Background
Sayutin was born in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, the city where the famous Medeo skating rink is located.
Sayutin was born in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, the city where the famous Medeo skating rink is located.
Sayutin performed best on the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m, which often kept him from winning medals during allround championships. However, he also managed to perform well on the 1,500 m a few times, resulting in a bronze medal at the 1998 European Allround Championships and a silver medal at the 1999 World Allround Championships. Sayutin started his speed skating career not long before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and so originally represented the Soviet Union.
At the 1992 Winter Olympics of Albertville, he represented the Commonwealth of Independent States.
After that, he represented Kazakhstan for two seasons. During that time, he lived in the Netherlands for several years, training at the Thialf arena in Heerenveen.
After the 2002/2003 season, Sayutin ended his speed skating career. To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Sayutin skated his personal records.