Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has publicly disclosed that International Olympic Committee officials have prohibited him from wearing his custom-designed helmet featuring images of Ukrainian athletes killed during the ongoing conflict with Russia. The 26-year-old Olympian, who carried Ukraine’s flag during Friday’s opening ceremony, received the notification through direct communication from IOC representative Toshio Tsurunaga at the athletes’ village in Cortina.
The helmet, which displays portraits of deceased athletes including teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko, and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, was deemed to violate Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter. This regulation explicitly prohibits ‘any form of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda in Olympic sites, venues, or other areas.’ Heraskevych expressed profound disappointment with the decision, stating it ‘breaks my heart’ and represents a betrayal of athletes who can no longer participate in sports due to the conflict.
Despite the IOC’s position that no official request was submitted for the helmet’s use in competition, the Ukrainian athlete maintains that the tribute should be permitted given historical precedents for similar commemorations at Olympic events. The controversy has drawn attention from Ukraine’s highest leadership, with President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly thanking Heraskevych for ‘reminding the world of the price of our struggle’ in a social media post that challenged the characterization of the memorial as political demonstration.
This incident marks Heraskevych’s continued activism through athletic platforms, following his ‘No War in Ukraine’ demonstration at the 2022 Beijing Olympics shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion. The development occurs amidst the ongoing participation of 13 Russian athletes competing as Individual Neutral Athletes in the Milan-Cortina Games, despite widespread bans implemented following the 2022 invasion.