CAS Rejects Ukrainian Skeleton Racer Heraskevych’s Appeal Over Memorial Helmet Ban

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, will not compete at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected his appeal of an International Olympic Committee ban, the AP reported.

The IOC barred him from competing after he sought to race wearing a “memorial helmet” honoring teammates killed in the war.

CAS upheld the IOC decision under Olympic Charter Rule 50.2, which says “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

CAS said it fully sympathized with Heraskevych’s intent and his effort to highlight the suffering of Ukrainians and Ukrainian athletes during the war, but ruled the ban was “reasonable and appropriate.”

Heraskevych’s side protested the ruling, arguing it was inconsistent with how other athletes were treated. The article cited examples from the Games: U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov showed photos of his parents who died in a plane crash last year; Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnaller competed wearing a helmet that included a Russian flag image; and Israeli skeleton racer Jared Firestone wore a kippah bearing the names of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The IOC said those cases did not violate the rules. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Naumov displayed the photos in the kiss-and-cry area, not during competition; Fischnaller’s helmet honored all Olympic host cities where he had competed, including the 2014 Sochi Games; and Firestone’s kippah was covered by a beanie.

After the decision, Heraskevych said, “The IOC is on the wrong side of history.” He had previously lost his Olympic spot after trying to compete in the men’s skeleton event wearing a helmet with the faces of fallen teammates.

“The sacrifice of the athletes who died is why we could be here competing as one team,” he said. “I can’t betray them.”