Childhood and youth
The athlete was born in the village of Kalinovitsa, Chernigov region and lived there until he was 5 years old. Then he moved with his parents to Sochi, where his father, a party worker, was transferred for work to the position of first deputy chairman of the city executive committee. Alexey has been in love with sports since childhood.
At the age of 6, he joined the martial arts section, practiced several types of karate, as well as judo, in which he became a candidate master of sports. Later, the boy was impressed by the strength of his grandfather, who bent coins with his fingers, and began to develop his own strength.
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Alexey Voevoda in his youth
After school, Alexey planned to enter the Higher Police School, but could not pass the standards for physical training, so he became a student at the Faculty of Economics at the Sochi branch of the RUDN University.
Soon he transferred to the Sochi University of Tourism and Resort Business and graduated from the Faculty of Tourism, Service and Sports. During his student years, the future athlete worked as a security guard at an enterprise. After receiving a diploma of higher education, Alexey entered graduate school in economics and psychology, but did not complete his studies.
Voevoda, Alexey Ivanovich
Born on May 9, 1980 in the village of Kalinovitsa (Varvinsky district, Chernigov region, Ukrainian SSR; now Ukraine). From the age of five, he lived with his family in Sochi: Alexei’s father, Ivan Grigorievich, was the first deputy chairman of the local city executive committee.
In 2003, he graduated from the Faculty of Tourism, Service and Sports of the Sochi State University of Tourism and Resort Business (now Sochi State University), and subsequently studied there in graduate school at the Faculty of Economics and Management Processes. At the Russian International Olympic University (Sochi) he completed training in the program of additional professional education “Master of Sports Administration” (2013).
As a child, he did karate, taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and gymnastics. In the mid-1990s - early 2000s. changed a number of professions: worked as a bartender, loader, cash collector, computer assembler, programmer, waiter, bodyguard, lawyer for cargo deliveries, etc. In 1999, he won the “Iron Hand of Sochi” arm wrestling competition, defeating, among others, European champion Kote Razmadze. After this, he began systematically training in this type of wrestling, Razmadze became Voivode’s coach. In 2000 he won the World Arm Wrestling Championship (Rovaniemi, Finland). Subsequently, he repeated this achievement twice. He came to bobsled in May 2002. He is one of the most successful Russian representatives of this sport: two-time Olympic champion (2014, Sochi - in the “two” with Alexander Zubkov and in the “four” with Alexander Zubkov, Alexey Negodailo and Dmitry Trunenkov), winner of silver (2006, Turin, Italy - in the "four" with Alexander Zubkov, Philip Egorov and Alexey Seliverstov) and bronze (2012, Vancouver, Canada - in the "two" with Alexander Zubkov) Olympic medals, world champion (2011, Königssee, Germany) and two-time European champion (2008, Cesana, Italy; 2011, Winterberg, Germany) in the double team with Alexander Zubkov. He finally completed his career as a bobsledder in 2020, worked at the State Budgetary Institution of the Krasnodar Territory “Sports Training Center for Winter Sports”, and held the position of head of the national teams of the Krasnodar Territory. In April 2010, together with Alexander Zubkov, he addressed a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in which he called for the resignation of the leadership of the national bobsleigh federation. In September of the same year, Voivode intended to take part in the elections of members of the presidium of this organization, but he was denied registration as a candidate. According to media reports, in June 2020, the former head of the anti-doping laboratory in Moscow, Grigory Rodchenkov, told the World Anti-Doping Agency that Voevoda allegedly doped during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. The athlete denied this information and also stated that “Sochi hosted the purest, “whitest” Olympics.” Subsequently, he was disqualified by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation for violating anti-doping rules at the Sochi Olympics (the period of suspension was from December 21, 2020 to December 20, 2020). On December 4, 2011, he ran for the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation on the list of United Russia (No. 19, regional group No. 25, Krasnodar Territory), but did not get into the lower house of parliament. On September 18, 2020, he participated in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the VII convocation on the list of United Russia (number eight in regional group No. 33, Krasnodar Territory). Based on the voting results, he did not enter the Duma. On September 28, he received the mandate of Vladimir Porkhanov (third number of regional group No. 33), the head physician of the regional clinical hospital No. 1, who after the elections refused his seat in the Duma. The governor became a member of the United Russia faction.
Member of the All-Russian political party "United Russia". He was the ambassador of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. Vice-president of the Russian Armwrestling Federation. He took part in the television shows “I Can!” (2014, “Russia 1”) and “Without Insurance” (2016, Channel One).
The total amount of declared income for 2020 amounted to 2 million 874 thousand rubles. The total amount of declared income for 2020 amounted to 7 million 420 thousand rubles. The total amount of declared income for 2020 amounted to 5 million 657 thousand rubles. The total amount of declared income for 2020 amounted to 14 million 330 thousand rubles.
Honored Master of Sports of Russia in arm wrestling (2004) and bobsleigh (2006). Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2014), medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (2010).
Honorary citizen of Sochi (2010). Winner of the “Silver Doe” award from the Federation of Sports Journalists of Russia (2014).
Alexey Voevoda is one of the main characters in the documentary film “Fighting John” (2009, USA, directors Vassiliki Konsari and Sevan Matossian).
Adheres to a vegetarian diet.
Personal life
In his youth, Voevoda was known as a ladies' man, whom any girl found difficult to resist. He claims that he has always treated his ladies with respect. At one time, Alexey did not dare to have a long-term relationship. As the bobsledder later explained in an interview, the reason for this was an unhappy youthful love for a red-haired beauty named Anna.
Later, a chosen one appeared in his personal life, who occupied all the athlete’s thoughts. He calls the girl Aurora the greatest love of his life. According to some reports, the lady of the heart became the wife of the Voivode. There are no children in Alexey’s family yet.
Voivode is a vegetarian. The athlete consciously gave up meat and began to adhere to a vegetarian diet, since such a diet helps him improve not only his well-being, but also his athletic performance.
Initially, the hero became a raw foodist. He needed to lose weight before the competition, but he couldn’t not eat - apathy and loss of strength began, and a protein diet caused excessive intoxication of the body. A raw food diet became a way out for the athlete from this situation. After 3 months of such a diet, Voevoda felt a surge of strength, while his weight decreased, but his muscle mass remained.
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Alexey Voevoda demonstrates his biceps
However, Alexey, as a person who must show excellent physical shape, needed amino acids, and therefore protein, so over time he switched to vegetarianism.
The bobsledder also became convinced of the inconsistency of eating meat. According to the athlete, it not only does not restore strength, but also pollutes the body. The voivode also realized that he was unable to kill an animal, which became the ethical reason for vegetarianism.
Now an athlete’s breakfast consists of a glass of water, salads and rolls. In the evening, Alexey consumes vegetables, fruits and juices. According to the athlete, such a diet saturates the body with a large amount of essential nutrients. Over the course of several years of a vegan diet, he formed his own nutritional system, on which he plans to defend his PhD thesis.
The bobsledder repeatedly spoke about his nutrition system on Elena Malysheva’s program “Live Healthy!” Alexey often becomes the hero of television programs, and not only on the Match TV channel. In 2020, he appeared on the TV show “Live”, as well as in the children’s program “Good Night, Kids.” The bobsledder performs on the radio stations “Our Radio”, “Romantika” and others.
Alexey Voevoda does not have his own website, and his old page on the VKontakte network has been deleted. But the deputy and athlete maintains a personal microblog on Instagram, where he posts photos from important work events.
Arm wrestling
Alexey Voevoda gained his first sports fame as a professional arm wrestler. He began to engage in this sport in high school, training with his father, a lover of this kind of competition. But I got into professional sports unplanned, having accidentally heard that the “Iron Hand of Sochi” competition would soon be held at the Zodiac bar, for participation in which an entry fee was required. Alexey didn’t have the money he needed, but his friends helped, so it was impossible to refuse.
Voevoda made a splash at the competition, easily defeating all his opponents, including European champion Kote Razmadze, who until that moment was considered invincible. Kote was so impressed by the young man’s talent that he took him under his wing and became the first professional coach in Alexei’s life.
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Alexey Voevoda and Denis Tsyplenkov
During a year of training, Voevoda became the world champion in arm wrestling, then repeated this achievement twice, and three more times lifted the World Cup, organized by the Nemiroff holding, over his head. Alexey's best performances are considered to be fights with John Brzenk, Michael Todd, and Travis Badget. Denis Tsyplenkov was the strongman’s sparring partner for a long time. Since both athletes trained with the same coach, they never went on the court against each other.
Due to the fact that Alexey fulfilled all the necessary standards to receive the title of Honored Master of Sports in arm wrestling in just over a year, a certain incident arose. The fact is that, according to the rules, this title is awarded only after five years of training. An interesting precedent arose, which, to the credit of the sports federation, was decided in favor of Alexey Voevoda.
In 2020, the athlete competed in arm wrestling competitions, where his opponent was American Tim Bresnan. But over the years of his bobsleigh career, Voevoda lost his arm-wrestling skills and, as a result, lost in five out of six rounds. After the tournament, the Russian congratulated his opponent and promised to popularize this sport among young people.
Bobsled
Almost by accident, the athlete, whose height is 194 cm and weight - 116 kg, ended up in bobsled. After winning the next title of champion in arm wrestling, he noticed that in the sports press only one small note was devoted to his victory, while the bobsledders, who took only 8th place at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, America, were given a whole newspaper spread.
Alexey Voevoda decided to find out what kind of sport this was, went to the national team’s location and overtook all team members in test runs with a 100-kilogram sled. National team coach Valery Leichenko immediately included Voevoda in the lineup and made him an accelerator in pairs and fours.
During his sports career in bobsleigh, Voevoda survived two dangerous falls. The first time this happened was in Vancouver, during the opening of the track. At that time, Alexei still had long hair, which during the jump came out from under his helmet, and it was severely pinched, which could lead to serious consequences. After the skate, the athlete gave himself a short haircut.
The second time a bobsledder was thrown out of the bob during a competition in Calgary. A muscle corset saved Alexey from serious injuries, but he still tore two ligaments. He dropped out of bobsleigh for 2 years and devoted them to arm wrestling, where he continued to win all sorts of prizes. After the operation and full recovery, Voevoda returned to the sleigh and in 2006 at the Olympic Games in Turin he became a silver medalist, and in 2010 he won a bronze medal.
They are back!
Bobsledders Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda took second place in the two-man competition at the Cup stage... Published by Sportbox.ru Friday, January 3, 2014
Alexey Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov
the athlete distinguished himself with no less significant results at the world championships. In 2008, in Cesane, his pair finished third, and in 2011, Voevoda, together with pilot Alexander Zubkov, won gold in Königssee.
In 2013, the athlete joined the Sochi 2014 ambassador team and did a lot to popularize the upcoming Olympics. Voevoda himself initially did not plan to participate in the competition, but a month before the start he nevertheless accepted the invitation of the coaches and proved that he was in excellent shape: at his home Olympics, Alexey won two gold medals as part of a four-man crew and a two-man crew, becoming an Olympic champion.
Then Alexey Voevoda accepted the invitation of Channel One and became a participant in the new entertainment program “Without Insurance,” which television began broadcasting at the end of January 2020. This is an extreme sports show, where celebrities, paired with professional gymnasts, had to demonstrate the most complex balancing act to the audience on a weekly basis.
In 2020, hearings of a special IOC commission were held, at which a decision was made to deprive the Russian team of three gold medals won at the Olympics in Sochi. Two of them belonged to Alexandra Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda. The pilot was accused of doping. Later, Voevoda was also found guilty of tampering with doping tests and was banned for life from participating in the Olympic Games. This measure was later changed to a refusal to participate only in the Olympic Games in Korea.
Awards
Voivode repeatedly took part in the Olympics, which resulted in silver and bronze medals. During this period of time, the athlete receives his first Order of Merit for the Fatherland. The hometown also celebrates the young man’s merits and recognizes him as an honorary citizen of Sochi.
In 2013, Alexey Voevoda became the ambassador of Sochi 2014. Despite this, he did not plan to take part in competitions. The question of his inclusion in the team was decided a month before the Olympics. The athlete justified the trust and support placed in him. With him, the team received two gold medals.
After completing the competition, Voivode receives his second Order of Merit for the Fatherland. It was during this “golden” sports period that Alexey Voevoda decided to end his career as a professional athlete.
Political career
In 2020, the athlete’s biography took a new turn: Alexey became a member of the United Russia party. In September, he took part in the elections of State Duma deputies from the Krasnodar Territory, where he received the majority of votes. The governor headed the committee for ecology and environmental protection.
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Alexey Voevoda bald
In 2020, the athlete established a personal prize for participants in the arm wrestling competition at the Greenland art song festival, which was held for the 25th time on Vyatka soil on the initiative of Russian State Duma deputy Oleg Valenchuk.
In September, Alexey made comments regarding the termination of the WADA doping investigation against 95 Russian athletes. The governor said that this is another victory for the Russian side in the great information war.
Personal life, wife, photo, children
The famous athlete has always been very popular among the fair sex. It is known that even in his youth he was in love, but the relationship did not lead anywhere. This broke the young man's heart.
Alexey Voevoda is of interest to many girls. Personal life, wife, photos with kids - these are just the athlete’s plans for now. In an interview, he shared that he wants to start a family. In his opinion, a wife should be the first woman for a man after his mother.
Alexey Voevoda, whose personal life (he may soon have a wife) is carefully hidden, is not married at 36 years old and has no children. However, his heart is not free. As he said in his interview, with his new chosen one he learned what true love is, and now he is only interested in his personal life, into which he prefers not to let strangers.
In 2020, the management of the TNT television channel considered his candidacy for the role of the main character of the show “The Bachelor”. However, Alexey Voevoda refused. Personal life, in his opinion, should be behind the scenes.
Alexey Voevoda now
Now the main activity of Alexey remains political and social activities. A State Duma deputy receives citizens on social issues. In 2020, Voevoda became a guest of the XV International Congress of the Winter Sports, Tourism and Active Recreation Industry WinterCongress-2019, where he congratulated the winners of one of the nominations - JSC North Caucasus Resorts.
At the beginning of February 2020, the reality show “The Last Hero” began airing, in which the famous bobsledder became a participant. In addition to Alexey, Natalya Bardo, Ptah (David Nuriev), Nadezhda Angarskaya and others decided to test their strength on a desert island.
