The IOC President comments on disqualification of skeletonist Heraskevych from the Olympic Games for helmet

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry commented on the disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Olympic Games.

Reuters reports this.

The President said she regretted the situation and wanted the athlete to be able to perform. Coventry also stressed that she had no objections to Heraskevychʼs message itself. According to her, it is a "powerful message of remembrance".

She also said that she wanted to personally talk to the athlete and find a solution, but that this was not possible. According to her, the committee must maintain an environment that is “safe for everyone”, and current requirements do not allow public messages.

Vladyslav Heraskevych recorded a video message in which he thanked Ukrainians for their support.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also reacted to the situation. He stated that IOC “banned not a Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation”. According to him, the committee intimidated, showed disrespect, and even lectured Ukrainians on how they should remain silent about “one of 130 conflicts in the world”.

The IOC representative Mark Adams, commenting on the disqualification, noted that "there are over 130 ongoing conflicts in the world, no matter how tragic they are, the competition cannot become a platform for showcasing each of them".

Why was Heraskevych disqualified?

Heraskevych planned to start the first race wearing a “memory helmet” depicting Ukrainian athletes who died as a result of Russian aggression. The jury decided that this violated Rule 50 of the IOC statutes, which prohibits political, racial, or religious propaganda.

At a press conference on February 10, Heraskevych stated that he would continue to wear this helmet in the future, both in training and in competitions. IOC suggested that he wear a black headband instead of a helmet, but the athlete refused. It later became known that he was disqualified.

In addition to Heraskevych, IOC has banned two other Ukrainian athletes from competing in their own helmets at this yearʼs Olympic Games. Freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar was unable to compete in a helmet with the inscription "Be brave like Ukrainian," and short track skier Oleh Handei was unable to compete in a helmet with the quote from Ukrainian writer Lina Kostenko, "Where heroism takes place, there is no final defeat”.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.