Bans, controversies, unacceptable compromises, and, only at the end, disqualification. Among the many stories of Milan-Cortina , there's Vladislav Heraskevych , along with his helmet. The Ukrainian skeleton athlete had started making headlines after showing up, right from his first training sessions, wearing a helmet featuring all the Ukrainian athletes killed in the conflict with Russia .

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) didn't like the decision, and immediately tried to reach a compromise with Heraskevych, suggesting he replace his helmet with black armbands. The Ukrainian flag bearer never considered this decision, and even held a lengthy meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry , which ultimately resulted in the official disqualification .

"It's not about text messages," Coventry said immediately afterward. "It's about rules and regulations. In this case, during the race, we must be able to maintain a safe environment for everyone. And unfortunately, that means text messages aren't allowed . We're truly sorry; we wanted to see him race."

"Other athletes were already speaking out," Heraskevych responded, "and they didn't have to deal with the same things. Suddenly, only one Ukrainian athlete at these Olympics will be disqualified for this helmet, which doesn't violate any rules. We must continue to fight for our rights. I've said from day one that I disagree with the IOC, so we'll probably file an appeal with the CAS ."

MILAN-CORTINA: ALL THE ARTICLES

(Unioneonline/ ns)

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