(L) of Hungary in the semi-finals of the
2013 World Fencing Championships Kovalev became European Junior champion in 2002 at
Conegliano. He won the silver medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships at
Linz, then a bronze medal in the 2006 Junior World Championships at Taebaek City. Amongst seniors, he climbed his first
World Cup podium in 2006 with a second place in the Gerevich-Kovács-Kárpáti Cup in Budapest. He won the team gold medal in the
2006 European Championships. He went on to earn the team bronze medal at the
2006 World Fencing Championships in Turin with
Aleksey Frosin,
Stanislav Pozdnyakov and
Aleksey Yakimenko, after Russia defeated Hungary in the match for the third place. Kovalev took part in the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but was defeated
in the table of 32 by
Jaime Martí of Spain. In
the team event, Russia were stopped in the semi-finals by the United States, then defeated by Italy in the match for the third place, and Kovalev returned without a medal. In the
2010 World Championships, Russia met Italy in the final. Kovalev came back from 4–15 in the fourth relay to give Russia the lead, scoring 12 hits against
Luigi Tarantino. Russia eventually defeated Italy 45 to 41, allowing mates
Aleksey Yakimenko, Artem Zanin,
Veniamin Reshetnikov and Kovalev to take the gold. At the
2011 World Championships they retained the title in men's sabre team defeating
Belarus in the final. In the
2012 Summer Olympics in London, Kovalev advanced to the semi-finals, where he was defeated by
Áron Szilágyi of Hungary. He then prevailed over Romania's
Rareș Dumitrescu to come away with the bronze medal. He attributed his success to national coach Christian Bauer, who according to him introduced Russia to the world of modern fencing. He received the title of "Honored Master of Sports" for his Olympic performance, but did not particularly enjoy the attention it brought to him, describing the constant interviews and photo shoots as "a horror". In the
2013 World Championships in Budapest, Kovalev made his way to the semi-finals, where he defeated Áron Szilágyi. He then met teammate
Veniamin Reshetnikov, who prevailed 15–13, dooming Kovalev to a silver medal. In the team event, Russia prevailed over reigning Olympic champion South Korea, then defeated Romania to take the gold medal. During the event Kovalev was also elected a member of the International Fencing Federation's athlete commission. As of 2024, he is a coach at West Coast Fencing Academy in Southern California in the United States. ==References==