He made his first appearance over the classic distance at the 2008
San Antonio Marathon in
Texas, and finished third with a time of 2:15:58 for his debut run. He won his first marathon in October the following year – in only his second marathon, his winning time of 2:11:51 at the
Podgorica Marathon was ten seconds off
Petko Stefanov's long-standing course record. He started his 2010 season at the
Daegu Marathon, where his run of 2:12:55 brought him sixth place. Despite his relative inexperience over the distance, Safronov claimed the
bronze medal in the marathon at the
2010 European Athletics Championships in
Barcelona. In the later stages he overtook
Ruggero Pertile (who suffered from cramps), and later said "I suffered a lot and it was a very tough race...At 30 km I realised I had a chance of a medal and I’m very proud of my last 2 km." An appearance at the
Fukuoka Marathon in December resulted in a personal best run of 2:10:12 – by keeping his own tempered pace in the hot conditions, he managed to finish quickly and went from seventh to second place, taking the runner-up spot behind
Jaouad Gharib. He completed his first sub-2:10 performance at the
2011 London Marathon, taking eighth with his time of 2:09:35 hours. He was among the leaders at the 2011
Fukuoka Marathon and ended the race in fifth place. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, taking 23rd place in a time of 2:16:04. ==References==