Karlos Nasar Among Top 10 in BTA’s Balkan Athlete of the Year Poll
Olympic, world, and European weightlifting champion Karlos Nasar has been named in the top 10 of the 51st edition of BTA's Balkan Athlete of the Year poll. The Bulgarian athlete achieved remarkable feats in 2024, including setting multiple world records, CE Report quotes BTA
Nasar claimed the men’s 89kg Olympic title at the Paris Games with a total lift of 404 kg. He also won the world title at the IWF World Championships in Manama, setting world records in the snatch (183 kg) and the overall lift (405 kg).
The annual Balkan Athlete of the Year poll is conducted by the national news agencies of 11 Balkan countries, including Bulgaria’s BTA, Greece’s ANA-MPA, Romania’s Agerpres, and others. The winner of the 2024 poll will be announced in January.
The top 10 finalists (in alphabetical order):
- Apostolos Christou (Greece) – Swimming
- Barbara Matic (Croatia) – Judo
- David Popovici (Romania) – Swimming
- Dusan Mandic (Serbia) – Water Polo
- Karlos Nasar (Bulgaria) – Weightlifting
- Kostas Sloukas (Greece) – Basketball
- Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) – Athletics
- Nikola Jokic (Serbia) – Basketball
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – Tennis
- Yusuf Dikec (Turkiye) – Shooting
The poll’s first-ever winner in 1973 was Bulgarian 800m runner Svetla Zlateva.
