A Ukrainian athlete at the Winter Games in Italy was barred from competing on Thursday because he planned to wear a helmet commemorating countrymen killed in the war with Russia.
Olympic officials had told the athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, that the helmet violated the Games’ prohibition on political speech. Mr. Heraskevych said this week that he would compete with the helmet anyway.
On Thursday morning, the day the skeleton competition was to begin, the jury of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation ruled that he would be barred because “the helmet he intended to wear was not compliant with the rules.”
Mr. Heraskevych, who competes in skeleton, a sledding event on an ice track, had been permitted to wear the helmet in training sessions. He said it depicted people who were killed during Russia’s war with Ukraine, some of them athletes, including some friends of his.
Olympic rules prohibit political statements during competition or at medal ceremonies.
“The Games need to be separated from all types of interference so that all athletes can concentrate on their performances,” Mark Adams, a spokesman for the International Olympic Committee, told journalists at a news conference before the competition.
He had said Mr. Heraskevych was permitted to wear a black armband to memorialize the dead if he chose.
Before the competition, Mr. Heraskevych wrote on social media: “I am convinced that we did not violate any I.O.C. rules, and therefore we have every right to wear this helmet.”
Mr. Heraskevych, who had not been considered a medal contender in the event, said in a further statement that he was asking the I.O.C. to apologize, allow him to race with the helmet and donate money to provide power generators for Ukrainian sports facilities affected by the invasion.
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
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