Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from competing at the Milan Cortina Olympics for continuing to wear a helmet that commemorates the lives of Ukrainian athletes lost since Russia’s invasion.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its decision to remove his accreditation before Heraskevych’s first heats of the men’s competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday. It said he met with IOC president Kirsty Coventry Thursday morning but “did not consider any form of compromise.”
“The IOC was very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete,” the committee said in a statement. “This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it.”
The decision followed a review by an International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) jury that ruled Heraskevych should be removed from the starting list, saying he was violating the IBSF code of conduct and not adhering to the Olympic charter, which has a rule preventing political demonstrations during competition.
In a text to The Athletic, Heraskevych confirmed his disqualification and said he felt “empty.” He also shared images of the IBSF ruling he received.
Heraskevych was scheduled to start 11th in the first heat Thursday. When his turn arrived, a video board showed his name with a red box saying “DNS” — did not start.
Questions over Heraskevych’s participation loomed after the IOC on Monday banned him from wearing the helmet during competition. Heraskevych, who announced the ban via his Instagram and X accounts Monday evening, described it as “a decision that simply breaks my heart.” Though he didn’t want to defy the IOC, he said he didn’t believe the helmet violated any rules.
According to Article 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
In Thursday’s announcement, the IOC said that Heraskevych was able to wear his helmet during training runs and offered him the option to wear it in the mixed zone in front of the media following competition.
The IOC allows Olympic athletes to wear black armbands and suggested Heraskevych do so to honor the Ukrainian victims. Earlier this week, Heraskevych said he “truly believes that the IOC doesn’t have enough armbands to honour all the athletes who have fallen in this war.”
The Athletic’s Matt Slater and Matt Futterman contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.