Bogdan Sorin Achieves Outstanding Results in the Young Bird Season 2026

Well known at both provincial and national level for his performances in marathon and extreme marathon races, Bogdan Sorin, from Gorj County, also made his mark in the 2026 young bird season. Always eager to take on new challenges, he approached the young bird campaign with the utmost seriousness, and the results soon followed. Both in individual race results and in category rankings, Bogdan Sorin emerged as the Gorj fancier with the most outstanding achievements!

In recent years, the Gorj Branch has produced several exceptional results in young bird competitions. Always striving for excellence, Bogdan Sorin decided to take on this challenge as well. After using the 2025 season as an opportunity to test the waters, he returned in 2026 with the right pigeons and a meticulously organised programme. The fancier from Târgu-Jiu went on to achieve a series of enviable results!

An Impressive Run of Four Consecutive Victories

From the very first races, Bogdan Sorin's pigeons showed clear signs of excellent form. At the second speed race, held from Ghinti (218 km), he secured positions 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th in the liberation result, competing against 8,597 pigeons. He also finished 2nd in the fanciers' classification out of 169 competitors. At the third race, from Breznik (255 km), his impressive sequence of top results continued with 3rd place in the liberation result, against a field of 8,448 pigeons. Following these performances, the second half of the season turned into a real show of dominance. Between the middle-distance and long-distance races, all four scheduled speed races were held from Breznik. For Bogdan Sorin, this meant a race distance of 255 km.

Unlike the races in the first part of the season, these competitions could be seen as a contest between fanciers with a certain degree of specialisation in these categories and in racing young birds. At the same time, the conditions proved to be the perfect setting for Bogdan Sorin and his pigeons to demonstrate their full potential! In short, he went on to record four consecutive victories in the four races contested. Even more impressive was the depth of his performances: his pigeons occupied multiple positions at the top of the results, rather than simply securing first place, as shown below:

·       1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, etc., out of 1,174 pigeons (2nd in the fanciers' classification out of 62 competitors)<

·       1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, etc., out of 1,275 pigeons (3rd in the fanciers' classification out of 64 competitors)<

·       1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, etc., out of 600 pigeons (1st in the fanciers' classification out of 35 competitors)<

·       1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, etc., out of 455 pigeons (1st in the fanciers' classification out of 23 competitors).

A Sound System, Executed to Perfection

As expected, these results were first and foremost the product of high-quality pigeons. For these categories, Bogdan Sorin works with birds from some of the finest and most sought-after bloodlines currently available, including Pipa Elite Center, Kubacek Lubomir, Andreas Drapa, Tom van Gaver and Henrik Brinkmann, among others.

Their genetic potential was brought to the fore by a carefully designed management system, implemented to perfection. Bogdan Sorin explained his approach in detail: “For the 2026 season, I prepared a team of 70 young birds. They were bred in February and, immediately after weaning, were placed on a semi-darkness system. Under this programme, the young birds received daylight between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For the rest of the time, they were kept in semi-darkness, with enough light to see, move around the loft and drink water. The programme ended approximately three weeks before the first race. I fed them using F1 and Gerry mixtures from Vanrobaeys, together with Energy from Versele-Laga. Upon returning from a race, the pigeons received a mixture of 70% F1 and 30% Gerry. The proportions were then gradually adjusted to 60%-40% and subsequently 50%-50%. After these three meals, the pigeons were fed the Gerry mixture. During the preparation period, they received Energy alongside Gerry, accounting for approximately 30–50% of the feed mixture, depending on the conditions expected for the particular race. In the middle of the week, the pigeons were taken on one or two training tosses over a distance of 45 km,” Bogdan Sorin explained.

Multiple County Champion — For Now!

Following the compilation of the official results, Bogdan Sorin secured several excellent positions. At this stage, he has claimed 1st place at county level in both the Speed and Ace Speed categories.

In addition, a young bird bred by Bogdan Sorin and raced by fellow Gorj fancier Mario Băltărețu achieved the qualification standard for the National Young Bird Ace category. The pigeon became county champion in both the National Ace and General categories. There is every reason to expect these performances to translate into equally impressive provincial and national rankings. Such results would provide further confirmation of the quality of Bogdan Sorin's pigeons, as well as the expertise and dedication demonstrated by this accomplished fancier from Gorj County!