Ukrainian loses appeal against Olympics disqualificationUkrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his helmet, which depicts victims of his country's war with Russia. (Photo: AFP)MILAN - Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych on Friday lost his appeal against his disqualification from the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet adorned with pictures of the Ukrainian war dead. Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milan-Cortina Games on Thursday after refusing to ditch the helmet that features pictures of Ukrainian sportsmen and women killed since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. Gestures of a political nature during competition are forbidden under the Olympic charter and the IOC said Heraskevych had failed “to adhere to the IOC athlete expression guidelines”. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it had “denied an application by Skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych (Ukraine) against the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)”.

Source: Bangkok Post February 14, 2026 04:38 UTC