Alexei Tikhonov

Alexei Vladimirovich Tikhonov (; 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. Career Tikhonov began skating in his hometown, Samara. Initially a singles skater, he switched to pairs at 15 and a half. 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. 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."