The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games were overshadowed by controversy after the expulsion of Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, his country's flag bearer, for competing with a helmet that displayed photographs of athletes who died during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The decision was made hours before the athlete was to compete in the qualifying heats and, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was due to a violation of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits political demonstrations at official venues and competitions. The sanction was imposed by the jury of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), which withdrew his accreditation.
The conflict began this Monday, when the IBSF notified that Heraskevych was using a helmet with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war, among them weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov. Despite the warnings, the athlete again appeared with the same design during Tuesday's and Wednesday's training runs.
Before the event, IOC president Kirsty Coventry held a meeting with the competitor in an attempt to solve the situation. According to the organization based in Lausanne, alternatives were offered to him, such as displaying the helmet in the mixed zone after competing, wearing a black armband during the event, or expressing his message in press conferences and on social media. In view of his refusal to change the form of his demonstration or accept any kind of compromise, expulsion was decided.
