Olympic medal winner Natalia Nepryayeva is a Russian cross country skier who won bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Nepryayeva first competed at an international competition in 2013, winning a silver at the Junior World Championships in the Czech Republic. The following year she returned to the competition, taking home both a silver in the relay and a gold in the 5km classical event. This young athlete grabbed the attention of fans and other competitors, and in 2015 not only did she win another three medals at the Junior World Championships but she was chosen to represent Russia as part of the national team. Since then she has competed in the World Cup, taking home her first gold in the competition in 2018, winning the Under 23 category. That same year she won another two medals at the Under 23 World Championships, as well as representing her country at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. She won a bronze medal as part of the Russian team at the 4 x 5km relay event, before making her World Championship debut in 2019. Nepryayeva didn’t disappoint, winning two bronzes in the 15km skiathlon event and the relay, and taking home three medals in the same season at the World Cup.

This impressive sportswoman is at the peak of her career, having recently won two more World Cup medals in the 2020 season. Nepryayeva’s skill and determination has been recognised with the Medal of the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’ in her native Russia.