Winter Olympics bosses threaten to DISQUALIFY Ukrainian athlete over his ‘remembrance helmet’ that he refuses to take off regardless of being banned
Olympic bosses have threatened to disqualify the Ukrainian skeleton athlete at the heart of an ongoing protest against the Russian invasion of his homeland.
Vladyslav Heraskevych has continued to wear a helmet depicting the images of Ukrainian sportsmen and women killed in the war, despite public and private warnings from the International Olympic Committee that he is in breach of their rules around political messaging.
That situation has now escalated, with the IOC imploring Heraskevych on Wednesday to back down prior to the first skeleton heats on Thursday. On the basis that the 27-year-old has so far resisted and used his ‘helmet of remembrance’ again on in practice on Tuesday evening, it currently appears he will not relent on a stance that has been defended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
In response, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said: ‘We will contact the athlete today, we will reiterate the many, many opportunities that he has to express his grief. As we discussed before, he can do so on social media, in the press conferences, in the mixed zone. So we will try to talk to him about that, try to convince him. We want him to compete. We really, really want him to have his moment. That’s very, very important.
‘The athlete guidelines is online, they were agreed by 4,500 athletes and the input of many athlete commissions. This is what the athletes want. They want that specific moment on the field of play to be free from any distraction.
‘He can, and we would encourage him, to express his grief. We feel his grief. We would expressly want him to do that but you know in the end let me be clear. It’s not the message, it’s the palace that counts.’
Winter Olympics bosses have threatened to disqualify Vladyslav Heraskevych over his ‘remembrance helmet’ – which protests against Russia’s invasion of his homeland Ukraine
He has continued to wear a helmet depicting the images of Ukrainian sportsmen and women killed in the war, despite public and private warnings from the International Olympic Committee
The IOC are imploring Heraskevych to back down prior to the first skeleton heats on Thursday
Asked directly about the option of disqualifying Heraskevych, who was the Ukrainian flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, Adams added: ‘I don’t think it’s helpful in this situation to look at hypotheticals particularly since we are actually trying to get to a place where we can get him to take part.
‘But obviously there are rules and regulations, and without belabouring the point, there are rules and regulations that the athletes themselves want us to enforce, and they will ultimately be enforced.’
The rules in question relate to article 50.2 of the Olympic charter, which state: ‘No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.’
Heraskevych’s conviction in this matter is no hollow protest – he was second fastest in training on Tuesday, behind only Britain’s Matt Weston, and was third on Monday. His medal credentials are serious.
Speaking on Tuesday, Heraskevych was adamant he would hold to his line, saying: ‘I used it in all trainings. I used it today, I will use it tomorrow, and I will use it on race day. I truly believe that we didn’t violate any law and any rules.’
Among the athletes shown on his helmet are the teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, powerlifter Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, athlete Ivan Kononenko, diving athlete and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel.
The Ukrainian team have formally appealed against the helmet ban. Their luge athlete Olena Smaha also displayed the words ‘remembrance is not a violation’ on her glove while finishing 20th.
