Mirela Rahneva
Rahneva in 2020
Personal information
NicknameMimi
NationalityCanadian
Born (1988-07-26) 26 July 1988 (age 35)
Ruse, Bulgaria
Alma materUniversity of Guelph
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
CountryCanada
SportSkeleton
Turned pro2012
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals12th (Pyeongchang 2018)
5th (Beijing 2022)
Medal record
Women's skeleton
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Whistler Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 St. Moritz Women

Mirela "Mimi" Rahneva (born July 26, 1988) is a Canadian skeleton racer. Her family immigrated to Canada in 1997; her father, Stoyan, was a competitive gymnast, and her mother was an elite sprinter. After playing rugby in high school and at the University of Guelph, she began competing in skeleton in 2012 and was selected to the Canadian national team in 2016.[1] She is coached by Quin Sekulich and rides a Bromley sled.[2] She was named one of the three women to represent Canada in skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang[3] after earning eighth on the World Cup season standings for 2017–18.[4]

In January 2022, Rahneva was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[5][6][7]

Notable results

Rahneva's best finish on the World Cup circuit was at St. Moritz in January 2017, her first season on the World Cup, which she won by a remarkable 1.83 seconds.[8] Prior to entering top-level competition, she won the overall North American Cup for 2015. She finished in eighth place at the IBSF World Championships 2017 in Königssee, and was part of a team that finished ninth at the combined bobsleigh-skeleton team competition at the same championships.

References

  1. ^ "Mirela Rahneva". Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "Mirela RAHNEVA". International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  3. ^ "Canadian bobsleigh and skeleton athletes nominated for 2018 Olympic Winter Games" (Press release). Canadian Olympic Committee. January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "Standings (2017/2018) (Women's skeleton) (BMW IBSF World Cup)". International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "21 bobsleigh and skeleton athletes nominated to represent Team Canada in Beijing". www.bobsleighcanadaskeleton.c. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  6. ^ Nichols, Paula (20 January 2022). "18 bobsleigh and 3 skeleton athletes to be on Team Canada at Beijing 2022". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  7. ^ Smart, Zack (20 January 2022). "Kripps, de Bruin, Appiah headline formidable Canadian bobsleigh team at Beijing Games". www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  8. ^ Stahlhacke, Angela (December 13, 2017). "Media Guide Athletes: Skeleton — Innsbruck (AUT)" (PDF). International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Retrieved December 18, 2017.

External links

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