The best Bulgarian sprinter in short distances Hristo Iliev was eliminated in the 100-meter heats at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
Our 21-year-old athlete made his outdoor debut at such a large forum, but failed to overcome the first phase and qualify for the semifinals.
The strong wind hindered the Bulgarian
The graduate of Valya Demireva runs in the second heat at the “Alexander Stadium“. Hristo Iliev finished sixth in his heat with a time of 10.66 seconds. The race was held in extremely unfavorable conditions and a strong headwind of -2.8 m/s, which seriously affected the athletes' results.
This achievement gave the native sprinter 18th place among a total of 24 competitors who started in the heats. Only the top 12 qualifiers progressed to the semi-final stage, with the last time securing a place ahead being 10.57 seconds by Riku Iluka (Finland). The winner of the Bulgarian's series was the Irishman Toluabori Akinola with a time of 10.39 seconds.
In the final official ranking of the championship in Birmingham, Iliev will take 30th place, as 12 other sprinters by right start directly from the semifinals based on the ranking list.
Hristo Iliev's score in front of BNT 3
Immediately after the final of the run, the national champion expressed his disappointment with the bad start and the weather conditions, confirming that this was his last start for this summer.
In front of BNT 3, Iliev said that he was not satisfied, attributing the result to the wind and the bad start, but expressed hope that the experience would be useful to him. He added that this is his last start of the season and a break is ahead, followed by preparation for the winter.
In the 2026 season, the 21-year-old athlete made serious progress, becoming the Balkan champion in Volos and achieving 10.22 seconds in Chania. In the winter, he also set a European record for youth under 23 years of age in the 60 meters with 6.51 seconds.
The Bulgarian participation in Birmingham continues with high hopes, with Bozhidar Saraboyukov's final in the long jump ahead.