21-year-old Hristo Iliev rockets to No. 4 on Bulgaria’s all-time 60m list

Hristo Iliev recorded Bulgaria’s fastest 60 m time in 38 years. Coached by the renowned Bulgarian trainer Valya Demireva, the sprinter won the Open Athletics Tournament at Sofia’s Asics Arena, organised by the Bulgarian Athletics Federation. The 21-year old athlete achieved this victory by clocking 6.61 seconds in the shortest sprint.

The time is the fastest by a Bulgarian sprinter since 1988 and ranks fourth on the country’s all-time indoor 60m list. According to atletikabg.com and Bulgarian National Television (BNT), with this run, Bulgaria’s top sprinter of the past three years improved his personal best by half a tenth.

Iliev’s time was just three hundredths of a second slower than the national record set by Petar Petrov in 1978. Valentin Atanasov (1987) and Anri Grigorov (1988) complete the all-time top three with times of 6.59 seconds.

At the same stage of the 2025 indoor season, Iliev was ranked 10th on Bulgaria’s all-time men’s 60 m list.

Edited by: Miglena Ivanova