# Balkan Cross Country Championships

The Balkan Cross Country Championships has since 1958 been an annual regional international competition in cross country running amongst athletes from the Balkans. It forms part of the Balkan Games, the latter an event to encourage the relations amongst the participating nations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and it traces its history back to 1940. There were no races in 2010). It is organised by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations
The championships features two events: a ten-kilometre (6.2-mile) race for men and an eight-kilometre (5-mile) race for women. The distances of the races have varied over the lifetime of the event. Originally the men's race was a 10 km race, but this changed to a 12 km (7.5 miles) race during the period from 1977 to 2008. The women's race began with a 2 km distance, increasing to 4 km in 1977, then 6 km from 1998 to 2008. National team competitions are held within the individual races, with each nation's score being the total of the finishing positions of their best three athletes.
The first edition in 1940 was a men's only competition; Josip Kotnik of Yugoslavia was the inaugural winner. A 15-year hiatus followed with the onset of World War II and the regional event was reborn in 1955. There was another hiatus to follow for two years but the 1958 edition, where Yugoslavia's Olympic medalist and International Cross Country champion Franjo Mihalić was victorious, marked the full establishment of the competition; the Balkan championship was contested annually thereafter. A women's race was held for the first time the following year and Akhad Dil Ciraj of Turkey became the first women's champion.
It is one of three major Balkan regional athletic championships, alongside the two annual track and field events – the Balkan Games and the Balkan Indoor Athletics Championships.

## Past winners

| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m:s) | Women's winner | Time (m:s) |
| 1st | 1940 | Josip Kotnik (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) | 24:40.4 | Not held | |
| 2nd | 1955 | Drago Štritof (YUG) | 31:21.6 | Not held | |
| 3rd | 1958 | Franjo Mihalić (YUG) | 31:33.8 | Not held | |
| 4th | 1959 | Ioanis Glecos (GRE) | 31:58.8 | Gül Çıray Akbaş (TUR) | 7:04.6 |
| 5th | 1960 | Constantin Grecescu (ROM) | 31:11.0 | Gül Çıray Akbaş (TUR) | 6:33 |
| 6th | 1961 | Constantin Grecescu (ROM) | 32:34.0 | Florica Grecescu (ROM) | 7:04.4 |
| 7th | 1962 | Constantin Grecescu (ROM) | 31:02.4 | Gül Çıray Akbaş (TUR) | 6:31.8 |
| 8th | 1963 | Muharrem Dalkılıç (TUR) | 29:54.4 | Florica Grecescu (ROM) | 5:19.6 |
| 9th | 1964 | Andrei Barabaș (ROM) | 30:25.8 | Florica Grecescu (ROM) | 6:40.8 |
| 10th | 1965 | Muharem Dalkilic (TUR) | 30:37.6 | Kipra Danailova (BUL) | 6:34.6 |
| 11th | 1966 | Nicolae Mustata (ROM) | 30:02 | Kipra Danailova (BUL) | 6:19 |
| 12th | 1967 | Zoltan Vamoș (ROM) | 29:58.6 | Vera Nikolić (YUG) | 6:23.8 |
| 13th | 1968 | Mikhail Zhelev (BUL) | 28:52.6 | Viorica Gabor (ROM) | 7:28.2 |
| 14th | 1969 | Danijel Korica (YUG) | 30:05.0 | Djurdjica Rajher (YUG) | 6:21.8 |
| 15th | 1970 | Danijel Korica (YUG) | 30:13.6 | Veselinka Milošević (YUG) | 6:21.4 |
| 16th | 1971 | Danijel Korica (YUG) | 29:51.0 | Veselinka Milosević (YUG) | 6:10.2 |
| 17th | 1972 | Danijel Korica (YUG) | 29:43.6 | Djurdjica Rajher (YUG) | 6:15.2 |
| 18th | 1973 | Nicolae Mustata (ROM) | 28:37.8 | Totka Petrova (BUL) | 6:11.2 |
| 19th | 1974 | Peter Svet (YUG) | 31:55.4 | Totka Petrova (BUL) | 6:35.2 |
| 20th | 1975 | Stevan Vulović (YUG) | 31:12.6 | Natalia Andrei (ROM) | 6:12.2 |
| 21st | 1976 | Mehmet Yurdadön (TUR) | 31:27.0 | Natalia Marasescu-Betini (ROM) | 6:38.1 |
| 22nd | 1977 | Ilie Floroiu (ROM) | 36:46.4 | Natalia Marasescu-Betini (ROM) | 13:10.0 |
| 23rd | 1978 | Mehmet Yurdadön (TUR) | 35:03.8 | Fița Lovin (ROM) | 13:01.4 |
| 24th | 1979 | Ilie Floroiu (ROM) | 36:48.4 | Maricica Puică (ROM) | 13:31.2 |
| 25th | 1980 | Ilie Floroiu (ROM) | 37:35 | Fița Lovin (ROM) | 13:50 |
| 26th | 1981 | Marios Kalanidis (GRE) | 35:03.4 | Maricica Puică (ROM) | 12:37.7 |
| 27th | 1982 | Mehmet Yurdadön (TUR) | 35:47.8 | Maricica Puică (ROM) | 12:59.8 |
| 28th | 1983 | Mehmet Yurdadön (TUR) | 38:45.6 | Fița Lovin (ROM) | 14:36.2 |
| 29th | 1984 | Gyorgy Marko (ROM) | 37:09.4 | Maricica Puică (ROM) | 13:26.8 |
| 30th | 1985 | Gyorgy Marko (ROM) | 36:55.6 | Mariana Chirila (ROM) | 13:20.7 |
| 31st | 1986 | Evgeni Ignatov (BUL) | 38:46.3 | Elena Fidatov (ROM) | 13:42.4 |
| 32nd | 1987 | Evgeni Ignatov (BUL) | 35:42.6 | Paula Ilie-Ivan (ROM) | 12:21.0 |
| 33rd | 1988 | Mladen Kršek (YUG) | 36:04.0 | Violeta Beclea-Szekely (ROM) | 12:55.2 |
| 34th | 1989 | Evgeni Ignatov (BUL) | 36:33.3 | Iulia Besliu-Ionescu (ROM) | 13:23.6 |
| 35th | 1990 | Goran Raičević (YUG) | 32:32.6 | Elena Fidatov (ROM) | 13:05 |
| 36th | 1991 | Haydar Dogan (TUR) | 36:37.1 | Lenuta Alungulesei (ROM) | 12:21.4 |
| 37th | 1992 | Goran Raičević (FR Yugoslavia) | 34:08.0 | Daniela Bran (ROM) | 12:37.7 |
| 38th | 1993 | Zeki Öztürk (TUR) | 36:08.1 | Irini Theodoridou (GRE) | 13:01.4 |
| 39th | 1994 | Goran Raičević (FR Yugoslavia) | 35:30.0 | Luminita Gogârlea (ROM) | 12:43.5 |
| 40th | 1995 | Nicolae Negru (ROM) | 36:09.2 | Stela Olteanu (ROM) | 13:11.0 |
| 41st | 1996 | Nicolae Negru (ROM) | 38:06 | Nuța Olaru (ROM) | 14:11.6 |
| 42nd | 1997 | Nicolae Negru (ROM) | 35:23.3 | Olivera Jevtić (FR Yugoslavia) | 12:54.8 |
| 43rd | 1998 | Dragoslav Prpa (FR Yugoslavia) | 36:03.7 | Olivera Jevtić (FR Yugoslavia) | 19:18.8 |
| 44th | 1999 | Nicolae Negru (ROM) | 34:50 | Olivera Jevtić (FR Yugoslavia) | 18:52 |
| 45th | 2000 | Dragoslav Prpa (FR Yugoslavia) | 34:46 | Olivera Jevtić (FR Yugoslavia) | 19:42 |
| 46th | 2001 | Panagiotis Kharamis (GRE) | 35:49.2 | Maria Cristina Grosu-Mazilu (ROM) | 19:03.7 |
| 47th | 2002 | Goran Stojilković (FR Yugoslavia) | 34:20 | Olivera Jevtić (FR Yugoslavia) | 19:51 |
| 48th | 2003 | Labros Zaraggas (GRE) | 37:33 | Sonja Stolić (SCG) | ? |
| 49th | 2004 | Mirko Petrović (SRB) | 36:24 | Olivera Jevtić (SRB) | 19:31 |
| 50th | 2005 | Abdülkadir Turk (TUR) | 40:38 | Cristina Casandra (ROM) | 22:22 |
| 51st | 2006 | Abdil Ceylan (TUR) | 38:51 | Cristina Casandra (ROM) | 21:11 |
| 52nd | 2007 | Marius Ionescu (ROM) | 37:27 | Sonja Stolić (SRB) | 20:32 |
| 53rd | 2008 | Mirko Petrović (SRB) | 36:15 | Sonja Stolić (SRB) | 18:30 |
| 54th | 2009 | Fatih Bilgic (TUR) | 31:37.7 | Konstantina Kefala (GRE) | 28:28.9 |
| — | 2010 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 55th | 2011 | Mirko Petrović (SRB) | 30:39 | Olivera Jevtić (SRB) | 27:45 |
| 56th | 2012 | Bekir Karayel (TUR) | 28:59 | Ancuța Bobocel (ROM) | 26:47 |
| 57th | 2013 | Marius Ionescu (ROM) | 31:09 | Sonja Stolić (SRB) | 28:00 |
| 58th | 2014 | Vedat Günen (TUR) | 28:23 | Özlem Kaya (TUR) | 26:16 |
| 59th | 2015 | Hasan Pak (TUR) | 31:17 | Ancuța Bobocel (ROM) | 27:42 |
| 60th | 2016 | Ramazan Özdemir (TUR) | 30:11 | Ancuța Bobocel (ROM) | 27:05 |
| 61st | 2017 | Sedat Gönen (TUR) | 33:41 | Roxana Bârcă (ROM) | 30:11 |
| 62nd | 2018 | Cihat Ulus (TUR) | 29:25 | Paula Todoran (ROM) | 26:35 |
| 63rd | 2019 | Yitayew ABUHAY (ISR) | 30:25 | Nataliya LEHONKOVA (UKR) | 27:34 |

## Participating countries
### Present

* Albania
* Armenia
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Greece
* North Macedonia
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Romania
* Serbia
* Turkey

### Other Member

* Azerbaijan
* Georgia
* Cyprus
* Israel
* Kosovo
* San Marino
* Slovenia
* Ukraine
http://www.balkan-athletics.eu/members.php

### Former

* Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1940)
* Yugoslavia (1943–1992)
* FR Yugoslavia (1992–2003)
* Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)