Ukrainian may be removed from Olympics because of helmet in memory of killed colleagues

The IOC has banned Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Geraskevych from using a helmet with portraits of athletes killed by Russian aggression at the 2026 Olympics.

This was announced by the athlete himself on his Instagram page.

The International Olympic Committee viewed this step as a violation of the rules on political propaganda during the Games. Despite the fact that the athlete was trying to honor the memory of his fallen colleagues, he now faces suspension from the competition if he does not change his equipment to neutral.

It should be noted that among the athletes depicted on Geraskevich's helmet are representatives of the Southern regions: boxer Maxim Galinichev, who in May 2022 refused to participate in the European Championships and volunteered for the airborne assault troops. Galinichev won gold at the 2017 European Youth Championships, was a silver medalist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, and a silver medalist at the 2021 European Under-22 Championships.

The helmet also features Mykyta Kozubenko, a diver from Mykolaiv, who died at the age of 31 during the fighting while serving in the National Guard of Ukraine. Kozubenko was a master of sports of Ukraine in diving and a coach in the sport.

"The IOC bans the use of my helmet in official training and competitions. It's a heartbreaking decision. It feels like the IOC is betraying those athletes who were part of the Olympic movement by not allowing them to be honored in a sporting arena where they will never be able to go again. Despite precedents in the present and past when the IOC has allowed such honors, this time they decided to set special rules for Ukraine," Geraskevich wrote.

Geraskevych is preparing an official appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the ban on the use of a helmet with portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes. The athlete intends to defend the right to honor the memory of his colleagues who became victims of Russian aggression directly during the 2026 Olympics.

Geraskevich publicly pointed out the selectivity of the committee's decisions, noting that the Italian snowboarder was wearing a helmet with the image of the Russian flag, despite the current restrictions, but this fact remained without sanctions from the IOC. For Vladyslav Geraskevych, who was the flag bearer of the Ukrainian national team at the opening ceremony, the current Games are the third in his career. As a reminder, the athlete's best result is the 12th place he achieved at the 2018 Olympics.

Катерина Глушко