Alexander Tikhonov is the pride of world and national sports, a biathlon star , a winner of four Olympics, an outstanding champion who managed to successfully realize himself in sports and business.
The beginning of a sports career
The diagnosis of "congenital heart disease" did not become an obstacle for Alexander in his sports career. Skiing has been present in the life of the future Olympic champion since childhood. In addition, an example was given to four sons by parents: mother Nina Evlampievna, who worked as an accountant, and father Ivan Grigoryevich, who taught physical education at the school. Repeatedly participating in regional competitions held among teachers, he became the winner.
Alexander, a native of the village of Uyskoe (Chelyabinsk Region), was born on January 2, 1947. In the sixth year of his life, he accidentally fell into a cauldron with boiling water, while receiving severe burns. The year spent in the hospital may have tempered the character of the future athlete. While in fifth grade, he won the regional skiing competition.
Further on his life course, he studied at the Chelyabinsk School, then worked as a bricklayer of refractory masonry at a metallurgical plant. And during this period Tikhonov remained faithful to skiing, regularly training in a nearby park after the end of the working day. Further, a promising young man entered the gymnasium, where he was simultaneously engaged in speed skating and cycling. Service in the Soviet Army led to a forced break in the beginning career of Tikhonov, who returned to sport with a new zeal.
Alexander Tikhonov: biathlon for life
In 1966, Tikhonov Alexander won the junior skiing competitions of the Union scale at a distance of 10 and 15 kilometers. The relay was already held in the adult team of the USSR national team. This year was crucial for Tikhonov. He received a leg injury, which gave a successful start to his career as a biathlete.
To restore health, Alexander was sent to the Estonian town of Otepää, where biathletes settled at that time. The guy on crutches, who watched their training with interest, was noticed by Alexander Privalov, the coach of the national team, and suggested practicing shooting practice for a change. Defeating a goal without a miss and speed are the talents that Tikhonov possessed in order to try himself in a new sport. We can say that he was lucky: literally right away Alexander got into the main team, where fast racers were urgently needed for the relay race.
Tikhonov is a world-class biathlete
The first Olympic Games for Tikhonov took place in 1968. Starting first, Alexander earned a silver medal, making two misses and losing to the Norwegian Magnar Solberg for 5 seconds. The main start for the biathlete was the relay, in which he ran the first stage. Seeing the Swede ahead of him, Alexander could not allow him to be ahead of the Russian. Gathering his will into a fist, Tikhonov won about 40 seconds in the remaining two kilometers. As a result, the USSR team became the leader in this race, and the first gold medal of the Olympic Games adorned the chest of the Soviet athlete. The next 4 gold medals were added a bit later, all for winning the relay races.
There was a case that showed the unity of the athletes and the desire for victory at all costs. It was in Sapporo (Japan). Tikhonov Alexander Ivanovich at the Olympics confidently overcame his first stage and significantly outperformed his rivals when the unexpected happened: the ski crumbled to smithereens. The biathlete had to travel almost a kilometer on the same ski. Dieter Speer (team of the German Democratic Republic) came to the rescue: when he saw the hobbling Soviet athlete, the German gave him his own ski. True, that somewhat did not suit Tikhonov, but it was quite possible to escape in it. As a result, Alexander managed to rehabilitate himself and passed the baton to the ninth in a row. His courage and perseverance spurred on the partners who brought the USSR team to first place and won the Olympic champion title. Tikhonov was the first in the history of biathlon to be awarded the World Cup, established in 1977.
Life after sports
Alexander Ivanovich Tikhonov completed his sports career at age 33, unable to withstand competition with a promising younger generation. Coaching, in which he tried to realize himself, was not asked, so the interest of the Olympic champion switched to business.
In the 80s, Alexander Tikhonov with a group of former athletes formed a Soviet-Austrian adventure tourism enterprise. Enough of several tours in order to understand that this line of business was unprofitable for him. Then the former athlete began to sell Japanese cars. Near his salon was an Italian company engaged in the sale of baking equipment. Tikhonov worked there on a commission, and took the required interest from a used bakery. This was the starting point for creating a successful network of firms under the Tikhonov & K brand in the Moscow Region selling bakery products in their own stores and outlets. Later, such a business grew into a company producing cereals in the Rostov Region, and then fish and meat products.
Dark spot in the biography
Having established a food business, Alexander Tikhonov decided to create an equestrian club under his own name. The start for making such a decision was the horse presented to the athlete in 1994. At 47, Alexander began to learn to ride a horse. The habit of not feeling sorry for himself gradually turned riding lessons into training, which led to his full participation in competitions. For some time in the Equestrian Federation of Russia Tikhonov served as vice president.
In 1996, Tikhonov returned to biathlon as president of the Russian Biathlon Union, where he stayed until 2008. The former athlete was forced to spend a significant part of this time abroad, hiding from criminal prosecution (suspicion of attempt on the life of Aman Tuleyev - governor of the Kemerovo region). In 2007, Alexander Tikhonov was found guilty, sentenced to 3 years in prison, and released right in the courtroom (because of the amnesty declared in honor of the 55th anniversary of the Victory in World War II). The athlete himself did not plead guilty, and Aman Tuleyev through news agencies several times refused claims to A. Tikhonov.
As for his personal life, Tikhonov is married for the fourth time, has 3 children. Lives and works in Moscow.