Skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says the International Olympic Committee are banning his helmet that honours Ukrainian athletes who have died during the war in his country. Ukraine’s first-ever skeleton racer was also their flag bearer at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony and has the support of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has thanked the athlete.

Heraskevych, 26, wore the helmet during a training session in Cortina but will apparently not be able to wear it in future training sessions or during the competition itself. He and Zelensky have named Alina Peregudova, Dmytro Sharpar, Maksym Halinichev, Pavlo Ishchenko, Oleksiy Loginov and Yevhen Malyshev among the athletes depicted in the design.

In a post on Instagram, Heraskevych said: “The IOC has banned the use of my helmet at official training sessions and competitions. A decision that simply breaks my heart.

“The feeling that the IOC is betraying those athletes who were part of the Olympic movement, not allowing them to be honoured on the sports arena where these athletes will never be able to step again. Despite precedents in modern times and in the past when the IOC allowed such tributes, this time they decided to set special rules just for Ukraine.”

In an accompanying video, he says: “This is a very sad continuation of the story with our helmet. A representative of the IOC, Toshio Tsurunaga, who is responsible for the communication between athletes, National Olympic Committees, and the IOC, expressed a strict ban on the use of this helmet at competitions and at official training sessions.

“This is despite the fact that yesterday (Sunday), an Italian snowboarder (Roland Fischnaller) competed with a Russian flag on his helmet, which is prohibited under IOC rules. There was no reaction to that. However, when it comes to a helmet honouring fallen Ukrainian athletes, and, by the way, among them are Olympians, members of the Olympic family, we received a strict ban.

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“I would also like to remind everyone that there has already been a precedent in history: the legendary weightlifter Matthias Steiner, who competed and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He celebrated his victory at the medal ceremony, holding a photo of his passed wife. This moment is still considered one of the most emotional and iconic moments in the history of the IOC. But unfortunately, for Ukrainians, the IOC seems to have different rules.

“Despite this, we do not give up. We continue the fight. We are preparing an official request to the IOC, and I sincerely hope that this was only the position of this particular representative (Tsurunaga), and not of the entire International Olympic Committee. Friends, thank you very much for your support, and yes, the world must know the price of freedom. Thank you.”

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In response to a previous video in which Heraskevych talks about his helmet, Zelensky said: “His helmet bears portraits of our athletes who were killed by Russia. Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, who was killed in combat near Bakhmut; Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by the occupiers near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian athletes whose lives were taken by Russia’s war. 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. 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. And this is what reminds everyone of the global role of sport and the historic mission of the Olympic movement itself – it is all about peace and for the sake of life. Ukraine remains faithful to this. Russia proves the opposite.”