Ukrainian skeleton racer vows to wear banned helmet honouring war victims at Olympics

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych vowed Tuesday that he would wear a helmet depicting victims of the war with Russia despite a ban imposed by Olympic chiefs. 

Heraskevych said he disagreed with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to ban his headwear, adding: "I used it in all trainings ... I used it today, I will use it tomorrow, and I will use it on race day."

The IOC said earlier on Tuesday that Heraskevych could wear a black armband at the Winter Olympics instead of the helmet.

Spokesperson Mark Adams said the helmet contravened IOC guidelines about political symbols but said it would "make an exception to the guidelines to allow him to wear a black armband during competition to make that commemoration".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier defended the Olympian's right to wear a helmet featuring athletes killed during the war with Russia, thanking him in a post on X.

"I thank the flag bearer of our national team at the Winter Olympics, Vladyslav Heraskevych, for reminding the world of the price of our struggle," Zelensky said on X.

"This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate or called a 'political demonstration at a sporting event.' It is a reminder to the entire world of what modern Russia is," the president added.

Watch more Protests rock Milan over economic and environmental cost of Winter Olympics

Heraskevych wore the helmet during a training session in Cortina and had intended to use the Games in Italy to help maintain international pressure on Russia.

The 27-year-old said in a social media post on Monday that the IOC had banned his custom helmet from training and competition.

Heraskevych, who was Ukraine's flag bearer, said the decision "simply breaks my