Skeleton specialist, Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, took advantage of the Olympic Games to alert spectators to the Russian-Western crisis around his country.
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, involved in the skeleton event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, held up a sheet on which was written “No war in Ukraine” on Friday, in the midst of the Russian-Western crisis around his country. At the end of the third round, the 23-year-old Ukrainian showed the cameras the sheet in the colors of his country, yellow and blue.
“Like any normal person, I don’t want war, I want peace in my country,” Heraskevych said after round three at the Yanqing National Sliding Center. “It’s my beliefs, I’m fighting for peace. In Ukraine, the situation is really tense right now. There’s a lot of information about the armies surrounding Ukraine. It’s not okay. Not in the 21st century.”
Ukraine skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych after his today’s performance at #Beijing2022#StandWithUkrainepic.twitter.com/ValysUaJWN
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) February 11, 2022
Russia recently deployed 100,000 troops around the Ukrainian border, and the West and the Ukrainian government are worried about an attack from the Kremlin. Heraskevych could be sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) under Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits athletes from expressing their political views at the Games.
“I think the Olympics are also fighting for peace, for the unity of countries, and I hope they (the IOC, editor’s note) will be on my side in this story,” added Heraskevych, before confessing. that he had struggled to concentrate because of the Russian-Western crisis since arriving in Beijing. “I try to stay professional, but I read a lot and all that worries me.” He finally finished 18th in the event, won by the German Christopher Grotheer.
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