By Julien Pretot
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych will not be allowed to wear a “helmet of remembrance” in honour of those killed in the war with Russia in the skeleton competition at the Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s Olympic Committee had earlier made a request for Heraskevych to be able to wear the helmet, which features images of Ukrainian athletes killed in the conflict with Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of their country.
“The IOC fully understands the desire of athletes to remember friends who lost their lives in that conflict,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference on Tuesday.
“He has done that in training and on social media he has expressed his feelings but what we have said is this helmet contravenes the … guidelines.”
Adams said the IOC would make an exception to the guidelines and allow Heraskevych to wear a plain black armband in competition.
“We feel this is a good compromise,” he added.
Heraskevych said on Monday that a representative of the IOC had told him he could not use the helmet, which he had been wearing in training.
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.
“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.”
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.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Ken Ferris)
