US EditionA Line in the Snow: Why the Ukrainian Athlete Was Banned and Others Were Not
The International Olympic Committee cited the Olympic Charter to bar three Ukrainian athletes’ helmets with memorials and poetry as political statements at the 2026 Winter Games.
- On Feb. 11, Oleh Handei said the International Skating Union banned his helmet inscribed with Ukrainian poetry, deeming it a political slogan.
- The IOC says the Olympic Charter bans the "politicization of sport," and Olympic authorities cite this to disqualify helmets, including Kateryna Kotsar's at the 2026 Games.
- Heraskevych criticized the IOC, saying `In other words, the athlete literally placed the memory of the fallen on his head to honor them,` Heraskevych said, after wearing a memorial helmet banned at the Feb. 11 skeleton training session in Cortina, Italy.
- The rulings have stopped Ukrainian athletes from using helmets to memorialize killed compatriots, affecting commemoration during the Olympics, with Oleksandr Syrskyi stating `Remembrance is not a violation`.
- Amid neutral participation, officials note there are many provocations from Russia, from 'neutral' athletes, including threats and manipulations, Handei said.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
A line in the snow: Why the Ukrainian athlete was banned and others were not
The International Olympic Committee has explained why one athlete was banned, while others were not, but questions remain in an Olympics riven by politics.
Why the IOC says it is barring a Ukrainian athlete from competing at the 2026 Olympics
Vladyslav Heraskevych, the 27-year-old skeleton pilot from Kyiv, Ukraine, carried his country’s flag into the Opening Ceremony at the Milan-Cortina Games. Someone asked about his hopes: “Sport is important, but people's lives are more important so keep supporting Ukraine and keep following what's going on in Ukraine.
'Remembrance is not a violation' — third Ukrainian athlete barred from wearing helmet at Olympics
Short track speed skater Oleh Handei said his helmet bore a line from Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko: "Where there is heroism, there is no final defeat." It was banned from the Olympics on the grounds of being a "political slogan."
Ukrainian speed skater Oleh Khandey will not be allowed to wear a helmet with a motivational quote by Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenkova during the 2026 Olympics, becoming the third athlete to be banned from wearing a modified helmet during competition. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers the inscription to be a political slogan.
The International Skating Union (ISU) did not allow Ukrainian short track skater Oleg Gandy to compete at the Olympic Games in Italy wearing a special helmet on which the words of Ukrainian poetess Lina Kostenko are written. It is said to be a “political slogan”.
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