Athens National 2026 – The Final Major Showdown on the Greek Route

The 2026 marathon season on the demanding Greek route provided pigeon fanciers in southern Romania with one of the most spectacular and challenging competitions of the year. The Athens National race, organised on 7 August 2026 by the Dolj County Pigeon Fanciers’ Federation, attracted an impressive entry of 7,136 pigeons from 1,250 fanciers representing two provinces.

The scale of participation, combined with the severity of the race, further underlined the importance of this event, which has established itself as one of the major marathon races in Romanian pigeon racing. The pigeons were liberated at 07:10 from the Athens area of Greece, embarking on a journey that would test their endurance, orientation and genetic quality to the limit. For many competitors, the race distance exceeded 800 kilometres, while the difficulty of the event was clearly reflected in the remarkably low return rate. By the time the race was closed, just 35.9% of the pigeons had made it home.

A Major Event for Southern Romanian Pigeon Racing

Athens National 2026 brought together pigeons and fanciers from a large number of counties, representing some of the most important pigeon-racing centres in the Oltenia and Muntenia regions of Romania. The participation by county was as follows: Gorj – 997 pigeons and 152 fanciers; Dolj – 949 pigeons and 150 fanciers; Argeș – 1,520 pigeons and 222 fanciers; Prahova – 1,146 pigeons and 254 fanciers; Olt – 10 pigeons and 6 fanciers; Olt 2 – 508 pigeons and 96 fanciers; Teleorman – 22 pigeons and 9 fanciers; Mehedinți – 602 pigeons and 132 fanciers; Caraș-Severin – 4 pigeons and 1 fancier; Timiș – 5 pigeons and 1 fancier; Dâmbovița – 524 pigeons and 63 fanciers; Giurgiu – 37 pigeons and 9 fanciers; Bucharest – 376 pigeons and 66 fanciers; and Vâlcea – 436 pigeons and 89 fanciers. These figures clearly demonstrate the scale of the event, which attracted a substantial proportion of the southern Romanian fanciers specialising in long-distance and marathon racing.

Mădălin Riza and a Remarkable Victory

The entire 2026 season on the Greek route had proved demanding, but Athens National was to surpass even the highest expectations. Not a single pigeon managed to return on the opening day. As the hours passed without any arrivals, the tension among the fanciers grew steadily. The first pigeons finally began to arrive on the morning of the second day. Following several arrivals recorded in Dolj County, the cock RO-24-0695087, raced by Mădălin Riza of the Mehedinți Federation, appeared at the top end of the result sheet. His pigeon had covered 777 kilometres and was clocked at 06:44:10, recording an average velocity of 844.52 metres per minute. Given the extreme difficulty of the race and the very small number of pigeons home, it soon became apparent that Riza’s outstanding cock was destined to take top honours in the overall result of Athens National 2026.

For the Mehedinți fancier, the victory represents not only one of the highlights of the 2026 season, but also one of the most significant achievements of his pigeon-racing career. “I have been racing pigeons since I was a child, but over the past few years I have started to take the sport much more seriously. My main focus is on long-distance and marathon racing, particularly the difficult races in which the pigeons do not return on the first day and velocities remain below 1,000 metres per minute. This is the type of racing in which I have achieved some notable results at both county and provincial level. At present, my racing team consists of around 120 pigeons, while in the stock loft I have approximately 30 to 32 pairs of marathon breeders, most of them based on the Arden and Fraidelhofen lines. Up to the long-distance races, I race my pigeons on the widowhood system. Later in the season, I switch to the natural system, sending the pigeons to the races on eggs or with young, depending on the breeding cycle of each pair. I believe it is very important to adapt the racing system to both the race itself and the condition of each individual pigeon. For Athens National, I prepared the pigeons specifically for this race. I used a light Vanrobaeys racing mixture and gave them frequent but short training sessions in the morning, at midday and in the evening, regardless of the weather. During the final days, I switched to a loading diet, again using Vanrobaeys feed, but without peas. The feed was moistened with lemon and Probac Energy. I was away on holiday during the first two Pyrgos marathon races, so my brother and a childhood friend looked after the pigeons. We achieved some good scores, although we also had some bad luck, as several pigeons arrived after being attacked by hawks. Because of this, I decided to remove peas from the diet before the final race. I believe peas can make the pigeons heavier and potentially more vulnerable to hawk attacks on such a difficult route. The winning pigeon, which I have named ‘KO’, is 75% from the bloodlines of the late Ko van Dommelen and 25% Arjan Bens. He was left at home for the first marathon race because he was overlooked on the nest. After he achieved a very good score in the second marathon, I decided to enter him for Athens National. I raced him sitting a young bird of around eight to ten days old, and he was very strongly attached to his nest. He returned on the second day, during the first hour of the morning, and took first place overall from the liberation in a competition involving 13 counties. This result has once again shown me that a well-prepared pigeon is one of the keys to success. I am grateful to God for giving me this passion, and I hope to encourage as many young people as possible to discover and enjoy this wonderful sport”, said Mădălin Riza.

Florin Stancu – An Exceptional Team Performance at Athens National

With 1,250 fanciers taking part, the battle for the top of the fanciers’ classification was every bit as intense as the contest for individual honours. Winning an individual race requires an exceptional pigeon that is perfectly prepared and motivated. The fanciers’ classification, however, is a different challenge altogether, as it requires consistency and quality from at least two nominated team pigeons. At Athens National 2026, the honours went to Oltenian fancier Florin Stancu, who finished first among the 1,250 competing fanciers. His team achieved an outstanding coefficient of just 5.33 penalty points. Stancu also came remarkably close to taking the individual victory. His first arrival, team hen RO-24-0148315, was clocked at 06:49:41 and secured 2nd place overall from the liberation. She had covered 771 kilometres at an average velocity of 833.43 metres per minute. Approximately two hours later, another team hen, RO-23-0042378, arrived and was clocked at 08:38:02. Together, the two hens formed the strongest nominated team in the competition, giving Florin Stancu a major result in one of the toughest races of the season.

“I have been racing pigeons for around 30 years, but over the last four years I have started investing more heavily in pigeons of superior quality, and the results soon followed. Last year I finished second in Olt County, along with several very good club results. These performances confirmed to me that hard work, patience and pigeon quality can make all the difference. At present, I have 25 pairs of stock birds and a racing team of around 60 pigeons. During the opening part of the season, I race in sprint, middle-distance and long-distance events using the widowhood system. As the season progresses and we approach the marathon races, I switch to the natural system. I believe this method suits both my pigeons and the type of racing I practise extremely well. The preparation begins with daily training. I train the pigeons in the morning and evening for approximately one hour, and once a week I also give them a training toss by road. I place great emphasis on feeding and use very high-quality racing mixtures, while trying to keep the whole system as natural as possible. In my opinion, a quality pigeon must be prepared both physically and mentally for the demands of marathon racing. As for the two pigeons that made up the team, their parents came from the loft of Mr Migi Cherciu from Mehedinți, with the Freialdenhofen and Schneider lines behind them. I believe breeding and origin play a very important role, particularly when competing at the highest level and in marathon racing. The two pigeons proved their quality and consistency, and this result gives me tremendous satisfaction. I am extremely happy with what we achieved. For me, these results are confirmation of the work I have put in over the past few years and, at the same time, a major motivation for the future. I believe that in pigeon racing, the quality of the pigeons, the experience of the fancier and the way in which the birds are prepared ultimately make the decisive difference. These results give me confidence to continue along the same path and to aim for even better performances in the races ahead,” said Florin Stancu.

A Defining Race of the Marathon Season

Looking back, Athens National 2026 will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the defining races of the season. The impressive entry, the exceptionally low return rate and the strength of the competition combined to make this event a genuine benchmark for Romanian marathon racing.

The Greek route continues to demonstrate why it is regarded as one of the toughest challenges for both marathon pigeons and the fanciers who compete them. It is in races like this that the difference between a good pigeon and a truly exceptional one becomes clear. Marathon success is never down to chance. It is the result of a complex combination of genetics, selection, preparation, experience and passion. When perseverance and the determination to perform, even under the most difficult circumstances, are added to these qualities, outstanding results can follow.

Athens National 2026 was, above all, a race of endurance. It was a true test in which the pigeons were asked to demonstrate their quality under extreme conditions, while the fanciers who rose to the occasion once again proved that marathon racing remains one of the most demanding, prestigious and spectacular disciplines in the sport of pigeon racing.