Winning Bulgarian Nationals on the track in Plovdiv is something I’ll never forget. I took the Sprint and the Keirin National Titles, and doing it in my home country means more to me than I can really explain. The weekend before, I’d won the Plovdiv Keirin Cup, so coming into Nationals, I felt ready, but racing in front of my family added a different kind of pressure and motivation.

Plovdiv itself made it feel even bigger. It’s one of the most historically significant cities in Bulgaria, and you can feel that just being there—especially with places like the ancient Roman stadium/coliseum right in the city. It’s a place that’s been built around competition and sport for a long time, so it felt special to line up and perform at my best there.

On top of the titles, I also hit two personal bests: 10.3 in the flying 200m and 1:03 in the 1 km time trial, which was good enough for second place. Those times matter to me because they show the work is moving in the right direction, not just the results.

Home crowd, home country, big weekend. I’m proud of what I did in Plovdiv and grateful I got to do it where it means the most! And most importantly, I made the national team, which allows me to represent my country on the highest level in the sport!