Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych lost an appeal of his disqualification from the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday, yet already knew there was no pathway for him to compete in the race.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) denied the appeal, agreeing with the International Olympic Committee and the sliding sport’s federation that Heraskevych’s plan to wear a helmet showing the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes killed since Russia invaded their country four years ago would be in violation of Olympic rules.
CAS, in a brief statement, said the sole arbitrator who heard the case had no choice but to side with IOC policy about what athletes at an Olympics can say on a field of play — and that the “memory helmet” Heraskevych brought to the Milan Cortina Games would not align with the rules athletes have to follow.
The arbitrator, CAS said, “found these limitations reasonable and proportionate, considering the other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness in mixed zones, in press conferences, on social networks, or in Mr. Heraskevych’s case, wearing the helmet during four training runs.” CAS added that the arbitrator “wished to state that she is fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and to his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.”
The appeal, which Heraskevych felt he would win, was largely moot anyway. He was disqualified from the competition 45 minutes before its start on Thursday, and whatever CAS said on Friday wouldn’t have rolled back the clock on that.
“Looks like this train has left,” Heraskevych said as he left the hearing in Milan on Friday morning. He was blocked from racing by the IOC and the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation on Thursday, after the slider and his father emerged from a last-minute, last-ditch meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry – who was unable to get Heraskevych to change his mind.
Heraskevych trained in the helmet but never got to the official starting line. “From Day 1, I told you that I think I’m right,” Heraskevych said, draped in a Ukrainian flag. “I don’t have any regrets.” Heraskevych’s attorney, Yevhen Pronin, reacted with disappointment to CAS’ decision.
“The court sided with the IOC and upheld the decision that an athlete could be disqualified from the Olympic Games without actual misconduct, without a technical or safety threat, and before the start,” Pronin wrote. “This case was much broader than an individual dispute.
Freedom of expression
It concerned the freedom of expression of athletes, the limits of discretion of sports bodies, and the very understanding of Olympic values. “More on that later,” he said. Heraskevych left Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olympic Village on Thursday night and said he has no plans to return to the mountains during these games.
Even if CAS had said Heraskevych should race, the logistical hurdles – the distance between Milan and Cortina and the fact the competition was half over when his appeal was heard – would have been too big to overcome. His disqualification was justified because he insisted on bringing his messaging onto the field of play, Coventry reiterated Friday.
The IOC made its decision, one that moved Coventry to tears, off the guidelines for athlete expression at the Olympics. They say, in part, “the focus on the field of play during competitions and official ceremonies must be on celebrating athletes’ performances.”
Heraskevych never made it to the field of play — not in competition, anyway – but was found to not be compliant with that guideline anyway.
“I think that he in some ways understood that but was very committed to his beliefs, which I can respect,” Coventry said. “But sadly, it doesn’t change the rules.”
The IOC contends that the rule is in place for multiple reasons, including protecting the athletes from pressure from their own countries or others about using Olympic platforms to make statements. “I never expected it to be such a big scandal,” Heraskevych said, adding that he believes the IOC turned the story into a massive one by banning what he calls “the memory helmet.”
But the Ukrainian slider also said he found his accreditation for the games being taken away, then returned in short order on Thursday in what seemed like a goodwill gesture, was puzzling. “A mockery,” he said.
Heraskevych should keep his accreditation
CAS did agree that Heraskevych should keep his accreditation. Heraskevych said he felt his disqualification was unfair and fed into Russian propaganda, noting that he and other Ukrainian athletes have seen Russian flags at events at these games — even though they are not allowed by Olympic rule.
He has previously spoken out against the IOC’s decision to allow some Russians and Belarusians to compete at Milano Cortina as “neutral” athletes, and said the IOC empowered Russia by awarding it the 2014 Sochi Games.
He has also wondered why other tributes from these Olympics, such as U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov displaying a photo of his late parents — killed in a plane crash last year – have been permitted without penalty. Italian snowboard competitor Roland Fischnaller had a small Russian flag image on the back of his helmet during these Games and Israeli skeleton athlete Jared
Firestone wore a kippah with the names of the 11 athletes and coaches who were killed representing that country during the 1972 Munich Olympics. The IOC said each of those cases were not in violation of any rules or the Olympic Charter.
Naumov showed his photo in the kiss-and-cry area and not while he was actually on the ice, Fischnaller’s helmet was a tribute to all the past Olympic sites he competed at with Sochi included, and Firestone’s kippah “was covered by a beanie,” Adams said.
The IOC offered Heraskevych the chance to compete with a different helmet and bring the tribute on through the interview area, called a mixed zone, after he got off the ice for his runs or make other tributes such as wearing a black armband.
It just didn’t want him making a statement by competing in the helmet or wearing it on the field of play. “I think it’s the wrong side of history for the IOC,” Heraskevych said.
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