Winter Olymic Games - V.Heraskevics

Vladyslav Heraskevych is a Ukrainian skeleton athlete, born in 1999. Skeleton is a winter sport where athletes slide headfirst down an ice track on a small sled. At the Olympics, he finished 12th in Pyeongchang in 2018 and 18th in Beijing in 2022. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, he was disqualified because he wanted to compete wearing a special helmet featuring photos of Ukrainian athletes who died in the war. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not allow political or symbolic messages during competition. Heraskevych refused to change the helmet and also declined the alternative of wearing a black armband, so he was not allowed to race. His case received international attention and highlights how strictly the Olympics regulate political statements.