IOC bans tribute as Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych honors fallen sports heroes

Who the helmet honors

Heraskevych explained that the helmet features more than twenty portraits of Ukrainian athletes whose lives were cut short by the war. According to the skeleton racer, the design was created as a gesture of memory and respect.

The portraits include athletes from various sports: biathlon, boxing, athletics, figure skating, hockey, coaches, and even child athletes.

Among them are:

• Yevhen Malyshev – biathlon

• Dmytro Sharpar – figure skating

• Pavlo Ishchenko – strongman

• Maksym Halinichev – boxing

• Andriy Kutsenko – cycling

• Oleksiy Luhinov – hockey

• Karina Bakhur – kickboxing

• Mykyta Kozubenko – diving

• Roman Polishchuk – athletics

• Andriy Yaremenko – Greco-Roman wrestling

• Taras Shpuk – Invictus Games coach

• Fedor Epifanov – fencing

• Kateryna Troyan – athletics

• Volodymyr Androshchuk – athletics

• Oleksiy Khabarov – shooting

• Darya Kurdel – dance

• Ivan Kononenko – actor and athlete

• Alina Perehudova (child) – weightlifting

• Kateryna Dyachenko (child) – rhythmic gymnastics

• Viktoriya Ivashko (child) – judo

• Mariya Lebid (child) – dance sport

• Nazar Zuy (child) – boxing

Through this gesture, the athlete aimed to honor the memory of his colleagues who died as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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