Yelizaveta Tishchenko (born 7 February 1975; 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,[1] and 2004), and twice won a silver medal.[2]
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.
Personal life
Tishchenko has worked for the commercial department of UEFA and currently is working at the FIVB TV & Marketing Department.
