title: Igor Zhelezovski
text: Igor Nikolayevich Zhelezovski or Ihar Mikałajevič Žalazoŭski (; ; 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.
  
  Zhelezovski 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, Zhelezovski 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. At the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics, he was the Belarusian flag bearer.
  
  After ending his skating career in 1994, Zhelezovski became president of the skating union of Belarus, a position which he held for several years.
  
  Zhelezovski died on 12 June 2021, at the age of 57.
  
  Medals
  
  An overview of medals won by Zhelezovski at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:
  
  Records
  
  World records 
  Over the course of his career, Zhelezovski skated four world records, 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 Zhelezovski skated his personal records.
  
  Source: SpeedskatingResults.com
  
  Note that Zhelezovski's personal record on the 500 m was not recognised as a world record by the International Skating Union (ISU).
  
  Zhelezovski has an Adelskalender score of 164.015 points.
  
  References
  
  External links 
   
  
   
   Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database
   
   Results of Championships of Russia and the USSR from SpeedSkating.ru 
   
  
  1963 births
  2021 deaths
  People 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
  Sportspeople from Vitebsk Region