Ukrainian Olympian Is Disqualified Over Helmet With Images of War Dead

Ukrainian Olympic athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from competing at the Winter Games in Italy due to a helmet he planned to wear to commemorate athletes killed in the war with Russia. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation ruled that the helmet violated the Games' ban on political speech, despite Heraskevych's claim that it did not. Olympic officials had offered him an alternative option of wearing a black armband to memorialize the dead. However, Heraskevych stated he wanted to wear the helmet anyway. The International Olympic Committee withdrew his accreditation for the Games after he refused to compromise on his decision. The incident has become one of the first major controversies at the 2026 Winter Games.