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Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych speaks at a press conference at the Ukrainian Consulate in Milan, on the sidelines of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Heraskevych was disqualified from the competition because he insisted on wearing a helmet with photos of Ukrainian athletes who were killed in Russia's war of aggression. Peter Kneffel/dpa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych the Order of Freedom, praising his stance in a dispute with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over a helmet honouring athletes killed in Russia's invasion.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Zelensky commended the 27-year-old Ukrainian for cherishing "the memory of the athletes killed by Russia, athletes who will never compete again because of the Russian aggression."
"Thank you for your stance, your strength, and your courage," Zelensky wrote on X alongside images of the meeting.
Heraskevych had earlier attended a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Milan. The dispute centres on a helmet featuring portraits of around 20 Ukrainian athletes who have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The CAS rejected Heraskevych's appeal, meaning he will remain banned from competing in skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The ban was imposed by the sport's ruling body, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF), in line with IOC rules.
The court said in a statement following an emergency ruling that the sole arbitrator appointed for this matter "whilst fully sympathetic to Mr Heraskevyc's commemoration, is bound by rules in the IOC Athlete Expression Guidelines."
The arbitrator considers that these guidelines "provide a reasonable balance between athletes' interests to express their views, and athletes' interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play."
Heraskevych had argued that "the exclusion is disproportionate, unsupported by any technical or safety violation and causes irreparable sporting harm to him."
The CAS arbitrator said that she was sympathetic with Heraskevych's attempt to "raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people."
But she added that the limitations imposed by the IOC to express views during competitions on the field of play are "reasonable and proportionate, considering the other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness (in mixed zones, in press conferences, on social networks, or in Mr Heraskevych's case, wearing the helmet during four training runs)."
Heraskevych had already ruled out racing
Earlier, Heraskevych appeared to have ruled out racing at the Olympics even if he won his appeal against the exclusion.
"It looks like this train has left," the 27-year-old, draped in the Ukrainan flag, told reporters after emerging from a two-and-a-half-hour hearing. "I cannot do another race so it is done."
His CAS hearing began at a hotel in Milan on Friday and he said he was "positive" that his appeal would be upheld.
The court has set up an ad hoc division to deal with Olympic appeals quickly.
The first two runs of the Olympic skeleton competition in Cortina took place without Heraskevych, despite him finishing among the top six in all five training runs. The medal runs are scheduled for later on Friday.
A reinstatement would be complicated and the athlete said racing in a symbolic one run was unlikely given the sport is dangerous.
"From a competitive perspective this makes no sense," he said, as he slammed the IOC's "mockery" for removing his Games accreditation and then giving it him back despite his racing ban.
Heraskevych had refused repeated warnings from the IOC to give up wearing his helmet.
The IOC does not allow any kind of political statements in competition. Heraskevych says this is different as it is a commemoration and not political, something he believes other athletes have been allowed to do.
IOC steadfast
IOC president Kirsty Coventry told a news conference: "The rules are the rules and I believe in the rules. "We have to allow for athletes to express themselves but also to keep athletes safe."
She said political messaging is permitted away from actual competition, in press conferences for example, but that athletes themselves had agreed that the actual events should be neutral.
"I think he in some ways understood [the rules], but was very committed to his beliefs, but sadly it doesn't change the rules," Coventry said.
Heraskevych was excluded shortly before the start of the first run in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Thursday.
In his appeal, he requested the annulment of the decision and "that CAS reinstates him in the 2026 [Olympic Winter Games] with immediate effect, or in the alternative, that the athlete performs a CAS supervised official run pending the final decision."
Around 40 members of the European Parliament have backed the slider and have written to the IOC, calling the ban wrong.
Press reaction in Europe has also been largely against the IOC, while some Russian media in contrast have said the body has been too soft in giving his accreditation back.
Russia as a nation is not allowed at the Games because of the war, but some individual Russian athletes are competing as neutrals after proving they have not actively supported the conflict.
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