Aleksandr Tuchkin

Sport: Handball

Born: 15 July 1964

Birthplace: Lvov, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union

Honors:

Honored Master of Sport of the USSR

Honored Master of Sport of the Russian Federation

Career highlights:

Gold, Olympic Games in Seoul, 1988 as part of Team USSR

Gold, Olympic Games in Sydney, 2000 as part Team Russia

Bronze, Olympic Games in Athens, 2004 as part Team Russia

Silver, World Men's Handball Championship, 1990 as part of Team USSR

Silver, World Men's Handball Championship, 1999 as part of Team Russia

Silver, European Men's Handball Championship, 2000 as part of Team Russia  

Two-time winner of the Goodwill Games as part of Team USSR, 1986, 1990

Gold, Men's Junior World Handball Championship, 1985

Four-time USSR champion, 1985-1986, 1988-1989

Three-time winner of the EHF Champions League, 1987, 1989, 1990

Winner, EHF Cup Winners' Cup, 1988

Winner, EHF City Cup, 1994

Winner, European Super Cup, 1989

Greece Champion, 2003

Greek Cup winner, 2003

Two-time German Cup winner 1991, 1992

Biography:

Aleksandr Tuchkin was born in Lvov to the family of a military man. In the early 1980s the Tuсhkins moved to Belarus which was experiencing a true handball boom then. The father and the son approached coach of Minsk SKA HС Spartak Mironovich who liked the tall guy and took him on board, although he was already 17.   

In 1985, Aleksandr Tuchkin won the World Cup as part of the USSR youth team and a year later made part of the country's national team.

In 1988, at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, he won his first Olympic gold medal. Playing for the Minsk SKA HC, Tuchkin became the four-time USSR champion and three-time winner of the EHF Champions League.

At the 1990 World Men's Handball Championship, the USSR national team won a silver medal, and Aleksandr was named the top scorer of the tournament. After that he went to play in the German Bundesliga. He had to skip the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 due to injuries.

After the collapse of the USSR, Tuchkin played for Belarus’ national team but 1995 was the last year he played for Belarus. At the end of 1998 he adopted Russian citizenship and continued to play for the Russian team.

Russia faced Sweden in two consecutive finals: the World Men's Handball Championship in Egypt in 1999 and the European Championship in Croatia in 2000. Evey time they lost by one goal. The Olympic final in Sydney in 2000 brought the two countries together again, with Russia prevailing that time, and Aleksandr contributing to the victory. He became the most valuable player of the final match with 7 goals.

After the Sydney Olympics, Aleksandr played for Filippos Veria HC in the Spanish and Greek championships and was a finalist of the Challenge Cup 2002-2003.

In 2004, he won a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics. After the Games in Greece, he played for the German lower-tier teams.

After the 20-year sports career, Aleksandr Tuchkin worked as first vice president of the Moscow Handball Federation, a commentator on the Sport TV channel. From 2009 to February 2014, he was the president of the Perm Bears men's handball club.