Biography
The Soviet athlete-biathlonist Alexander Tikhonov has achieved unprecedented results over the entire career and became the champion at the Olympic Games of different years. And a record of a man in the number of world conquered at the World Championships for a long time no one could beat.
Alexander was born in January 1947 in the village of Uyan Chelyabinsk region. At birth, the boy was diagnosed by heart disease. In addition, under 3 years he lagged in development. In addition to him, three more sons grew in the family, Alexander was older, and one of his brothers died still childhood. When Sasha was 5 years old, the trouble happened to him. The boy fell into a boiler boiler, as a result of which he received strong burns and spent the next year in the hospital under the tireless control of doctors. Fortunately, everything ended well, the doctors put it on their feet.
Alexander's parents were amateur athletes and since childhood was given a love for sports to all sons. Father worked at school, was a teacher in physical culture, sometimes even competed on skis with other rural teachers and has ever won. Mother also loved this sport, although he worked as an accountant.
Sasha from childhood was fond of skiing, while studying in the 5th grade, the boy first won the competitions that the Pioneer True newspaper arranged and even presented the winning prizes. However, having received secondary education, Tikhonov enters the Chelyabinsk School of Factory Training. And the first job in the biography of the future champion was at the metallurgical plant, there he mastered the Aza refractory masonry.
2 years after the start of work at the Tikhonov plant, it still moved to Novosibirsk and already there in the technical school of physical culture. And immediately, the young man did not determine the specific sport in which it will develop, and, in addition to skis, was engaged in skating and cycling. And having received education, Alexander went to serve in the army.
Sport
The first coach of Tikhonov was Oleg Nikolaevich Gorokhov, who was engaged with a guy before his departure to the army. And when he returned, they continued their workouts, which subsequently brought a young man at the team level of the national team. The first serious competition in the athlete career appeared in 1966.
The young man was 19 years old when he overtook all rivals on junior competitions in individual races of 10 and 15 km. The relay has arrived at adult athletes, which showed the same excellent results, which made it possible to get into the Soviet Union's ski team.
During the summer training in 1966, Tikhonov damaged his leg, this case was fatal for the future biathlete. For treatment, he was sent to the Estonian city of Odea, while biathlon competitions were held there. Because of the crutches, the man did not do. The USSR national team coach in Biathlon Alexander Privalov was just in the Olympic Village and suggested Tikhonov together to shoot together. The athlete struck five shots of 5 targets, which helped Privalov to consider the potential in Alexander.
At that time, people were gained in the biathlon team of the USSR team for the relay. The main advantage of Alexander was his ability to quickly move on skis, because at the expense of the speed he could play possible misses during shooting. So in 1968, the first Olympic games appear in Tikhonov's career.
However, at first he was not lucky, the man was cold and felt no matter. But the temperature was shot down, and Alexander went to his first check-in - an individual race for 20 km. He started first, and came to the finish line the second.
At the Olympics in Sapporo in 1972, Tikhonov is published again in the 1st stage. The Soviet biathlonist overcame then difficult let. If he spent the first shooting without problems, then shooting standing, fines earned in the form of two additional circles. However, not doubting their own forces, rushed into the path. The second trouble was waiting for him: the man breaks the skiing, the next kilometer he is forced to making only one. A German athlete, seeing Tikhonov, gave it his ski, although she did not fit at all in the size of the attachment.
But this option was better than nothing, and Alexander continues the path until he meets the reserve participant in the Soviet team, who gives the athlete a suitable ski. As a result, the relay man conveyed only ninth in a row. But no less strong team members quickly arrived omitted and brought the USSR gold.
Further, the athlete participated in the World Biathlon Championship in Lake Placid and the team took gold in the relay, also won the first places from the Soviet team in 1973 and 1974. And in 1976, the final stage was perfectly in Innsbruck at the Olympics, and the team gets a gold medal again. In 1977 at the championship, he won the 1st place in the sprint 10 km and the second in the arrival of 20 km.
The last time in the Winter Olympic Games Tikhonov spoke in 1980 and was already the Olympic champion for the fourth time. This victory has become the last for Tikhonov. Then the man dedicated himself to coaching work, and in 1982 he became the senior coach of the Soviet national team of the youth team of biathlonists.
Some time Alexander's career was not connected with biathlon. Together with former athletes, he was engaged in entrepreneurship, tried to work in the field of tourism, selling cars, production and sale of bread products. In the Rostov region produced and sold grain crops, settled meat and fish production, and later created a equestrian club. In 1996, a man received a post of President of the Union of Biathlete of Russia, where he stayed until 2008.
Arrest and trial
In the summer of 2000, the news of Alexander Tikhonov and his brother Victor thundered in the media. Men were charged with organizing an attempt on the murder of Aman Tuleyev, who then held the post of governor of the Kemerovo region. Brother Tikhonov immediately admitted, and Alexander denied involvement in the case. Despite this, the man changed the measure of restraint to subscribe to the wrong season.
In February 2001, Alexander goes to Moscow with the permission of the investigator, where, according to his assurance, he will have an operation on his legs. After 2 months, the investigation ended, but Tikhonov never appeared in court. Having established that he went to Austria, a man was announced to international wanted list. In the meantime, Courts were held in Russia, Viktor was condemned for 4 years in prison. Investigators have proven that he at the request of Mikhail govilo met with a killer and handed over an advance payment of $ 179 thousand.
The court over Alexander passed later. A man returned to his homeland only in 2006, he was arrested and in 2007 was found guilty of preparing an attempt on the governor, appointing a sentence in the form of 3 years in prison. Despite the real conviction, which is available in the biography of a former athlete, to serve his sentence in prison never happened. The man was liberated in the courtroom in connection with the amnesty in honor of the 55th anniversary of the Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War.
Personal life
The personal life of a former athlete, like a professional career, is saturated with many events. Alexander was first married for 16 years, but young people quickly divorced.
The second wife of the biathlete was Love Alexandrovna, a woman gave birth to a spouse of two children - the sons of Alexander and Eugene. Today both adults have already have their own families.
Tikhonov was Elena Viktorovna's third sentence, although there were no common children with a couple, a man adhere to Polina - Elena's child from the first marriage. They lived together for a long time, but they failed to preserve relationships, and Tikhonov again became idle.
For the fourth time, Alexander married in 2010. The last chief of the man became Maria Adolf, with which he is in marriage to this day.
Alexander Tikhonov now
Since 2015, former Olympian lives with his wife in Belarus, in Minsk, has a cottage in the city. Summates this country is very positive, there he likes to live more than in Russia. Recently, he even began to think about the opening of the business, finds out the economy where the production of dairy and meat products organizes. Perhaps already in 2019 will make a new dream and will open its own enterprise.
Despite the desired age, now Tikhonov is happy to visit the biathlon competitions important for Russia. Often at such events, a man appears in fur coats. The photo in the press in such a robe caused a lot of questions from sports observers, believing that Alexander simply attracts attention to himself. However, the man himself in December 2018 gave an interview on this topic, explaining that he just wants to look like a "representative of the Great Power".
Achievements and awards
- 1967 - 2nd place in the World Biathlon Championships in Altenberg (relay 4x7.5 km)
- 1968 - 2nd place in the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble (individual race 20 km)
- 1969 - 1st place in the World Biathlon Championship in Zakopane (individual race 20 km)
- 1970 - 1st place in the Biathlon World Championships in Ostersund (individual race 20 km)
- 1971 - 1st place in the World Biathlon Championship in Hamenlinna (relay 4x7.5 km)
- 1972 - 1st place in the Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo (4x7.5 km relay)
- 1973 - 1st place in the World Biathlon Championship in Lake Placide (4x7.5 km relay)
- 1974 - 1st place in the World Biathlon Championship in Minsk (4x7.5 km relay)
- 1976 - 1st place in the Biathlon World Championships in Ancholz (sprint 10 km)
- 1976 - 1st place in the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck (4x7.5 km relay)
- 1977 - 1st place in the World Biathlon Championship in Lillehammer (Sprint 10 km)
- 1979 - 2nd place in the World Biathlon Championship in Rupolding (individual race 20 km)
- 1980 - 1st place in the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placide (4x7.5 km relay)