Alexey Tikhonov is a figure skater who played for Russia and Japan, a multiple world and European champion, Honored Master of Sports of the Russian Federation, a happy husband and father. After graduating from a sports career, he became no less successful in another role - acting.
Despite the ups and downs in his sports career, Alexei Tikhonov managed to maintain his innate optimism. Together with his figure skating partner and wife, he successfully performs in art productions on ice, acts in films, and is engaged in social activities. But the former figure skater considers his daughter Polina to be his greatest success.
Biography of Alexei Tikhonov
The future star of Russian and Japanese figure skating was born in Samara (Kuibyshev) on the first day of November 1971. The boy's dad worked a lot, studied, received one higher education after another, to which he was obliged by a high party position, and his mother was engaged in the upbringing of Alexei and his brother.
Alexey started figure skating at the age of 5. His mother took him to the section, not wanting the child to grow up weak, doing anything from idleness. That her son would become a professional athlete, at that moment Larisa Grigorievna did not think and did not even dream. But the boy, as they say, got involved, literally fell in love with the skating rink and skates, spent all his free time at a regular school there.
At the age of 14, Alexei made the decision to switch from “single” skating to “doubles”. His first partner on the ice was Irina Sayfutdinova, with whom they took bronze at the World Championships.
Tikhonov realized that skating would become his profession and even a part of his life even before he switched to pair skating. At the age of 14, he already lived outside the home, was deeply immersed in career development, but did not forget about basic education either. Moreover, he managed to attend a circle of amateur performances, sections of football, tennis, hockey, adored English and received the highest score for him at the final exams.
Sports career
Alexei Tikhonov, according to his own words, was looking for "his" partner for a long time. He skated with Sayfutdinova for only 1 year, a significant award appeared in the couple's piggy bank - a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships (1989), but then the young people parted. Alexey went to Moscow, where coach Vladimir Zakharov paired him with Murogova Ekaterina. Tikhonov worked with her for two years. The professional partnership had to be terminated due to the fact that the girl got married and abandoned her career.
Alexey did not find any more couples for himself in Russia, at least during that period of his career development. He was invited to Japan and happily agreed. In Japan, Tikhonov rode with Yukiko Kawasaki. They won two national championships, traveled to the international level, even "took" bronze in 1993, but this partnership was short-lived.
In 1994, Alexei Tikhonov returned to Russia, performed for some time in Tarasova's ice shows, until he met figure skater Maria Petrova. At that time, she did not have a pair in figure skating, she was looking for a partner to continue her sports career. Alexey decided to return to professional sports, and a few months later the Petrova-Tikhonov pair won their first "gold" in Germany, and then at the World Championship.
They had many victories, the couple was considered one of the best, but an unfortunate injury forced Alexei to leave the big sport, and Maria followed him.
Film and TV
Alexey retired from professional sports, but he could not leave figure skating. After recovering from injury, he took part in the role of a contestant in the "Stars on Ice" project, as a coach in the "Ice Age". Together with actress Anna Bolshova, Tikhonov took the third prize in the framework of "Stars on Ice", his wards were very successful participants in the "Ice Age".
In 2007, he decided to try himself also as a movie actor - he starred as a cameo in the TV series Matchmaker. The experience was successful, and in the creative film-box of Alexei Tikhonov, one after another, roles in the films appeared
- Hot Ice (2008),
- "Emergency" (2012),
- "Me and Grandpa" (2014),
- "Business proposal" (2015),
- "Second sight" (2017) and others.
In addition, he played himself in the television series "The Wayfarers" (second season). Alexei also appeared on the stage of the theater as a performer of the roles of the heroes of the plays "Abnormal" and "Angel from Bavaria".
Personal life
Alexey is a famous person, and it is not surprising that the attention of the press and fans is riveted not only to his professional activities, but also to his personal life.
Nothing is known about his novels during the development of his sports career. Journalists never even had suspicions about Tikhonov's personal relationships with his partners. This continued until Alexei began to ride in tandem with Maria Petrova.
Within a few months after the beginning of professional relations, romantic ones appeared between them, young people began to live together, not hiding it from others. But the couple was in no hurry to formalize the official marriage.
The wedding did not happen even after the birth of a common daughter, Polina, to Alexei and Maria in 2010. A couple of years later, rumors periodically began to appear in the press that Petrova and Tikhonov were either going to part ways or had already parted. Neither Alexey nor Maria have ever commented on such speculations. They are happy, they have a daughter, and that's enough for them. Polina followed in the footsteps of her parents, but in a slightly different direction. The girl is engaged in ballet with professional choreographers and shows excellent results in her "discipline". In addition, she sometimes goes “on the ice”.
