Career
Zakharuk entered the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a top medal contender, in the men"s bantamweight category (54 kg), after claiming a bronze from the 1999 World Wrestling Championships in Ankara, Turkey. During the preliminary pool, Zakharuk pinned neighboring Russia"s Leonid Chuchunov on his opening bout, and then eclipsed Bulgaria"s Ivan Tsonov with a powerful effort and a 10-point advantage to earn him a spot for the quarterfinals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Zakharuk qualified for his second Ukrainian squad, as a 28-year-old, in the men"s featherweight class (55 kg) with another brilliant sporting record.
After the abolition of the bantamweight division in amateur wrestling that propelled him to fight at least a single kilogram heavier than in 2000, Zakharuk picked up his third career bronze medal in the men"s featherweight category at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States, which earned him a spot on the Ukrainian Olympic team
Fighting against Russia"s Mavlet Batirov in the quarterfinal match, Zakharuk could not score a single point to push him off the mat, and instead, managed to finish only in seventh at the end of the tournament.
