A Ukrainian athlete will not be allowed to wear his helmet, which he wanted to use to honor the victims of the war with Russia, at the skeleton competition at the Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made this decision on Tuesday.
Twenty-seven-year-old Vladyslav Heraskevych, who appeared at the 2022 Beijing Olympics with the words "No to war in Ukraine" shortly before the Russian invasion, trained in Italy wearing a helmet with images of slain Ukrainian athletes.
He called the IOC's decision unfair.
He was granted an exception
The Olympic Committee stated that the athlete wore the helmet during training and also expressed his views on social media, but after the start of the competition, this will no longer be possible in order to maintain the apolitical nature of sporting competitions.
"We tried to be understanding of his wishes," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said at a press conference. "The Olympic Committee fully understands the desire of athletes to honor their friends who lost their lives in this conflict."
According to Rule 50, point 2 of the Olympic Charter, no form of demonstration or expression of a political, religious, or racial nature is permitted in sports venues or on podiums, although athletes are free to express themselves elsewhere.
"The Games must be separate from all forms of interference so that athletes can focus on their performance. We are trying to keep this moment as pure as possible for the competition itself," Adams added. "This helmet is against the guidelines, but we will make an exception and allow him to wear a black armband during the competition as a memorial. We consider this a reasonable compromise," he said.
Heraskevych called the decision unfair
Heraskevych was unhappy that the Ukrainian Olympic Committee's request on his behalf had been rejected.
"It's unfair treatment," he told Reuters. "I don't see any violation of Rule 50. This is not discrimination or political propaganda."
Further skeleton training sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, with the competition itself starting on Thursday.
The helmet depicts several athletes who died in the war, some of whom were Heraskevych's friends. Among them are weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko, hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov, and dancer Daria Kurdelova.
After the invasion in 2022, athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus were largely excluded from international sports, but the IOC later supported their gradual return under strict conditions.
Moscow and Minsk argue that sport should remain separate from international conflicts.
(reuters, lud)