Bulgaria scored a very successful performance at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea, Great Britain, organized by the International Paralympics Committee. The championships were held between August 19 and 23. The Bulgarian athletes won 4 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals at the championships. Stela Eneva from the coastal city of Varna won 2 gold medals for Bulgaria – in the discus throw event with a personal best of 31.88 meters and in the shot put event with 10.58 meters which is her personal best this season. The positive mood and the power of the spirit of the Bulgarian Paralympics athlete are quite impressive. Eneva was born with various malformations, and her legs were amputated when she was still a little child. However, she started walking with artificial limbs later.

“I did not want to be a burden to anyone. I just wanted to show that people can manage on their own, no matter the difficulties they face. If a healthy person needs for example 15 minutes to do something, I can do it for 1 hour, even if it costs me lots of efforts”, says Stela Eneva.

Stela has a university degree and majored in accounting. However, she found it boring to work with figures. She was craving to live an active life. She took the risk and started to deal with sports and sports became her destiny. She took a second university degree in coaching at the National Sports Academy. “When I start something, I am fully devoted to it. I want to progress, learn new things and reach new peaks.”, says Stella Eneva, whose sports biography is quite impressive: Olympic vice champion in Beijing 2008, two silver medals in London 2012 Paralympics, 3 times Bulgarian Athlete of the year - in 2010, 2012 and 2013 (in the ranking of best Bulgarian athletes with disabilities), an honorary citizen of Varna. Here is what Stela Eneva told Radio Bulgaria about her participation at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea, Great Britain:

“Athletes are never satisfied with their achievements and results. However, I can not complain from my participation at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea. This year I started to use a new sports technique and a new chair. I am no longer using my feet. I work with my arm, the belly and the back muscles. So, this is a new beginning for me and these two gold medals are really valuable.”

Stela paid a high price for every medal she won - it was due to strong discipline and lots of efforts during the training period. She also suffered many privations to reach her goal. The Bulgarian athletes with disabilities face serious problems stemming from insufficient state financing and the lack of sponsors. However, the Bulgarian Paralympics athletes do their best during the training period and spend their own money, in order to succeed. A high-quality artificial limb, which endures high tension, is a very expensive device. These athletes face another problem in Bulgaria - the lack of coaches who train and work with athletes with disabilities. These people have to be good coaches and psychologists at the same time. They have to communicate well with the athlete, in order to be well aware of their perceptions.

“My coach is a former master of sports. In the beginning, he found it hard to get used to working with me”, Stela further explains. “I used to practice shot put and discus throw in an upright position. He used to say: No, this is wrong!” and I always replied: “Look, your calf and ankle are functioning well, mine - are not!” Later we started to complement one another: he says something, I add something to it and things started to happen the right way. We make certain changes for each competition regarding my position in the chair and my sports technique, in order to score good results. However, it is very difficult to build a good team. We sit in chairs. My coach brings the discus and the shot back to me. Things are different abroad - everyone has a special assistant for this purpose. However, I sometimes say: We should better feel the pain, so we can enjoy the victory later."

Stela Eneva established in the city of Varna the Atlant sports club for people with disabilities. She also opened a fitness hall, where people with disabilities can practice free of charge.

“One should find his idol or something to occupy him, in order to stop thinking about his disability and beat depression. It all depends on us. We have to possess a strong will, in order to progress. Undoubtedly, I am a strong personality and I helped many people. I somehow manage to bring the will to live back to them. The world needs all of us. We only have to find strength and look for what matters to us, instead of following someone else’s will, the renowned Bulgarian Paralympics athlete further says.”

Stela’s next big goal is to win a title at the Rio De Janeiro Paralympics in 2016. Let us wish her good luck!

English version: Kostadin Atanasov