- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,448
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych during the Men's Skeleton Training at the Cortina Sliding Centre.
Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wore a helmet decorated with images of people killed in the war in his home country during a training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- The 27-year-old athlete shared that he had donned the helmet in an effort to speak out about Russia's war on Ukraine
- Olympic rules prohibit political demonstrations during events, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had contacted Ukraine's Olympic Committee about the helmet
While taking part in a training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wore a helmet decorated with images of people killed in the war in his home country.
Speaking to Reuters on Monday, Feb. 9, the 27-year-old athlete shared that he had donned the helmet in an effort to speak out about Russia's war on Ukraine.
"Some of them were my friends," Heraskevych told the outlet.
Some of the people whose photos appeared on his helmet were athletes, including teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov — all of whom were killed after Russia began its large-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
According to Heraskevych — Ukraine's first skeleton athlete to compete at the Olympics — the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had contacted Ukraine's Olympic Committee about the helmet, as the event's rulebook prohibits political demonstrations.
"It's still being processed," said the athlete, who served as flagbearer for Ukraine in the opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6.
You must be registered for see images attach
Vladyslav Heraskevych of Team Ukraine participates during Skeleton Men's Singles training.
Richard Heathcote/Getty
The Olympic Charter states that "no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas," per Reuters.
Heraskevych has previously used his platform to speak out about the conflict in Ukraine. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics — his second-ever games — he held up a sign that read "No War in Ukraine," just days before Russia invaded the country.
At the time, the IOC stated that Heraskevych would not face repercussions for the sign, calling it a "general call for peace," Forbes previously reported.
Heraskevych told Reuters that he intends to respect Olympic rules, while still raising awareness about the war amid the Milan games.
You must be registered for see images attach
Ukraine's athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty
Russia and its ally Belarus have been overwhelmingly banned from international sport following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but the country's athletes have slowly begun to compete again. For the 2026 games, the IOC cleared 13 athletes from Russia to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes.
Heraskevych is not the first athlete to speak out about politics at this year's games.
Team USA freestyle skiers Chris Lillis and Hunter Hess acknowledged that wearing red, white and blue at this point in history comes with mixed emotions during a press conference on Friday, Feb. 6.
Lillis, 27, said that he loves the United States and “would never want to represent” any other country at the Games. Still, he acknowledged that he’s “heartbroken” over what’s happening in the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
“A lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things. I feel heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States,” he said, adding, "I think that as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect.”
Hess, meanwhile, said it “brings up mixed emotions” to represent the United States at the 2026 Games.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Hess noted that “just because I wear the flag, it doesn’t mean I represent everything that is going on in the U.S.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
Read the original article on People
Continue reading...
