Ukrainian athlete kicked out of Olympics over 'helmet of remembrance'

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO --Ukrainian skeleton bobsledder racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Olympics for refusing to remove a helmet that depicts athletes from Ukraine who have been killed during the war with Russia, Olympic officials have said. Heraskevych, 27, has been wearing the helmet all throughout training as an important form of remembrance. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that the helmet does not comply with the Olympic’s guidelines on athlete expression. They released a statement on X this morning explaining that they had held multiple in-person meetings with Heraskevych to try and come to a compromise to avoid his disqualification. 

Herashkevych was allowed to wear his helmet in all of his training runs and the IOC was willing for him to display it immediately after the race in mixed zones. They offered him the possibility to wear a black armband during the race as a totem of remembrance for the athletes lost in place of the helmet. 

Heraskevych repeatedly refused to change his position on the matter. Stating in a press conference on Tuesday that he would wear the helmet. He expressed the same again this morning before the race in a meeting with IOC president Kirsty Coventry which in turn led to his disqualification. 

After this meeting Heraskevych spoke with reporters and said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In the 2022 Beijing winter Olympics Heraskevych held up a “No War In Ukraine” sign during the men’s Skeleton event. 

In that instance the IOC sided with him, stating “This was a general call for peace. For the IOC the matter is closed.”

 The IOC decision is sure to be welcomed by the vicious Russian regime of Vladimir Putin, observers said.

 jp-ct