Bulgarian high jumper Stefka Kostadinova accomplished this milestone at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome. She has bested her two previous world records, 2.08 and 2.07 meters, both of which she had set in May of 1986 in Sofia.
That iconic moment in track and field history may be seen in the video below, where Kostadinova became the first woman over 2.09 meters. Particularly impressive about Kostadinova was when she set that world record, she had jumped over two meters in excess of 40 times, which is truly remarkable. To this day, she has the women’s record for having jumped over two meters 197 times.
At the 1996 Olympic Games, that were held in Atlanta, Georgia, Kostadinova had won the gold medal, after she cleared 2.05 meters, leaving Greek high jumper Niki Bakogianni in second place, with the silver medal, and a new national record for Greece (2.03 meters).
Throughout her respected career in the high jump, Kostadinova was voted Bulgaria’s “Sportsperson of the Year” four times in 1985, 1987, 1995 and 1996 respectively. She has won two outdoor world championships in high jump (1987 and 1995) and five indoor world championships. Kostadinova also served as president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee since 2005.
