Nurgül Salimova, Boryana Kalein and Stiliyana Nikolova in the TOP 10 of "Athlete of the Year 2023"
Three athletes, supported by the Sport in Bulgaria Foundation, made it to the top ten of the annual contests “Sportsman of the Year 2023”. Nurgül Salimova, Boryana Kalein and Stiliyana Nikolova ranked sixth, seventh and ninth respectively in the ranking.
In 2023, Nurgül Salimova came second at the Women’s Chess World Cup in Baku. In the same year, on 20 November 2023, the young chess prodigy won a gold medal as the winner of the second board in the Bulgarian team at the European Women’s Team Chess Championship in Budva (Montenegro). During the 2023 Athlete of the Year competition, she came sixth and thanked the crowd.
The absolute European champion in rhythmic gymnastics from Baku 2023 Boryana Kalein took seventh place in the traditional poll of sports journalists “Sportsman of the Year”.
“It is a great honour for me to be here today. To be number 7 among the athletes of Bulgaria. It shows that hard work is rewarded. Thank you to my coach Mariana Pamukova, without whom I wouldn’t have gotten here today. Thank you to the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation and the sports journalists,” said Boryana Kaleyn.
The bronze medalist in the all-around at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Stiliyana Nikolova placed 9th.
“First of all I would like to thank the journalists who voted for me, the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their support and the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation for always being there for us and helping us. I wish everyone a great 2024, which will be one of the most unforgettable years for our sport”, said Stiliana Nikolova.
List of the TOP 10 in “Sportsman of the Year 2023”:
- Alexander Vezenkov (Basketball) – 1009 points
- Grigor Dimitrov (Tennis) – 711
- Petar Mitsin (Swimming) – 684
- Albert Popov (Alpine Skiing) – 587
- Carlos Nassar (Weightlifting) – 572
- Nurgyul Salimova (Chess) – 459
- Boryana Kalein (Artistic Gymnastics) – 301
- Ioana Ilieva (Fencing) – 269
- Styliana Nikolova (Artistic Gymnastics) – 138
- Alexander Nikolov (Volleyball) – 129