UC Davis Athletics

Atanas Atanassov joined the UC Davis track & field staff for his first season in 2019-20 as the multis and vertical jumps coach. Atanassov previously held coaching positions at Washington and Saint Martin’s University prior to joining the Aggies, and has over 30 years of coaching experience at every level of track and field. 

Atanassov spent five years coaching at the Pac-12 level with UW, guiding a plethora of student-athletes to all-conference finishes at the MPSF Indoor Championships. Headed by Jeremy Taiwo’s qualifications to the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Atanassov has had a hand in coaching the top five athletes on UW’s all-time list in the heptathlon. Capping his time as a Husky, Atanassov coached Taiwo to a then-world record in the heptathlon high jump, where Taiwo cleared 2.25m (7-04.50).

Atanassov transitioned to coaching at the elite levels, continuing to mentor Taiwo to an Olympic qualification in 2016. Taiwo finished in 11th place at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the decathlon after earning a silver medal at the Olympic Trials to two-time gold medalist and current world record holder Ashton Eaton. 

Atanassov previously spent two seasons at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash. as a jumps/sprints/multis coach, helping guide the Saints to two GNAC championship titles. Atanassov coached three NCAA Division II national qualifiers in the high jump and triple jump, and oversaw 18 school records during his tenure.