Alexei Volkonski (), born 4 December 1978 in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, is a Russian flatwater canoer.

Biography

He is a former world and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an champion in the

Canadian canoe Canadian is the byname used in some countries for the descendants of the birch bark canoe that was used by the indigenous peoples of Northern America as a convenient means of transportation in the densely forested and impassable areas of No ...

C4 1000m. Volkonsky did not take up

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

until the relatively late age of fifteen, when he was persuaded by friends to switch from

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

. In 1999 he won two gold medals at the senior European championships in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

in the C4 500m and C4 1000m. The same year he won the C4 1000m gold medal at the world championships in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Since then he has been a regular medallist at the major championships, always in the four-man (C4) canoe. At the 2001 World Championships in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

he won a 500m

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. In 2002 European Championship in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

he won two medals (500m silver and 200m bronze). Two years later he returned to Poznań to win two more European silver medals (200m and 500m). In 2006 Volkonsky finished fifth in the C4 1000m final at the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Volkonsky is a student at

Tver State University Tver State University () is university in the city of Tver, the oldest and one of the largest universities in the Tver Oblast, Tver region. Tver State University was founded in 1870 by public figure and teacher P.P. Maksimovich as the Tver Women ...

. He is coached by Gennady Shishigin and Sergey Kima.

References

* * Russian male canoeists Living people 1978 births Sportspeople from Vladivostok Alexei World Games gold medalists for Russia Medalists at the 2009 World Games {{Russia-canoe-bio-stub