The Bulgarian track and field athlete Bozhidar Saraboyukov returned to his homeland after his phenomenal performance at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
Bulgaria's No. 1 athlete for 2025 won bronze medal in the long jump with a dramatic result of 8.26 meters, achieved in his last sixth attempt. At Sofia Airport, the athlete did not hide his excitement from the huge success.
"I am certainly very happy to be coming home with a medal. This is also a perseverance that I show. The emotions have passed and I have already realized what I have achieved. For the first time I feel a little strange after a medal, because the competition down the sector was very fast perhaps", commented Saraboyukov immediately after landing in Sofia. His words were reported by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (source: bta.bg/bg/news/sport/1184712-bozhidar-saraboyukov-shtastliv-sam-che-se-pribiram-s-medal-).
The distinction of the 22-year-old talent from Harmanli is first medal for our men's outdoor athletics in 28 years (after the successes of 1998) and the first for the native athletics in 8 years, when Mirela Demireva won silver in Berlin in 2018.
Together with the medalist, his personal mentor also went home Dimitar Karamfilov. The coach shared details about the severe weather conditions and the strong headwind in the sector, which forced a constant change in the run. He also expressed his great confidence in the brilliant future of his graduate.
"I myself don't know where Bozhidar's limit is, but there will come a day when he will make the big leap", said Karamfilov. “I don't want to say the result, because he could make a huge leap. Finally, in the last attempt, he suggested taking half a step back and running as fast as he could, and that's how he got this jump that brought him to third place," the specialist added to BNT (source: bntnews.bg/news/karamfilov-samiyat-az-ne-znam-kade-e-predelat-na-bozhidar-saraboyukov-1407858news.html).
The season for Saraboyukov continues at high speed with no time for a long break. The Bulgarian Athletics Federation confirmed that by the end of August, the Bulgarian will have two prestigious starts in the Diamond League – in Lausanne on August 21 and in Zurich on August 27 (source: bnrnews.bg/main/post/515244/bozhidar-saraboyukov-shtastliv-sam-che-se-pribiram-s-medal), where he will seek to consolidate his position among the world elite.