Mirela Rahneva’s next race begins

Mirela Rahneva (contributed).

For much of her career, Mirela Rahneva’s job began at the top of a skeleton track, pushing off and committing to a high-speed descent head-first.

Rahneva, a two-time Olympian and one of Canada’s most accomplished skeleton athletes, built a career that included multiple medals and titles on the Skeleton World Cup circuit. She recently returned to Calgary from Milan, where she was supporting two athletes she coached for the Milano Cortina Olympic Games.

She still remembers the nerves she felt the first time she stood at the top of the track.

“At the top of the track, you do have a little bit of nerves, but nerves are very closely tied to excitement as well,” she said. “It’s like anything that you do for the first time, you’re a little bit unsure, you’re wondering whether you could do it.”

Now, the 37-year-old says she feels a different kind of thrill as she begins a new chapter. Earlier this year, Rahneva joined luxury brokerage Engel & Völkers in Calgary after concluding her skeleton racing career in 2025.

“It’s very similar to my real estate career,” she said. “It’s like, am I gonna be able to pull this off? It’s a little bit scary, but it’s also really exciting.”

Athletic upbringing

Rahneva’s path to elite sport began long before she stepped onto a skeleton sled.

She was born in Bulgaria into a high-performing athletic family. Her mother was an elite sprinter and her father competed as an acrobatic gymnast.

Once the family immigrated to Canada from Bulgaria in 1998, settling in Ottawa, sport quickly became central to her childhood. Encouraged by her parents, Rahneva gravitated toward nearly every athletic opportunity available at school, from cross-country and track and field to wrestling, touch football and rugby.

Rahneva was inspired by Prince Edward Island-born rugby and bobsleigh star Heather Moyse to explore the sliding sports.

Following a 12th-place finish at her Olympic debut in PyeongChang in 2018, Rahneva captured her second Crystal Globe in 2019, a prestigious prize awarded by the International Skating Union, finishing third overall for the second time with two victories and a silver medal. At the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, she slid to a fifth-place finish.

A move west for opportunity

Rahneva began skeleton in Lake Placid, N.Y., but as her ability progressed, it became clear she would need consistent access to facilities. Calgary quickly emerged as the natural destination, and she and her father arrived there 12 years ago.

Home to one of the world’s premier sliding tracks and the legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics, the city has long been a hub for Canadian high-performance athletes. Beyond the scenery, she saw more opportunities for education and employment for herself in Calgary compared to Whistler, B.C., home of the world’s fastest ice track used in the 2010 Olympics. 

Rahneva said she still remembers her first drive toward the Rocky Mountains after arriving for a training camp, struck by the scale of the landscape. 

The financial reality of Olympic sport

While the Olympics represent the top of athletic achievement, the financial reality behind the scenes can be challenging.

Even at the highest level, Rahneva said, the support from Sport Canada amounts to less than $40,000 a year. At the same time, many costs associated with training and competition fall directly on the athletes themselves.

“We’re paying $20,000 to $30,000 team fees, and then we’re paying for travel on top of that,” she said.

To sustain their careers, many athletes develop side hustles or flexible work arrangements. “A lot of good skills come out of necessity,” Rahneva said.

Today, she balances multiple roles. In addition to launching her real estate career, Rahneva works at KidSport Calgary, a non-profit that helps remove financial barriers preventing children from participating in organized sport.

Discovering real estate

Rahneva’s interest in real estate developed through her own experiences in Calgary’s housing market.

After relocating to Calgary, she and her father purchased a home together, one that also served as a landing pad for other athletes who were travelling through the city. 

Rahneva went through the process of legalizing and rezoning the home’s basement suite with the city, creating a comfortable secondary living space. The house itself was also renovated while they lived there.

After returning from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Rahneva purchased another apartment. The experience left her curious about the profession itself.

“I have a DIY attitude, so I’m going to learn how to pick up the skill and do it myself,” she said of her attitude at the time.

She joined the field in June and spent her first months in the business with another brokerage before joining Engel & Völkers earlier this year.

A niche rooted in sport

Rahneva expects her athletic background will shape the early direction of her real estate career.

Calgary remains a central hub for Canadian high-performance sport, with athletes, coaches and sports professionals regularly relocating to the city. The legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics and facilities such as the Olympic Oval and WinSport continue to attract competitors and support staff.

“My initial feeling is that I’ll be working with athletes, people across provinces,” she said.

That network extends beyond competitors themselves to include coaches, nutritionists, strength and conditioning specialists and others who support elite sport.

A mindset that carries forward

Rahneva formally concluded her skeleton career in 2025, though she remains connected to the sport through coaching and mentorship. Recently, she coached two Calgary-based skeleton athletes who compete internationally for Brazil and Belgium.

The transition from Olympic athlete to real estate advisor may appear dramatic, but Rahneva believes the “I can do anything” mindset developed in elite sport offers a strong foundation for what comes next.

Pursuing sport at the highest level requires pushing beyond what most people consider normal limits. That perspective, she adds, shapes how athletes approach new chapters of life.