Mirela Rahneva has held a number of titles over the last few years: rugby player, student and wedding planner. But the one that has all of her attention right now, is skeleton athlete.
“Wow, that looks really cool and a little bit insane,” Rahneva said as she remembered back to seeing skeleton for the first time.
And that’s not even her only title right now. You can also add caterer at Winsport to the list. It’s a job the 28-year-old does in addition to all the hours of training on and off the track.
“I’ve definitely had 17-hour days here,” she said. “I live at Winsport. It’s awesome, they’ve been so amazing, I can come in and work whenever I want and can.”
The reason for investing those long hours, is simple. The 2018 Olympics. It’s a dream that started when she immigrated to Canada from Bulgaria at the age of 10.
“When we first moved to Canada I watched the Olympics on TV and that kind of sparked interest,” she said.
She also comes by her athletic background honestly.
“Thank goodness genetics,” Rahneva joked. “My dad was a gymnast and my mom was a sprinter in Bulgaria.”
She knows there would be no better tribute to her parents and their family journey than sliding head first into an Olympic games, as a proud Canadian.
“Absolutely, I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Yeah, it’d be really cool.”
After moving to Calgary from Toronto to pursue skeleton full-time in 2014, Rahneva has now climbed the ranks and will slide for Canada on the World Cup this season, making her debut in Whistler on Nov. 28 to Dec. 3.
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