He became World Allround Champion by winning all 4 distances, a feat that nobody had performed since Ivar Ballangrud 40 years earlier, and which only Eric Heiden has repeated since (in 1979).
He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Winter Olympics, along with Ard Schenk of the Netherlands.
Then, after the 1971–1972 season, two of the world's top skaters, Ard Schenk and Kees Verkerk, joined a newly formed professional league.
His range of styles and subjects is wide, including love poetry, religious poems, and occasional poetry (notably celebrating sportsmen Ard Schenk, Joop Zoetemelk and Johan Cruijff).
All four of those Olympic, World, and European silver medals were behind Ard Schenk.
In 1977, Marchuk skated 3:56.65 on the 3,000 m on the fast Medeo rink of Alma-Ata, significantly below Ard Schenk's world record time of 4:08.3.
ARD | ARD (broadcaster) | Ard Schenk | Otto Schenk | Peter Schenk the Elder | Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg | Oughter Ard | Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg | ARD (TV) |
In each of those three years, he became World Allround Champion, making him one of only five male skaters to have won this title in three consecutive years – the other four being Oscar Mathisen (1912–1914), Ard Schenk (1970–1972), Eric Heiden (1977–1979), and Sven Kramer (2007–2010).