Stefka Kostadinova

Born in Plovdiv, Kostadinova went to a specialist sports school, but was only introduced to high jump in a Year Six (12-13 year 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 (5 ft 4)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

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 distinction of 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 in 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).

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. In 2007 Kostadinova married her companion of some nine years, a businessman in the construction industry, Nikolai Popvasilev.

After retiring Kostadinova started a career in sports administration. She has served as vice president of the Bulgarian Athletic 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.

• Female two metres club

• Stefka Kostadinova at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Stefka Kostadinova at the International Olympic Committee

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