Nataša Vezmar

Nataša Vezmar (born October 24, 1976, in Bjelovar) is a Croatian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's heavyweight category.^[1] One of Croatia's most prominent sporting figures in her decade, Vezmar held three European titles in the over-72 kg division, claimed two medals (a silver and a bronze) at the World Taekwondo Championships (1997 and 2003), and represented her nation Croatia in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).^[2] Vezmar also trained full-time for TK Metalac in Zagreb, under head coach and master Ivica Klaić.^[2]

Nataša Vezmar

Personal information
Full name	Nataša Vezmar
Nationality	Croatia
Born	(1976-10-24) 24 October 1976 (age 48) Bjelovar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Sport	Taekwondo
Event	+67 kg
Club	TK Metalac
Coached by	Ivica Klaic
Medal record Women's taekwondo Representing  Croatia World Championships 2003 Garmisch +72 kg 1997 Hong Kong +70 kg European Championships 1998 Eindhoven +72 kg 2002 Samsun +72 kg 2004 Lillehammer +72 kg 1994 Zagreb +70 kg 2000 Patras +72 kg

Vezmar made her official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she competed in the women's over-67 kg class. Seeded second and one of the fighters predicted to get an Olympic medal, Vezmar started her fight with an impressive 7–4 victory over Spain's Ireane Ruíz, before losing the semifinal to her Russian opponent Natalia Ivanova. In the repechage, Vezmar thrashed Mounia Bourguigue of Morocco at 4–1 to mount her chances of an Olympic medal. In the bronze medal match, Vezmar scored a 4–4 draw in the first two rounds against Dominique Bosshart, but her Canadian opponent responded with a feverish kicking exchange at the end to seal a seamless 11–8 victory, relegating Vezmar to fourth.^[3][4][5]

In 2003, Vezmar picked up a silver medal in the same category at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, following a tough 1–0 defeat to South Korea's Youn Hyun-jung.^[6]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Vezmar qualified for her second Croatian squad in the women's heavyweight class (+67 kg). Earlier in the process, she defeated Great Britain's Sarah Stevenson in the final to secure her place on the Croatian team at the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.^[7][8] Hoping to improve her fourth-place finish from Sydney, Vezmar moved directly into the quarterfinals with a first round bye, but rounded off a dismal display in a startling 4–5 defeat to 16-year-old Jordanian teen Nadin Dawani.^[9][10] With her opponent losing the semifinal to France's Myriam Baverel, Vezmar failed to slip into the repechage bracket for a chance of an Olympic bronze medal.^[11]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nataša Vezmar". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
2. "Zlatna Nataša Vezmar" [Nataša Vezmar wins gold] (in Croatian). Večernji list. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
3. "Sydney 2000: Taekwondo – Women's Heavyweight (+67kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 62–66. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
4. "Dominique Bosshart kicks to bronze in taekwondo". CBC Sports. 30 September 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
5. "Umjesto na postolju, u kutu u suzama" [Failing to stand on the podium puts the athlete to tears] (in Croatian). Internet Monitor. 1 October 2000. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
6. "Srebro za Vezmar, bronca za Kuzmanovića" [Silver for Vezmar, bronze for Kuzmanović] (in Croatian). Index.hr. 27 September 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
7. "Athens 2004: Taekwondo – Women's Entry List by NOC" (PDF). Athens 2004. LA84 Foundation. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
8. "Taekwondo: Nataša Vezmar europska prvakinja" [Taekwondo: Nataša Vezmar has declared the European champion] (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. 9 May 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
9. "Blazer glory takes on Olympics sound and fury". Independent Online (South Africa). 28 August 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
10. "Nataša Vezmar već u četvrtfinalu taekwondo turnira" [Nataša Vezmar moves on to the quarterfinals of the taekwondo tournament] (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. 30 August 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
11. "Taekwondo – Women's Heavyweight (+67kg/+148lbs) Quarterfinals". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2013.

External links

• Nataša Vezmar at TaekwondoData.com