Ukrainian skeleton racer trains at 2026 Olympics wearing helmet depicting athletes killed by Russia

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, has appeared at the 2026 Olympics wearing a helmet featuring portraits of Ukrainian athletes who have been killed as a result of the Russian invasion.

Source: Champion, a sports news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company

Details: Heraskevych wore the helmet at his first training sessions ahead of the events in Milan. The athlete said some of those featured had been friends of his.

During the training session, Heraskevych finished fifth in his first run (56.47 seconds) and third in his second attempt, covering the distance in 56.58 seconds.

The third and fourth training runs will take place on 10 February, and the fifth and sixth on 11 February. His first competitive event will begin on 12 February at 10:30 Kyiv time.

This is the third Olympics of Heraskevych's career. He finished 12th at the 2018 Games and 18th in Beijing 2022.

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