Background
He was born in Leningrad (now Saint St. Petersburg).
He was born in Leningrad (now Saint St. Petersburg).
Tyukalov trained at VSS Trud in Leningrad. Prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics, Tyukalov was beaten by the Russian prodigy Vyacheslav Ivanov, who was selected to represent the Soviet Union in the single sculls. Tyukalov then teamed with Aleksandr Berkutov to race the double sculls.
In 1968 Tyukalov was a coach of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Olympic rowing team
He was also a notable sculptor.
He won a gold medal in single sculls at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, beating defending Olympic champion Mervyn Wood of Australia, along with other favorites such as Teodor Kocerka of Poland, who finished third, and American John B. Kelly, Junior. At the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Tyukalov and Berkutov won the gold medal, beating the United States and Australia. At the 1960 games in Rome, Tyukalov and Berkutov won the silver. Tyukalov was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1957).
