Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands outside the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.

The 27-year-old, who had been training in Italy with the helmet showing two dozen dead compatriots, was barred and initially told he would be stripped of his accreditation minutes before competition w...

“For me to back down is betraying (the people pictured on the helmet),” Heraskevych told NBC News.