30 years ago on August 30, 1987, Bulgaria’s athlete Stefka Kostadinova set a new high jump world record at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

The Bulgarian athlete jumped 209cm thus beating her own personal best by 1 cm.

Many athletes, including Kostadinova herself, have been trying to beat that record in the past 30 years, but the record still stands.

She is the only Bulgarian awarded with the Sports Oscar, according to BNR.

Thus, Stefka Kostadinova placed alongside world sports legends such as Pele, Ayrton Senna, Diego Maradona, Mike Tyson and Carl Lewis.

She was among the 1^st athletes inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame. Her bar decorates the entrance of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

‘’Many athletes then tried to improve the record - some were very close, I have also tried a dozen times. I wish very much - and I will be happy - if this record is improved by a Bulgarian’’, she says, quoted by bTV.