'Price of dignity' says Ukrainian athlete banned over helmet

Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych says being banned from competing at the Winter Olympics is the "price of our dignity".

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned Heraskevych for continuing to wear a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during Russia's invasion of his home country, which the IOC says breaks its rules.

Heraskevych, who wore the helmet in all of his training runs before the competition began on Thursday, was told by the IOC on Tuesday it "does not comply" with the Olympic charter and that he was not allowed to wear it.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry visited the 26-year-old at Cortina's sliding track at 07:30 local time on Thursday before the first skeleton heat in a final attempt to convince him not to wear the helmet in competition.

But the IOC said Heraskevych "did not consider any form of compromise".

It said: "The IOC was very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete. This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

The IOC added that Heraskevych, who was considered to have an outside chance of a medal based on his training times, had been banned for contravening athlete guidelines, rather than because of displaying political propaganda.

Responding on social media after being banned, Heraskevych wrote:, external "This is [the] price of our dignity."

Speaking to BBC Sport, he added: "I could be among the medallists in this event, but suddenly because of some interpretation of the rules which I do not agree with, I am not able to compete while other athletes in the same situation were able to compete, and they didn't face any sanctions."

The IOC said he was banned for contravening the 'athlete expression' guidelines, which were drawn up in 2023 and are part of Olympic law.

They state that: "The focus at the Olympic Games must remain on athletes' performances, sport and the harmony that the Games seek to advance.

"It is a fundamental principle that sport at the Olympic Games is neutral and must be separate from political, religious and any other type of interference.

"Specifically, the focus on the field of play during competitions and official ceremonies must be on celebrating athletes' performances."

Heraskevych, who said he felt "emptiness" at not being allowed to compete, said the ban was not consistent with other decisions taken at the Games.

"'Expression guidelines', I believe it's a very big term. What do you consider as 'expression'? Many athletes here have helmets with different paints [colours] and I believe it's also a kind of expression," he said.

"Some athletes have national symbols, it's also an expression but for some reason their helmets were not checked. They are allowed to compete, but I am not."

Heraskevych insists his tribute is no different to those that other athletes have displayed, such as figure skater Maxim Naumov.

The American held up a photo of his parents, who were among 67 people killed in a plane crash in Washington DC just over a year ago, while waiting for his score to be announced on Tuesday.

Heraskevych's accreditation for the Games was initially withdrawn by the IOC but, following a "very respectful" conversation with the committee's president Coventry, that decision was overturned and he will be allowed to remain at the event but not compete.

Asked how strongly he felt about commemorating those who have been killed during the Russian invasion, Heraskevych said: "I believe they deserve to be here because of their sacrifice. I want to honour them and I want to honour their families."

He explained that many of those pictured on his helmet were athletes, including teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, and some of them were his friends.

The IOC said earlier this week that Heraskevych could pay tribute to the fallen athletes by wearing a black armband during competition and could show his helmet in mixed zones, news conferences and on social media, but that "the field of play is sacrosanct".

It added that IOC officials would "beg" him not to wear it as they wanted him to compete.

On Thursday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that if the committee allowed athletes to wear kit commemorating those killed in war, it would open the Games up to exploitation.

"There are according to the Red Cross, 130 conflicts going on at any one time. We can't have them all in competition [with each other at the Games]," he said.

"The field of play could become a field of expression, you could see it would lead to chaos. We cannot have athletes put on them by political masters to make expressions during competition.

"We do our best to create a level playing field, I make no apologies for that."

Adams said IOC president Coventry had left the meeting with Heraskevych in tears as she felt "very emotional" about the matter, adding that "the meeting was good, personal and respectful".

He also denied that the IOC had been pressured by either the Russian Olympic Committee or the Russian government to ban Heraskevych, and said the Ukrainian would have access to a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) commission should he wish to appeal.

The IOC said athletes are able to "express grief with dignity and respect" at multi-faith centres in the Olympic villages.

It added that Heraskevych has been "supported by the IOC for the last three editions of the Games" and that he is an Olympic scholarship athlete.

"Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IOC also set up a solidarity fund for Ukrainian sport to support the athletes' preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," it said.