Elizaveta Tichtchenko

Who is Elizaveta Tichtchenko?

Elizaveta Tishchenko is a retired female volleyball player from Russia, who made her debut for the Soviet National Team in 1991. She competed in three consecutive Olympic Games, and twice won a silver medal.

She represented her country more than 470 times from 1991 through 2004, playing as Middle Blocker in the starting 6 of the National Team and leading the Sbornaya as its Captain in 2003 & 2004. Liza won the European Championships, the World Grand Prix, and several medals at World Championships and World Grand Champions Cups. She was among the best attackers in each tournament entered, winning best spiker awards at most international tournaments between 1999 and 2003, including the prestigious title of the world's ‘Best Spiker of the Year’.

With her club teams she won the Russian Championship 13 times and the European Champions League three times.

Her greatest achievement, however, was coming back to play for Russia at the Olympic Games in Athens after having had open surgery on her knees only 3 months before. Impossible her doctors said after she won the silver medal in a dramatic final against China.