Mirela Rahneva

Some would argue Mirela Rahneva was born to compete. After all her mom was an elite sprinter, and her dad a competitive acrobatic gymnast.

Once the family moved to Canada from Bulgaria in 1998, she recalls her dad marking out a 100-metre sprint track on a bicycle path. Her father would get out a stopwatch to time Mirela. The process was repeated over and over through her childhood.

Little did Mirela know this precious time spent with dad was the foundation of her Olympic journey, paving a trail for a life in high-performance sport. Mirela was a standout rugby player in high school and at the University of Guelph. 

Following a short stint on the National Team playing rugby sevens, Mirela was inspired by teammates, and former rugby and bobsleigh star – Heather Moyse – to explore the sliding sports. Originally focused on bobsleigh, Mirela realized she was too small, but after a successful testing camp, was encouraged by Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton officials to look at skeleton. 

Mirela has never looked back. Leveraging those early days sprinting on the sidewalk at home as a child, Mirela is one of the most explosive athletes off the skeleton start block, which has helped her quickly progress through the Canadian ranks. 

Mirela enjoyed a breakout season six years ago in her rookie season on the World Cup Team, racking up four World Cup podiums and finishing third in the overall standings. 

Following a 12th-place finish at her Olympic debut in PyeongChang, Mirela captured her second Crystal Globe in 2019, finishing third overall for the second time in her young career thanks to two victories and a silver medal. 

Mirela continued to be a podium threat each time she hit the start line on the track to Beijing 2022 where she slid to a fifth place finish. She has sustained her position as one of the top head first sliders in the world in 2023 when she won her first World Championship bronze medal and a third Crystal Globe for finishing third overall on the World Cup. 

A hard worker both on and off the track, Mirela finds a unique balance in her life between training, competing, working, and most importantly, spending precious time with family.

She obtained a Masters in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship from Smith School of Business in 2021 while sitting out the 2020/21 season injured with a C5/C6 bulged disk. Mirela also has a Bachelor of Commerce (specializing in tourism management). 

In addition to chasing the international podium, Mirelia is working full time at KidSport Calgary, a non-profit organization which aligns with her values of increasing access to sport for all kids. 

Career Highlights

	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Other
2023 - World Cup, Sigulda, LAT				6th
2023 - World Cup, Innsbruck, AUT				4th
2023 - World Championships, St. Moritz, SUI				6th (Skeleton Mixed Team Competition)
2023 - World Championships, St. Moritz, SUI				Women's Competition
2023 - World Cup, Altenberg, GER				4th
2023 - World Cup, Altenberg, GER				4th
2023 - World Cup, Winterberg, GER
2022 - World Cup, Park City, USA
2020 – World Championships, Altenberg, GER				10th
2020 – World Cup, St. Moritz, SUI				4th
2020 – World Cup, Konigssee, GER				4th
2020 – World Cup, Igls, AUT				7th
2020 – World Cup, La Plagne, FRA				7th
2020 – World Cup, Winterberg, GER
2019 - World Cup, Lake Placid				4th
2019 – Overall World Cup
2019 – World Championships, Whistler, CAN				12th
2019 – World Cup, Calgary, CAN
2019 – World Cup, Lake Placid, USA				4th
2019 – World Cup, St. Moritz, SUI
2018 – World Cup, Winterberg, GER				5th
2018 – Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang, KOR				12th
2018 – World Cup, St. Moritz, SUI				4th
2017 – World Cup, Igls, AUT
2017 – World Cup, Winterberg, GER				4th
2017 – World Cup, Whistler, CAN				7th
2017 – World Cup, Park City, USA				4th
2017 – World Cup, Lake Placid, USA				7th
2017 – World Championships, Konigssee, GER				8th
2017 – World Cup, Pyeongchang, KOR				5th
2017 – World Cup, Igls, AUT
2017 – World Cup, Konigssee, GER				4th
2017 – World Cup, St. Moritz, SUI
2017 – World Cup, Winterberg, GER
2016 – World Cup, Lake Placid, USA
2016 – World Cup, Whistler, CAN				5th
2016 – Europa Cup, St. Moritz, SUI
2015 – Europa Cup, Sigulda, LAT
2015 – North American Cup, Whistler, CAN
2015 – North American Cup, Calgary, CAN
2015 – North American Cup, Whistler, CAN
2014 – North American Cup, Calgary, CAN
2014 – North American Cup, Park City, USA

Olympic Winter Games Results

World Championship Results

World Cup Results