Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych plans to come back to Olympics 2030 with same remembrance helmet and win

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said he aims to return to the Olympic Games not merely to participate, but to compete for the highest honors.

Source: The Guardian

Details: The 27-year-old athlete said that before that, he intends to file an appeal with another court that is not subordinate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Quote: "I deeply love the sport of skeleton and I want to come back and compete in the Olympics. First of all, we need to appeal in another court which is not under control of the International Olympic Committee. Our goal is to win this case. Then I want to come [to] Olympic competitions with the same helmet. And, of course, to win a gold medal."

Details: Heraskevych made it clear that his stance on the remembrance helmet does not make him a national hero, as heroes are those Ukrainian athletes who are depicted on it. At the same time, he expresses his gratitude to everyone for their support.

Quote: "It was a strange experience. But I was in such a tornado that I didn't really have time to pay attention. I really only felt it when we were driving from Milan to Munich. We were at a petrol station, and people started to recognise me.

I'm not a worldwide superstar. I'm not in a PR world. And when all this started, you couldn't predict that the IOC would disqualify me with no real reason from the Olympics."

Details: Vladyslav said that if the IOC wants to blame someone for the scandal, it should blame itself. According to the athlete, there was no violence depicted on his helmet.

Background:

• The IOC disqualified Heraskevych over a helmet featuring Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia. Vladyslav managed to take part in several official training sessions at the 2026 Olympics wearing it, but he was not allowed to compete.
• IOC President Kirsty Coventry and the Ukrainian skeleton racer had a meeting before the official decision of the International Olympic Committee, but they were unable to come to a consensus. Subsequently, the Ukrainian team tried to appeal the IOC's decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their request.
• Recently, Heraskevych called on Coventry to resign and said that he's not sure if he will continue his sporting career following his exclusion from the 2026 Games.
• The 2030 Winter Olympic Games will take place from 8 to 24 February in France.

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