Heraskevych praised by Zelensky, company to provide financial assistance

A few hours after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualified skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Olympics on Thursday, a wave of support for the 27-year-old athlete swept across Ukraine.

The Kyiv native refused the IOC's request to give up his helmet, which features twenty portraits of Ukrainian athletes killed during the Russian invasion.

President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the athlete a state honor, adding that "the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors."

The co-founder of Ukrainian online credit company Monobank announced that his company would award Heraskevych a reward of $23,240.

The energy company DTEK published photos of its employees with handwritten messages of support. Former Olympic rower Natalia Huba called him a "hero." "Yes, it was unfair—but it happened. At least it was one way to draw attention to us," Hubaová noted.

(reuters, est)