Igor Zhelezovski
{{Short description|Belarusian speed skater (1963–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox speed skater
| headercolor = #d7ecff
| name = Ihar Zhalyazouski
| image = Igor Zjelezovski.jpg
| caption = Zhalyazouski in 1994
| nationality = Belarusian
| nickname = Bear from Minsk [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]
| birth_name = Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1963|6|1}}
| birth_place = Orsha, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2021|6|12|1963|6|1}}
| death_place = Minsk, Belarus
| height = 1.86 m
| weight = 95 kg
| country = {{URS}}
{{flagcountry|CIS|1992}}
{{flag|Belarus|1991}}
| sport = Speed skating
| turnedpro = 1982
| retired = 1994
| club = SK VS Minsk
| alma_mater =
| 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
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport|Men's speed skating}}
{{Medal|Competition|Olympic Games}}
{{Medal|Country|the {{URS}}}}
{{Medal|Bronze|1988 Calgary|1000 m}}
{{Medal|Country|{{flagcountry|Belarus|1991}}}}
{{Medal|Silver|1994 Lillehammer|1000 m}}
{{Medal|Competition|World Sprint Championships}}
{{Medal|Country|the {{URS}}}}
{{Medal|Gold|1985 Heerenveen|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Gold|1986 Karuizawa|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Gold|1989 Heerenveen|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Bronze|1990 Tromsø|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Gold|1991 Inzell|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Country|{{flagcountry|CIS|1992}}}}
{{Medal|Gold|1992 Oslo|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Country|{{flagcountry|Belarus|1991}}}}
{{Medal|Gold|1993 Ikaho|Sprint}}
}}
Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski or Igor Nikolayevich Zhelezovski or Ihar Mikałajevič Žalazoŭski ({{langx|be|Ігар Мікалаевіч Жалязоўскі}}; {{langx|ru|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.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1994/SSK/mens-1000-metres.html |title=Speed Skating at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: Men's 1,000 metres | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |website=www.sports-reference.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417213727/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1994/SSK/mens-1000-metres.html |archive-date=17 April 2020 |url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite news |date=June 12, 2021 |title=Умер многократный чемпион мира по конькобежному спорту Железовский |url=https://rsport.ria.ru/20210612/zhelezovskiy-1736734123.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241223210052/https://rsport.ria.ru/20210612/zhelezovskiy-1736734123.html |archive-date=2024-12-23 |access-date=2025-04-02 |work=РИА Новости Спорт |language=ru-RU}}
Medals
File:Igor Zhelezovski 1985.jpg
An overview of medals won by Zhalyazouski at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Championships | bgcolor=gold | Gold medal | bgcolor=silver | Silver medal | bgcolor=cc9966 | Bronze medal | |
| align="left" | Winter Olympics | – | 1994 (1000 m) | 1988 (1000 m) |
| align="left" | World Sprint | 1985 1986 1989 1991 1992 1993 | – | 1990 |
| align="left" | World Cup | 1991 (1000 m) 1992 (1000 m) 1993 (1000 m) | – | 1993 (500 m) 1994 (1000 m) |
| align="left" | World Junior Allround | – | 1982 | – |
| align="left" | Soviet Allround | – | – | – |
| align="left" | 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:
| class='wikitable' | |||
| Event | Time | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 m | 1:54.26 | 26 March 1983 | align=left|{{flagicon|URS}} Alma-Ata |
| 1500 m | 1:52.50 | 5 December 1987 | align=left|{{flagicon|CAN}} Calgary |
| 1000 m | 1:12.58 | 25 February 1989 | align=left|{{flagicon|NED}} Heerenveen |
| Sprint combination | 145.945 | 26 February 1989 | align=left|{{flagicon|NED}} Heerenveen |
=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.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right" | ||||
| Event | Result | Date | Venue | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 36.49 | 21 December 1985 | align="left"|Alma-Ata | 36.57 |
| 1000 m | 1:12.58 | 25 February 1989 | align="left"|Heerenveen | 1:12.58 |
| 1500 m | 1:52.50 | 5 December 1987 | align="left"|Calgary | 1:52.70 |
| 3000 m | 4:12.85 | 9 January 1988 | align="left"|Davos | 3:59.27 |
| 5000 m | 7:09.84 | 25 March 1983 | align="left"|Alma-Ata | 6:54.66 |
| 10000 m | 15:40.82 | 26 March 1983 | align="left"|Alma-Ata | 14:23.59 |
| Big combination | 166.201 | 26 March 1983 | align="left"|Alma-Ata | 162.973 |
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.
References
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist|refs=
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External links
- {{ISU speed skater|old_id=98105}}
- {{Sports links}}
- [http://www.sskating.com/index.php?name=ZJELEZOVSKIJ&fname=Igor&nat=URS&lm=m Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database]
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212091729/http://web.telia.com/~u46130641/adel.htm |date=12 February 2007 |title=Evert Stenlund's Adelskalender pages }}
- [http://www.speedskating.ru/en/stat.html Results of Championships of Russia and the USSR from SpeedSkating.ru] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224220640/http://www.speedskating.ru/en/stat.html |date=24 February 2020 }}
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205184935/http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-181536-198754-94643-0-file,00.pdf |date=5 February 2012 |title=Historical World Records. International Skating Union }}
{{Footer World Sprint champions Speed Skating Men}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhelezovski, Igor}}
Category:Sportspeople from Orsha
Category:Soviet male speed skaters
Category:Belarusian male speed skaters
Category:Olympic speed skaters for the Soviet Union
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union
Category:Olympic speed skaters for the Unified Team
Category:Olympic speed skaters for Belarus
Category:Olympic silver medalists for Belarus
Category:Olympic medalists in speed skating
Category:Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Category:Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics
Category:Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Category:Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Category:Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Category:Spartak (sports society) sportspeople
Category:World record setters in speed skating
Category:World Sprint Speed Skating Championships medalists