Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych posts photo of IOC president receiving award from Zimbabwean dictator
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has criticised a statement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the political importance of the state award he was given by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the day before.
Source: Vladyslav Heraskevych on Instagram
Details: Heraskevych posted a picture of IOC President Kirsty Coventry receiving an award from former Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe.
Quote: "The IOC directly mentions the fact that I received a state award from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as an alleged political component of my desire to wear a helmet of remembrance.
Will Kirsty Coventry be disqualified for her political medal-winning performance as an athlete at the Olympic Games because she was rewarded for it by the dictator Mugabe?"
Details: Kirsty Coventry was a swimmer who formerly represented Zimbabwe and won 7 Olympic medals: 2 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze.
Background:
- Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the 2026 Olympics for wearing a helmet of remembrance during several official training sessions. The helmet features images of 20 Ukrainian athletes killed due to Russian aggression. Heraskevych was barred from taking part in the competition.
- The Ukrainian athlete appealed the suspension. On 12 February, the day before the verdict was announced, he met with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, but they were unable to reach an agreement. The IOC later restored his accreditation, but Heraskevych was still not allowed to compete.
- On 12 February, Heraskevych received the Order of Freedom from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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