Youth
The famous athlete was born on May 9, 1980 in a small village in the Chernigov region. When the boy was 5 years old, the family moved to Sochi.
Alexei's male relatives have always been distinguished by their strength and endurance. His grandfather was known for not only looking like a hero, but also for being able to easily lift a car or bend a coin.
The boy inherited his love for sports from his father. He was a master of sports in wrestling and tried to introduce his son to a healthy lifestyle. Already at the age of six, Alexey Voevoda actively attended sports clubs and sections. The boy’s efforts were not in vain; at the age of 14, he was distinguished by his agility and strength (he could jump over a desk and lift a car).
The failed "The Last Hero"
Voivode Alexey Ivanovich was born on May 9, 1980 in the village of Kalinovitsa, Chernihiv region. He completed his postgraduate studies at Sochi State University in the field of Economics. Three-time world champion and three-time winner of the World Cup among professionals in arm wrestling. A brilliant bobsledder - silver medalist of the 2006 Olympic Games in fours, bronze medalist of the 2010 Olympic Games in twos, 2011 world champion in twos, former two-time Olympic champion in Sochi 2014. Since 2016 - deputy of the State Duma of the seventh convocation from the United Russia party, member of the State Duma Committee on Natural Resources, Property and Land Relations.
The governor has considerable weight in the State Duma - with his 116 kilograms, he is one of the ten heaviest deputies. And this despite the fact that the former bobsledder is a vegetarian: he repeatedly spoke about his nutritional system on Elena Malysheva’s program “Live Healthy!”
According to TASS, by the beginning of the 2000s, the deputy managed to change many professions: he worked as a bartender, a loader, a cash collector, a computer assembler, a programmer, a waiter, a bodyguard, and a lawyer for processing cargo deliveries. Therefore, one can only guess about the level of his qualifications on issues of natural resources, property and land relations (this is what he does in the State Duma).
The governor is also a TV star: since 2014 he has been a participant in the series of documentary programs “Olympic Legends: Angels and Demons” (“Home”), and took part in the show “I Can!” (“Russia 1”), “Without insurance” (“First”). In 2021, he hosted the program on Channel One “Three Heroes” together with Ekaterina Porubel . He became the main character in the fifth season of the show “The Bachelor” and in the show “The Last Hero: Viewers vs. Stars,” which took place on the island of Palawan (Philippines). He was accompanied by such characters as rapper “Ptah” , actress Natalya Bardo , dancer and choreographer Evgeniy Papunaishvili , scandalous blogger Eric Davidich and others. Even the milkman managed to fit into their motley group. By the way, the deputy dropped out of the show - and not just left the show, but abandoned the team during an important test, citing fatigue, which became fatal for his team. There was generally a lot of interesting things there. Scandalous video blogger Eric Davidich almost died on the set of the show from hypoglycemia. And Ptah, who has nothing to do with sports or politics, managed to get into the team of heroes.
Quote from the failed winner Alexey Voevoda:
In ordinary life, a person is in a fairly calm and familiar position - home, work, hobby. In this case, any adventure helps you feel the taste of life again. To really understand it, you need to go to a place where circumstances prevail over your usual capabilities, forcing you to constantly adapt - like in “The Last Hero”!
Apparently that’s why the athlete and politician Alexey Ivanovich, following Karelin and Valuev, chose a deputy seat. And I didn’t become a coach because of the same fatigue.
Sports success
The first sport that brought success and recognition to the athlete was arm wrestling. Voevoda became interested in hand-wrestling as a child, and chance helped the young man get into serious sports. A competition was held in the city, in which he did not dare to participate. Friends helped me take the decisive step. The guys bought a ticket for the athlete, so there was no turning back.
The young man became a real discovery and a star of the competition. He was able to defeat several opponents at once, including the famous champion. It was the defeated opponent (Kote Ramadze) who became the young athlete’s first professional coach. Alexey Voevoda was able to achieve great results in arm wrestling. After only a year of training, he became the world champion and repeatedly became its winner again in the future.
During this period of time, the athlete received the title of master of sports, having gone through the entire formation process in a very short period of time - just a year. According to the rules, obtaining such a title requires at least 5 years of training.
Bobsled
Alexey Voevoda became interested in another area of sports quite by accident. After another victory, his achievements were written in the newspaper, but the article was very modest. At the same time, on the next page there was a huge article about the bobsled competition participants who took 8th place. At that moment, the athlete became interested in finding out what such a popular and significant sport was.
Alexey did not hesitate and soon attended a training session of the national team, where he took part in the race. The athlete’s results were excellent, he was able to overtake all his opponents and on the same day was included in the national team.
2003 brought the athlete his first serious injury, which prevented him from training and participating in competitions for 2 years. Despite this, he was able to quickly regain his physical shape and soon received further awards.
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.
“MANY FACTORS PUSH TO THE COMPLETION OF A CAREER”
- Let's go back to Olympic Sochi. After the first gold, the twos were probably devastated. How did you psychologically prepare for the second start?
– The team helped me. After the first day of racing, when we gained an advantage of 0.48 seconds, our bob was sent to the technical commission, and I was taken for doping control. We had to reassemble the bean at night and work on it. So Dima Trunenkov and Lyosha Negodailo sent us to rest and did everything themselves. After that, I had a new goal - I wanted these guys to feel the same as we did. I am proud to have played on such a team.
– If it weren’t for Lueders, would you and Zubkov be able to step on the throat of your own song, forget the grievances and unite?
– Pierre Lueders was simply one of the components of our reconciliation. If we had no desire to perform with each other, neither Luders, nor Bedzhamov, nor the Minister of Sports would have been able to seat us together. We are not serfs and are not obliged to do what we don’t want. But as professionals, we understood that together we could fight for gold, and separately – for a maximum of third place. For me, as a Sochi resident, this Olympics was the apogee of my sports career. Winning two medals at home is fantastic, as only a few crews have achieved this in history.
– Did you have any thoughts that the conflict with Zubkov was in vain?
– I believe that everything that is done is for the better. That story began with the death of my mother in 2011 and the loss of the season. I don't know what would have happened if I had gone to the World Cup. Our conflict could develop into an active phase. Then I traveled with other athletes, saw the team from the inside, met wonderful guys, many of whom were and remain bright personalities. Usually no one communicates with the first crew, but here I talked with the others and got their opinions. Now I have respect for many, and they, in turn, respect me. If there is no human factor in sports, then it must be eliminated. I am an idealist, but I believe that sport should unite.
– Are you planning to end your career following Zubkov’s example?
- I am 34 years old. Physically I feel better than at 25. I changed my training methods, made certain conclusions and became more effective, but I want all this to have some kind of rational grain. After two Olympic gold medals, it will be difficult for me to motivate myself, although this is a different question. In addition, it is important to constantly improve your physical fitness. Until the age of 38-40, I can do this almost painlessly, although everyone knows that the peak of sprinters occurs at 33 years old.
– How did you feel about the fact that you were not included in the extended list of the Russian Olympic Committee for the trip to Pyeongchang?
“I didn’t cry, I laughed.”
I wasn’t on the list for the Sochi Olympics either. Maybe for luck (laughs)
? The fact is that when an athlete is excluded from the list, he is not paid a salary. But there were guys on the list whom I don’t know personally and who didn’t show themselves at the World Cup. First, a person must be tested in battle, and then advances must be distributed. I need to skip this year because I need to restore my health and strength. If I suddenly decide to end my career as an athlete, I will announce it and will not torment anyone. Many people say in vain that I left more often than Kobzon, but in fact it was only once, after Vancouver. But I admit: so far many factors are pushing me towards the end of my career.
– What factors, if not a secret?
– Let’s put it this way: if the federation’s promises are not respected and we don’t have a dialogue, then what’s the point of speaking further? Even without bobsleigh, I had and still have many other projects.
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 2021, 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.
Didn't acquire any property
In 2021, Voevoda became the richest State Duma deputy from Kuban, declaring 14,330,022 rubles. In 2021, the deputy’s income fell, and he declared 9,497,634 rubles.
The real estate deputy owns only one plot of land on one hundred acres, on which, apparently, there is a 20-meter utility block and a mysterious 70-meter non-residential premises. Another 10 acres, a 200-meter house and a 57-meter apartment - for use or rent. As for transport, Voevoda prefers Japan: Nissan Qashqai and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
Other details
From a young age, the famous athlete was fond of reading. He was attracted to martial arts, meditation and healthy eating. It was from literature that he drew the basic idea of proper nutrition, which was based on refusing to eat animal protein.
Changing the diet helped the athlete get in shape before the competition, and over time even improve his results.
He initially decided to try becoming a raw foodist, but after three months he switched to vegetarianism. Alexey Voevoda has not eaten meat or fish for more than 5 years. The diet of the famous athlete, contrary to popular belief, does not contain large amounts of protein and carbohydrates. Basically, it is dominated by plant foods. Despite this, as the athlete admits, he does not feel any dietary restrictions. Trying to diversify his diet, Alexey Voevoda studied many delicious vegetarian dishes.
After retiring from sports, Voevoda took part in a television project on Channel One called “Without Insurance,” as well as the show “Three Heroes.”
