Natalia Kocherova

Kocherova was born in Yegorovka, Ukraine in 1990.[2] An accident resulted in her right leg being amputated above the knee.[1]

Kocherova first major international event as a Nordic skier was at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. There she competed in two events, the 12 km Free (sitting) where she finished ninth, and the 1 km Sprint (sitting), which after taking the twelfth and final spot during qualification, she qualified for the final, finishing in fifth position.[1]

The following year she qualified for the 2015 IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Championships in Cable, Wisconsin. Kocherova entered three events in the biathlon, winning a bronze medal in the 12.5 km Individual (Sitting). She followed this with four events in the cross-country, and was part of the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 4 x 2.5 km mixed relay.[1]

She won the bronze medal in the women's 6 km sitting biathlon event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway.[3] She also won the silver medal in the women's 10 km sitting biathlon event.[4][5]

2015 saw Kocherova qualify for the Russian team for the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships. She entered seven events, including all distances in the T54: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, and 5000m. Her best result was fourth in the 800m.[1] The next year she entered the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships, and became the tournaments most successful athlete after winning five gold and a single silver medal.[6] At Grosseto she set championship records in the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m races.