Iliyan Chamov hired as women’s track and field assistant coach
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas women’s head coach Chris Johnson announced the hiring of Iliyan Chamov (Il-e-an Cham-ov) as an assistant coach with the Razorback track and field program.
Chamov has been an assistant coach at Missouri the past 10 seasons working with the men’s and women’s jumpers and combined events. Previously, he was an assistant coach at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (2013-15) as well as NAIA school Lindenwood (2009-11).
“It’s exciting, it’s the best program in the country, the best program in the world,” noted Chamov. “Of course, I have big shoes to fill, but that makes it more exciting. I’m very eager to start working.”
Johnson noted: “We’re fortunate to get Iliyan, he has a plethora of experience being in the SEC while at Missouri. He’s tireless recruiter, and a really, really good coach. He’s going to help us in the vertical jumps as well as the horizontal jumps along with the multi. So, it gives the rest of the staff some relief from having to do all those things.
“He’s going to bring that knowledge and a recruiting expertise to the University of Arkansas. I think he did a fantastic job during this time at Missouri with plenty of All-Americans and conference champions. He’s going to help our program continue to fill out and be the program we want it to be, and that’s being very balanced.”
Over his time frame as an assistant coach, athletes coached by Chamov have totaled 57 All-America honors (first and second team), 14 conference champions with seven titles attained in the SEC, along with a NCAA champion and seven NAIA champions.
The 2025 season produced the national champion as Jonathan Seremes won the NCAA Indoor triple jump and SEC Indoor titles while Kristi Perez-Snyman claimed the SEC Outdoor women’s high jump. Chamov coached athletes earned five first-team All-America honors this past season.
“The SEC is the most competitive conference in the country and I’ve been rubbing shoulders with Arkansas the entire time I was with Missouri,” said Chamov. “We came here for a lot competitions while I was at Mizzou and I had the pleasure to experience the quality of the facilities and the quality of the team.
“I’ve known the coaches for quite a long time and they show a lot of quality on their end. That’s what makes it even more exciting, because now we’re going to be coaching together to win championships.”
Chamov, who hails from Yambol, Bulgaria, is a 2006 graduate of the University of Ruse in Bulgaria, where he earned a physical therapy degree. He is also a 2012 graduate of Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), where he earned his undergraduate degree in athletic training and a master’s in human performance.
The experience of being an international athlete himself helps Chamov during the recruiting process.
“It’s very beneficial,” noted Chamov. “A lot of international athletes leave their countries, family, friends, environment, and culture just to get to an education and better opportunities to compete.
“I believe I bring a lot on the table with that because I’ve walked through that path in the past and I know exactly how they feel. I can assist them through the process and give them an opportunity to be a better student-athlete.”
Johnson noted that Chamov is a fourth generation coach within his family and his mother coaches in Europe.
“That piece of it is really going to help us,” said Johnson. “He’s very much on top of it and his wife is from France, so they’re intertwined in the European network. That’s going to help us in recruiting and being able to acquire some kids from Europe.”
Upon graduation from Lindenwood, Chamov became an assistant coach at his alma mater and led the Lions to tremendous success in the NAIA. He mentored seven national champions and 16 All-Americans.
For his success as an athlete and a coach, Chamov was inducted into the Lindenwood Hall of Fame in 2014.
Chamov and his wife, Celia, have a daughter, Noami Essi-Petya, who was born in November of 2018. Celia was a six-time NAIA champion at Lindenwood.
