The former track and field athlete Iva Prandjeva was born on February 15, 1972 in Plovdiv. Her top achievement in the triple jump was 15, 18 m, with which she improved the world record and won a silver medal at the world championships in Gothenburg in 1995. Iva was also the European indoor triple jump champion in 1996. The Plovdiv woman is the only athlete with two awards from a major championship. He achieved it twice indoors - silver in the triple jump and bronze in the long jump at the World Championships in Maebashi 1999, and at the European Championships in Ghent 2000 - respectively silver and bronze.
Her two appearances in the TV reality show "Survivor" in 2009 and 2014 contributed to her popularity. Now Iva Prandjeva works as a children's coach in Plovdiv. Especially for Doctor, she revealed how he althy her lifestyle is.
Iva, do you have any injuries from your sports career?
- I have spikes in my neck, lower back and back pain. But this, in my opinion, is not a legacy of sport, but rather of age. Otherwise, during my career as an athlete, I did not have any surgical interventions or serious injuries. I was a he althy horse. I take no personal credit for this. Maybe it's due to a gene and the right approach of my coaches. Of course, I had injuries. There is no way a high-level athlete can go without injuries. Even now, coaching kids, I see how they too have their injuries. Fortunately for me, I haven't had any surgeries. Maybe I was lucky.
Do you have long-lived people in the family who enjoy good he alth
- Maybe only my great-grandmother Maria, who died at 95 years old. My other grandparents died between the ages of 75 and 80. To me, longevity is living 100 - 200 years. Honestly, I don't want to die at all. But the older I get, the more often I remember that we are mortal and that one day I really won't be in this world, and it scares me a little.
Do you do anything to stay he althy until old age?
- As a matter of fact, I exercise every day. I run, I go spinning, I go boxing, I train with the kids I work with. I don't do it for he alth, but because I feel the need to exercise. Unfortunately, I smoke, sometimes I drink alcohol - I do not live an extremely he althy life. Nor am I careful to eat only organic foods, I eat what ordinary people can afford. I really like chocolate, I drink coke.
In my life, I knew many people who neither drank nor smoked, played sports, ate he althily, but they died early. This does not mean that we should not live he althily. I have to, but I believe in fate, and in the end what is meant to be done will happen. For example, recently students from the sports school in Plovdiv died in a car accident.
What kind of thrill does it give you to participate in "Survivor"?
- The first time I needed a challenge, to compete again. I really missed the competitions when I stopped athletics. Then I gave birth to two daughters and at some point my life became boring and monotonous. simple
I needed some adventure and Survivor gave it to me
It was really worth this experience. It was unforgettable. And the second time I did it for the adventure. I am an adventurous person. There were difficult games in which I harnessed my will to squeeze everything out of myself and show my capabilities.
Was it harder than your hardest workout in athletics?
- No, it can't compare to my hardest workout. Because my training was brutal at the time and at times I felt like giving up. While in "Survivor" I didn't want to give up because of physical exertion. I can compare with sports only the emotion, the adrenaline before every game. For me, every race was a celebration.
Weren't you afraid of tropical diseases in that part of the world?
- I was not afraid because we were vaccinated against all the possible diseases that might strike us in Cambodia. Already in Bulgaria, we started taking anti-malaria pills and continued there. A team of doctors attended to us whenever anyone had a problem - rashes, swelling or anything else. Personally, I am a positive person and I don't even allow myself to think about illnesses. In terms of he alth, I didn't have any problems. It was a great pleasure. Imagine waking up in the morning and watching the sunrise on the beach. It's not important for me to be in luxury hotels, but to be closer to nature.
What are your impressions of Dr. Emanuil Naydenov, who also participated in "Survivor"?
- For me, Emanuil Naydenov is a savior of human lives. I have a lot of respect for him as a person and as a player. Behave with dignity, give your best to achieve your goal - to raise money for a brain tumor treatment center.
Female athletes usually have a harder time giving birth. How was it with you?
- Yes, it's not easy. Every woman who has given birth normally knows this. And I gave birth in a normal way, not with C-section and anesthesia. It's hard, but when you see this little being coming out of you, all the pain is forgotten. I am very happy that I gave birth to both my children under the care of Dr. Georgi Krumov, who is one of the best gynecologists in Bulgaria (head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. George Hospital, Plovdiv - note ed.).
I have a great friendship with him. My coach Rumen Yotsov introduced us when I was a competitor, and since then he has become my personal gynecologist.
calm and responsive no matter what problems you have. I am very grateful to him. Otherwise, he is also connected with sports - a former tennis player, he is now the executive director of Lokomotiv. The more he is a doctor, the more he helps sports.
When your children get sick, do you immediately take them to the GP, or do you start with folk medicine?
- When the kids catch a cold, the first few days I try to handle it myself. Because, having been to the doctor so many times over the years, I already know how to deal with a cough or some virus. But when I see that the situation is getting worse, I get to the jeep - Dr. Petya Dyukendzhieva. And she is exceptional, a doctor from the old generation. I am not one of those mothers who immediately runs to the doctor. My children have resorted to antibiotics in extreme cases. I give them prophylactic vitamins. Now I have bought and give my little daughter a multivitamin for the immune system. And for my older daughter, because she is a volleyball player, I buy her vitamins that contain both magnesium and calcium, because they support growth. Because she had problems with her knees, the doctor recommended that she also drink glucosamine.
You have a great figure. Is it only due to sports, or do you also diet from time to time?
- Yes, I exercise daily, but I also restrict myself in food. I don't eat as much as I want. Even now I have a bass with Stoyko Tsonov - the former coach of Tezjan Naimova, until December 28 I will be 60 kg, and he - 87 kg. That's why I'm currently on a total diet - I eat more often and less. I need to lose five kilograms, and Stoyko - a little more. Whoever loses pays for the other person's New Year's dinner. If we both succeed, we'll figure something out - we'll reward each other in some way.
