A Ukrainian skeleton athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, faced disqualification from the Winter Olympics due to his intention to wear a helmet featuring images of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. This tribute to those killed in the conflict with Russia has sparked considerable debate.
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Olympics on Thursday, a decision that has ignited a major controversy. Heraskevych had intended to compete wearing a helmet that paid homage to fellow Ukrainians killed in the ongoing war with Russia. Olympic officials deemed this a breach of their strict rules against political statements during the Games. Despite warnings, Heraskevych was determined to wear the helmet. On the morning of the competition, he met with Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The tense meeting concluded without a resolution, resulting in Heraskevych’s immediate removal from the competition and both Coventry and the athlete’s father visibly upset. Coventry later commented to reporters that she felt it was crucial to engage with him directly.
Coventry’s personal involvement highlighted the gravity of the situation, which resonated from Cortina to Milan, where the IOC leadership operates, and even back to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky openly supported Heraskevych, commending his bravery and criticizing Olympic officials for seemingly aiding ‘aggressors.’ Zelensky stated on social media that the helmet, adorned with portraits of deceased Ukrainian athletes, symbolized ‘honor and remembrance’ and served as a powerful reminder of ‘Russian aggression’ and the immense cost of fighting for independence.
Later that day, Vladyslav Heraskevych, accompanied by his father, Mykhailo Heraskevych, held a press conference at the Ukrainian consulate in Milan, addressing the controversial disqualification.
Heraskevych passionately argued that his memorial was no different from other personal tributes seen throughout the Games.
At the Milan news conference, Heraskevych announced an appeal hearing scheduled for Friday, maintaining his innocence of any rule violations. ‘There are things more important than medals,’ he declared earlier in Cortina, ‘I stood up for what I believe in.’ The IOC, through its chief spokesman Mark Adams, asserted that disqualification was unavoidable to uphold the ‘sanctity of the field of play.’ According to Olympic officials, Heraskevych’s helmet, displaying images of 21 Ukrainian athletes—some his personal friends—who died in Russian attacks, clearly breached the ban on political messages during events.
In 2020, Olympic rules were relaxed to permit athletes to make certain political statements via social media or to the press, but explicitly prohibited such displays during competition or on the medal podium. Heraskevych had worn his ‘remembrance helmet’ during practice, signaling a potential confrontation during the official event. Adams revealed that the IOC had proposed alternatives, including a black armband or allowing the helmet in a post-race media area, but Heraskevych declined these compromises. Adams stressed the importance of maintaining these rules to prevent the Games from becoming ‘chaos’ amid other global conflicts, arguing that a free-for-all of personal expressions would compromise the integrity of the sporting arena.
It is notable that Heraskevych had previously served as Ukraine’s flag-bearer during the opening ceremony in Cortina just the previous week.
However, the IOC’s stance has drawn accusations of hypocrisy. While the committee frames the Ukraine war as one of many global conflicts, Russia’s Olympic committee remains the only national body officially suspended from competition—a ban imposed in 2022 after it integrated sports organizations from four occupied Ukrainian territories. Despite his disqualification, Heraskevych, who carried Ukraine’s flag at the opening ceremonies, is permitted to stay at the Games in Italy. His potential for a medal, having ranked sixth in training, amplified the impact of his removal from Thursday’s skeleton event.
Heraskevych asserted that his memorial was consistent with other personal tributes seen at the Games, citing American figure skater Max Naumov who displayed a photo of his parents after his performance—parents who were tragically killed in a D.C. midair collision. This is not the first time Heraskevych has used the Olympic stage to highlight Ukraine’s plight; at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, he famously held a ‘No war in Ukraine’ sign as Russian troops gathered on his country’s border.
Support for Heraskevych has been widespread among Ukrainian officials and fellow athletes. Following the luge team relay on Thursday night, Ukrainian team members knelt and raised their helmets in a tearful display of solidarity. Earlier in the week, Ukrainian luger Olena Smaha wore a message on her glove during her competition, declaring: ‘Remembrance is not a violation.’
In a powerful gesture of defiance, the Ukrainian luge team knelt and raised their helmets after their relay, standing in solidarity with their disqualified teammate.
Ukrainian luger Olena Smaha openly supported Heraskevych by wearing a glove bearing the message: ‘Remembrance is not a violation.’
Ivo Steinbergs, coach of the Latvian skeleton team, has drafted a protest letter advocating for Heraskevych’s reinstatement and a clearer definition from the IOC regarding memorial tributes versus political statements. Steinbergs recounted the heartbreaking scene of Heraskevych emerging from a meeting with Coventry and other officials before his first heat, clutching a disqualification letter while his father wept beside him.
‘That was the end of his Olympics,’ Steinbergs lamented, emphasizing that Heraskevych’s twelve years of dedication were unjustly taken from him. Tom Johansen, coach of the Danish skeleton team, echoed this sentiment, calling it unreasonable to expect a Ukrainian athlete to disregard the ongoing war and ‘just act like a robot.’ His son, Rasmus Vestergaard Johansen, a friend of Heraskevych, added, ‘He is representing young people who died way too early, and I don’t think any athlete, any people, should go through what Ukraine and what Vlad have gone through.’
Kirsty Coventry, a former Zimbabwean swimmer and double Olympic gold medalist, was instrumental in shaping the IOC’s rules on athlete expression before her election as president last year. In her inaugural year, Coventry has firmly championed a clear separation between sports and politics, asserting that athletic events must remain a ‘neutral ground.’
However, the IOC has faced scrutiny during the Italy Games, particularly concerning the participation of some Russian athletes under ‘neutral’ status. The opening ceremonies were even marred by protests in Milan over the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel on a State Department security detail. Fans expressed profound disappointment over Heraskevych’s disqualification. A Ukrainian family, wearing their national colors, voiced their frustration in Cortina, describing the IOC’s ruling as ‘discrimination.’ Natalia Tverdokhlib, 44, residing in Germany, had traveled to Cortina specifically to watch Heraskevych. She stated, ‘His helmet wasn’t political. It showed respects for the athletes who died.’ Her 15-year-old daughter, Mariia, shared their heartbreak but added they were ‘really proud of him’ despite not purchasing tickets after hearing the news.