Zelenskyy says ‘no rules broken’ after Olympics bans Ukraine racer

Vladyslav Heraskevych prevented from starting his race as his helmet didn’t comply with the rules, the IOC said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Milan Cortina Games over his helmet design.

In a post on X on Thursday, the Ukrainian leader thanked Heraskevych for his “clear stance”, describing the helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia as being “about honour and remembrance”.

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“It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence. And in this, no rule has been broken,” he said, adding that “660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia since the full-scale invasion began”.

Heraskevych was prevented from starting his race on Thursday as his helmet didn’t comply with the rules, the IOC said. He was given the option to wear a black armband instead, and display the helmet straight after the competition.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry said that while no one was disagreeing with the helmet’s “powerful message” of remembrance and memory, “the challenge that we are facing is that we wanted to ask or come up with a solution for just the field of play”.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry speaks to the media after Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified [Richard Heathcote/Getty]

Heraskevych, who was awarded the Order of Freedom by presidential decree in the wake of the ban, wrote on X: “This is price of our dignity.”

Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi told the news agency Reuters that “it was an unjust decision”, but said there was no question of his team pulling out of the Olympics. “We prepared a big team, 46 athletes here, in conditions where we can’t even provide electricity to sports arenas,” he said. “And there is big value for us to be here, of course, but it’s a really upsetting decision.”

“The IOC has banned not the Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation. Future generations will recall this as a moment of shame,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Heraskevych’s father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, said: “The International Olympic Committee destroyed our dreams. It’s not fair.”