Ukrainian Heraskevych allowed to stay at the 2026 Olympics despite disqualification - IOC

The IOC stated that Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina due to a "memorial helmet," can continue to stay at the Olympics despite being unable to compete, UNN reports.

In an exceptional case, after a very respectful conversation with the athlete, Coventry appealed to the head of the IOC Disciplinary Commission (DC) to reconsider the issue of revoking Vladyslav Heraskevych's accreditation for the 2026 Milan Games. The head of the IOC DC agreed to the request, which means that Mr. Heraskevych can continue to be at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, despite being unable to compete.

As Reuters notes, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, after the IOC's decision, stated that it plans a certain protest but will not boycott the Games.

"According to the IOC, the decision was made by the IBSF jury due to an alleged non-compliance of the helmet with the rules. This decision looks like a mistake that they did not dare to correct. We will correct this mistake in the legal field. Vladyslav, you acted with dignity! This story will definitely have a continuation. We are with you," wrote Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi on social media.

As Reuters writes, members of the Ukrainian team cried and hugged after the decision. Heraskevych's father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, sat on a dirty snowdrift, covering his face with his hands.

Heraskevych, holding the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation's message about his withdrawal, said the case fit into Russia's narrative about the four-year war in his country, Reuters writes. "Even if the IOC wants to betray the memory of these athletes, I will not betray them," added the athlete, who also displayed a "No War in Ukraine" poster at the 2022 Beijing Olympics a few days before Russia's invasion. "I sincerely believe that it is precisely because of their sacrifice that these Olympic Games can take place at all today."

There were no comments from Moscow on the matter, and the IOC said it had not received any communications from Russia.

Latvian team coach Ivo Steinbergs told Reuters he had filed a protest with the bobsleigh and skeleton federation asking for Heraskevych to be reinstated and had contacted other teams to join the action. An IBSF spokesperson told Reuters they had received an email but there was no official protest.

Skeleton started on Thursday morning.

Immediately after the decision, which involved the revocation of accreditation, Heraskevych would have lost access to competition venues, athlete villages, or media zones. His team told Reuters after the decision that he was to collect his luggage from the Olympic Village and move to a nearby hotel in Cortina. There have been no reports on the situation after the IOC's update regarding permission to stay at the Olympics.

Addition

The IOC disqualified Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych before the first run of the 2026 Olympics in skeleton because he was supposed to start in a "memorial helmet" - as a sign of respect for fallen Ukrainian athletes and all our Heroes.

Heraskevych told reporters that he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).