Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev awarded the title Athlete No.1 of Bulgaria for 2018 to Mirela Demireva.

This is the second time Bulgaria’s top competitor in the high jump has won the traditional rankings of the Bulgarian Athletics Federation and Atletika (Athletics) magazine since 2016 when she brought home the silver medal from  the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

In 2018 Demireva cleared 2 metres for the first time in her career. She put in a strong performance at the Diamond League tournaments where she won two second places and triumphed in Rabat, cutting short the series of 45 victories of world champion Mariya Lasitskene. At the European Athletics Championship in Berlin she again cleared 2 metres and won the silver medal.