Perka competed at a time when Polish athletes were prominent in hurdling; she took the 60 metres hurdles gold medal at the 1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships ahead of compatriot and former champion Grażyna Rabsztyn, while at the 1979 Summer Universiade she was runner-up to fellow Pole Lucyna Langer in the 100 m hurdles. As of 2017, her time of 12.66 remains the fastest ever non-winning time at the competition and the fourth fastest of any finalist, after Langer, Monique Éwanjé-Épée and Vashti Thomas. She was the B Final winner of the hurdles at the 1981 European Cup.