Kamal Ghorui
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thrown his support behind skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych after the athlete claimed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) barred him from wearing a helmet honouring Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Heraskevych, Ukraine’s Winter Olympics flag bearer, revealed in a social media post that his custom helmet — featuring portraits of sportsmen and women killed since Russia’s 2022 invasion — had been banned from both training and competition at the Games in Italy. “It simply breaks my heart,” the 27-year-old wrote, adding that he would submit an official appeal and continue seeking permission to use the design.
The IOC has yet to publicly confirm the reported decision, but the controversy has already drawn a strong response from Kyiv. Zelensky praised Heraskevych’s efforts to keep global attention on the conflict, writing on X: “I thank the flag bearer of our national team at the Winter Olympics, Vladyslav Heraskevych, for reminding the world of the price of our struggle.” He added that the message should not be dismissed as political. “This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate or called a ‘political demonstration at a sporting event.’ It is a reminder to the entire world of what modern Russia is.”
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Do you support Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal to wear a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes?
The debate comes as Olympic rules under Article 50 restrict political gestures during competition, though athletes remain free to express views in press conferences and online. Ukrainian sports minister Matviy Bidnyi recently said Russia’s invasion has claimed the lives of “more than 650 athletes and coaches.”Heraskevych has explained in videos that the images on his helmet represent only a fraction of those lost, including Olympians and Youth Olympic medallists such as figure skater Dmytro Sharpar. Competing at his third Winter Games, the skeleton racer says his mission goes beyond sport.
