Ukraine’s skeleton Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych has demanded that Russian athletes who supported
the invasion of his country be banned from the sport for life.
The 23-year-old told the Deutschlandfunk broadcaster that “the pro-war Russian atheletes should never be part of the Olympic
family or the sports family in general again.
“People who stay silent should also be sanctioned, but naturally not banned for life.’’
He added that Russians who support Ukraine should be assisted and be given the opportunity to compete with another country.
Heraskevych competed at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in February, days before the invasion, and held up a `No war in Ukraine’
sign in front of television cameras.
He said “why are athletes banned if they dope? Because they lie and cheat everyone and damage themselves with it?.
“If an athlete supports the war, then they damage the whole of Ukraine and destroy our life; that’s why the sanctions should
be harder than in doping cases.”
ALSO READ:Ukraine resume World Cup qualifiers with June 1 playoff
Heraskevych is currently working with his own organisation in Ukraine to help victims of the war and calling on the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) to do more.
He said IOC did not support the war, but should help to end the war.
