 Born in Parvomay of Turkish ethnicity, Naimova took up athletics at the age of 10 and was initially trained by Tanyo Tanev, but changed to former triple jumper Stoyko Tsonov, who has been her coach since seventh grade.She competed in the 200 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships, but was knocked out in the semi-final.In 2005, she became the Bulgarian national champion in the 100 and 200 metres (with Ivet Lalova absent).