About Me – Klaudia Bulgakow

MY BIOGRAPHY AND BEST RESULTS

I was born in 1982 in Warsaw, Poland, in a pretty flat area of Europe. All my summer holidays I spent by the river to the north of Warsaw. I loved watching birds flying. There was a lot of air traffic too – planes, helicopters and even sailplanes passing over the roof of our house. Let's say I spent my childhood staring at the sky, dreaming of flying like Peter Pan.

When I saw the mountains for the first time – I mean real mountains, not hills – I was 7 years old and I went totally crazy about them. It was the Polish Tatras.

At 3.5 years old I asked my mum to sign me up for ice-skating classes. This started my 9-year journey with ice-skating. I trained hard and was fully committed until I was 12, when I crashed during practice and injured my leg. That was the end of my “career”.

A year later I recovered and started playing tennis. I trained for 4 years and began competing, until another accident while skiing damaged my knee. I then decided to focus on school and getting into a good university.

I first saw paragliding at 12 while skiing in Austria, but only considered trying it at 16. My mum heard from a new neighbour that it was safer than motorbikes (which I loved), and encouraged me to try.

My first tandem flight, with the Polish Champion, was… boring. I couldn’t imagine spending money on such a sport. But later that year, during an introductory course, my first solo flight changed everything. I fell completely in love with paragliding.

From that moment, I knew I wanted it all – to learn, compete, join the Polish team and represent my country internationally. I was 17 and most competitors were over 30, so I knew I had time.

I started training and earning money by teaching skiing. Soon I began competing in XC contests and later joined competitions like Puchar Pomorza and the Polish Cup Monte Grappa in Italy. I was the only female competitor at that time and the second in Polish paragliding history.

A year later I joined my first Polish Championship and international competitions. Without coaches, competitions became my main way of learning. After a few years of training, I returned in 2003 and achieved my first podium.

In 2004 I fully committed to competitions, achieved strong results, gained sponsors and joined the Polish National Team. In 2007 I secured financial sponsorship and could fully focus on my dream.

I competed in Europeans (2006) and Worlds (2007), winning my first World Cup in 2007. However, in 2009 I faced a difficult period, losing my sponsor and considering quitting.

After a break and hard work in the Alps, I returned to flying. With renewed support from my sponsor, I began my comeback.

From 2010 onwards, I rebuilt my career, eventually becoming World Champion in 2013 – a dream come true.

My journey is still ongoing. I continue to learn, improve and push forward.

Throughout my career, people played a key role. One special person I must mention is Nikolaj Shorohov – a legendary Russian pilot and my mentor. His guidance shaped my path and I will never forget him.

Today, I am my own rudder, sail and ship – and the wind is my sponsor. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you.