Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games for wearing a helmet that depicted 22 Ukrainian athletes killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Heraskevych worked with a Ukrainian artist to create a memorial of athletes who were killed, starting in Russia’s initial invasion, hoping to bring more attention to those who have been killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War, which was first categorized as a conflict before escalating to a war in February 2022.
“A lot of our people have been killed. Our business people have been killed. Our athletes have been killed. It feels like no one cares. Everyone just looks on, silently,” said Iryna Prots, a Ukrainian artist who hand-painted the ‘Helmet of Memory,’ in reaction to Heraskevych’s disqualification.
Viktoriia Ivashko, the youngest athlete on the helmet, was killed when she was 9 years old, along with her mother, in a Russian missile strike on Kyiv on International Children’s Day, June 1, 2023. She practiced judo, and her coach remembers her as a “calm, brave and joyful child.”
Ivan Kononenko, the oldest person on the helmet, was killed in action at 42 on Dec. 9, 2025. Kononenko was a veterinarian and a competitive weightlifter before he volunteered to serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion.
The helmet included only some of the professional athletes and coaches who were killed in the Russian war against Ukraine. Four of them were winter sports athletes who could have competed at this year’s Olympics had their lives not been cut short.
Controversy began when Heraskevych wore the ‘Helmet of Memory’ during his practice runs in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) first sent Heraskevych a letter warning him to abandon the helmet for the race. The IOC was threatening Heraskevych with a competition ban in compliance with Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter that states that “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
“I will not betray these athletes,” Heraskevych said after finishing the final day of practice on Feb. 11. “These athletes sacrificed their lives and because of this sacrifice I am able to be here, so I will not betray them.”
On Feb. 12, IOC President Kirsty Coventry met with Heraskevych privately at the top of the racing track, about 75 minutes before the start of the race. After not being able to find a compromise, Coventry announced Heraskevych’s disqualification.
“No one—no one, especially me—is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory,” Coventry told reporters after talking to Heraskevych.“It’s not about the messaging; it’s literally about the rules and the regulations. In this case—the field of play—we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone. And sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed.”
The athlete told reporters that he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“It’s hard to say or put into words. It’s emptiness,” said Heraskevych.
The next day, the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied Heraskevych’s appeal against the IOC and the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, even though the series of skeleton races already started and Heraskevych had no chance of competing regardless.
For Heraskevych, who pioneered the sport in Ukraine with his father, this was a personal loss. Described as a likely medal contender, Heraskevych finished every practice run no lower than in sixth place and had the fastest time in the fifth training heat with 56.70 seconds, ahead of Lin Qinwei of China with 56.74 seconds and Seunggi Jung of South Korea with 56.89.
“This is the price of our dignity,” said Heraskevych in his post on X on Feb. 12.