Vasyl Virastyuk
Encyclopedia
Vasyl Virastyuk ' onMouseout='HidePop("94598")' href="/topics/Ivano-Frankivsk">Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
), is a strongman
Strongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
competitor from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Vasyl Virastyuk competed in the finals of the World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
contest in 2003 and 2004. He finished third in 2003 behind then-defending champion Mariusz Pudzianowski
Mariusz Pudzianowski
Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski is a Polish former strongman and current mixed martial artist...
and runner-up Zydrunas Savickas
Žydrunas Savickas
Žydrūnas Savickas is a professional strongman and is widely considered one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of the sport...
. The following year Virastyuk won the 2004 World's Strongest Man
2004 World's Strongest Man
The 2004 World's Strongest Man was the 27th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by ]. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. Zydrunas Savickas from Lithuania finished second for the third year in a row...
title, placing ahead of Savickas and Pudzianowski (Pudzianowski would later be disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance).
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
International Federation of Strength Athletes
The International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition...
Strongman title (with Savickas winning the title in 2005 and 2006), others such as Pudzianowski remained and competed for the Met-Rx
Met-Rx
MET-Rx is a brand name of nutritional supplements, originally produced by Met-Rx, Inc., a California company started by A. Scott Connelly, and sold several times since....
World's Strongest Man title (with Pudzianowski winning in 2005, 2007, and 2008 Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister
Phil Pfister , is a leading American strongman competitor, winning the 2006 Met-Rx World's Strongest Man competition and its $41,000 grand prize on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He is the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982...
in 2006).
After finishing 2nd in 2005 and third in 2006, at the 2007 IFSA World Championship in Geumsan, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Vasyl defeated the 2 time IFSA World Champion Zydrunas Savickas. With this victory Vasyl become the first athlete in the history of strongman
Strongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
to win both a World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
title and an IFSA
IFSA
IFSA can refer to the following:* International Federation of Strength Athletes* International Financial Services Authority* International Forestry Students' Association* International Free Skiers Association* International Freestyle Skater Association...
World title. Zydrunas would be the second to accomplish this feat after winning the 2009 World's Strongest Man
2009 World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from the 26th September to 3rd October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com...
title in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Virastyuk has also achieved a podium finish on three occasions in three consecutive years (2005, 2006 and 2007) at the Arnold Strongman Classic
Arnold Strongman Classic
The Arnold Strongman Classic is one of the highest profile events featuring strength athletes in the world. Created by Dr. Terry Todd, it is an offshoot of the Arnold Sports Festival which takes place annually in Columbus, Ohio, USA.-History:...
coming second on each occasion to Zydrunas Savickas
Žydrunas Savickas
Žydrūnas Savickas is a professional strongman and is widely considered one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of the sport...
. At the 2008 Arnold Strongman Classic, Vasyl was forced to withdraw due to injuries, and finished in tenth place with only 8.5 points.
Honours
- 3rd place World's Strongest Man2003 World's Strongest ManThe 2003 World's Strongest Man was the 26th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his second title, and Pudzianowski's record-setting score of 66 points in the Final eclipsed the previous record of 60. His margin of victory was also a record...
(2003) - 1st place World's Strongest Man2004 World's Strongest ManThe 2004 World's Strongest Man was the 27th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by ]. It was his first title after finishing third the previous year. Zydrunas Savickas from Lithuania finished second for the third year in a row...
(2004) - 2nd place World Championship (IFSA)International Federation of Strength AthletesThe International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition...
(2005) - 3rd place World Championship (IFSA)International Federation of Strength AthletesThe International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition...
(2006) - 1st place World Championship (IFSA)International Federation of Strength AthletesThe International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition...
(2007)