US EditionUkrainian Skeleton Racer Defies IOC Ban on Memorial Helmet
Heraskevych will defy IOC rules to honor Ukrainian athletes killed in the war, highlighting ongoing conflict and hardship during a harsh winter, with the IOC allowing only a mourning armband.
- On Tuesday, Ukrainian sled racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said he will wear a helmet honoring fallen athletes despite the IOC ban, stating, `We will continue to fight for the right to compete in this helmet.`
- Arriving in Italy to raise awareness, Heraskevych finished fourth at last year's world championships amid Russia's full-scale invasion beginning February 2022.
- At a press conference, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said officials must focus on athletes' performance and offered Heraskevych a black armband, which he described as inadequate.
- The development puts a timetable on the dispute as skeleton sled training begins on Wednesday at Cortina d'Ampezzo track, Italy, with competition on Thursday and Friday.
- Broader context includes IOC restrictions on Russian participation, noting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote `This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate, or called a 'political demonstration at a sporting event,'` while the IOC approved only thirteen Russian athletes this year.
47 Articles
47 Articles
IOC 'begs' defiant Ukrainian to race without war dead helmet
MILAN/CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- The International Olympic Committee pleaded on Wednesday with skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych to compete without his banned helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia's invasion and avoid potential disqualification.
IOC 'begs' Ukraine's Heraskevych to race without war dead helmet but athlete is defiant
The International Olympic Committee pleaded on Wednesday with skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych to compete without his banned helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia's invasion and avoid potential disqualification.
Skeleton pilot Heraskevytsch wants to draw attention to Ukrainian athletes killed in the war and wear his helmet with their pictures – despite the IOC ban. Other athletes support him.
The question about the point at which personal memory turns into political expression brings an unpleasant debate to the IOC before the Skeleton drivers compete. A Ukrainian threatens to be excluded. He accuses the IOC of double standards.
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