Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after refusing to switch from a helmet that honored athletes killed in the war with Russia. He has appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which heard his case on Friday morning.
Heraskevych learned of his disqualification in a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry at the sliding venue on Thursday. Coventry met him at the top of the track around 8:15 a.m., roughly 75 minutes before the men’s skeleton event, and they spoke privately. According to reports, Coventry could not persuade him to compete while wearing a different helmet.
Speaking to German broadcaster ZDF shortly after the ruling, Heraskevych called the decision unfair. “I have repeated this from Day 1; I don’t think it violates any rules. In accordance with Rule 50 we don’t have any political propaganda, we don’t have any racial propaganda, and we don’t have any harassment towards anyone on this helmet. So I believe this helmet didn’t (break) any rules,” he said.
The Olympic Charter rule he cited bars “any kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” at Olympic sites, venues or areas. Heraskevych added that, although he had not been a medal contender in 2018 or 2022, he believed he would have been competitive at these Games. “The last days were good training (sessions) for me, I was fast, I was among the best athletes, and I could have been a medalist tomorrow,” he said. “But we will never know, because my Olympic moment was stolen.”
He said representing the athletes who died mattered more to him than winning a medal, arguing their sacrifice helped make his presence at the Games possible.
Tired and frustrated, Heraskevych told DW the lead-up had been exhausting but that he still felt he deserved the chance to race. “It’s frustrating. We put a lot of effort and training in over four years. This was also at a time of a full-scale war, so it was under very hard circumstances,” he said, adding he struggled to understand the IOC’s stance. “If (the) IOC reacts in a way with common sense, we will not have this terrible scandal now,” he said, suggesting a different approach would have kept politics out of the competition and refocused attention on athletes.
Coventry, who spoke to reporters after meeting Heraskevych, appeared visibly emotional and was seen wiping away tears. The IOC said it made the ruling “with regret” and noted it had sought a compromise. “Despite multiple exchanges and in-person meetings between the IOC and Mr Heraskevych, the last one this morning with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, he did not consider any form of compromise,” the IOC said. “The IOC was very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete. This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the IOC decision as contrary to the spirit of the Games, writing on X that “Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors.”
Heraskevych’s customized “helmet of remembrance” bears the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war. On Tuesday the IOC announced the helmet would not be allowed in competition under its rules against political statements on the field of play and offered Heraskevych the compromise of wearing a black armband instead. He declined and continued to wear the helmet during training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, aware disqualification was possible.
At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Heraskevych had shown a banner reading “No War in Ukraine.” Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four days after those Games concluded.
Elisabetta Galla contributed to this report.
Edited by Sean Sinico and Matt Pearson