Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych will not be performing at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina after he refused to comply with the rules on athletes’ self-expression, the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, the day Heraskevych was scheduled to race.
Heraskevych wanted to wear a memorial helmet with portraits of Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia in the race and refused to consider wearing a black armband instead as a compromise offered to him by the IOC. So the committee decided to withdraw his accreditation from the Games.
“Despite multiple exchanges and in-person meetings between the IOC and Mr Heraskevych, the last one this morning with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, he did not consider any form of compromise,” the IOC said in a statement Thursday.
“The IOC was very keen for Mr. Heraskevych to compete. This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the IOC said.
“The essence of this case is not about the message; it is about where he wanted to express it,” the committee added.
Heraskevych was able to display his helmet in all training runs. The IOC also offered him the option of displaying it immediately after the race when going through the mixed zone. However, the athlete instead demanded an apology for the pressure from the IOC as he, as well as the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, insisted the helmet did not violate any rules.
“I never wanted a scandal with the IOC. I did not create it. IOC created it with its special interpretation of the rules, which many people consider discriminatory,” Heraskevych said Thursday on social media.
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