sports

Ukraine Racer Gets $200k After Olympic Ban

Shakhtar Donetsk owner donated $200,000 to Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych after he was banned from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet honoring athletes killed in the war with Russia.

Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, was disqualified when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation ruled that the imagery on his helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia invaded in 2022 breached rules on athletes' expression at the Games.

The donation from the football club owner equals the prize money Ukraine pays to its gold medallists, providing financial support to the athlete who was barred from competing while wearing what he called a "helmet of memory."