Ukrainian Olympian banned from Winter Games over helmet depicting compatriots killed in Russian war

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych is out Milan Cortina Games after rejecting a last-minute request by the International Olympic Committee to use a helmet without one honors the athletes killed in the war with Russia.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry was waiting for Heraskevych at the top of the track when he arrived around 8:15 a.m. Thursday, or about 75 minutes before the start of the men’s skeleton race.

They went into a private room and spoke briefly, and Coventry could not change Heraskevych’s mind. He was in charge of this decision of the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation when he spoke briefly to reporters and said he would appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“It’s hard to say or put into words. It’s meaningless,” he said.

“This is the price of our dignity,” he added on social media, according to French news agency AFP.

Coventry spoke to reporters after the meeting, tears streaming down his face as he spoke.

“I didn’t intend to be here but I thought it was important to come here and talk to him face to face,” Coventry told reporters, according to Reuters news agency.

“No one, especially me, disagrees with messages, a powerful message, a message of remembrance, of memory.

“The challenge was to find a solution on the playing field. The sad thing is that we couldn’t find a solution. I wanted to see him run. It was an emotional morning.”

The IOC added that it made its decision “with regret.”

“Despite many discussions and personal meetings between the IOC and Mr Heraskevych, the last one this morning with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, he did not consider any kind of compromise,” the IOC said in a statement. “The IOC was very eager for Mr. Heraskevych to compete. That is why the IOC sat down with him to find a respectful way to deal with his desire to remember the 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.”

Heraskevych arrived at the Olympics wearing a helmet bearing the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed during the war, a conflict that began shortly after the 2022 Beijing Games ended.

The IOC said on Monday night that the helmet would not be allowed at the competition, citing a rule against making political statements in the Olympic arena. Heraskevych wore a helmet for training on Tuesday and Wednesday, knowing the IOC could end up keeping him in the Olympic race.

“The helmet does not violate any IOC rules,” Heraskevych said.

The IOC did not immediately comment.

The IOC had previously sided with Heraskevych. When he displayed a “No war in Ukraine” sign after his fourth and final Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022, the IOC said he was simply calling for peace and did not find him in violation of the Olympic constitution.

“We want him to compete. Really, we want him to have his time,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams on Wednesday. “That’s very important. We want all athletes to have their time and that’s the point. We want all our athletes to have a fair and level playing field.”

The first two runs of this race were on Thursday, and the last two runs on Friday night. Heraskevych was hoping for an official medal.