Stefka Kostadinova

Stefka Kostadinova

Personal information
Born	(1965-03-25) March 25, 1965 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Country	Bulgaria
Retired	1997
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1st (Atlanta, 1996)
Highest world ranking	1st (Rome, 1987)
Personal best(s)	High jump (outdoor): 2.09 m (World Record) High jump (indoor): 2.06 m[1]
Medal record Competitor for  Bulgaria Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta High jump Silver 1988 Seoul High jump World Championships Gold 1987 Rome High jump Gold 1995 Gothenburg High jump European Championships Gold 1986 Stuttgart High jump World Indoor Championships Gold 1985 Paris High jump Gold 1987 Indianapolis High jump Gold 1989 Budapest High jump Gold 1993 Toronto High jump Gold 1997 Paris High jump European Athletics Indoor Championships Gold 1985 Pireaus High Jump Gold 1987 Liévin High Jump Gold 1988 Budapest High Jump Gold 1994 Paris High Jump Silver 1992 Genoa High Jump

Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgarian: Стефка Костадинова) (born March 25, 1965 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian retired athlete and the current women's world record holder in the high jump. She is the president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

Early career

Stefka went to a specialist sports school, but was only introduced to high jump in a Year Six (12-13year olds) athletics meet in Sofia, on a day she is quoted as saying she would never forget (on TransWorldSport interview in 2012). She jumped 1.66m and was informed that it was a world record for her age group; equivalent to the adult female world record in 1941: See Women's high jump world record progression

Career

Kostadinova is the reigning world record holder in the women's high jump at 2.09 m, which she jumped during the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome. Her world record is one of the oldest in modern athletics. Altogether Kostadinova set seven world records - three outdoors and four indoors. She also holds the women's world record for having jumped over 2.00 m 197 times.

Kostadinova won the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, setting an Olympic record of 2.05 m. She also won a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Kostadinova won the outdoor World Championships in 1987 and 1995. She won the World Indoor Championship five times between 1985 and 1997. Kostadinova also won gold in all European Championships in Athletics which she competed. She was a European outdoor champion in Stuttgart in 1986 and a four-time European indoor champion in 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1994.

Kostadinova was voted Sportsperson of the Year in Bulgaria four times (1985, 1987, 1995 and 1996).

Personal life

In 1995 Kostadinova gave birth to her son, Nikolay, just several months before winning gold in the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. In 1999 she divorced her long-standing husband and coach, Nikolay Petrov. The same year she officially put an end to her athletic career, though she had actually not participated in any major sports competition since the World Indoors Championship in 1997.

Sports administration career

After retiring Kostadinova started a career in sports administration. She has served as vice president of the Bulgarian Athletics Federation, vice president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee and was deputy sports minister of Bulgaria from 2003 through 2005.

On November 11, 2005 Kostadinova was elected president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. She replaced Ivan Slavkov, who was expelled by the International Olympic Committee for violating its standards in ethics.

See also

• Female two metres club

References

External links

• Stefka Kostadinova at Sports Reference

Records
Preceded by Lyudmila Andonova	Women's High Jump World Record Holder June 1, 1986 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by Ivan Slavkov	President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee November 11, 2005 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by Lyudmila Andonova	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1985 – 1988	Succeeded by Silvia Costa
Preceded by Heike Henkel	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1992 – 1993	Succeeded by Silvia Costa Inga Babakova Britta Bilač
Preceded by Inga Babakova	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1996 – 1997	Succeeded by Venelina Veneva
Preceded by Lyudmila Andonova	Women's Bulgarian National Champion 1985 — 1988	Succeeded by Rosanel Gogi
Preceded by Svetlana Leseva	Women's Bulgarian National Champion 1991	Succeeded by Lyudmila Andonova
Preceded by Venelina Veneva	Women's Bulgarian National Champion 1996	Succeeded by Khristina Kalcheva