"Heraskevych, Ukraine's sole participant in the skeleton event, continued to wear the helmet during official training sessions and stated his intention to wear it in competition. Before today's competition kicked, IOC President Kirsty Coventry met with Heraskevych and attempted to reach a last-minute compromise over wearing the helmet on the "field of play." Coventry instead suggested that Heraskevych could wear a black armband during the competition and display the helmet afterward."
"The nature of skeleton as a sport played a role in the discussion: Skeleton athletes go head-first, but traveling as fast as 75 miles per hour, at which speed it would not be possible to see the designs on Heraskevych's helmet. After Heraskevych's run was over, the faces would be more clearly seen. Coventry and Heraskevych reportedly agreed on this point, which highlights the fundamentally arbitrary distinctions in IOC rules on expression."
Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified one hour before the men's skeleton event for insisting on wearing a helmet bearing illustrations of Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war. Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter forbids any demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda in Olympic sites, venues or other areas. Heraskevych wore the helmet during official training and planned to wear it in competition. IOC President Kirsty Coventry met him and proposed a compromise: a black armband during competition and displaying the helmet afterward. The sport's high speed made helmet imagery indistinct during runs, a point both Coventry and Heraskevych acknowledged. The IOC emphasized enforcing its rules, with a spokesman stating, "Sport without rules cannot function."
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