THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC Committee says it wants Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych to race as it seeks to resolve the issue over his helmet that features pictures of people who have been killed in the war with Russia.
The IOC has said the helmet is in contravention of the rules and instead offered a compromise of allowing Heraskevych to wear a black armband when the competition gets under way on Thursday.
Heraskevych has been using the helmet in training and has insisted he will not change his position.
Vladyslav Heraskevych has said he will not change his position (Andrew Milligan/PA). PA
PA
Gestures of a political nature during competition are forbidden under the Olympic charter, though athletes are permitted to express their views in press conferences and on social media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had defended Heraskevych’s right to wear the helmet, thanking him “for reminding the world of the price of our struggle”.
Ukrainian Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi told AFP this month that Russia has killed “more than 650 athletes and coaches” since it invaded Ukraine, according to the latest data.
And the athlete, who was one of Ukraine’s two flag bearers in the opening ceremony in Italy, told reporters at the Cortina Sliding Centre that he had no intention of backing down.
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“I used it in all trainings… I used it today, I will use it tomorrow, and I will use it on race day (Thursday),” he told reporters.
Heraskevych said he disagreed with the IOC’s decision “because I truly believe that we didn’t violate any rules”.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams would not be drawn on the possible sanctions the organisation could impose if he maintains that stance.
He said: “I don’t think it is helpful to look at hypotheticals, particularly since we are trying to get him to a place where he takes part.
“We want him to compete so it is not helpful. But there are rules and regulations, without labouring the point, they are rules and regulations athletes themselves want us to enforce. They will ultimately be enforced.
“It would be an IOC matter.”
Adams added the IOC remains in discussion with Heraskevych, saying: “We will contact the athlete today and we will reiterate the many, many opportunities he has to express his grief.
“As we have discussed before, he can do so on social media, in press conferences and mixed zone.
“We will try to talk to him about that, try to convince him. We want him to compete and have his moment, that’s very important to us. We want every athlete to have their moment.
“The guidelines were agreed by 4,500 athletes and the input of many our of athletes’ commissions, that is what they want. They want that specific moment on the field of play to be free from any distraction.
“We feel his grief and want him to express it, but let me be clear, it is not the message (that’s the issue), it is the place that counts.
“That is it for us and it’s the message the athletes have reiterated to us time and again. There are 130 conflicts in the world and we cannot have them all featured – however terrible – in the field of play during the competition.
“We beg him, we want him to compete.”
Football’s governing body Uefa found itself confronted with a similar situation before the men’s 2020 European football championship, which were played in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a protest from Russia, Uefa banned Ukraine’s jerseys, which carried the message “Glory to the heroes”.
It did though allow a modified jersey featuring a map of Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Russia annexed in 2014.
At Euro 2024 Ukrainian supporters honoured their war dead. At a group game with Belgium they displayed photographs of 182 football-loving soldiers killed in the war.
IOC urges Ukrainian racer to compete amid row over banned war victim helmet
THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC Committee says it wants Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych to race as it seeks to resolve the issue over his helmet that features pictures of people who have been killed in the war with Russia.
The IOC has said the helmet is in contravention of the rules and instead offered a compromise of allowing Heraskevych to wear a black armband when the competition gets under way on Thursday.
Heraskevych has been using the helmet in training and has insisted he will not change his position.
Gestures of a political nature during competition are forbidden under the Olympic charter, though athletes are permitted to express their views in press conferences and on social media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had defended Heraskevych’s right to wear the helmet, thanking him “for reminding the world of the price of our struggle”.
Ukrainian Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi told AFP this month that Russia has killed “more than 650 athletes and coaches” since it invaded Ukraine, according to the latest data.
And the athlete, who was one of Ukraine’s two flag bearers in the opening ceremony in Italy, told reporters at the Cortina Sliding Centre that he had no intention of backing down.
“I used it in all trainings… I used it today, I will use it tomorrow, and I will use it on race day (Thursday),” he told reporters.
Heraskevych said he disagreed with the IOC’s decision “because I truly believe that we didn’t violate any rules”.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams would not be drawn on the possible sanctions the organisation could impose if he maintains that stance.
He said: “I don’t think it is helpful to look at hypotheticals, particularly since we are trying to get him to a place where he takes part.
“We want him to compete so it is not helpful. But there are rules and regulations, without labouring the point, they are rules and regulations athletes themselves want us to enforce. They will ultimately be enforced.
“It would be an IOC matter.”
Adams added the IOC remains in discussion with Heraskevych, saying: “We will contact the athlete today and we will reiterate the many, many opportunities he has to express his grief.
“As we have discussed before, he can do so on social media, in press conferences and mixed zone.
“We will try to talk to him about that, try to convince him. We want him to compete and have his moment, that’s very important to us. We want every athlete to have their moment.
“The guidelines were agreed by 4,500 athletes and the input of many our of athletes’ commissions, that is what they want. They want that specific moment on the field of play to be free from any distraction.
“We feel his grief and want him to express it, but let me be clear, it is not the message (that’s the issue), it is the place that counts.
“That is it for us and it’s the message the athletes have reiterated to us time and again. There are 130 conflicts in the world and we cannot have them all featured – however terrible – in the field of play during the competition.
“We beg him, we want him to compete.”
Football’s governing body Uefa found itself confronted with a similar situation before the men’s 2020 European football championship, which were played in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a protest from Russia, Uefa banned Ukraine’s jerseys, which carried the message “Glory to the heroes”.
It did though allow a modified jersey featuring a map of Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Russia annexed in 2014.
At Euro 2024 Ukrainian supporters honoured their war dead. At a group game with Belgium they displayed photographs of 182 football-loving soldiers killed in the war.
With reporting from AFP
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