The IOC considers that the equipment violates article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which limits political demonstrations during the competition, and suggested the use of a black armband as an alternative.
Ukraine’s standard bearer at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games has assured that he will compete with a helmet adorned with photographs of athletes killed during the conflict with Russia, despite the ban on .
“I used it during training (…) and I will use it on the day of the race”assured Vladislav Heraskevychthe Ukrainian athlete from skeletonjust hours after the IOC refused him the use of a helmet and only authorized him to wear a black armband.
“Mark Adams [porta-voz do COI] I said there should be a uniform approach for all athletes, but at these Games (…) there were a lot of political stances taken by North American athletes, even on the field. There was even a Russian flag on one of the athletes’ helmets. They received no sanction, no penalty. Therefore, if the approach is uniform for me, it must be uniform for them too”, countered Vladislav Heraskevych.
Hours earlier, at the daily press conference at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games, the IOC recalled that a helmet with these motifs “contradicts” article 50 of the Olympic Charterwhich seeks to avoid “all types of interference”, namely “political” or “religious”so that “all athletes can focus on their performance”.
The Olympic organization also revealed that it held, on Monday night, a “informal meeting” with coach Vladislav Heraskevychas well as with your “close circle”.
“I think what we tried to do was meet his wishes with compassion and understanding. We reaffirmed that in this case, as we have done more frequently, we will make an exception to these guidelines to allow him to wear a black armband during the competition as a way of marking this honor. We think this is a good compromise,” explained Mark Adams.
The IOC official recalled that the Ukrainian athlete remains free to express himself in the context of a “press conference, after the competition and in the mixed zone”, as well as on their social networks.
Zelensky accuses IOC of being “betray the athletes“
Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine praised his compatriot’s attitude, while criticizing the IOC’s attitude.
“The helmet has portraits of our athletes who were killed by Russia. Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, killed in combat near Bakhmut, Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by the occupiers of Kharkiv, and other Ukrainian athletes, whose lives were taken by Russia,” wrote Zelensky, in a message on .
Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the IOC, revealing that the ban on the Ukrainian athlete from wearing a helmet leaves him devastated: “This decision breaks my heart. I feel that the IOC is betraying the athletes who were part of the Olympic movement by not allowing them to be honored in a place where they will never be able to compete again.”he lamented.
