Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladislav Gheraskevici has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics after refusing to remove the helmet displaying portraits of his fallen comrades in war.
He will no longer be able to compete in the skeleton events at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Gheraskevici intended to wear the "commemorative helmet" in the competition, despite the ban imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which instead suggested wearing a black armband.
International reactions were swift. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Gheraskevici the Order of Freedom, according to a decree published on the official presidential website, as cited by Ukrainska Pravda.
Additionally, the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament posted on Facebook: "You can disqualify the athlete, but it won't change the truth about Russia's war. Russia has killed many Ukrainian athletes. Ukraine's skeleton athlete Vladislav Gheraskevici paid tribute to them, reminding the world of Putin's atrocities. Sport cannot be separated from the reality of an ongoing war that continues to claim lives."
The Ukrainian athlete also received support from other athletes and personalities, including fencer Olha Kharlan and boxer Volodymyr Klitschko.
The Ukrainian Parliament has called on the IOC to allow the use of symbols honoring the memory of fallen Ukrainian athletes and defenders and to reconsider the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his compatriot's initiative. "His helmet displays the portraits of our athletes who were killed in Russia. Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, killed in battle near Bahmut; Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by occupiers near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian athletes whose lives were taken by Russia's war," Zelensky emphasized on Telegram.
Vladislav Gheraskevici carried the flag of Ukraine at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympics.
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