Yelizaveta Tishchenko

Yelizaveta Tishchenko (born 7 February 1975, in Kiev; last name also spelled Tichtchenko) 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 (1996, 2000, and 2004), and twice won a silver medal.

Tishchenko represented her country more than 470 times from 1991 through 2004, playing as middle blocker in the starting six of the national team, and leading the Sbornaya as its captain in 2003 and 2004.

Tishchenko won the European Championships four times, the World Grand Prix three times, and additional medals at World Championships and World Grand Champions Cups. She was consistently among the best attackers in each tournament entered, winning best spiker awards at numerous international tournaments between 1999 and 2003, including the prestigious FIVB "Best Spiker of the Year" in 2002.

With her club teams (namely Uralochka VC of Ekaterinburg), Tishchenko won the Russian Championship 13 times and the European Champions League three times.

Tishchenko's 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 three months before. Doctors were incredulous after she won the silver medal in a dramatic final against China.

Tishchenko retired from the national team in 2004, however she continued to play for teams in the German and Swiss premier leagues.

Tishchenko has worked for the commercial department of UEFA and currently is working at the FIVB TV & Marketing Department.

Honours

 * 1991 World Under-20 Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 1992 European Junior Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 1993 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1993 European Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 1993 World Grand Champions Cup &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1994 Goodwill Games &mdash; 1st place
 * 1994 World Championship &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1995 European Championship &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1996 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1996 Olympic Games &mdash; 4th place
 * 1997 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 1st place
 * 1997 European Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 1997 World Grand Champions Cup &mdash; 1st place
 * 1998 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 2nd place
 * 1998 World Championship &mdash; 3rd place
 * 1999 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 1st place
 * 1999 European Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 1999 World Cup &mdash; 2nd place
 * 2000 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 2nd place
 * 2000 Olympic Games &mdash; 2nd place
 * 2001 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 3rd place
 * 2001 European Championship &mdash; 1st place
 * 2001 World Grand Champions Cup &mdash; 2nd place
 * 2002 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 1st place
 * 2002 World Championship &mdash; 3rd place
 * 2003 FIVB World Grand Prix &mdash; 2nd place
 * 2004 Olympic Games &mdash; 2nd place

Individual awards

 * 1997 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Spiker"
 * 1999 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Spiker"
 * 1999 European Championship "Best Blocker"
 * 1999 European Championship "Best Spiker"
 * 2001 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Spiker"
 * 2001 European Championship "Best Spiker"
 * 2001 World Grand Champions Cup "Best Spiker"
 * 2002 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Spiker"
 * 2002 World Championship "Best Spiker"
 * 2003 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Spiker"
 * 2003 European Championship "Best Spiker"