BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year

The BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year, Balkan Athlete of the Year, or simply Athlete of the Balkans (Bulgarian: БТА спортист на Балканите, romanized: BTA sportist na Balkanite) is an annual sports athlete of the year award. The winner of each year's award is announced by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The award is given to the year's top performing individual athlete that has citizenship from one of the nations of the Balkans region, which includes the twelve nations of: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey, and previously included the former nations of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro. The award winners are chosen by the votes of a panel of sports journalists and editors from the following ten Balkan nation's news media outlets: the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), which also announces each year's winners, the Romanian AGERPRES, the Greek Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), the Turkish Anadolu Agency (AA), the Croatian News Agency (HINA), the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federal News Agency (FENA), the North Macedonia Media Information Agency (MIA), the Montenegrin News Agency (MINA), and the Serbian Tanjug.

Awarded forBest Balkan Athlete

CountryThe Balkans:
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
FR Yugoslavia (formerly)
Greece
Kosovo
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Romania
Serbia
Serbia/Montenegro (formerly)
Slovenia
Turkey
Yugoslavia (formerly)

Presented byBulgarian News Agency (BTA)

First award1973

Quick facts Awarded for, Country ...

BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year
Awarded for	Best Balkan Athlete
Country	The Balkans: Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia FR Yugoslavia (formerly) Greece Kosovo Montenegro North Macedonia Romania Serbia Serbia/Montenegro (formerly) Slovenia Turkey Yugoslavia (formerly)
Presented by	Bulgarian News Agency (BTA)
First award	1973
Most awards	Novak Djokovic (8×)
Website	bta.bg/en/news/sport

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All athletes that have citizenship from a country that is a part of the Balkans region, both men's and women's, and that compete in all age categories and all levels of competition, are eligible for the award. Balkan athletes from all sports competitions, both individual sports and team sports, are eligible for the award. Balkan athletes are also eligible for the award regardless of what country in the world that they compete in, as they do not have to compete in a Balkans nation to be eligible to win the award.

The first Balkan Athlete of the Year award was given for the year 1973.^[1] It was won by Svetla Zlateva, a Bulgarian sprinter and middle-distance runner. The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, has won the most awards, having won the award a total of eight times (2011–2015, 2019, 2021, 2023).^[2]