Valeri Tikhonenko (russian: Валерий Алексеевич Тихоненко; born 19 August 1964) is a retired

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. During his playing career, he played at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

positions, with power forward being his main position. He represented both the

Soviet Union 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, ...

and

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

competitions. With the Soviet Union, he won a gold medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Professional career

Tikhonenko was selected by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, in the 7th round of the 1986 NBA Draft, with the 157th overall draft pick. During his pro

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

career, Tikhonenko won three Russian Championships with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

(1998, 1999, 2000).

National team career

With the senior Soviet Union national team, Tikhonenko won a gold medal at the 1984 Friendship Games (the alternate tournament to the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

), a gold medal at the 1985 EuroBasket, a silver medal at the 1986 FIBA World Cup, a silver medal at the

1987 EuroBasket The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the ev ...

, a gold medal at the

, a bronze medal at the

1989 EuroBasket The 1989 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1989, was the 26th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Yugoslavia between 20 and 25 June 1989. Eight national teams entered th ...

, and a silver medal at the

1990 FIBA World Cup The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at the Luna P ...

. He also played at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, as a member of the Unified Team). As a member of Russia's national team, he played at the 1998 FIBA World Cup, where he won a silver medal, and at the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

.Valeri Tikhonenko (RUS).
/ref>

Executive career

Tikhonenko became the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the Kazakh League club

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

, in 2011.

Personal life

Tikhonenko was a lieutenant colonel in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

Orders won

* USSR Medal "For Distinguished Labour" * USSR Order of Friendship of Peoples * USSR Order of the Badge of Honor *

Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet Union, Soviet physical education system requirements for bo ...

(1988) * Russian Order of Friendship

References

External links

FIBA ProfileSpanish League Profile

Spanish League Archive Profile

EuroLeague Coach ProfileТихонéнко
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhonenko, Valeri 1964 births Living people 1986 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball executives Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics BC Arsenal Tula players BC Dynamo Moscow coaches BC Samara coaches BC Samara players CB Peñas Huesca players CB Valladolid players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of the Soviet Union Olympic basketball players of the Unified Team Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow coaches PBC CSKA Moscow players People from Angren, Uzbekistan Power forwards (basketball) Russian basketball coaches Russian expatriate basketball people in Spain Russian men's basketball players Small forwards Soviet men's basketball players Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Spain