Natalia Kocherova

Natalia Kocherova is a Russian Paralympic wheelchair and cross-country skier from Omsk.

Early life

Kocherova was born in Yegorovka, Russia in 1990. An accident resulted in her right leg being amputated above the knee.

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

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. 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. At Grosseto she set championship records in the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m races.