Iliana was the recognized leader, both in their street games and in the team, who started learning gymnastics ABC under the clever and experienced eyes of the coach Zlatka Bontcheva in "Levski-Spartak " club, Sofia.

Iliana's first "great day" was in London, at the 1979 World Championships, when she shared the gold for the clubs routine together with the AA champion Irina Deriugina of (USSR) and Daniella Boshanska (CZE).

One year later, at the 1980 European Championships in Amsterdam, Raeva swept the gold in the all around, rope, hoop and clubs.

After retiring from active competition she married Bulgarian World Cup footballer Nasko Sirakov,[1] and now runs her own gymnastics club "Iliana" in Bulgaria.

She was the coach of the Bulgarian Group, which won the bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.