Vladyslav Heraskevych has refused to ditch his helmet regardless of the IOC’s pleas.
Vladyslav Heraskevych’s alternative of skeleton helmet is proving controversial (Picture: Getty)
The Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) have threatened to disqualify a Winter Olympics athlete over a controversial helmet that he’s refusing to take off. Vladyslav Heraskevych, the flag bearer for Ukraine ultimately week’s opening ceremony, has been competing within the males’s skeleton at Milan-Cortina. Nevertheless, he has been making headlines away from the monitor after ignoring an order to alter his helmet.
Heraskevych has been carrying a ‘helmet of reminiscence’, that includes photos of Ukrainians who’ve been killed since Russia invaded the nation in 2022. It caught the attention throughout a latest coaching session, prompting the IOC to warn him that he was in breach of the principles towards political messaging. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old ignored that warning and wore the helmet once more on Tuesday night time.
Now, the IOC have gone a step additional by ordering Heraskevych to ditch the helmet forward of Thursday’s skeleton heats or threat disqualification.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams mentioned on Wednesday: “We’ll contact the athlete at present, we’ll reiterate the numerous, many alternatives that he has to precise his grief.
“As we mentioned earlier than, he can accomplish that on social media, within the press conferences, within the combined zone. So we’ll attempt to discuss to him about that, attempt to persuade him. We would like him to compete. We actually, actually need him to have his second. That’s very, crucial.
“The athlete tips are on-line, they had been agreed by 4,500 athletes and the enter of many athlete commissions. That is what the athletes need. They need that particular second on the sector of play to be free from any distraction.
“He can, and we might encourage him, to precise his grief. We really feel his grief. We might expressly need him to do this however, you realize, in the long run let me be clear. It’s not the message, it’s the palace that counts.”
It stays to be seen if Heraskevych will put on the ‘helmet of reminiscence’ when the skeleton competitors begins on Thursday, figuring out that doing so would put himself prone to important penalties.
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