Miankova began learning the hammer throw in her late teens. Women's hammer competitions were still a developing sport at that point and she soon won a number of regional competitions. She competed in the qualifying rounds of the 2002 European Athletics Championships and, after a silver medal at the 2003 European Athletics U23 Championships, she represented Belarus at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Her health suffered in the winter months during this period, however, and her lack of training time hindered her performance in her early career.