A Ukrainian athlete has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics over his insistence on wearing a helmet honoring people killed in his country’s war with Russia.
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The International Olympic Committee said in a statement early Thursday that skeleton racer Vladylsav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian flag bearer, was “not allowed to participate at Milano Cortina 2026 after refusing to adhere to the IOC athlete expression guidelines.”
The decision was announced shortly before Heraskevych was due to compete in the men’s skeleton competition, in which he was considered a legitimate medal contender.
“It’s hard to say or put into words. It’s emptiness,” he told reporters shortly after meeting with the committee’s president, Kirsty Coventry. Heraskevych indicated he would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The IOC made clear earlier this week that it felt his “helmet of remembrance” — featuring pictures of Ukrainian athletes killed during the war — contravened rules prohibiting any kind of political statement by competitors.
Heraskevych, who was been backed by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has insisted the helmet does no such thing and wore it throughout training runs.
“Having been given one final opportunity, skeleton pilot Vladylsav Heraskevych from Ukraine will not be able to start his race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games this morning,” the IOC said Thursday.
The decision was taken, the IOC said, by a jury of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Multiple meetings and exchanges were held between Heraskevych and IOC officials. But the committee said the athlete “did not consider any form of compromise.”
Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
The IOC insisted it was “very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete” and offered him a compromise option of allowing him to wear the helmet during training and to display it immediately after the competition, or to wear a black armband to symbolize national mourning — but it drew a line at allowing him to wear the helmet while competing.
The IOC also noted that Heraskevych received an Olympic scholarship to compete in the last three Winter Games.
Speaking a news conference on Tuesday, Heraskevych was defiant. “Because of their [the dead athletes’] sacrifice, we are able to compete here as a team. I will not betray them,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine just days after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing wrapped up.
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