From the Olympics to CIS: Meet Alex Tikhonov

As CIS welcomes Alex Tikhonov as our new Director of Aquatics, we sat down with him to learn more about his journey in swimming, his coaching philosophy, and what he’s looking forward to as he joins the CIS community.

Welcome to CIS, Alex! For families who may not know you yet, tell us a little about yourself and what first drew you to swimming.

Swimming has been part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. It all started simply, as a child learning to swim in kindergarten. Step by step, that early experience grew into a journey that eventually took me to the Olympic Games as an athlete.

I later began a new chapter as a coach. My first coaching experience was, fittingly, teaching children how to swim. From there, I progressed through different levels of the sport, eventually coaching athletes at the Paris Olympic Games.

Having experienced swimming from so many different perspectives, as a child learning to swim, an Olympic athlete, a learn-to-swim coach and an Olympic coach, has given me a unique appreciation for the sport. But throughout it all, one thing has remained constant: swimming is part of my life, and swimming is creativity.

There is always something new to learn, feel, change and discover in the water. That is what makes swimming so exciting to me. I am excited to share this passion with the CIS community. Whether a child dreams of competing at the Olympic Games, representing their school, achieving a personal best, or simply becoming more confident and happy in the water, their goals may be different, but the joy and love of swimming can be the same.

What was it about Canadian International School that made you say 'yes' to this opportunity?

I believe CIS has the facilities, community and potential to build an aquatics programme that can become one of the leading school-based programmes in Singapore and across the region.

As a father, I was not only choosing the next step in my own career, I was also choosing a school and a community for my children. CIS immediately felt like a place where they could be happy, challenged, supported and have great opportunities to grow.

So for me, it was a rare combination: a professional opportunity to build something special in aquatics, and at the same time a school where I genuinely wanted my own children to be.

From Olympic competition to coaching young swimmers, you’ve experienced the sport from very different perspectives. What do you think makes a great swimmer?

A great swimmer is a combination of talent, hard work, consistency and the right support around them. This is something I already see at CIS: a school environment where athletes can be supported not only in the pool, but academically, physically and personally.

No swimmer becomes a champion alone. Teammates, coaches, teachers, family and the wider school community all play a part. I strongly believe that a champion swimmer is born within a team, not in isolation. The best athletes learn to push each other, support each other and grow together.

What does a productive training session look like to you? What do you want swimmers to leave the pool feeling, and thinking, after every session?

This is actually one of my favourite parts of coaching. Swimmers spend so much time in the pool and around it, so I don’t want training to become just another routine. Routine is necessary, of course, but I also want every session to have some energy, creativity and a little sense of celebration.

The number of metres matters, but the quality of the work and the emotions behind it matter even more. A productive session is not simply about being tired at the end. It is about understanding what you worked on, feeling that you improved something and enjoying the process of getting there.

When swimmers leave the pool, I want them to feel a positive charge from the work they have done and to know that, even in a small way, they achieved something that day. If we can create that feeling consistently, then training becomes much more than routine, it becomes something they genuinely want to come back to.

What do you hope to see the CIS aquatics programme become and what is the vision you have for the programme and our swimmers? 

My vision is quite simple - I want us to build an aquatics programme that can become one of the leading programmes in the region.

For me, everything should be connected under one pathway: from a child’s first steps in Learn to Swim, through the competitive squads, and all the way to high-performance swimming. Our swimmers should be able to find everything they need here at CIS: strong coaching, competitions, camps, clinics, international exposure and opportunities to grow.

Of course, we want results and medals, but this is only one part of success. I also want our swimmers to love the sport, feel proud to represent CIS, grow as people, and have a pathway that can eventually open doors to university, scholarships and the next level of their swimming.

Please join us in giving Alex a very warm CIS welcome. We look forward to seeing the energy, expertise and passion he brings to our aquatics community.