CORTINA D’AMPEZZO/MILAN, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said on Tuesday he will defy an International Olympic Committee ban and compete in his “helmet of remembrance” honouring those killed in the war with Russia.
The 27-year-old has been training in Italy with the helmet showing 24 images of dead Ukrainian athletes, but the IOC said he could not do so in the competition starting on Thursday due to a rule banning any political statements in the fields of play.
He could instead wear a black armband, it said.
“Because of their (the dead athletes’) sacrifice, we are able to compete here as a team. I will not betray them,” Heraskevych told an outdoor press conference by the Olympic rings in Cortina on Tuesday.
“I believe they deserve to be with me on competition day. I used it yesterday (at training), I used it today (at training), I will use it tomorrow and I will use it on race day,” he said.
