Zelenskyy slams IOC after disqualification: “Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia

The Winter Olympics was hit by a shocking development Thursday morning.

Minutes before the start of Men’s Skeleton, the Ukrainian athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, was disqualified

Why? Because of his helmet.

Honoring fallen athletes

The helmet worn by Heraskevych has images Ukrainian athletes, who have died in the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Heraskevych practiced wearing the helmet, but afterwards he was informed by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), that he would not be allowed to use the helmet going forward.

The reason was that the helmet was considered to be in breach of article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which states that “no form of protest or political, religious or racial propaganda is allowed”.

But even though, Heraskevych was told, he could not wear the helmet, he had the helmet with him when arriving at the Skeleton track.

Several news outlets report that the president of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, personally tried to talk Heraskevych out of using the helmet, but the two could not agree.

And thus, the discualification was enacted.

IOC statement

In a statement released on the website of the IOC, the President of the IOC said that noone, including her, is disagreeing with the messaging of the helmet.

“It’s literally about the rules and the regulations. In this case – the field of play – we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone. And sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed,” she stated.

Zelenskyy rages

Ukrainian president Wolodomyr Zelenskyy has supported Heraskevych’s use of the helmet, and, unsurprisingly, he strongly disagrees with the disqualification.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy states that:

“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement shoul help stop wars, not play inteo the hands of the aggressors. Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise.”

In the post, which has been published in English and Ukrainian, Zelenskyy claims that 660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Sources: Danish TV 2, Statement from Wolodomyr Zelenskyy on X, International Olympic Committee, Instagram profile for Vladyslav Heraskevych

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation