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Ihar Zhalyazouski
	Zhalyazouski in 1994
Personal information
Birth name	Ihar Mikalaevich Zhalyazouski
Nickname	Bear from Minsk
Nationality	Belarusian
Born	1 June 1963; Orsha, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	12 June 2021 (aged 58); Minsk, Belarus
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	95 kg (209 lb)
Sport
Country	Soviet Union; CIS; Belarus
Sport	Speed skating
Club	SK VS Minsk
Turned pro	1982
Retired	1994
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	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)
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Olympic Games
Representing the Soviet Union
Representing Belarus
World Sprint Championships
Representing the Soviet Union
Representing CIS
Representing Belarus

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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Medals

An overview of medals won by Zhalyazouski at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:^[2]

Championships	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
Winter Olympics	–	1994 (1000 m)	1988 (1000 m)
World Sprint	1985 1986 1989 1991 1992 1993	–	1990
World Cup	1991 (1000 m) 1992 (1000 m) 1993 (1000 m)	–	1993 (500 m) 1994 (1000 m)
World Junior Allround	–	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:

Event	Time	Date	Venue
1500 m	1:54.26	26 March 1983	Alma-Ata
1500 m	1:52.50	5 December 1987	Calgary
1000 m	1:12.58	25 February 1989	Heerenveen
Sprint combination	145.945	26 February 1989	Heerenveen

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com^[5]

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.^[2]

Event	Result	Date	Venue	WR
500 m	36.49	21 December 1985	Alma-Ata	36.57
1000 m	1:12.58	25 February 1989	Heerenveen	1:12.58
1500 m	1:52.50	5 December 1987	Calgary	1:52.70
3000 m	4:12.85	9 January 1988	Davos	3:59.27
5000 m	7:09.84	25 March 1983	Alma-Ata	6:54.66
10000 m	15:40.82	26 March 1983	Alma-Ata	14:23.59
Big combination	166.201	26 March 1983	Alma-Ata	162.973