CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY, Feb 10 : Ukraine’s Olympic Committee has put in a request for their skeleton competitor Vladyslav Heraskevych to wear a “helmet of remembrance” at the Milano Cortina Winter Games in honour of those killed in the war with Russia, it said on Tuesday.
Heraskevych said on Monday that a representative of the International Olympic Committee had told him he could not use the helmet he has been wearing in training with images of compatriots killed since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
More training was scheduled for later on Tuesday with competition starting on Thursday.
“The helmet was created to honour Ukrainian athletes killed while defending Ukraine or who became victims of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Olympic Committee said in a statement on its request to the IOC.
“The NOC of Ukraine emphasises that it fully complies with safety requirements and IOC rules, does not contain advertising, political slogans, or discriminatory elements, and was confirmed as meeting the established standards during official training sessions.”
HONOURING SLAIN FRIENDS
The helmet depicts various athletes killed in the war – some of whom were Heraskevych’s friends.
Heraskevych told Reuters the helmet shows teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel.
Heraskevych, who held up a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics days before Russia’s invasion, had said he intended to respect Olympic rules prohibiting political demonstrations at venues while still ensuring Ukraine’s plight remained visible during the Games.
Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
The IOC said on Monday it was looking at Heraskevych’s case and there was no immediate new comment after the Ukrainian committee’s statement.
Following Moscow’s invasion, athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus were largely barred from international sport but the IOC has since backed their gradual return under strict conditions.
Moscow and Minsk say sport should remain separate from international conflicts.
