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Maxim Petkovski won a silver medal in the 50 m snowshoe race on March 13th in Sestriere, Italy. Konstantina Yanakieva placed fourth at the same distance. In today's race, Maxim competed with athletes from Special Olympics USA, France and Mauritania.

Maxim Petkovski is 16 years old, a 9th grade student in the town of Smolyan and loves to break dance. This is his first time participating in an international sports competition and the excitement, both for him and his entire family, is great.
"Sports achievements make me feel significant," says Maxim. His preparation for the games is with the support of the Mayor of Smolyan Municipality Nikolay Melemov and his team. "Maxi proved that when you want something very strongly and believe in yourself, nothing is impossible. He is an example of how dreams are pursued. Smolyan has something to be proud of! And Maxi succeeded because he has a strong spirit and support from his family, as well as the community in which he lives," said Alexander Dimitrov, national snowshoe running coach for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin '2025. Maxim's personal coach is his aunt - Diana Balkanska, who constantly ran with him on different terrains to prepare him for the biggest sporting event for people with intellectual disabilities.

Konstantina Yanakieva from Samokov is the other athlete on the snowshoe running team. She ranked fourth in the 50 m today after she was overtaken by athletes from Kuwait, Cyprus and India. Konstantina is 19 years old and is a student in 12 grade in Samokov and, like Maxim, loves to dance. Konstantina’s preparation and participation in the World Winter Games is with the support of the Mayor of Samokov Municipality Eng. Angel Dzhorgov and his team. Her personal trainer is Katya Krasteva.