By Julien Pretot, Mitch Phillips and Karolos Grohmann
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was ejected from the Winter Games on Thursday over his “helmet of remembrance” depicting athletes killed since Russia’s invasion despite a personal appeal from the International Olympic Committee head.
The 27-year-old, who had been training in Italy with the helmet showing two dozen dead compatriots, was barred and stripped of his accreditation minutes before competition was due to start at the sliding venue.
“I am disqualified from the race. I will not get my Olympic moment,” said Heraskevych, who according to the IOC would have been in contravention of the Olympic Charter’s rule 50.2 keeping politics off the fields of play.
“They were killed, but their voice is so loud that the IOC is afraid of them.”
His team said they would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry arrived in the early morning near the start gate and met with Heraskevych prior to the decision. She choked up with tears when telling reporters how she was unable to broker a solution.
“I thought it was really important to come here and talk to him face-to-face,” she said after the meeting that lasted about 10 minutes. “No one, especially me, is disagreeing with the messaging, it’s a powerful message, it’s a message of remembrance, of memory.”
The IOC had suggested compromises including wearing a black armband or showing the helmet before and after racing.
“Sadly we’ve not been able to find that solution. I really wanted to see him race. It’s been an emotional morning,” Coventry said. “It’s literally about the rules and the regulations and that in this case… we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone and sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed.”
It is not the first time the IOC has sanctioned an athlete for a political message.
The most famous case was at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists during the 200m medal ceremony to protest about racial injustice in the United States.
That led to their expulsion from the Games, although Smith kept his gold medal and Carlos his bronze.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash, a member of the refugee Olympic team, was disqualified after wearing a cape with the slogan “Free Afghan Women” during a pre-qualifying competition.
“If we allow one athlete this expression… it will lead to chaos,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference.
UKRAINE PLANS PROTEST
Ukraine’s Olympic Committee said it was planning some sort of protest but would not boycott the Games.
“We will correct this mistake through legal channels. Vladyslav, you acted with dignity. This story will definitely continue. We stand with you,” Ukraine Youth and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi wrote on X.
Ukrainian team members were seen in tears and hugging each other after the decision.
Heraskevych’s father and coach Mikhailo Geraskevych sat on a dirty snowbank, his face buried in his hands.
Heraskevych, holding the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s notification of his withdrawal, said the case played into Russia’s narrative about the four-year war in his nation.
“Even though the IOC wants to betray the memory of these athletes, I will not betray them,” added the athlete, who also displayed a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics days before Russia’s invasion.
“I sincerely believe that it is precisely because of their sacrifice that these Olympic Games can take place at all today.”
There has been no comment on the case from Moscow and the IOC said it had received no communication from Russia.
Latvian coach Ivo Steinbergs told Reuters he had filed a protest with the bobsleigh and skeleton federation to reinstate Heraskevych and contacted other teams for them to join the action.
An IBSF spokesperson told Reuters it had received an email, but no formal protest.
The skeleton started on Thursday morning.
Having been stripped of accreditation, Heraskevych now has no access to any competition venues, athletes’ villages or media areas. His team told Reuters he would pick up his luggage from the Olympic village and move to a nearby hotel in Cortina.
Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, athletes from Russia and Belarus were largely barred from international sport, but the IOC has since backed their gradual return under strict conditions.
Moscow has condemned the mixing of sport and politics in decisions to exclude its competitors from global competitions.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, Karolos Grohmann, Mitch Phillips; Additional reporting by llze Filks and Christine Uyanik, Editing by Peter Rutherford and Andrew Cawthorne)
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