Legendary Soviet biathlete Tikhonov Alexander Ivanovich: biography and sports career

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

Alexander Tikhonov, whose biography is presented in this article? - the legendary Soviet biathlete, four-time winner of the Olympic Games, multiple triumphant and winner of world championships in various disciplines.

Biography

Tikhonov Alexander Ivanovich was born in the village of Uyskoye (Chelyabinsk region) in January 1947. His parents loved skiing, so the boy spent a lot of time on the snow slopes since childhood.

The first achievement for the future star of Soviet sports came in the fifth grade, when Tikhonov won the cross-country skiing for the Pionerskaya Pravda prize.

After school, Tikhonov graduated from a vocational school in Chelyabinsk, and then - a technical school of physical culture, after which he was drafted into the army. All this time he trained hard, skiing even at night after a hard day's work. While serving in the army, he won the junior championship of the Soviet Union, which guaranteed him getting into the ski team representing the USSR in international competitions.

Sports career

Against all expectations, famousthe skier from Tikhonov Alexander - the champion of many junior competitions - did not work out. The reason for this was a leg injury in 1966. During recovery, he was offered to shoot with a biathlon rifle. Alexander calmly hit all the targets without a single miss. Then it was decided to go to biathlon.

The first serious test for the 20-year-old athlete was the World Championships in 1977 in Altenberg. Here, Alexander Tikhonov, taking second place in the USSR relay team, became the winner of the world championship for the first time.

The next season brought the first "gold" to the biathlete. At the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, Alexander first became the second in the individual race, and then celebrated the victory in the relay.

The next three years became "golden" for Alexander Tikhonov in the truest sense of the word. At the world championships in Zakopane and Östersund, he became the invariable winner in the individual and relay races, and only at the world championship in 1971 did Dieter Speer from the GDR pass ahead of him in the individual discipline.

At the Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, Tikhonov broke his ski and rode almost a kilometer on one leg. But even so, he ran his stage with dignity, and the USSR team again won gold medals.

During the next inter-Olympic period, the Soviet biathlete continued to collect awards and titles. From 1973 to 1975 he became world champion four times in different disciplines. In excellent shape, he went to the Olympics in Innsbruck, where he won the thirdfor themselves "gold" in the relay. In the individual race, he was leading almost the entire distance with a wide gap, but three annoying misses and six pen alty minutes left him without a chance for another medal.

Despite his rather impressive age and given his good performance, the Soviet biathlon leadership decided to take Tikhonov to the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid. At the opening ceremony, it was he who was instructed to carry the flag of the USSR.

Biathlete Alexander Tikhonov once again proved that he can be trusted. In a sharp struggle with young rivals, the athlete again helped his team take the first step of the Olympic podium.

Life after sports

After the Olympics-80, Alexander Tikhonov's sports career ended. He took up coaching first in the youth and then in the experimental biathlon team of the USSR.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tikhonov creates the company "Tikhonov and K", engaged in baking bread. His other firm produced meat and fish products.

From 1996 to 2008 Alexander Ivanovich served as president of the Biathlon Union of the Russian Federation.

Scandal story

In August 2000, Alexander Tikhonov and his brother Viktor were arrested. They were charged with attempted murder of the governor of the Kemerovo region. Victor pleaded guilty, but Alexander did not admit his involvement.

In February next year thanks toIntervention of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin Tikhonov was allowed to travel outside the region. Then he fled from justice in Austria, where he underwent surgery on his legs.

Only four years later did he return and stand trial. His guilt was considered proven. Tikhonov was sentenced to three years in prison. However, Alexander Ivanovich was immediately released. He himself never admitted his involvement in this high-profile case.