Igor Zhelezovski Explained

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Ihar Zhalyazouski
Nationality:Belarusian
Nickname:Bear from Minsk [1]
Birth Name:Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski
Birth Date:1963 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Orsha, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Death Place:Minsk, Belarus
Height:1.86 m
Weight:95 kg
Country:

Belarus
Sport:Speed skating
Turnedpro:1982
Retired:1994
Club:SK VS Minsk
Pb:500 m: 36.49 (1988)
1000 m: 1:12.58 (1989)
1500 m: 1:52.50 (1987)
3000 m: 4:12.85 (1988)
5000 m: 7:09.84 (1983)
10 000 m: 15:40.82 (1983)
Show-Medals:yes

Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski or Igor Nikolayevich Zhelezovski or Ihar Mikałajevič Žalazoŭski (Belarusian: Ігар Мікалаевіч Жалязоўскі; Russian: Игорь Николаевич Железовский; 1 June 1963 – 12 June 2021) was a Soviet and Belarusian speed skater.

Biography

His imposing physical appearance resulted in the nicknames "Igor the Terrible" and "The bear from Minsk". Originally competing for the Soviet Union, then for the Commonwealth of Independent States, 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.

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 Winter Olympics in Calgary 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 in Lillehammer, Norway.[2] 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.[3]

Medals

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

Championshipsbgcolor=gold Gold medal bgcolor=silver Silver medal bgcolor=cc9966 Bronze medal
 - 1994 (1000 m) 1988 (1000 m)
1985
1986
1989
1991
1992
1993
 - 1990
1991 (1000 m)
1992 (1000 m)
1993 (1000 m)
 - 1993 (500 m)
1994 (1000 m)
 - 1982  -
Soviet Allround  -  -  -
Soviet Sprint 1985
1986
1989
1990
1991
 - 1984

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Zhalyazouski skated four world records, one of which equalled Pavel Pegov's six-year-old world record on the 1000 m:

EventTimeDateVenue
1500 m1:54.2626 March 1983 Alma-Ata
1500 m1:52.505 December 1987 Calgary
1000 m1:12.5825 February 1989 Heerenveen
Sprint combination145.94526 February 1989 Heerenveen

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[4]

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.

EventResultDateVenueWR
500 m36.4921 December 1985Alma-Ata36.57
1000 m1:12.5825 February 1989Heerenveen1:12.58
1500 m1:52.505 December 1987Calgary1:52.70
3000 m4:12.859 January 1988Davos3:59.27
5000 m7:09.8425 March 1983Alma-Ata6:54.66
10000 m15:40.8226 March 1983Alma-Ata14:23.59
Big combination166.20126 March 1983Alma-Ata162.973
Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[5]

Note that Zhalyazouski's personal record on the 500 m was not recognised as a world record by the International Skating Union (ISU).

Zhalyazouski has an Adelskalender score of 164.015 points.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.schaatsen.nl/nieuws/2021/juni/igor-zjelezovski-de-beer-uit-minsk-op-58-jarige-leeftijd-overleden/ Igor Zjelezovski, 'De beer uit Minsk', op 58-jarige leeftijd overleden
  2. Web site: Speed Skating at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's 1,000 metres | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com . www.sports-reference.com . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417213727/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1994/SSK/mens-1000-metres.html . 17 April 2020 . dead.
  3. https://rsport.ria.ru/20210612/zhelezovskiy-1736734123.html Умер многократный чемпион мира по конькобежному спорту Железовский
  4. Web site: Igor Zhelezovsky . SpeedSkatingStats.com . 29 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140519022657/http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1963070101 . 19 May 2014 . live .
  5. Web site: Igor Zhelezovski . SpeedskatingResults.com . 29 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150620111748/http://speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=17&s=76 . 20 June 2015 . live .