Ukrainian athlete disqualified from Winter Olympics due to helmet honoring war dead

Understand the case of the athlete disqualified from the Winter Olympics because of his helmet The Ukrainian athlete Vladislav Heraskevych, who intended to compete wearing a helmet with images of athletes killed in the war against Russia, was disqualified this Thursday (12) from the skeleton events at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The information was confirmed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In a statement, the international body said the athlete “will not be able to participate” in the Winter Olympics “after refusing to comply with IOC guidelines on athletes’ expression.” ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp On Tuesday (10), the IOC had suggested, as an exceptional measure, that Heraskevych wear a black armband instead of the helmet with images. “This morning, upon his arrival at the competition venues, Heraskevych met with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who explained the IOC’s position for the last time. As in previous meetings, he refused to change his stance,” the organization said in the statement. Vladyslav Heraskevych wears a helmet with Ukrainian athletes killed in the war during training at the Olympics REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha See the videos that are trending on g1 As a result, the judges from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) decided to disqualify, based on the regulations that prohibit equipment outside the approved standard. “The IOC therefore decided, with regret, to withdraw the accreditation for the 2026 Olympic Games. Despite many conversations and face-to-face discussions with Heraskevych (…) he did not want to reach a point of agreement”, added the IOC. This Friday (12), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the IOC’s decision to disqualify Heraskevych: “Sport should not mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help end wars, not play into the hands of aggressors”, said Zelesnsky in a post on Heraskevych defended his point of view. “This is the price of our dignity,” he said. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy also criticized the International Olympic Committee. “The IOC vetoed not just the Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation. Future generations will cite this as a moment of shame,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga wrote on social media. Heraskevych had participated in training on Monday and Wednesday wearing a “memorial helmet”, as his team called it: a gray model with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war. Zelensky praised the initiative. “The helmet bears the faces of our athletes murdered by Russia: figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, killed in combat near Bakhmut; 19-year-old biathlete Yevhen Malyshev, killed near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian sportsmen whose lives were cut short by the war,” Zelensky wrote on Monday in Telegram. MORE

Source link