Ukrainian Athlete Wears Helmet Despite IOC Warning

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych is daring Olympic officials to make good on their threat: bench him over his helmet, which features the faces of athletes killed since Russia invaded. After being told by the IOC on Monday that he could be disqualified from the Milan Cortina Games if he competes Thursday wearing a "helmet of memory," Heraskevych has continued to wear it during training, reports the Guardian.

In a Wednesday post on X, he argued the IOC had turned the situation into "a theater of the absurd" and demanded the ban be lifted. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams on Wednesday said the issue isn't the sentiment but the setting. With roughly 130 conflicts worldwide, he argued, "We cannot have 130 different conflicts featured, however terrible they are, during the field of play, during the actual competition."

The IOC cites Article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which bans political statements. Ukraine's delegation counters that the helmet is a memorial, not a political message.