Career
Tikhonov began skating in his hometown, Samara. Initially a singles skater, he switched to pairs at 15 and a half. 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 Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai Trophy and placing 15th at the 1994 World Championships.
He said, "I stayed 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."
Tikhonov spent the next five years skating in various ice shows in the United Kingdom and Florida, including shows led by Tatiana Tarasova and Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
He started to miss competitive skating and when Maria Petrova"s coach called, he agreed to compete with her. They teamed up in the summer of 1998. They placed 6th at the 2002 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 2006 Games.
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.
Petrova and Tikhonov trained in Saint St. Petersburg with Ludmila Velikova. After retiring from competition, they performed in ice shows, including Russian television projects.
(with Petrova).
