Vladyslav Heraskevych of the Ukrainian skeleton sled racing team was disqualified from competing in the Olympic Games this week because of what was on his helmet.
Not some profane slogan or cartoon, but images of the faces of Ukrainian athletes and coaches who have been killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"I believe they deserve to be here because of their sacrifice," he told reporters. "I want to honor them and I want to honor their families."
But the International Olympic Committee said that Heraskevych's helmet violated their guidelines against political speech, or what they call, "athlete expression."
"What do you consider as 'expression'?" Heraskevych told reporters. "Many athletes here have helmets with different paints and I believe it's also a kind of expression. Some athletes have national symbols, it's also an expression."
IOC President Kirsty Coventry came out to the practice track to deliver her decision to Vladyslav Heraskevych personally and she spoke to reporters through tears. "No one, especially me, is disagreeing with the messaging," she said. "The challenge was to find a solution for the field of play. Sadly we've not been able to find that solution."
I have covered a couple of Olympic Games. But the most mesmerizing performance I ever saw was on a small screen as I covered a war.
Katarina Witt, who had won a figure skating gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, came back for the 1994 games in Lillehammer, Norway to perform a program to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone". It was an appeal for peace, in tribute to a Sarajevo that was besieged.
I watched on a TV in a truck of the European Broadcast Union, where we came to file our reports in a city that was cold, dark, and without power. Engineers had opened the truck so a small crowd of Sarajevans could watch Witt's stunning performance. Tears glistened in the cold. Katarina Witt finished seventh place but the memory of her routine that night is imperishable.
This week, Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from competing in the Olympics. But he made memories more precious than a medal.
Copyright 2026 NPR
