Olympic chiefs have got it badly wrong over Heraskevych ban and owe him an apology | Lizzy Yarnold 13 February 2026 at 06:17

Olympic chiefs have got it badly wrong over Heraskevych ban and owe him an apology | Lizzy Yarnold

13 February 2026 at 06:17

As athletes we try to focus on our event and the task at hand, but our lives do not take place in a vacuum

I’m deeply saddened by the IOC banning the skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Olympics. His helmet depicting images of athletes and children who died in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some who he knew personally, was a human display of remembrance. The IOC’s response was not an appropriate one.

One only needed to look at the image of Heraskevych’s father when he was told the news of his son’s disqualification – doubled over with his head in his hands – to know the emotional toll. I cannot imagine what they are experiencing but, as both a former athlete and just a fan watching on, I also feel emotional about it and cried when Vlad and his dad messaged me on social media to say thank you for my messages of support.

Heraskevych’s ‘helmet of memory’ forces IOC on to PR back foot at Winter Olympics | Sean Ingle 12 February 2026 at 12:56

Heraskevych’s ‘helmet of memory’ forces IOC on to PR back foot at Winter Olympics | Sean Ingle

The Guardian

By:Sean Ingle in Milan

12 February 2026 at 12:56

Skeleton racer sacrificed his dream of winning a medal and succeeded in putting the horrors of the war in Ukraine back on the agenda

To be an Olympic-class skeleton racer requires extraordinary guts and impeccable nerve, as the corners loom and then whoosh past at frightening speed. So did anybody really believe that Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych would lose his when the world’s eyes were upon him?

Not the International Olympic Committee, who flipped between threats of expulsion and sweet talk over the past fortnight, without coming close to changing his mind. And certainly not those of us who have spoken and messaged Heraskevych, and found a man utterly prepared to sacrifice his dream of winning a Winter Olympic medal for a higher purpose.

Team GB’s Matt Weston leads golden charge as skeleton rivals unite behind banned Ukrainian 12 February 2026 at 08:39

Team GB’s Matt Weston leads golden charge as skeleton rivals unite behind banned Ukrainian

The Guardian

By:Andy Bull in Cortina

12 February 2026 at 08:39

British racer poised for podium after opening rounds
Sledder turned in back-to-back Cortina track records

This was the race that will always be remembered for the one man who didn’t make the start. Exactly 21 minutes before the men’s skeleton was scheduled to begin the International Olympic Committee put out its press release announcing that it had revoked the Olympic accreditation of the Ukrainian slider Vladyslav Heraskevych after he refused to compete without his helmet decorated with the images of his fellow athletes who have been killed during the Russian invasion of his country. It was so late the two British competitors, Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt said they didn’t even find out about it until after they had finished.

By then, the news had already spread around the world, and the one Ukrainian journalist present, Stanislav Oroshkevych, from tribuna.com, found he was suddenly surrounded by colleagues from Germany, Britain, Japan, and a dozen other countries, all asking him for public comment on what was going on. Soon, the Ukrainian press attache arrived to save him and announced that Heraskevych would come to give an impromptu press conference himself. The photos of Heraskevych standing behind the barriers near the finish, his helmet tucked under his arm, addressing a crowd of 30 journalists, will be one of the iconic images of these Olympics.

Finnish ski jump coach sent home from Winter Olympics over alcohol scandal 12 February 2026 at 06:23

Finnish ski jump coach sent home from Winter Olympics over alcohol scandal

The Guardian

By:Sean Ingle in Milan

12 February 2026 at 06:23

Igor Medved sent home by country’s Olympic committee
‘Alcohol was consumed in violation of our team rules’

Finland’s ski jumping head coach, Igor Medved, has apologised after being sent home for violating team rules by drinking alcohol at the Winter Olympics.

The news was confirmed by the Finnish Olympic committee, who said that Medved had left Italy due to “alcohol-related issues”.

Rising Global Temperatures May Affect Choices for Winter Olympic Venues 21 January 2026 at 07:00

Rising Global Temperatures May Affect Choices for Winter Olympic Venues

NYT: Science

By:Eric Niiler

21 January 2026 at 07:00

Future games will need to be held at higher altitudes, and spread over multiple venues in order to adapt to a changing climate, new research suggests.

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