Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified by the International Olympic Committee after he vowed to ignore a ban that prohibited him from competing in a helmet that depicts more than 20 athletes who have been killed during the war.
The IOC banned the helmet and instead agreed to let Heraskevych compete in a black armband, stating that it violated rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which prohibits any kind of political, religious or racial demonstration at Olympic sites and venues.
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych in a training sessionCredit: AP
However, ahead of competition on Thursday Heraskevych said he would ignore the IOC ban and compete in the helmet anyway.
With 45 minutes until competition began, the IOC released a statement confirming Heraskevych would not be allowed to compete.
“Having been given one final opportunity, skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych from Ukraine will not be able to start his race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games this morning,” the statement read.
“The decision followed his refusal to comply with the IOC’s guidelines on athlete expression.”
More to come
The Winter Olympic Games will be broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
