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By Shane Croucher
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Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, after refusing to stop wearing a helmet that honored fellow Ukrainian athletes and coaches who died in Russia's war against his home country.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement that the decision to remove Heraskevych's accreditation to compete was made "with regret," but that the helmet fell foul of its rules governing athlete expression on the field of play.
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Heraskevych, 27, came to the Olympics with a customized helmet showing the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches who have been killed during Russia's ongoing war, a conflict that started shortly after the 2022 Beijing Games ended. Heraskevych was a legitimate medal hopeful at the Winter Olympics.
"This is the price of our dignity," Heraskevych said in a post to his X account on Thursday morning after the ban was announced. He had previously accused the IOC of "discrimination" and of inconsistency in how it has enforced its rules on political expression.
The Ukrainian "did not consider any form of compromise," the IOC said, despite multiple meetings and exchanges with officials.
"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 governing body said.
"The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it.
"Mr. Heraskevych was able to display his helmet in all training runs. The IOC also offered him the option of displaying it immediately after the competition when going through the mixed zone. Mourning is not expressed and perceived in the same way everywhere in the world."
Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, called the ban on Heraskevych a "moment of shame" for the IOC and accused it of having "intimidated, disrespected, and even lectured our athlete and other Ukrainians on how they should keep quiet".
"He simply wanted to commemorate fellow athletes killed in war. There is nothing wrong with that under any rules or ethics," Sybiha said in a post on X, and said the IOC had "systemically failed to confront the greatest abuser of international sports and the Olympic Charter — Russia."
The IOC had sided with Heraskevych before. When he displayed a “No war in Ukraine” sign after his fourth and final run at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the committee said he was simply calling for peace and did not find him in violation of the Olympic Charter.
The first two runs of the skeleton race in which Heraskevych was due to compete were Thursday, with the final two runs on Friday night.
But IOC President Kirsty Coventry was waiting for Heraskevych at the top of the track when he arrived around 8:15 a.m. Thursday, or roughly 75 minutes before the start of the men’s skeleton race. They went into a private area and spoke briefly, and Coventry was unable to change Heraskevych’s mind.
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He was holding the decision from the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation when he briefly addressed reporters and said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“It’s hard to say or put into words. It’s emptiness,” Heraskevych said.
The IOC said it supports grieving athletes through "multifaith centers in the Olympic Villages and a place of mourning, so that grief can be expressed with dignity and respect. There is also the possibility to wear a black armband during competition under certain circumstances."
"During the Olympic Games, athletes are also offered a number of opportunities to mourn and express their views, including in the media mixed zones, on social media, during press conferences and in interviews," the IOC continued.
"The Guidelines on Athlete Expression were the result of a global consultation in 2021 with 3,500 athletes from all around the world. They have the full support of the IOC Athletes’ Commission and Athletes’ Commissions from International Federations and National Olympic Committees."
On Wednesday, Heraskevych thanked people for the "incredible amount" of support during his clash with the IOC over the helmet.
"For me, the sacrifice of the people depicted on the helmet means more than any medal ever could—because they gave the most precious thing they had," Heraskevych said on social media. "And simple respect toward them is exactly what I want to give."
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
Updated, 2/12/26, 4:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comments by Andrii Sybiha.
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