Zinaida Voronina is celebrated as a pride of the republic for her achievements as a gymnast. She was born in 1947 in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia where she was spotted by a coach for her gymnastic abilities. She moved to Moscow in 1965 and went on to win gold in the team competition at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, winning a total of four medals. Voronina was also a world champion and Merited Master of Sports of the USSR, cementing her status as one of the great Olympic and world champions in gymnastics from Russia.