Image: The Ukrainian Olympic skeleton athlete Wladyslaw Heraskevych was disqualified because he wanted to use his helmet to commemorate Ukrainian athletes who were killed. Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression, more than 660 athletes and coaches have been killed. Photo of Wladyslaw Heraskevych: Radio Svoboda

Olympic Winter Games 2026

Remembrance is not a violation: IGFM criticizes the disqualification of the Ukrainian skeleton athlete

February 2026, Frankfurt am Main/Rome – The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) criticizes the disqualification of Ukrainian Olympic skeleton athlete Wladyslaw Heraskevych at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The decision to prohibit a Ukrainian athlete from commemorating members of the Olympic community who were killed, while at the same time Russian athletes are reappearing on international stages, raises serious questions about the credibility of international sports institutions, the ISHR states.

“Olympic Games stand for keeping politics out of sport, for allowing athletes to measure their strength on the world stage regardless of political crises and wars. However, for almost four years now, Europe has been facing an unlawful Russian war of aggression with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians killed, including 660 athletes and coaches from the attacked country. The so-called neutrality of the International Olympic Committee must not mean silencing victims while aggressors are gradually rehabilitated,” criticizes Valerio Krüger, member of the ISHR Executive Board.

Humanity and remembrance of victims – not in the Olympic spirit?

The helmet of Ukrainian Olympian Wladyslaw Heraskevych did not display slogans such as “Down with war criminal Putin!” It showed only the faces of 24 top athletes whose dream was to compete at the Olympics and who will never have that opportunity. Disqualifying the Ukrainian athlete just minutes before the start because of this, and dismissing him with a black armband instead, contradicts the fundamental idea of humanity that underpins the Olympic Games, the ISHR states.

A minute of silence for deceased Olympians – or further loss of integrity?

The Olympic Committee could have wisely tolerated the Ukrainian athlete’s commemorative action as an exceptional case and made a decision after the Games. The ISHR now proposes that the Olympic Committee hold a minute of silence at the end of the Games for all Olympians and athletes who have died over the past four years. If the Olympic Committee fails to seize this opportunity, the disqualification will effectively serve as an invitation to Russia and ultimately lead to further disempowerment of athletes and continued loss of integrity among international sports federations, the ISHR warns.

The ISHR recalls a series of questionable decisions by the Olympic Committee, such as awarding the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2022 Winter Olympics to the People’s Republic of China. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar also demonstrated the growing influence of dubious interest groups and human rights violators, as well as the increasing erosion of integrity within international sports institutions.

The “Helmet of Remembrance” worn by Wladyslaw Heraskevych features portraits of Ukrainian athletes who were killed. The gray surface displays the faces of athletes who lost their lives as a result of Russia’s war of aggression. The helmet was intended to be worn at the Olympic Games as a symbol of remembrance and solidarity.