Reactions to the banning of Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Olympics

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This article was published 12/02/2026 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Notable reactions to Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych being banned from the Milan Cortina Games because of his insistence on wearing a helmet that pays tribute to athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia:

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“No one, no one — especially me — is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory and no one is disagreeing with that. The challenge that we are facing is that we wanted to ask or come up with a solution for just the field of play.” — International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry.

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“I thank our athlete for his clear stance. His helmet, bearing the portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes, is about honor and remembrance. It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence. And in this, no rule has been broken.” — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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“I want to believe that the reason is that she really felt sorry as an athlete, as a former athlete, and that she really wants me to compete. But we have what we have and we’ll see what is next.” — Heraskevych, on his meeting with Coventry.

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“I think I’m just left with a real sense of sadness, and real surprise.” — 2014 and 2018 women’s skeleton Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold, speaking on the BBC.

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“He trained wearing a helmet bearing the faces of Ukrainian athletes and friends killed by Russia. He wanted to remind the world that this war continues. That it has names. Faces. Stories. He was excluded from the Olympics. Excluded by the same Olympic Committee that allowed 20 Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag.” — Katarina Mathernova, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, on Instagram.

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“The IOC has banned not the Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation. Future generations will recall this as a moment of shame.” — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

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“It’s just a shame that he’s missed out on a chance of being able to compete at an Olympics, which is very sad.” — Olympic men’s skeleton leader Matt Weston of Britain.

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“The International Olympic Committee destroyed our dreams. It’s not fair.” — Mykhailo Heraskevych, the slider’s coach and father.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics