On February 6, the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Games took place in Milan, Italy. On the occasion of this event, UNN took an exclusive comment from the father and coach of Ukrainian skeleton racer and flag bearer Vladyslav Heraskevych.
Details
First of all, we asked Mr. Mykhailo about his impressions of the ceremony.
How was it: magical and pompous as shown on our TV screens, or was there still some chaos?
You know, honestly, words cannot convey how much support the Ukrainian delegation received. That's exactly what we felt during this ceremony. In particular, people shouted words of support for our country, and members of the delegation were asked to give them at least something with Ukrainian symbols, so our flags were immediately taken. Milan managed to create this atmosphere, because, for example, when we were at the opening ceremony of the Games in Korea, we didn't see people, we didn't hear their emotions. Here, everything was different.
In Cortina, we walked among people, they shook our hands, we hugged them. We approached them and they reached out to us. They thanked us. Not 3-4 seconds passed without someone shouting "Glory to Ukraine" to us. People realize that today Ukraine is not only defending itself, but also defending all of Europe. When we finished this walk and I looked at the team, it was clear that each of us was in some kind of trance, because this energy of support was fantastic and incredibly sincere.
What did you feel when you saw your son leading the delegation, when he carried the flag?
Of course, I felt joy. However, it is worth noting that he deserved this honorable and responsible mission. Vladyslav does a lot. He trains a lot, and also carries not only a sports mission, but also a national one, so to speak. We constantly talk about the difficult situation, about the war in which Ukraine is currently.
You saw how he carried the flag. With one hand, and showed a gesture symbolizing the trident. What can I feel as a father? I think that what Vladyslav has now, he earned with his resilience and hard work.
Carrying the flag at the opening ceremony - is it more about responsibility, or still about pride?
For us, it is first and foremost joy. Look, our country is now in an extremely difficult situation, the enemy does not allow us to live peacefully, but despite this, we show that we have sports, and we are represented by 46 athletes at this year's Olympics. This is a pretty good indicator.
What will be the basic minimum for you at these Olympics, and what are your overall ambitions?
We don't want to predict, but we go into every competition with a desire to win. Time will tell, but technically we seem to be well prepared, however, today Ukraine does not have the opportunity to be technically on par with large, wealthy teams whose budgets are measured in millions of dollars or euros and technical capabilities are almost unlimited, because there is any necessary number of aerodynamic tunnels for testing, any materials are available, and super modern technologies.
By the way, technologies concern not only the construction of sleds or runners and even the manufacture of helmets that comply with all rules, but have better aerodynamic characteristics and are certified. However, today we demonstrate that we are in the top 10 in the world.
Today, the Olympic season shows that sometimes the gaps from a bronze medal to 8th place can be determined not by tenths, but even by hundredths of a second. Today, in the men's race, at least 15 men are competing for 3 medals. Anything can happen, but, of course, we want to be first, and all of Ukraine is waiting, and then as God wills.
Recall
The International Olympic Committee officially approved the names of Ukraine's flag bearers at the opening of the XXV Winter Olympic Games Milan-Cortina 2026. The honor of carrying the flag was given to skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych and short track speed skater Yelyzaveta Sydorko.
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