Gabrovo Cup

Gabrovo Cup

On 21 and 22 June 2025, the Gabrovo area hosted the orienteering competition for the Gabrovo Cup. Once again, the host club Uzana provided excellent organisation and offered interesting and challenging courses both in Gabrovo and in the Uzana area, and at the end the best athletes received prizes in kind and cash prizes. The good organisation, favourable weather and the reputation of this event attracted nearly 400 athletes from all over the country, and the courses posed serious challenges for young and experienced competitors alike.

29 members of our club took part in the races around Gabrovo, although not all of them were able to compete in both races.

🥉Third place in the girls' W12-14B class went to Niya Vasileva. This was her first competition and her first time on the podium. Niya did brilliantly in the combined beginners' class, where she pitted her map skills against 12 other athletes.

🥉Third place in the girls' W16 class went to Mariya Dikova, who once again showed steady navigation and good physical form. Mariya was 3rd after the sprint, which was won by another club athlete – Vihra Ruseva – but Vihra did not compete on the second day.

🥉Third place in the W18 class also went to one of our athletes – Yoana Atanasova, who also put in a strong performance. Despite the tough sections and strong competition, Yoana posted the third-best time in the long distance, which lifted her onto the podium. The sprint in this class was also won by another of our athletes – Marta Ruseva – but Marta skipped the long distance to prepare better for her upcoming Junior World Championships in Italy.

🥉In W40, Mariyana Atanasova also took third place – just 18 seconds behind 2nd place in this class. Her experience allowed her to handle the technical sections of the course, and she posted the third-best time in both stages of the competition.

In the men's elite class M21E, Apostol Atanasov could not put together two solid runs and finished 4th overall, just 32 seconds from third place. Apostol was second in the sprint distance, but only 6th in the long distance, and that run proved decisive for the podium.

In the M12A class, Martin Yordanov ran steadily with minimal mistakes and finished 5th. Pavel Ivanov also did well, taking 16th place and showing progress in his map reading.

In M14, Kristiyan Petkov and Borislav Karaboev finished 11th and 12th respectively. Both had strong sections in their runs, but a few mistakes kept them from finishing higher.

In M16, Georgi Mitsov was 7th in the sprint and 4th in the long distance, which earned him 4th place overall – just a step away from the podium.

In M45, Aleksandar Atanasov finished 5th overall.