Exception to the rules: IOC allowed to honor the memory of deceased Ukrainian athletes

The International Olympic Committee made a partial compromise, allowing Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych to honor the memory of athletes who died during the war.

This was reported by Reuters.

The IOC still did not allow the Ukrainian to compete in the “Special Helmet”, but he will be able to use a black armband as a symbol of mourning.

“This helmet is against… the rules, but… we will make an exception to allow him to wear a black armband during these competitions to mark this date… We believe this is a good compromise in this situation,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said at a press conference.

According to him, the committee respects athletes who want to remember their friends who died during the war unleashed by Russia.

However, he stressed that the rules prohibit any form of “demonstration or political, religious or racial issues” on the playing fields or podiums.

Geraskevych himself expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the request of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on his behalf was rejected.

“This is unfair treatment. I don’t see any violation of Rule 50. This is not discrimination propaganda, this is not political propaganda,” the athlete noted.

As a reminder, the International Olympic Committee has banned skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych from competing at the Olympic Games in a helmet with the image of Ukrainian athletes who died as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion.

As is known, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has appealed to the International Olympic Committee to allow Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Geraskevych to compete at the 2026 Olympics in a special “memory helmet.”

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