Alexandra Nacheva returned to Bulgaria after her strong performance at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where she won a bronze medal in the triple jump. The national athlete did not hide her emotions after her return and described the award as one of the most significant in her career, BTA reports. “The feelings are very mixed. There is satisfaction, excitement, but also a little fear. I have not been welcomed like this for a long time and I really missed this feeling. I am feeling a lot of emotions right now“, said Nacheva at Sofia Airport. The athlete admitted that she is pleased with her performance, but according to her, the result has the potential to be even stronger.
“I feel very satisfied with myself. I can say that I am still in the best shape I have ever been in my entire life. The experience I had is not even 80 percent of my current capabilities. I am very happy with the bronze medal, although I could have done more“, she commented.
Nacheva also spoke about the difficult period she left behind. The track and field athlete emphasized that she never seriously considered quitting and always believed that she would return to the top again.
“It has not been easy for me over the years, I have nothing to hide. Mostly, the right people around me helped me. I myself have never thought of quitting. I always believed that I would be here again. Maybe that is my character – I longed for victories and for the moment when I would raise the flag again“, said the Bulgarian.
Nacheva wants to turn her own path into a message to people who are going through difficulties. “I want to be an example for all people – no matter what difficult moments they are going through, not to give up. No matter how hard or impossible something seems, in the end the efforts pay off. There were moments when I told myself that it was terribly difficult and I wondered how I would get through these challenges. But somehow I looked at everything step by step“, she shared.
The bronze in Birmingham is not the limit of her ambitions. Nacheva admitted that she arrived at the championship with the desire to improve her ranking from the previous European Championship and she fulfilled this goal.
“This was not my best version. I wanted an even better result. Let's leave that for even bigger competitions. But I'm very happy because I went to improve my ranking from two years ago and I achieved it. This was the best gift I could have ever dreamed of. This medal is much more precious to me than any other medal so far“, said Alexandra Nacheva.