Alexei Tikhonov

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Tikhonov.

Alexei Vladimirovich Tikhonov (Russian: Алексей Владимирович Тихонов; born 1 November 1971) is a Russian pair skater. With partner Maria Petrova, he is the 2000 World champion and a two-time (1999, 2000) European champion.

Alexei Tikhonov
Tikhonov in 2005.
Full name	Alexei Vladimirovich Tikhonov
Born	(1971-11-01) 1 November 1971 (age 53) Samara, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Russia
Partner	Maria Petrova
Skating club	Yubileyny Sport Club
Began skating	1975
Retired	2007
Medal record Representing  Russia Pairs' Figure skating World Championships 2000 Nice Pairs 2005 Moscow Pairs 2003 Washington, D.C. Pairs 2006 Calgary Pairs European Championships 1999 Prague Pairs 2000 Vienna Pairs 2004 Budapest Pairs 2007 Warsaw Pairs 2002 Lausanne Pairs 2003 Malmö Pairs 2005 Turin Pairs 2006 Lyon Pairs Grand Prix Final 2004-05 Beijing Pairs 1998-99 Saint Petersburg Pairs 2002-03 Saint Petersburg Pairs 2003-04 Colorado Springs Pairs World Junior Championships 1997 Seoul Pairs

Career

Tikhonov began skating in his hometown, Samara.^[1] Initially a singles skater, he switched to pairs at 15 and a half.^[2]

Tikhonov first competed with partner Irina Saifutdinova for the Soviet Union and, after the dissolution, for Russia. They won the bronze medal at the 1989 World Junior Figure Skating Championships for the Soviet Union. Their partnership ended when she decided to get married and leave the sport.^[2]

He teamed up with Japanese pair skater Yukiko Kawasaki and competed with her representing Japan. Kawasaki and Tikhonov were two-time Japanese national champions. They competed internationally together, winning the bronze medal at the 1993 NHK Trophy and placing 15th at the 1994 World Championships. He said, "I stayed [in Japan] for two years, but I was alone in my apartment. I used to go to the Russian Embassy just to talk to people. I tried to learn some Japanese but it was very hard."^[2]

Tikhonov spent the next five years skating in various ice shows in the U.K. and Florida, including shows led by Tatiana Tarasova and Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.^[2] He started to miss competitive skating and when Maria Petrova's coach called, he agreed to compete with her.^[2] They teamed up in the summer of 1998.^[1][3] Petrova was a former World Junior champion with Anton Sikharulidze.

Petrova and Tikhonov won the World Championship in 2000. They placed 6th at the 2002 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 2006 Games. They won a silver medal at the 2005 Worlds, and a bronze in 2006.

Petrova and Tikhonov announced they would retire after the 2006 Worlds, but at the request of the Russian Skating Federation they later agreed to remain eligible for another year. During their final season, they finished 6th at the Grand Prix Final, and withdrew from the World Championships due to injury.

Petrova and Tikhonov trained in Saint Petersburg with Ludmila Velikova.^[2] After retiring from competition, they performed in ice shows, including Russian television project Ice Age.^[4]

Personal life

Tikhonov was born to parents Vladimir and Larisa.^[5] In addition to skating together, Petrova and Tikhonov are also an off-ice couple.^[5] On 1 February 2010, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Polina.^[6][7] The family lives in Moscow region.^[8]

Tikhonov is godfather to Alexei Urmanov's twins.^[9]

Programs

(with Petrova)

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2006–2007 [3]	Sarabande by George Frideric Handel (modern arrangement)	Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven
2005–2006 [10][11]	Sarabande by George Frideric Handel (modern arrangement)	Winter from Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi Fellini soundtracks
2004–2005 [9][12]	Tango by Astor Piazzolla	The Circus Princess by Emmerich Kalman	You Present Me Roses (Russian: Ты дарила мне розы) by Nochnye Snaipery
2003–2004 [13][14]	Music by Baxter	Mister X The Circus Princess by Emmerich Kálmán	You Present Me Roses (Russian: Ты дарила мне розы) by Nochnye Snaipery
2002–2003 [2][15][16]	Rainy Blues by Raimond Pauls	Symphony Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff	Black Cat, White Cat
2001–2002 [14][17][18]	Adagio from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Chess (musical) by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson et al.
2000–2001 [14][19]	Russian Fantasie Francesca de Rimini by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Le tourment Vision de Paradis by Saint-Preux Gospodin Oformitel (film) Diva by Jean-Michel Jarre The Fifth Element by Éric Serra Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
1999–2000 [14]	Francesca de Rimini by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi Mr. Bureaucrat (film soundtrack)
1998–1999 [14]	Doctor Zhivago by Maurice Jarre	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi

Competitive highlights

With Saifutdinova for the Soviet Union

Event	1988–1989
Junior Worlds	3rd

With Kawasaki for Japan

International
Event	1992–1993	1993–1994
World Championships		15th
Nations Cup		4th
NHK Trophy		3rd
Piruetten		6th
National
Japan Championships	1st	1st

With Petrova for Russia

Results[3][10][12][13][17][19]
International
Event	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07
Olympics				6th				5th
Worlds	4th	1st	4th	4th	3rd	4th	2nd	3rd	WD
Europeans	1st	1st†	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	3rd	2nd
Grand Prix Final	3rd	4th	5th	5th	3rd	3rd	2nd	4th	6th
GP Bompard							2nd		1st
GP Cup of China						3rd		1st
GP Cup of Russia		1st		2nd	2nd				2nd
GP NHK Trophy	5th	1st	3rd		4th	1st	1st
GP Skate America						2nd
GP Skate Canada	2nd		3rd					2nd
GP Sparkassen/Bofrost	1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Goodwill Games				3rd
National
Russian Champ.	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
GP = Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew †Pairs champions Elena Berezhnaya / Anton Sikharulidze were stripped of their title.

References

1. Kempf, Susanne (2005). "Always Home at St. Petersburg". Absolute Skating.
2. Mittan, Barry (3 June 2003). "Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov: Different Personalities Work for Petrova and Tikhonov". GoldenSkate. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
3. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007.
4. Kozhina, Natalia (16 November 2012). Алексей Тихонов: "Дочку тренировать не буду" [Alexei Tikhonov: "I won't coach my daughter"]. Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian).
5. Alexeyeva, Anna (29 December 2012). "Я танцую… со Змеей!" [I dance... with a snake!]. Nash Krasnoyarskiy Kray (in Russian).
6. Фигуристка Мария Петрова родила дочь [Skater Maria Petrova gave birth to daughter] (in Russian). dni.ru. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
7. "Мария Петрова и Алексей Тихонов стали родителями" [Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov became parents]. petrova-tikhonov.ru (in Russian). 1 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
8. Plakhtina, Elina (December 2012). Лед и пламень в своем загородном доме [Ice and fire in the country house]. Дайджест недвижимости (Real Estate Digest) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 January 2013.
9. Mittan, Barry (27 March 2005). "Veteran Russian Pair Makes Final Olympic Run". Skate Today. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012.
10. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 July 2006.
11. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 October 2005.
12. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 June 2005.
13. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004.
14. "Programs". Petrova-Tikhonov.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
15. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 June 2003.
16. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 January 2003.
17. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 February 2002.
18. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001.
19. "Maria PETROVA / Alexei TIKHONOV: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 April 2001.

External links

• Maria Petrova / Alexei Tikhonov at the International Skating Union
• Official website of Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov
• "Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov". pairsonice.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.