The Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says he is ready to be disqualified on Thursday because he does not want to betray his country’s dead athletes.
In what is likely to be an extraordinary scene in Cortina when the skeleton begins at 9.30am local time (8.30am GMT), Heraskevych has vowed to wear his “helmet of memory”, even though the International Olympic Committee has told him it will kick him out if he does so.
“I will not betray these athletes,” Heraskevych said after finishing first on the final day of practice. “These athletes sacrificed their lives and because of this sacrifice I am able to be here so I will not betray them.”
Heraskevych has continued to practise in the helmet, which shows 20 images of athletes and children killed since Russia’s invasion, despite the IOC banning it on Monday.
“An Olympic medal would be huge,” he said. “Since my childhood, it’s my big dream. But in this time of full‑scale war some things are really more important than medals. At this point, I would say a medal is worthless in comparison to people’s lives and, I believe, in comparison to the memory of these athletes.”
The IOC maintains that under Article 50 of the Olympic Charter, political statements are forbidden while in competition. However, the Ukraine delegation insists the helmet does not violate any laws because the helmet is about remembrance. It is unclear whether the IOC will allow Heraskevych to make his first run before disqualifying him or try to stop him before the start.
“The IOC has turned the situation with the ‘memory helmet’ into a theatre of the absurd,” Heraskevych said. “It is obvious that it does not violate any IOC rules.”
The IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that while Heraskevych could wear a black armband, and speak to the press, he would not be allowed to wear the helmet in competition.
“He can, and we would encourage him, to express his grief, but let me be clear,” he said. “It’s not the message, it’s the place that counts. There are 130 conflicts going on in the world. We cannot have 130 different conflicts featured, however terrible they are, during the field of play, during the actual competition.
Asked what would happen if Heraskevych tried to wear his helmet in competition, Adams said: “I don’t think it is helpful to speculate. But obviously there are rules and regulations that the athletes themselves want us to enforce, and they will ultimately be enforced.”
Adams also pointed to how the USA skater Maxim Naumov, who lost his parents in the Potomac air collision last year, had honoured them by showing a photograph after he competed on Tuesday.
“It’s a very emotional, very human, spontaneous human gesture,” he said. “In a sense it highlights what we are saying, this Ukrainian athlete, he can do the same. And we have loosened the rules – we are offering him to wear a black armband to commemorate his friends and colleagues who’ve lost their lives.
“But for us, and for the athletes more importantly, the field of play is sacrosanct.”
