MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) — Viktor Tikhonov, a famous ice hockey coach and three-time Olympic champion, died in Moscow after a long illness, CSKA Moscow Director General Igor Esmantovich told R-Sport news agency. He was 85.
"Today, at 1:00 a.m. we lost Viktor Tikhonov who died in a hospital after a long illness. Hockey club CSKA expresses its deepest condolences and will take care of all funeral issues. The date and place of the memorial service and funeral are currently unknown," Esmantovich said.
In mid-October, it was reported that Tikhonov was unable to move on his own and underwent a therapy course at his home. He had been hospitalized since late October 2014.
Tikhonov played as a defenseman with the VVS (Team of the Soviet Air Forces) and Dynamo Moscow, scoring 35 goals in 296 games in the elite Soviet hockey league.
His coaching career started in 1964. Tikhonov coached the Soviet hockey team when it was the most dominant team worldwide, winning the world cup eight times, achieving three Olympic gold medals (1984, 1988, 1992), and winning the 1979 Challenge Cup and the 1980 Canada Cup. As CSKA Moscow’s head coach he won 13 Soviet national championships. Tikhonov is in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
