Ukrainian athlete Vladislav Heraskevich disqualified from the 2026 Olympics – Ombudsman declares violation of rights

Key points:

• Ukrainian athlete Vladislav Heraskevich was disqualified before his first race at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
• The reason was the use of a “memorial helmet” with images of Ukrainian athletes who died as a result of Russian aggression.
• The IOC believes that the symbolism violated the principle of political neutrality.
• Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets called the decision discrimination based on civic position.
• An appeal to the international ombudsman community regarding the protection of the right to freedom of expression is planned.

Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, who represented Ukraine in skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics, was disqualified before the start of the first race.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made this decision because he refused to take off his “helmet of memory” — a helmet with images of Ukrainian athletes who died as a result of Russian aggression.

According to the organization, the “helmet of memory” violated the rules of political neutrality during competitions and did not meet the established requirements for self-expression of athletes.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that he considers this decision to be discrimination based on civic position and a violation of the principles of equality, since, according to him, the basis for disqualification was not athletic performance, but public position.

The ombudsman said he would write to ombudsmen in other countries about this situation. He called for attention to be paid to fundamental human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression.

The statement emphasizes that sports regulations should not take precedence over basic human rights.

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In January 2026, the ombudsman received more than 11,000 complaints from citizens regarding violations of their rights