In brief
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has been banned from competing in the Winter Olympics after refusing to remove a helmet honoring fellow athletes who died since the Russian invasion. The ban has ignited significant controversy regarding the intersection of sports, freedom of expression, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian slider Vladislav Heraskevych's disqualification from the Winter Olympics over his helmet depicting fellow athletes killed since Russia's full-scale invasion is the Games' biggest controversy so far.
Heraskevych was barred from the men's skeleton in Milan-Cortina earlier this week after he refused to stop wearing it and on Friday his appeal was denied.
He has said those featured on his helmet include teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, adding that some of them were his friends.
More than 20 athletes appear on the helmet in total - here's more on each of them.
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Karyna Bakhur, a national kickboxing champion, was 17 when she was killed during Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region, while Maksym Halinichev, a boxer and soldier, died in the Luhansk region.
The helmet's imagery has sparked debates on whether it should be permissible for athletes to honor fallen comrades during competitions, leading to discussions about the balance between sports regulations and advocacy for peace.
