 Philip Milanov during2015 European Team Championships First League | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1991-07-06)6 July 1991 (age 33) Bruges,Belgium |
| Height | 1,98 m |
| Weight | 120 kg (265 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Belgium |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Discus throw |
| Coached by | Emil Milanov |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | Discus throw: 67.26 (2016) |
| Updated on 7 May 2016 | |
Philip Milanov (born 6 July 1991) is a Belgiandiscus thrower. He is a fourteen-time Belgian champion and the2015 World University Games champion in men's discus throw. In 2015, he became the first ever Belgian athlete, male or female, to win a gold or silver medal at aWorld Athletics Championships by taking silver at the2015 World Championships in Athletics inBeijing, China.[1]
Milanov was born inBruges, Belgium on 6 July 1991. His father and coach, Emil Milanov, was himself a discus thrower in his nativeBulgaria before moving to Belgium in 1989.[2] Philip Milanov won the Belgianjunior championship in 2010 with a throw of 54.28 m (1.75 kg), ranking him fourth on the Belgian all-time junior list.[3] In 2011 he represented Belgium at theEuropean Team Championships First League, placing ninth with 54.88 m; at that summer's Belgian championships he was second to Maarten Persoon of the Netherlands but the top Belgian, winning his first national senior title. He repeated as Belgian champion in 2012.[4][5]
Milanov broke 60 metres for the first time in 2013, setting a Belgianunder-23 record of 61.81 m inVilvoorde and placing fifth at theEuropean U23 Championships inTampere.[6] He continued to improve in 2014, breakingJo Van Daele's oldBelgian record (64.24 m) by eight centimetres inLille on 23 February and improving the record further to 66.02 m at theFBK Games inHengelo on 8 June; he was Belgian champion for the fourth consecutive year (60.57 m) and made his debut in theIAAF Diamond League.[2][4] Milanov was eliminated in the qualification round at the2014 European Championships inZürich;[4]Track & Field News ranked him ninth in the world that year, his first top 10 ranking.[7]
Milanov broke his own Belgian record again inKessel-Lo on 25 April 2015, throwing 66.43 m and meeting the qualification standard for the2015 World Championships inBeijing.[8] In July 2015 he won gold with 64.15 m at theWorld University Games inGwangju,South Korea.[9] He unexpectedly scored his first Diamond League victory two weeks later at theLondon Grand Prix; in rainy conditions, he threw 65.14 m to defeat a field that included Diamond Race leaderPiotr Małachowski of Poland.[10][11] In August 2015 he broke again his Belgian record and met the qualification standard for the2016 Olympic Games.[12] On 29 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing, where he took silver, Milanov, improved his national record to 66.90 m.[13]
Milanov started 2016 well, taking second place in theDoha Diamond League meeting in May, bettering his national record with a throw of 67.26 m.[14] In July, he won a silver medal at the2016 European Athletics Championships inAmsterdam, The Netherlands with a throw of 65.71 m, beaten only by the world discus championPiotr Malachowski.[15] Milanov entered the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil with high hopes, coming in to the Olympics as 3rd best performer of the season. But the Olympics ended in disappointment for him. He qualified as 12th and last athlete for the final and in the final recorded only 1 valid throw, finishing in a disappointing9th place, with a best throw of 62.22 m., more than 5 m below his season best.[16] Rio proved to be a turning point in his career. He would never again improve on his personal best and big international competitions would end in more disappointment. In 2017, he failed to qualify for the final of themen's discus throw competition at the2017 World Championships in Athletics inLondon ending in 14th place in the qualification round with a throw of 63.16 m.[17]
Milanov missed the2018 European Athletics Championships inBerlin, Germany due to injury.[18] The2019 World Athletics Championships,2022 European Athletics Championships,2022 World Athletics Championships,2023 World Athletics Championships,2024 European Athletics Championships, and2024 Summer Olympics all saw Milanov eliminated in the qualification round.
