Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after it disqualified a Ukrainian athlete at the 2026 Winter Games, calling the decision unjust and contrary to Olympic values.
The dispute erupted on Feb. 12 at the Milano Cortina Olympics when Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from competition minutes before his first run for refusing to remove a helmet honoring athletes and coaches killed since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Heraskevych’s helmet featured 24 black and white portraits of Ukrainian athletes, coaches and children who have died during the war. He described it as a memorial, not a protest.
Ukrainian officials say more than 660 members of the country’s sporting community have been killed since the full scale invasion began in February 2022. Training centers have been destroyed. Athletes have been displaced. Some have joined the military.
Heraskevych, who competed at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and once displayed a “No War in Ukraine” sign before the invasion, wore the commemorative helmet during training and at a press conference in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Olympic officials allowed it off the field of play but ruled it impermissible during competition.
Citing Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits political demonstrations at Olympic venues and during events, the IOC ordered him to change helmets. When he refused, he was disqualified.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry met Heraskevych near the start gate in falling snow on the morning of the race.
She later said the message was powerful and not disputed, but warned that allowing it in competition could open the door to broader political expressions.
Alternatives such as a black armband were offered. No compromise was reached.
Heraskevych’s accreditation was briefly withdrawn before being reinstated, allowing him to remain at the Games without competing. Britain’s Matt Weston went on to win gold in the men’s skeleton.
“I will not get my Olympic moment,” Heraskevych said afterward. “They were killed, but their voice is so loud that the IOC is afraid of them.”
He insisted he had a realistic chance of medaling and argued that remembrance should not be treated as propaganda.
An urgent appeal was filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport later that night. The panel dismissed it, stating that the IOC’s athlete expression guidelines strike a reasonable balance between freedom of expression and maintaining focus on sport during competition.
“CAS has failed us,” Heraskevych said.
Zelenskyy responded forcefully on social media, saying sport should not mean forgetting those killed in war. He described the decision as morally wrong and inconsistent with the principles of Olympism.
Days later, he met Heraskevych at the Munich Security Conference and awarded him Ukraine’s Order of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. “Remembrance is not a violation,” Zelenskyy said, praising the athlete’s courage.
The episode has become one of the defining controversies of the 2026 Winter Games, reigniting debate over where Olympic neutrality ends and moral responsibility begins. In Ukraine, Heraskevych’s stand is being celebrated as an act of resilience.
“There are things more important than medals,” he said. “I stood up for what I believe in.”
