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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Ukraine will appeal the disqualification of one of its athletes from the Winter Olympics because his helmet honoring his country's athletes killed by Russia’s full-scale invasion breached Games rules.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych would be barred before his first run due to the custom-made helmet that depicted athletes and coaches killed in his country’s war with Russia.
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But Ukrainian Youth and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi said in a statement it would challenge the disqualification. "This decision appears to be a mistake that they failed to correct. We will correct this error within the legal framework. This story will definitely continue,” the statement, carried by Ukrainian media said. Newsweek has contacted the IOC for a response.
Heraskevych had worn the helmet in his training runs but was told by the IOC it did not comply with the Olympic charter. The IOC said that the decision was taken by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) because the helmet he intended to wear was not compliant with the rules.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has therefore decided with regret to withdraw his accreditation for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games," the statement from the IOC added.
Heraskevych had said that he wanted to compete but did not regret his position, telling the outlet Suspilne Sport, "there are things far more important than any medals, and today I stood up for what I believe in."
The IOC said in a statement that Heraskevych had met with IOC President Kirsty Coventry but he refused any compromise. He had been allowed to display his helmet in training runs and he would have been able to display it after the competition in the mixed zone. "The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it," the statement added.
The IOC said the '"athlete expression" guidelines, which were drawn up in 2023 and are part of Olympic law he contravened. They state that the sport at the Olympic Games is "neutral and must be separate from political, religious and any other type of interference."
Heraskevych told the BBC that expression guidelines was "a very big term" adding "what do you consider as expression," adding that many athletes wore helmets with different colors.
Ukrainian officials voiced their support for Heraskevych. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the Order of Freedom and thanked the athlete for his "clear position," adding that Russia consistently violates Olympic principles.
"Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors," Zelensky added.
The IOC has barred Russia and Belarus from competing as national delegations in response to Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ role in supporting those attacks.
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