Winter Olympics: Ukrainian athlete says he was prevented from wearing a helmet honoring war dead

Vladyslav Heraskevych wears a helmet with Ukrainian athletes killed in the war during training at the Olympics REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych said on Monday (9) that he was prevented by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from wearing a helmet with images of compatriots killed in the war in Ukraine during competitions at the Winter Olympic Games. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The helmet brings together photos of Ukrainian athletes who died in the conflict, including friends of Heraskevych. According to him, the person responsible at the IOC for communicating with athletes and national Olympic committees went to the Athletes’ Village to inform him of the decision. “He said it’s because of Rule 50,” Heraskevych told Reuters. Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states that “no type of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda is permitted in Olympic venues, facilities or other areas”. Heraskevych said the helmet features images of teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel. The decision to use the helmet at the Milan-Cortina Games received praise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In a Telegram message, he thanked Heraskevych “for reminding the world of the price of our struggle”. “This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate or called a ‘political act at a sporting event’. It is a reminder to the world of what modern Russia is,” he said. “And this is what reminds everyone of the global role of sport and the historic mission of the Olympic movement — everything is about peace and for life. Ukraine remains true to that. Russia proves otherwise.” Earlier, the IOC said it had not received an official request from the Ukrainian Olympic Committee for the use of helmets in skeleton competitions, which begin on February 12. In 2022, at the Beijing Games, Heraskevych displayed a poster with the phrase “No War in Ukraine” days before the Russian invasion. MORE excluded from international sport. Subsequently, the IOC began to support a gradual return, under conditions. Moscow and Minsk say sport must remain separate from international conflicts. Over the years, however, there have been several episodes of protest by athletes on the field or on the podium. The best-known case occurred at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, when American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists at the 200-meter ceremony in protest against racial injustice in the United States. They were expelled from the Games, although Smith retained the gold and Carlos the bronze. More recently, at the Paris 2024 Games, Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash, a member of the refugee Olympic team, was disqualified after wearing a cape with the slogan “Free Afghan Women” in a qualifying competition. There were also cases without punishment when the action was not considered political. The Australian women’s football team displayed the flag of the country’s original people at the Tokyo Games and was not punished. Furthermore, two Chinese medal-winning cyclists who wore pins with the image of former Chinese president Mao Zedong on the podium in Tokyo received only a warning.

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