27-year-old skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych appeared at the 2026 Olympics wearing a helmet featuring Ukrainian athletes who were killed as a result of the Russian invasion.
He wore it during his first training sessions ahead of the Games in Milan. Heraskevych stated that some of the athletes depicted were his friends. This was reported by Champion.
During the training session, he posted the fifth-fastest time (56.47 seconds) on his first run and the third-fastest (56.58 seconds) on his second.
The third and fourth training runs will take place on February 10, and the fifth and sixth on the 11th. His first competitive run is scheduled for February 12 at 10:30 Kyiv time.
Overall, this is Heraskevych’s third Olympics. He finished 12th at the 2018 Games and 18th in Beijing 2022.
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![NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, announcing allied troops, warplanes and naval support will follow a peace agreement with Russia. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}](https://empr.media/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/marc.png)
