From 2 to 4 October, Sofia and its surroundings hosted the National Night Orienteering Championship and the National Ultralong Distance Championship, organised by SKO NSA-Siven. The night championship took place on Friday evening in the Boyana district, and the ultralong distance on Sunday near the village of Vladaya. Our athletes came home with seven medals from the two national championships, including two titles. The programme also featured the Sofia Cup and the Vladaya Cup.
NC Night Orienteering
🥇 Vihra Ruseva became national champion in W16. She took the lead as early as the first control, but then lost nearly 2 minutes and dropped to 4th place. Vihra quickly fought her way back into the top three, took the lead in the second half of the course and held on to it all the way to the finish, where she was 40 seconds ahead of second place. This is Vihra's second night title after her gold in W14 in 2023, and for the second year in a row she has made the podium at the night championship.
🥈 Apostol Atanasov won a silver medal in M21E and stood on the night championship podium for the 7th year in a row. After a mistake of over 3 minutes at the very first control he was down in 30th place, but with several of the fastest splits he quickly climbed into the top five. In the last part of the course Apostol moved up to second place and kept it to the finish.
🥈 Two of the medals in W20 also went to our team. Yana Petrova was 5th at the start, began to climb in the middle of the course, and in the second half moved up to second place and kept it to the finish. This means Yana has won a medal at the night championship for the 5th year in a row – bronze in 2022, silver in 2023, gold in 2024, bronze in 2025 and silver this year.
🥉 Marta Ruseva was third at the start of the course and moved up to second in the middle. A slower leg in the second half dropped her back to 4th, but she immediately regained third position and held it to the end. This is Marta's first night championship medal since 2023.
Closest to the medals was Yoana Atanasova in W18. She was running in second place for almost the entire course and even took the lead in the final part, but shortly afterwards lost a lot of time and finished 5th.
Anton Hristov finished 4th in M20, having climbed to that position in the last part of the course. In M18 Rosen Hristov was second early on but eventually placed 5th, while Georgi Mitsov and Kristiyan Marinov finished 7th and 9th respectively. Mariya Dikova took 9th place in W16. In W21E Yana Ilieva was second at the first control and finished 5th, Elitsa Atanasova – 6th, and Tsveta Ilieva – 12th. In M14 Kristiyan Petkov, Martin Yordanov and Nikolay Danchev placed 12th, 16th and 18th respectively, and in M21E Velislav Dolchinkov took 25th place, and Svetoslav Blagoev – 32nd.
Sofia Cup
On the rest day between the national championships, the Sofia Cup was held near the village of Bistritsa. 🥇 Apostol Atanasov (M21E) and 🥇 Mariyana Atanasova (W55) won their classes, while Martin Yordanov (M12), Kristiyan Petkov (M14) and Rosen Hristov (M18) finished in 4th place.
NC Ultralong Distance
🥇 Apostol Atanasov won his first ultralong distance title after a real battle for victory in M21E. On the 15.4 km course with 720 m of climb he was between 4th and 6th place early on, took the lead in the middle, but then dropped back to 4th. In the second half of the course Apostol took the lead again and this time held on to it all the way to the finish, where he was 1:39 minutes ahead of second place. Last year he was runner-up in the same discipline.
🥈 Marta Ruseva won silver in W20. She was second for almost the entire course and even took the lead in the second half, but in the end finished 2:30 minutes off the win. This is Marta's fourth consecutive medal at the National Ultralong Distance Championship – after silver in 2023 and 2024 and the title in 2025.
🥉 Desislava Dimitrova won bronze in W35. She was first at the first control and held third place for the rest of the course.
Two more of our athletes were leading early on. Vihra Ruseva led in W18 but finished 6th after mistakes in the middle of the course, and Rosen Hristov was first at the first control in M18 but was later unable to finish the race.
Yana Petrova finished 4th in W20 and Anton Hristov 5th in M20. In W18 Maria Dikova took 10th place and Yoana Atanasova 16th. In W21E Elitsa Atanasova and Tsveta Ilieva placed 7th and 8th, and in M18 Georgi Mitsov and Kristiyan Marinov finished 12th and 15th.
Vladaya Cup
The Vladaya Cup was held alongside the NC Ultralong. 🥈 Lyuboslav Danchev (M16) and 🥈 Yana Markova (W12) finished second, and 🥉 Kristiyan Petkov (M14) and 🥉 Danaila Mitsova (W14) – third. Nikolay Danchev took 4th place in M14 and Martin Yordanov 5th in M12.
Results: NC Night Orienteering | Sofia Cup | NC Ultralong Distance | Vladaya Cup