Bulgaria added three more medals to its tally at the European Youth Weightlifting Championships for U15 and U17 athletes in Pristina, Kosovo. Danail Zhekov won three bronze medals in the 85 kg category for the younger age group.

The weightlifter, who trains under Stanimir Kolev at the "Stotete Voyvodi" (Sliven) club, recorded a total of 264 kg. Zhekov completed five out of six successful attempts. In the snatch, he cleared 110, 115, and 119 kg, while in the clean and jerk, he successfully lifted 140 and 145 kg, with only his attempt at 149 kg proving unsuccessful. The champion in the category was Ukrainian Andrii Melnyk with a total of 277 kg, followed by Fakhraddin Alakbarov from Azerbaijan with 272 kg.

With these successes, Bulgaria now has a total of nine medals from the competition in Kosovo. Previously, Milen Komarevski (Mizia Kneja) earned three silver medals in the U15 category up to 60 kg. Beloslava Koleva (Titan Varna) began her performance with a bronze in the total and silver in the snatch in the 45 kg category. Viktor Kostadinov took bronze in the total for the older age group in the 70 kg category, while Borislava Milusheva finished in fourth place among the younger athletes in the 53 kg category.

The participation of the Bulgarian athletes has been hampered by serious health issues, as a stomach virus spread through the championship. 11 members of the Bulgarian team have been affected, with some requiring intravenous fluids from medical staff to be stabilized for competition.