(Photo: AFP)MILAN - Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said he hoped “truth would prevail” as he appealed to sport’s highest court on Friday following his Olympic ban, as US figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin eyed a second gold of the Milan-Cortina Games. Heraskevych was disqualified on Thursday after refusing to ditch a helmet depicting victims of Ukraine’s war with Russia. Gestures of a political nature during competition are forbidden under the Olympic charter. The decision drew a stinging response from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the “Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors”. Malinin, the son of Olympic figure skaters who competed for Uzbekistan before emigrating to the US, leads Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama after Tuesday’s short programme.

Source: Bangkok Post February 13, 2026 13:24 UTC