"After the third of four runs there, he held up a sign with the English inscription "No war in Ukraine" for the cameras at the finish line of the run. Thirteen days later, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Heraskevych has tirelessly used his sport to draw attention to the suffering of the people in Ukraine and to urge further strict sanctions against Russian sports."
"Heraskevych wanted to wear his "helmet of remembrance" not only in training but also during the Olympic race in Cortina. It features images of Ukrainian athletes who were killed during Russia's war on Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers the helmet a violation of Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which states: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.""
In Pyeongchang in 2018 the Kyiv native became the first Ukrainian to compete in skeleton at the Winter Olympics and also raced in Beijing in 2022. After the third of four runs in Beijing he held up a sign reading "No war in Ukraine"; Russia launched a full-scale invasion 13 days later. He has since used his sport to highlight Ukrainian suffering and call for stricter sanctions on Russian sports. He was a flag bearer for Ukraine at Milano Cortina. He sought to wear a "helmet of remembrance" showing Ukrainian athletes killed in the war, but the IOC judged it a Rule 50 violation and he was disqualified after refusing to comply with athlete expression guidelines.
Read at www.dw.com
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