Olympic and world champion in high jump Stefka Kostadinova turns 60 today, BNR reported.
The famous Bulgarian has had a remarkable sports career. The legend of world athletics is an Olympic champion from Atlanta 96 and a silver medalist from Seoul 88. With her achievement of 209 centimeters from the world championship in Rome 1987, she held the world record in the high jump for almost 37 years.
She is a two-time world outdoor champion in Rome 87 and Gothenburg 95. Winner of five titles from the world championships indoors - Paris 85, Indianapolis 87, Budapest 89, Toronto 93 and Paris 97. European champion from Stuttgart 86. Winner of the World Cup final in Canberra 85. Holder of four gold medals from the Old Continent's indoor championships - Piraeus 85, Liège 87, Budapest 88 and Paris 89.
She has improved world records six times. She still has 5 of the 10 best results in the high jump and 11 top achievements from the Top 20 of all time. A record four times she was elected the number 1 athlete of the year in Bulgaria, five times she is number 1 in the Balkans.
Kostadinova is the first woman at the head of the BOC and the first Olympic champion to head the Olympic movement in our country. As the president of the BOC, she has made great contributions to improving the status of Olympic medalists and their post-competition adaptation in society.
She is currently a member of the IOC Commission for Culture and Olympic Heritage.
Stefka Kostadinova is among the first 14 legends inducted into the World Athletics Hall of Fame, established in 2012. A special section in the virtual Museum of Olympic Sports No. 1 is dedicated to her.
The only Bulgarian woman awarded a sports Oscar, which places her alongside celebrities such as Pele, Senna, Maradona, Mike Tyson and Carl Lewis.