Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after refusing to switch a helmet that paid tribute to athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia. He has appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which heard his case on Friday morning.
Heraskevych was told of the disqualification in a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry at the sliding venue on Thursday. Coventry met him at the top of the track at about 8:15 a.m., roughly 75 minutes before the men’s skeleton event, and the two held a private discussion. Reports say Coventry was unable to convince him to compete with a different helmet.
Heraskevych described the decision as unfair and said the helmet did not breach the Olympic Charter’s Rule 50, which bars demonstrations or political, religious or racial propaganda at Olympic sites. He argued the helmet contained no political or harassing messages and maintained it should have been allowed. He also said he believed he was among the fastest athletes in recent training and could have been competitive for a medal, adding, ‘my Olympic moment was stolen.’
For Heraskevych, honoring the teammates and coaches who died mattered more than winning. He said their sacrifice had helped make his presence at the Games possible and called the lead-up to the event exhausting and frustrating, given the four years of training carried out under the strain of full-scale war.
The IOC said it made the ruling with regret and that it sought a compromise. Officials offered Heraskevych the option of competing with a black armband instead of the helmet, but he declined and continued to wear the helmet during training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, aware that disqualification was a possible outcome. The IOC emphasized the issue was not the message but the location where he wanted to express it. Coventry, who met with him, was seen visibly emotional after their discussion.
Heraskevych’s so-called helmet of remembrance features the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war. He had previously protested at the 2022 Beijing Olympics by displaying a banner reading ‘No War in Ukraine’; Russia launched its full-scale invasion four days after those Games concluded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the IOC decision on X, saying sport should not mean amnesia and that the Olympic movement should help stop wars rather than play into the hands of aggressors.
Heraskevych has formally appealed the disqualification and sought review at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which heard the case as he challenged the IOC ruling.