Stefka Kostadinova

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Stefka Kostadinova

Personal information
Native name	Стефка Георгиева Костадинова[1]
Full name	Stefka Georgieva Kostadinova[1]
Nationality	Bulgarian
Born	(1965-03-25) 25 March 1965 (age 59)[1] Plovdiv, Bulgaria[1]
Years active	1985–1997
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	Bulgaria
Sport	Athletics
Event	High jump
Turned pro	1985
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 indoor: 2.06 m[2]
Medal record Representing  Bulgaria Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta High jump 1988 Seoul High jump World Championships 1987 Rome High jump 1995 Gothenburg High jump European Championships 1986 Stuttgart High jump World Indoor Championships 1985 Paris High jump 1987 Indianapolis High jump 1989 Budapest High jump 1993 Toronto High jump 1997 Paris High jump European Indoor Championships 1985 Pireaus High Jump 1987 Liévin High Jump 1988 Budapest High Jump 1994 Paris High Jump 1992 Genoa High Jump Goodwill Games 1986 Moscow High Jump IAAF Grand Prix Final 1985 Rome High Jump 1987 Brussels High Jump 1993 London High Jump 1991 Barcelona High Jump IAAF World Cup 1985 Canberra High Jump European Cup 1985 Moscow High Jump 1987 Prague High Jump 1995 Villeneuve d'Ascq High Jump 1996 Madrid High Jump

Stefka Georgieva Kostadinova (Bulgarian: Стефка Георгиева Костадинова; born 25 March 1965) is a Bulgarian former athlete who competed in the high jump. Her world record of 2.09 metres stood since 1987 until being broken by Yaroslava Mahuchikh in 2024. She is the 1996 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and a five-time World Indoor champion. She has been the president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee since 2005.^[3]

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).

Kostadinova was reigning world record holder in the women's high jump until July 2024. She set a world record of 2.09 m at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome. 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 businessman Nikolai Popvasilev.^[4]

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 11 November 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.

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Bulgaria
1984	Friendship Games	Prague, Czechoslovakia	4th	1.93 m
1985	World Indoor Games	Paris, France	1st	1.97 m
	European Indoor Championships	Piraeus, Greece	1st	1.97 m
	World Cup	Canberra, Australia	1st	2.00 m
1986	Goodwill Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	1st	2.03 m
	European Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	2.00 m
1987	European Indoor Championships	Liévin, France	1st	1.97 m
	World Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, United States	1st	2.05 m
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	2.09 m WR
1988	European Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	2.04 m
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	2nd	2.01 m
1989	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	2.02 m
1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	6th	1.93 m
1992	European Indoor Championships	Genoa, Italy	2nd	2.02 m
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	4th	1.94 m
1993	World Indoor Championships	Toronto, Canada	1st	2.02 m
	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	15th (q)	1.90 m
1994	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	1st	1.98 m
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	1st	2.01 m
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	1st	2.05 m
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	1st	2.02 m

• Bulgaria at the Olympics

• Stefka Kostadinova at Olympedia
• Stefka Kostadinova at Olympics.com
• Stefka Kostadinova at Olympic.org (archived)
• Stefka Kostadinova at World Athletics

Records
Preceded by Lyudmila Andonova	Women's High Jump World Record Holder 1 June 1986 – 7 July 2024	Succeeded by Yaroslava Mahuchikh
Sporting positions
Preceded by Ivan Slavkov	President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee 11 November 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