Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych starts a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. AIJAZ RAHI / AP
Ukraine denounced a decision to ban skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Olympics on Thursday, February 12, after he refused to back down over his banned helmet, which depicted victims of Russia's invasion of his country.
Heraskevych, 27, had insisted he would continue to wear the helmet, which carries pictures of Ukrainian sportsmen and women killed since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, during the men's skeleton heats on Thursday. But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Heraskevych had been kicked out of the Milan-Cortina Games after failing "to adhere to the IOC athlete expression guidelines."
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had defended the 27-year-old's right to wear the helmet, but gestures of a political nature during competition are forbidden under the Olympic charter.
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