IOC Excludes Ukrainian Athlete Over War-Memorial Helmet as Italy Secures Alpine Gold

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych on Thursday after he refused to remove a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. IOC officials stated the helmet violated rules against political statements on the field of play, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Heraskevych the Order of Liberty, asserting that the display was a matter of honor and remembrance. Heraskevych, a medal contender, has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In athletic competition, Italy’s Federica Brignone became the oldest female gold medalist in Alpine skiing history at age 35, winning the women’s super-G. Brignone’s victory followed a year of rehabilitation for multiple leg fractures. In the women’s snowboarding halfpipe, 17-year-old Gaon Choi of South Korea ended the reign of American star Chloe Kim, who earned her third Olympic medal after falling on her final attempt to overtake Choi’s score of 90.25.

The Finnish Olympic Committee removed head ski jumping coach Igor Medved from the Games on Thursday following an alcohol-related violation of team conduct policies. Medved apologized for the incident and returned to Finland. Meanwhile, the men’s hockey tournament began with NHL players participating for the first time in over a decade; the United States defeated Latvia 5-1, and Canada beat Czechia 5-0.

Separately, the IOC faced criticism from German political figures for selling T-shirts in its online shop featuring designs from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. While the IOC defended the items as part of a "Heritage Collection" celebrating Olympic design history, critics argued the imagery served as a propaganda tool for the Nazi regime and lacked necessary historical context.