By Julien Pretot
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine's skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Games on Thursday over the use of a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia, the International Olympic Committee said.
He was informed of his disqualification after a meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry early in the morning at the sliding venue, shortly before the start of his competition.
His team said they would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Coventry told reporters she had wanted to meet the athlete face to face in a last-ditch effort to break the impasse.
"I was not meant to be here but I thought it was really important to come here and talk to him face to face," Coventry told reporters. "No one, especially me, is disagreeing with the messaging, it's a powerful message, it's a message of remembrance, of memory.
"The challenge was to find a solution for the field of play. Sadly we've not been able to find that solution" she added, choking up. "I really wanted to see him race, It's been an emotional morning."
"It's literally about the rules and the regulations and that in this case... we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone and sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed."
The IOC had offered him the opportunity to display his "helmet of remembrance" depicting 24 images of dead compatriots before the start and after the end of Thursday's race at the Games, while also allowing him to wear a black armband while competing.
Ukraine's Olympic Committee, which supported Heraskevych in the case, said it was not planning to boycott the Games over the disqualification.
NO BETRAYAL
"I am disqualified from the race. I will not get my Olympic moment," said Heraskevych.
"They were killed, but their voice is so loud that the IOC is afraid of them. I told Coventry that this decision plays along with Russia’s narrative.
"I sincerely believe that it is precisely because of their sacrifice that these Olympic Games can take place at all today.
"Even though the IOC wants to betray the memory of these athletes, I will not betray them," said the athlete, who also displayed a "No War in Ukraine" sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics days before Russia's invasion.
Latvian coach Ivo Steinbergs told Reuters he had filed a protest with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation to reinstate the athlete.
The skeleton started on Thursday morning.
This is not the first time the IOC has sanctioned an athlete for a political message.
The most famous case dates back to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists during the 200m medal ceremony to protest about racial injustice in the United States.
That led to their expulsion from the Games, although Smith kept his gold medal and Carlos his bronze.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash, a member of the refugee Olympic team, was disqualified after wearing a cape with the slogan "Free Afghan Women" during a pre-qualifying competition.
(Additional reporting by Mitch Phillip Ilze Filks and Christine Uyanik, Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
