Ukraine’s Vladislav Heraskevich has had his appeal rejected because the image on his helmet violated the “sacred principles” of the Olympics.
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Published February 13, 2026
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday rejected an appeal by Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Heraskevich to be reinstated at the Milan-Cortina Olympics after he was disqualified for wearing a “memorial helmet.”
The 27-year-old athlete was removed from the Olympic program on Thursday after a jury from the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation ruled that a painting on his helmet depicting an athlete killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 violated its rules on political neutrality.
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“The CAS Ad Hoc Division has rejected the application, finding that freedom of expression is guaranteed at the Olympics, but not on the stadium, a sacred principle,” CAS Secretary-General Mathieu Lieb said in a statement after the eight-hour hearing.
Heraskevic, who had sought to return or at least compete under CAS supervision pending a ruling from the highest court in sport ahead of the final two runs scheduled for Friday night, said he would now consider his legal options.
“CAS was our failure. We will consider next steps,” Heraskevich told Reuters.
The incident dominated the headlines during the first week of the Olympics, with International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry meeting with athletes at the Cortina d’Ampezzo sliding venue on Thursday morning in an attempt to broker a last-minute compromise and let them race without wearing a specific helmet.
The IOC instead suggested wearing black armbands and displaying helmets before and after races, but said using helmets during competitions would violate rules against political protests and slogans in stadiums.
CAS said in a statement that the IOC’s guidelines for athlete representation at the Games are fair.
“The sole arbitrator determined that these restrictions were reasonable and appropriate given other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness,” CAS said.
“The Sole Arbitrator believes that these guidelines provide a reasonable balance between the athlete’s interest in expressing his or her opinion and the athlete’s interest in receiving full attention for his or her sports performance on the field of play.”
Ukraine’s Olympic Committee supported the athlete, who is also the flag bearer for the Olympic team, and held up “No Ukraine” placards at the 2022 Beijing Olympics just days before the Russian invasion. Heraskevich also has support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
CAS was established by the International Olympic Committee in 1984 as an independent judicial body to resolve sports disputes around the world.
The incident dominated the headlines during the first week of the Olympics.
Before the verdict, Heraskevich accused the Milan-Cortina Games of serving as “propaganda” for Russia.
