Tretyak was born into the family of a military pilot and a physical education teacher. He was an active child and tried different sports — swimming and even diving. But his favorite pastime was visiting the skating rink, where Vladislav could disappear for hours.
At the age of 11, Tretyak became interested in hockey: when selecting for the CSKA school, the coaches noted his ability to skate in reverse, so At first he played as a striker. Due to the fact that there were not enough uniforms for everyone, Tretyak himself asked to become a goalkeeper.
Tretyak’s father did not support his passion for hockey and joked that he resembled a janitor, who has a hockey stick in his hands instead of a broom. Vladislav was not offended and treated criticism with humor.
Tretyak joined CSKA at the age of 16, when he was noticed by the legendary coach Anatoly Tarasov. Tretyak became a prominent goalkeeper, and two years later in 1969 he made his debut in the USSR national team.
In 1972, Tretyak became an Olympic champion, playing all the matches and not missing a single goal. The goalkeeper became the youngest champion in hockey.
Tretyak became the best hockey player of the USSR five times and won the Olympics three times. He ended his career early, at 32, because he wanted to devote more time to his family.
After the Canada Cup, the athlete received a prize for the best player — a yellow Toyota car in a gift wrapper. He was delivered by plane, and the government exempted Tretyak from duty. No one else in the USSR had such a car, so everyone understood that Tretyak was driving it.
The International Ice Hockey Federation named Tretiak the best hockey player of the 20th century. The goalkeeper received the informal nickname “Russian Wall” from his opponents.