Arbitration courtroom denies Vladyslav Heraskevych's Olympic tribute helmet enchantment

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Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych's push to legally put on a personalized helmet as he competed in races on the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics bumped into maybe its most daunting impediment Friday.

Heraskevych took his plea to don the helmet that paid tribute to Ukrainian warfare victims to the winter sliding sport's highest courtroom.

The Court docket of Arbitration for Sport dominated towards Heraskevych’s enchantment, successfully ending his last alternative to compete for a medal at this 12 months's Video games.

Heraskevych was disqualified from a skeleton race over the helmet, which displayed the faces of greater than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes who've been killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives on the end throughout a males's skeleton coaching session on the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino)

The Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Worldwide Bobsled and Skeleton Federation additionally concluded that Heraskevych's intention to put on the helmet was in direct violation of Olympic rules. The IOC cited guidelines towards making political statements on the sector of play.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry met with Heraskevych earlier than Thursday's males's skeleton occasion to attempt to change his thoughts about carrying the helmet, in the end to no avail.

"We did not discover frequent floor on this regard," Heraskevych mentioned.

Heraskevych’s legal professional, Yevhen Pronin, reacted to the courtroom ruling consistent with the IOC, arguing his shopper didn't truly commit misconduct.

"The courtroom sided with the IOC and upheld the choice that an athlete could possibly be disqualified from the Olympic Video games with out precise misconduct, with out a technical or security risk and earlier than the beginning," Pronin mentioned.

Vladyslav Heraskevych of Ukraine throughout coaching carrying a helmet in tribute to athletes who've died in Russia's assault on Ukraine Feb. 11, 2026. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)

CAS, the only arbitrator listening to the case, mentioned it "discovered these limitations affordable and proportionate," particularly since Heraskevych may present his helmet away from the racing floor, similar to in interview areas and on social media. Heraskevych additionally wore the helmet in coaching runs.

The enchantment was largely moot anyway. He was disqualified from the competitors lower than an hour earlier than its begin on Thursday, and no matter CAS mentioned on Friday wouldn’t have modified that.

"Appears like this practice has left," Heraskevych mentioned after Friday’s listening to.

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He left Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olympic Village on Thursday evening with no plans to return, then headed to Milan and arrived in Munich on Friday evening — helmet in hand — for a dinner with Ukrainian officers at a safety convention. He's anticipated to fulfill with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this weekend as nicely.

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives on the end throughout a males's skeleton coaching session on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino)

Heraskevych admitted he was shocked by the sturdy response.

s"I by no means anticipated it to be such an enormous scandal," he mentioned.

He additionally mentioned he discovered his accreditation for the Video games being taken away, then returned shortly afterward Thursday in what appeared like a goodwill gesture, puzzling.

"A mockery," he mentioned.

CAS did agree that Heraskevych ought to preserve his accreditation.

Tributes from different athletes competing in Milan Cortina have been permitted with out penalty, together with American determine skater Maxim Naumov displaying a photograph of his late dad and mom who have been killed in a aircraft crash final 12 months.

Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnaller had a small Russian flag picture on the again of his helmet in the course of the Video games, and Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone wore a kippah bearing the names of 11 athletes and coaches killed whereas representing that nation in the course of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

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The IOC mentioned these instances weren't in violation of any guidelines.

Naumov confirmed his picture within the kiss-and-cry space and never whereas he was truly on the ice. Fischnaller’s helmet was a tribute to all of the previous Olympic websites he competed at, with Sochi included. And Firestone’s kippah "was lined by a beanie," IOC spokesman Mark Adams mentioned.

The IOC supplied Heraskevych an opportunity to compete with a special helmet and produce the tribute by way of the interview space after his runs. He additionally may have worn a black armband.