In 1993, Balgač broke the 2000 meter world record for the age of 15 previously held by Tim Butt, recording a time of 5:25.69. It stood for 22 years until 2015 when it was broken by Jakob Ingebrigtsen in a margin of 0.28 seconds. He made his international cross country debut at the 1994 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he finished in 134th place in the junior men's race. He placed among the top 25 in the junior men's race at the 1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Later that year, he finished in ninth place in the men's 1500 meters at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics.