1. Personal life
Aleksey Dyachenko was born on 11 November 1978, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He is the son of fencing coaches Vladimir and Natalya Dyachenko. His sister, Yekaterina Dyachenko, is also a notable fencer who became a world champion in sabre. Dyachenko is right-handed, stands at 5.9 ft (1.8 m), and weighs 172 lb (78 kg).
2. Sport career
Aleksey Dyachenko was a prominent sabre fencer for Russia, competing in numerous international events before his retirement from the sport in 2007. During his career, he achieved significant success at both the Olympic Games and World and European Championships.
2.1. Olympics
Dyachenko participated in two Olympic Games. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he was part of the Russian team for the men's team sabre event as a reserve. The Russian team went on to win a gold medal in that competition.
He later qualified as a full member of the team for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the men's individual sabre event, Dyachenko was eliminated in the first round by Volodymyr Kaliuzhniy of Ukraine. In the men's team sabre event, the Russian team defeated Greece in their initial match but lost to Italy in the semifinals. They then competed against the United States for the bronze medal, securing the victory by a single hit. Dyachenko participated in the quarter-final match of this event, contributing to the team's bronze medal win.
2.2. World Championships
Dyachenko achieved considerable success at the World Fencing Championships, securing multiple medals in the team sabre event. He earned a bronze medal at the 1999 World Fencing Championships held in Seoul. Following this, he became a three-time world champion with the Russian team, winning gold medals consecutively at the 2001 World Fencing Championships in Nîmes, the 2003 World Fencing Championships in Havana, and the 2005 World Fencing Championships in Leipzig.
2.3. European Championships
Aleksey Dyachenko also had a highly successful record at the European Fencing Championships, where he consistently won gold medals in the team sabre event. His victories include gold medals at the 2001 European Fencing Championships in Coblenz, the 2002 European Fencing Championships in Moscow, the 2003 European Fencing Championships in Bourges, the 2004 European Fencing Championships in Copenhagen, and the 2005 European Fencing Championships in Zalaegerszeg.
3. Pilot career
In 2013, Aleksey Dyachenko embarked on a new career path, beginning his training in the United States to obtain a commercial pilot license. After completing his training, he gained experience flying as a first officer and pilot in command on Pilatus PC-12 aircraft for Tradewind Aviation and ExpressJet Airlines. Since October 2020, he has been working as a co-pilot on the Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft for the CommutAir company. Dyachenko plans to transition to a large passenger airline once he accumulates 5,000 flight hours.