Balkan Cup
- Balkans Cup
- Balkan Basketball Championship
- BVA Cup
- Balkan Swimming Championship
- Balkan Badminton Championships
- Balkan Mathematical Olympiad
References edit
- ^ Balkan Games - Philately
- ^ Balkan Games - website
- ^ BALKAN GAMES/CHAMPIONSHIPS
- ^ a b c Unofficial Games
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240229130404/https://www.athleticspodium.com/article/64/five-things-that-prove-at-the-balkans
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs/1930-balkan-games
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs/1931-balkan-games
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs/2022-balkan-athletics-championship
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs/2023-balkan-athletics-championship
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-champs
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-indoor-champs
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-race-walking-champs
- ^ https://www.athleticspodium.com/champs/balkan-xc
- ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "400m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "110m Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "400m Hurdles Heat 2/2 Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "2021 Balkan Athletics Championships Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "2021 Balkan Athletics Championships Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Jon Mulkeen (20 September 2020). "Mardare highlights Balkan Championships with record-breaking throw". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "4×100m Relay Results". serbia.opentrack.run. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "200m Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "5000m Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "3000m Steeplechase Results". tmedia.ro. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Triple Jump Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Javelin Throw Results" (PDF). balkan-athletics.eu. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.