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Beyond the Bar of the High Jump | Stefka Kostadinova’s Remarkable Journey of a Decade of Domination!

Piero-SVP

March 29, 2025

133

History of champions unlike any other in the world of classic sports !

Prologue!
In the realm of athletics, where human potential is pushed to its limits, one woman’s name echoes through the annals of history. Stefka Kostadinova, a Bulgarian icon, soared to unprecedented heights, defying gravity and redefining the boundaries of human achievement. With a single, majestic leap, she etched her name into the record books, forging a legacy that would inspire generations to come. This is the story of a champion, a trailblazer, and a true legend of the track and field.

* * *
Stefka Kostadinova has been one of the leading athletes in the world arena in the high jump competition, dominating this competition for a full 10 years.

She was born on March 25, 1965. She first reached the arena of success in 1985, winning the world indoor title and ranking first in the world in this competition at the end of that same year.

In 1986 she equaled the world record of her compatriot Lyudmila Andonova, and then, a few days later, improved it to 2.08 m.

In 1987, the peak of her career was when she broke the world record at 2.09 m, a record that lasted until 2010!!

During her career, Kostadinova has won two world titles in 1987 and 1995, one European title in 1986, five-time world indoor champion (1985, 1987, 1989, 1993 and 1997) and one, 1996 “Olympic gold medal”.

Meanwhile, she had finished second at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and fourth in Barcelona in 1992.

Kostadinova was ranked in the “Top 10” of the best female athletes in the world for 13 years from 1984-97, being absent only in 1990, while she was ranked first in the world 6 times in a row from 1985-88, 1993, and 1996.

For a decade she was married to her coach, Nikolay Petrov, but divorced in 1999.

After finally ending her brilliant career as an athlete, she continued her activity as a sports administrator, becoming vice president of the Bulgarian Athletics Federation and also a deputy in the Ministry of Sports for her country (2003-2005).