Bulgarian Paralympic medallist Stela Eneva sails boldly into the new Olympics

published on 8/27/24 1:31 PM

Photo: Facebook / Stela Eneva

With the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, the world's most important competition for athletes with disabilities, starting tomorrow, discus thrower Stela Eneva is preparing for her fourth Olympic Games.

Earlier this year, Eneva earned a quota for the Paralympic Games in the French capital after finishing sixth at the World Athletics Championships for People with Disabilities in Kobe, Japan. It will be her fourth Paralympics.

Stela previously won silver in the discus at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. She also won silver medals in the discus and shot put at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

After her brilliant participation in the world's top para-athletics events, her career took a sharp turn. She was took a nine-year break after a doping controversy saw her banned from competition for four years. But that has not broken the spirit of the three-time Bulgarian Paralympic silver medallist. She has the heart of a winner and this is not lost on her coaches or the media.

Coach Georgi Sekelarov was the first to lend a hand. At the age of 27, many people give up on their sport, while she had yet to make a serious start to her competitive career. But neither age nor physical difficulties are stopping Stela on her way to victory. Even at the Paralympics, athletes with such severe physical disabilities are rare. As a child, Stela had to have both legs amputated due to a congenital deformity. Today, she is an example of mind over matter - an example for all able-bodied people, but also for all disabled people in Bulgaria.

She says that she owes everything to sport - thanks to it, she became tougher and developed habits. "That is why I recommend sport to everyone, whether you want to achieve professional results or just do it for fun," says Stela Eneva.

"I have always been an ambitious girl, even as a child. I can't help but try to go all the way and see if it really can't be done. A lot of people tell themselves that they could have done something, but they never tried. That's why I think you should always try and then decide whether to give up or not. From the beginning I was assigned to a disability group, which put me on a par with people with only one amputated leg, or even with two healthy but deformed legs.

I went through three groups and the aim is to find yourself in the sport, to feel better and to be on an equal footing with all the other athletes. We have longevity in this discipline (discus - ed.), as long as you feel fit, you can throw up to the age of 60. But you have to meet the standards because we have to be classified for the Paralympics just like the able-bodied.

Stela's training for this year's Paralympics began almost as a joke. She simply took back to the field to test her fitness. At the Sports Academy she met Tony Velkov - a highly qualified coach and experienced athlete. In a matter of a year and a half of daily training, Stela Eneva got back into shape and was ready to compete:

"What is different now is that more and more people with disabilities are interested in taking part in Olympic competitions. Sports are developing and becoming more popular. A lot of people are watching the games. I wanted to take part in the Tokyo Olympics, but the pandemic prevented me from doing so. Whether a person has a disability or is healthy, everyone is equal in sport because there are many injuries even among healthy people.

But it is also true that for us, the para-athletes, the effort is a lot greater and the physical training in general is a lot more difficult. In the end, the most important thing is to keep a cool head and believe in yourself. In sport, it is important not only to look for material achievements, but also to enjoy what you are doing".

During the Paris Olympics, Stela Eneva mentally supported every Bulgarian athlete. In her opinion, the energy that each of us sends to the athletes is very important and it helps them when they are on the podium. "You can't be alone, you always need a team of people with you. And a little word, just an 'I love you' can lift your spirits and make you do great things," says the athlete.

Photos: Facebook/Stela Eneva, EPA/ BGNES, Reuters

Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova

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Bulgarian Paralympic medallist Stela Eneva sails boldly into the new Olympics

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