“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia”: Olympics bar Ukrainian racer over helmet tribute to athletes killed by war, President Zelenskyy responds

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has officially been turned away from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics after refusing to change helmets.

In recent days, Heraskevych has been training while wearing a helmet featuring the pictures of over 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches who have been killed over the past four years during the war with Russia.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told the athlete on Monday night that he wouldn't be able to wear the helmet during competition, as political statements of any kind are banned from the games.

Heraskevych refused to back down, insisting that the helmet didn't violate any rules. The IOC allowed him to train with the helmet on and attempted to find a compromise. They suggested wearing a black armband during competition and putting the helmet back on as soon as he finished his race, which had been scheduled for Thursday. Heraskevych declined.

"As you’ve all seen over the last few days, we’ve allowed for Vladyslav to use his helmet in training," IOC president Kirsty Coventry said. "No one, no one—especially me—is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory and no one is disagreeing with that. The challenge that we are facing is that we wanted to ask or come up with a solution for just the field of play."

Past and present Ukrainian demonstrations

This isn't the first brush Heraskevych has had with the IOC over something like this. During the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he held up a "No War in Ukraine" sign following his event. At the time, it was debated whether or not he broke the same rule about no political demonstrations, but the IOC ultimately decided in his favor. 

Moreover, Heraskevych isn't the only Ukrainian athlete butting heads with the IOC for this year's games. Freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar said that the IOC prevented her from wearing a helmet that said "Be Brave Like Ukrainians," while Oleh Handei said that his helmet was barred over a line of Ukrainian poetry that read, "Where there is heroism, there is no final defeat."

Both athletes said they were told the inscriptions counted as political statements.

Support for Ukraine and Heraskevych

There are certainly people who take issue with "political" statements being made at the Olympics, or even by Olympic athletes at all. Vice President JD Vance made headlines this week after he warned U.S. Olympians to shut up about politics and just "play a sport."

Still, there's plenty of debate as to whether the helmets worn by Heraskevych, Kotsar, and Handei are political at all, as well as whether the IOC is wrong in general for banning these items. This has led to a number of people across the world offering Heraskevych and the others their support, including prominent figures such as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors," he wrote. "We are proud of Vladyslav and of what he did. Having courage is worth more than any medal."

"My Olympic moment was stolen," Heraskevych said, before adding that representing the athletes who have died "is more important than winning a medal."

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