CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Ukrainian sled racer Vladyslav Heraskevych made two training runs on the Olympic sled track in Cortina on Wednesday wearing a helmet painted with images honoring fellow athletes killed during Russia's full-scale invasion.
He wore the helmet despite a ruling by Olympic officials. They say images of war dead worn during competition threaten to politicize the Winter Games. Speaking on Wednesday, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams urged Heraskeyvch to back down.
"We would beg him, we want you to compete," Adams said. IOC officials say Heraskeyvch faces disqualification from the Olympics if he persists in wearing the helmet.
But in a post Wednesday on Instagram, Heraskeyvch sounded defiant. He pointed to the fact that other athletes have been allowed to bring expressions of sorrow onto the snow and ice during Winter Games, some carrying photographs of family members who've died.
"This situation could serve as a perfect definition of the concept of double standards," Heraskeyvch said. "[W]e demand, to be allowed to participate in competitions wearing this helmet. Because, it is obvious that we are not breaking any rules."
As a compromise IOC officials have offered to allow Heraskeyvch to wear a black armband. Adams says the IOC is eager to de-escalate. "We will contact the athlete today and we will reiterate the many, many opportunities he has to express his grief."
Skeleton sled competition resumes with preliminary heats on Thursday, with Heraskeyvch currently scheduled to compete. The Olympic medal round of racing comes on Friday.
Can sport be neutral in a time of war?
Heraskevych is a serious medal contender in skeleton racing - a high-speed sport where athletes hurtle face-forward down an icy track - at the Milan Cortina Games. He finished fourth at last year's world championships.
He arrived in Italy hoping to raise awareness about Ukraine's struggle to survive during a bitterly cold winter when Russian forces have made slow but significant advances on the battlefield.
"If you follow (the) situation, you know that in Ukraine now it's a very difficult time. People sit in houses without electricity, without water, without heating," Heraskevych told journalists.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a ruling that the helmet could not be worn during training or competition because it would violate terms of the Olympic charter designed to keep politics out of the Games. At a press conference Tuesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams defended the decision.
"[W]e have to concentrate on athletes' performance and sport on the field of play," Adams said in Milan. "The Games need to be separated from not just political and religious topics, but all types of interference so that all athletes can concentrate on performance."
According to Adams, allowing Heraskevych to commemorate victims of the Russia-Ukraine war would lead to a flood of other political statements: "There are probably 20 or 30 conflicts around the world at any time," he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in on social media this week, listing some of the athletes portrayed on Heraskevych's helmet: "Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, who was killed in combat near Bakhmut; Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by the occupiers near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian athletes whose lives were taken by Russia's war," Zelenskyy wrote.
"This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate, or called a 'political demonstration at a sporting event,'" Zelenskyy added.
On Tuesday, Heraskevych said he believes the IOC should help recognize athletes killed in war: "We have members of Olympic family, part of Olympic movement, and they don't even want to honor them."
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, immediately following the last Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The IOC has banned Russian athletes from competing under their nation's flag and imposed strict rules on which Russian athletes are eligible to compete independently.
The rules include a ban on any Russian athletes who openly support the invasion of Ukraine or who have ties to the Russian military.
Once a winter sport powerhouse, more than 200 Russians competed in the Beijing Games. This year, only thirteen athletes from Russia were approved by the IOC.
Copyright 2026 NPR
His helmet bears portraits of our athletes who were killed by Russia. Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, who was killed in combat near Bakhmut; Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by the occupiers near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian athletes whose lives were taken by… https://t.co/IL2tFB786l
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 9, 2026
