Hristo Tsvetkov ran 100 km in an “almost perfect” 6.56:40 to improve his own record by a full 42 minutes and for his fifth consecutive victory
Andrian Karparov also registered a phenomenal record with his duathlon title: 100 km cycling and 100 km running in 12.58:56.
That night, Hristo Tsvetkov became the first to run the 100 kilometers around Vitosha in under 7 hours. The unique achievement was recorded in the 42nd edition of one of the most popular and popular races in our country – the tour of the mountain near Sofia. Tsvetkov took the lead in the first minutes after the start at midnight and did not let go until the finish. Halfway through the course, he was already leading by over 25 minutes on Dimitar Shadura and over 45 minutes on Anton Kadiev. This gap was growing and at dawn the champion finished before the stopwatches counted down the seventh hour – 6.56:40 (the previous top achievement of 7.39:54 was also his). The silver went to Dimitar Shadura with 7.45:40 (49 minutes after the champion), and the bronze to Nikolay Stoychev with 8.23:58 – almost an hour and a half after the winner…
So, after three years ago Hristo became the first to finish under 8 hours, today he once again proved that he is the lord of the Vitosha 100. This summer, however, Tsvetkov’s run was phenomenal, as he improved his own record from 2023 by over 42 minutes, and no one has achieved such a difference. This is Tsvetkov’s fifth in a row and sixth overall in the tour. In 2021, he made the news by kneeling immediately after the finish to propose to his beloved, who later made him a father.
In the women’s race, Monika Filipova won. Immediately after the start, the seven-time winner and current record holder Maria Nikolova came out ahead. She was running at the pace of the men, at 32 km she was already leading by over 5 minutes, but then she gave up the fight. Then Monika Filipova came out ahead, methodically increasing her lead over her pursuers: 10 minutes at 60 km, 17 minutes at 75 km, which ensured her a calm finish. Filipova finished in 9.13:21 (14 minutes behind the record), Polina Gorasova was second with 9.19:39, and Neli Petkova was third with 10:28:53.
A super record was also set in the duathlon. Andrian Karparov defended his title from last year by circumnavigating the mountain twice – first yesterday by bike and today by running – for a total time of 12.58:56 h. (4.15:59 and 8.42:57 h.). Thus, he became the first to complete this epic 200-kilometer journey in under 13 hours, improving his own record on the course from last summer by nearly 16 minutes. It is impressive that Karparov finished 12th among cyclists and 7th among runners in the overall standings. In the women’s 200 km, the winner was Boryana Nikolcheva with a total time of 18.05:11 h.
A day earlier, Emil Stoynev and Joanna Valkanova triumphed in the cycling event, with records. Stoynev duplicated his success from 3 years ago, and with his result now of 3.46:56, he improved by nearly nine minutes the previous top achievement of Alexander Alexiev from 2019. In the women’s event, Joanna Valkanova continues her unique winning streak. After being the vice-champion in 2020 at the age of 12 and becoming the youngest champion at the age of 13 the following summer, she has now grabbed her third gold before turning 18. The teenager defended her title by finishing in a record 5.03:52, thus improving by 36 seconds her own top achievement from last summer.
You can greet the winners during the award ceremony for runners and duathletes, which is scheduled for today at 4 p.m. in the start/finish area of the parking lot in front of the Boyana residence next to the entrance to the BFU base.
The 100-kilometer Tour of Vitosha is taking place this summer for the 42nd year. Nearly 3,000 participants (runners and cyclists) are participating in the emblematic race, which this summer is also part of the “Sofia – European Capital of Sport” initiative.
You can follow the results in real time and learn the full final standings at the following link: https://vitosha100km.bg/results/
You can find much more information on the Vitosha100 website at the following link: http://vitosha100km.bg/
