The Romanian swimmer David Popovici has been included in the top 10 athletes from the Balkans in 2025, according to BTA, alongside other renowned athletes.

David Popovici, double world champion in swimming, has been selected among the top ten athletes in the Balkans in 2025, according to a survey organized by the Bulgarian news agency BTA. In this survey, 47 athletes from various countries in the region were voted on, including Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Albania, and Kosovo. The award ceremony, where the final results will be announced, will take place in Sofia on February 16, a symbolic date for BTA, which published its first news bulletin in 1898. Among the other athletes included in the top are Aleksandar Nikolov (volleyball), Karlos Nasar (weightlifting), Alperen Şengun (basketball), Distria Krasniqi (judo), Emmanouil Karalis (athletics), Zrinka Ljutic (skiing), Nikola Jokic (basketball), Stefanos Ntouskos (rowing), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (basketball).