Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski or Igor Nikolayevich Zhelezovski or Ihar Mikałajevič Žalazoŭski (; ; 1 June 1963 – 12 June 2021) was a Soviet and Belarusian

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

Biography

His imposing physical appearance resulted in the nicknames "Igor the Terrible" and "The bear from Minsk". Originally competing for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, then for the

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, and finally for Belarus, he became World Sprint Champion a record six times. In Soviet times, he trained at Armed Forces sports society in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Zhalyazouski won silver at the World Junior Allround Championships in 1982. Specialising in the sprint, he became World Sprint Champion in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1993. He finished eighth in the 1987 edition, and decided to skip the 1988 edition in favour of preparing for the

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that same year. These, however, turned out to be a disappointment for him, finishing sixth in the 500 m, only third in 1000 m, and fourth in the 1500 m. In the remaining two World Sprint Championships he participated in, in 1990 and 1994, he finished third and sixth, respectively. In his final two seasons, which followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Zhalyazouski represented Belarus. It was during this time that he achieved a career highlight of winning the silver medal in the 1000 m event at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

in Lillehammer, Norway. At the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics, he was the Belarusian flag bearer. After ending his skating career in 1994, Zhalyazouski became president of the skating union of Belarus, a position which he held for several years. Zhalyazouski died on 12 June 2021, at the age of 57 due to complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Medals

An overview of medals won by Zhalyazouski at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Zhalyazouski skated four

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

, one of which equalled Pavel Pegov's six-year-old world record on the 1000 m: Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the ''WR'' column lists the official world records on the dates that Zhalyazouski skated his personal records. Source: SpeedskatingResults.com Note that Zhalyazouski's personal record on the 500 m was not recognised as a world record by the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...

(ISU). Zhalyazouski has an Adelskalender score of 164.015 points.

References

External links

* *
Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhelezovski, Igor 1963 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Orsha Soviet male speed skaters Belarusian male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic speed skaters for the Unified Team Olympic speed skaters for Belarus Olympic silver medalists for Belarus Olympic medalists in speed skating Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Spartak (sports society) sportspeople World record setters in speed skating World Sprint Speed Skating Championships medalists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus 20th-century Belarusian sportsmen