The International Olympic Committee (IOC) revoked the accreditation of Ukrainian skeleton rider Vladylsav Heraskevych for the 2026 Winter Olympics, meaning he will not be able to compete on Thursday.
The IOC said the helmet that Heraskevych wanted to wear did not meet its rules on athlete expression. The helmet would display portraits of Ukrainian athletes who were killed in Russia’s war. While the committee had tried to reach a compromise-allowing the helmet to be worn during training runs and to be shown immediately after his race in the “Mixed Zone”-it ultimately decided that the mourning symbol was not permissible, citing that expressions of grief are not uniform across the world.
Heraskevych responded sparingly. He posted on social media that “this is the price of our dignity”. In a prior video message he maintained that he had never intended a scandal with the IOC and that he had not caused the situation. He criticised the IOC’s rule interpretation as discriminatory and urged the committee to show solidarity by supplying generators to Ukrainian sports facilities that are under daily shelling.