Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics after refusing to remove his 'helmet of remembrance' depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion. The 24-year-old was barred from the men's skeleton event in Milan-Cortina earlier this week, and his appeal was denied on Friday.

The helmet features more than 20 Ukrainian athletes, including teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko, and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov. Heraskevych, who knew some of the athletes personally, had stated he would only compete if allowed to wear the helmet as a tribute to those who died defending Ukraine.

Among those memorialized are Volodymyr Androschuk, a track and field athlete who died fighting in Bakhmut, and Karyna Bakhur, a 17-year-old kickboxing champion killed in Kharkiv. The International Olympic Committee ruled the helmet violated rules against political statements, sparking debate about whether the ban was appropriate given the context of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.