Natalia Vitalyevna Vorobieva (Russian: Наталья Витальевна Воробьёва; born 27 May 1991)[1] is a Russian retired wrestler, who has won the Olympic, World and European titles.
Career
Vorobieva took up wrestling in her youth, despite some misgivings from her parents.[2] After winning a number of titles at youth level,[3][4][5][6][7][8] Vorobieva proceeded to succeed at senior level in the women's -72 kg freestyle division, beginning with a bronze medal at the 2012 European Championship.[9] Vorobieva won an unexpected gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she beat five-time World Champion Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria to win the gold medal.[2][10] She was the first Russian to win the -72 kg freestyle title.[11]
Vorobieva dropped into the -69 kg division when the weight categories were changed at the start of the 2014 season.[14] Her first season in her new weight class brought a bronze at the World Championship, and victory at the European Championships (defeating Ilana Kratysh in the final).[15][16]