Vasyl Virastyuk
Vasyl Virastyuk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Василь Вірастюк 22 April 1974 |
| Occupation | Strongman |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] |
| Competition record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Strongman | ||
Representing  Ukraine
| ||
| World's Strongest Man | ||
| 3rd | 2003 World's Strongest Man | |
| 1st | 2004 World's Strongest Man | |
| World Muscle Power Championships | ||
| 2nd | 2004 | |
| Arnold Strongman Classic | ||
| 2nd | 2005 | |
| 2nd | 2006 | |
| 2nd | 2007 | |
| IFSA Strongman World Championships | ||
| 2nd | 2005 | |
| 3rd | 2006 | |
| 1st | 2007 | |
Vasyl Virastyuk (Template:Lang-uk, born 22 April 1974 in Ivano-Frankivsk), is a former strongman competitor from Ukraine.
Vasyl Virastyuk competed in the finals of the World's Strongest Man contest in 2003 and 2004. He finished third in 2003 behind then-defending champion Mariusz Pudzianowski and runner-up Zydrunas Savickas.[2] The following year Virastyuk won the 2004 World's Strongest Man title, placing ahead of Savickas and Pudzianowski (Pudzianowski would later be disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance).[2]
After this victory there was a split in the world of Strongman competition. While some of the competitors such as Virastyuk and Zydrunas Savickas started competing for the IFSA Strongman title (with Savickas winning the title in 2005 and 2006), others such as Pudzianowski remained and competed for the Met-Rx World's Strongest Man title (with Pudzianowski winning in 2005, 2007, and 2008 Phil Pfister in 2006).
After finishing 2nd in 2005 and third in 2006, at the 2007 IFSA World Championship in Geumsan, South Korea, Vasyl defeated the 2 time IFSA World Champion Zydrunas Savickas. With this victory Vasyl become the first athlete in the history of strongman to win both a World's Strongest Man title and an IFSA World title. Zydrunas would be the second to accomplish this feat after winning the 2009 World's Strongest Man title in Malta.[3]
Virastyuk has also achieved a podium finish on three occasions in three consecutive years (2005, 2006 and 2007) at the Arnold Strongman Classic coming second on each occasion to Zydrunas Savickas. At the 2008 Arnold Strongman Classic, Vasyl was forced to withdraw due to injuries, and finished in tenth place with only 8.5 points.[4]
Honours
- 3rd place World's Strongest Man (2003)
- 1st place World's Strongest Man (2004)
- 2nd place World Championship (IFSA) (2005)
- 3rd place World Championship (IFSA) (2006)
- 1st place World Championship (IFSA) (2007)
Watching More
References
- ^ a b "Vasyl Virastyuk at theworldsstrongestman.com". Archived from the original on 2007-09-16. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ a b "theworldsstrongestman.com WSM history". Archived from the original on 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ IFSA World Championships 2006 – Reykjavik, Iceland – Page 3 – Physical Advancement. Marunde-muscle.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
- ^ 2011 Final Results, The Arnold Strongman Classic