Alexander Ivanovich Tikhonov (russian: Александр Иванович Тихонов; born 2 January 1947) is a former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

- Russian biathlete. On 23 July 2007, he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to three years of imprisonment, but he was amnestied immediately and did not spend any time in prison.

Life and career

Tikhonov trained at Dynamo in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Censu ...

. He won nine world championship biathlon gold medals and four Olympic gold medals. He lacks an individual Olympic gold medal in his cupboard, but took part in the gold medal relay winning teams in 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980. He lived in Austria for several years in the early 2000s.

International Biathlon Union

In May 2002, he was chosen as vice president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). A two-year investigation by the IBU found that in 2009 he reportedly offered a jewelry box to the IBU Secretary General in the hope that she wouldn’t pursue evidence of doping by Russian athletes.

Conspiracy to commit murder

In 2000, he was accused of participating in planning the murder of Kemerovo Oblast governor Aman Tuleyev. According to the prosecution, a businessman named Mikhail Zhivilo and his company MIKOM had a business conflict with Tuleyev, and Zhivilo decided to organize Tuleyev's murder as revenge. Zhivilo knew Tikhonov and, allegedly, asked him for help. Tikhonov got him in touch with his younger brother, Viktor Tikhonov, who found two potential killers—Vladimir Kharchenko and Sergey Nikanorov. Kharchenko and Nikanorov went to FSB and told them about the murder plans. Viktor Tikhonov was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to four years imprisonment. Since Alexander Tikhonov lived in Austria for several years, he was indicted separately from the other accused. On 23 July 2007, he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. However, he was amnestied immediately and did not spend any time in prison.

Honours and awards

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

(1980) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1976) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

(1969) * Order of Friendship (1999) * Medal "For Labour Valour" * Medal "For Distinguished Labour"

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the

International Biathlon Union The International Biathlon Union (IBU; german: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of t ...

Olympic Games

''5 medals (4 gold, 1 silver)'' :''*Sprint was added as an event in 1980.''

World Championships

''17 medals (11 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze)'' :''*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.'' :''**Sprint was added as an event in 1974.''

Individual victories

''2 victories (1 In, 1 Sp)'' :''*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...

and the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

.''

References

External links

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Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhonov, Alexander 1947 births Living people People from Chelyabinsk Oblast Dynamo sports society athletes Soviet male biathletes Russian male biathletes Biathletes at the 1968 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1972 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1976 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1980 Winter Olympics Olympic biathletes of the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in biathlon Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Biathlon World Championships medalists