Both races at the Europe Triathlon Balkan Championships in Ohrid, North Macedonia, were decided by 11 seconds, with Mira Ivanova Georgieva (BUL) claiming gold in the women's event and Carol Popa (ROU) taking the men's title.

Popa arrived in Ohrid fresh from the African Triathlon Cup in Yasmine Hammamet, where he narrowly missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth. This time, however, the Romanian made no mistake, producing the fastest run split of the day to secure victory.

He finished ahead of Nicolaos Keramidas (GRE), whose run was only six seconds slower than Popa's. However, the Romanian's advantage through the transitions ultimately proved decisive.

Alexander Bozhilov (BUL) added a bronze medal to the gold he won in Mamaia earlier this season, crossing the line 24 seconds behind Popa. Bozhilov recorded the fastest T2 transition of the day but was unable to close the gap to the two athletes ahead of him.

In the women's race, Georgieva also relied on the fastest run split of the day to claim victory. After exiting the water in 12th place, the Bulgarian surged through the field with a run of 18:41, which was 15 seconds quicker than that of Alice Perkoiu (ROU).

Georgieva crossed the finish line in 1:01:55 to secure the second international victory of her career. Following a ninth-place finish in Mamaia, she returned in impressive fashion to stand on the top step of the podium.

Perkoiu had finished ahead of Georgieva in Mamaia, placing eighth while the Bulgarian was ninth, but the tables were turned in Ohrid as Georgieva claimed the win by 11 seconds.

Tinkara Stres (SLO) completed the podium in her first race of the 2026 season. Her previous appearance came in Izvorani in October 2025, where she claimed gold.