The Bulgarian won gold in his first high jump event in 4 years.
Bulgarian track and field athlete Bozhidar Saraboyukov specializes in several jumping disciplines: he combines performances in the long jump and triple jump. Saraboyukov's highest achievement is the “gold” of the 2025 European Indoor Championships in long jump, which he won in a head-to-head fight with the bronze medalist of the 2024 Olympics, Mattia Furlani.
Despite specializing in long jumps, Saraboyukov took part in the Bulgarian high jump championship. For the athlete, this start at the national championship was the first official one in the high jump sector in four years – since 2022. Then the athlete took part in the U20 Euro, which he finished with a silver medal.
At the 2026 Bulgarian Championships, Bozhidar won a convincing victory in the high jump – he was the only athlete to clear the bar at a height of 2.28 m. Moreover, he surpassed the result of his closest pursuer by as much as 10 (!) centimeters. At the same time, Saraboyukov competed not in specialized high jump shoes, but in spikes for “length”.
Bulgarian Championship. High Jump
- Bozhidar Saraboykov — 2.28 m
- Tikhomir Ivanov — 2.18 m
- Christian Tsanev — 1.99 m
2.28 m is a new personal record for Saraboyukov. With this result, the Bulgarian representative also entered the top ten athletes of the 2026 winter season in the world.
Top 10 high jump athletes in the 2026 season
- 1. Jan Štefela (Czech Republic) — 2.32 m
- 2. Mateusz Kolodziejski (Poland) — 2.30 m
- 3. Naoto Hasegawa (Japan) — 2.30 m
- 3. Tomihoro Shinno (Japan) — 2.30 m
- 3. Woo Sang Hyuk (Republic of Korea) — 2.30 m
- 3. Oleg Doroshchuk (Ukraine) — 2.30 m
- 3. Christian Falocchi (Italy) — 2.30 m
- 10. Bozhidar Saraboyukov (Bulgaria) — 2.28 m
- 10. Younes Ayachi (Algeria) — 2.28 m
- 10. Kimani Jack (Great Britain) — 2.28 m
During the season, the Bulgarian athlete also competed in the long jump and triple jump. Saraboyukov's best result of the season in the long jump is currently 8.45 m, and in the triple jump – 16.61 m, which is his personal record.