Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to disqualify Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych from competing in the Winter Olympics.
Heraskevych was disqualified from competing in the skeleton heats on Thursday (12 February) for wearing a helmet honouring Ukrainian athletes who died during the ongoing war with Russia.
The IOC reiterated to Heraskevych and the Ukrainian delegation that his helmet violated rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which states that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
Supporting Heraskevych, the Ukrainian president said, “It is not politics to speak about what is actually happening.”
