Main points
- Ben Stiller supported skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych, who was disqualified for a memory helmet.
- Geraskevych filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being disqualified from the 2026 Olympics.
Ben Stiller and Vladyslav Geraskevych / Collage of Channel 24
Skeleton athlete Vladyslav Geraskevych has made the whole world talk about Ukraine. The athlete is publicly supported not only by Ukrainian stars, but also by Hollywood celebrities, in particular, Ben Stiller.
The American actor and producer posted a post on his Twitter page. He supported Vladyslav Geraskevych.
Ben Stiller retweeted Geraskevych's post, where he thanked him for the support he received. In return, the actor paid tribute to the skeleton athlete.
Huge respect for this man,
– wrote Ben Stiller.
Ben Stiller supported Geraskevych / Screenshot from Twitter
We would like to remind you that Vladyslav Geraskevych is publicly supported by the Ukrainian community. Serhiy Prytula, Olga Kharlan, Taras Topolya, Timur Miroshnychenko, Zhenya Yanovych, Andriy Khlyvnyuk, Nadya Dorofeeva, Tina Karol, and many others thank and respect him.
What happened at the 2026 Olympics?
Vladyslav Geraskevych is a skeleton athlete who became one of Ukraine's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympics. During training, Vladyslav wore a helmet depicting the 24 athletes killed by Russia during the war against Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee banned the Ukrainian from competing in this helmet. Geraskevych did not agree to change the equipment, so on February 12, the IOC disqualified the Ukrainian skeletonist. This happened right before the start of the competition.
The committee refers to the “principles of the Olympic Charter,” which stipulate neutrality and the prohibition of political messages. At the same time, the IOC did not prohibit the Italian snowboarder from competing with the Russian flag on his helmet.
Vladislav Geraskevych still has a chance to participate in the Olympics. He filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the hearing may last several hours. The hearing began today, February 13, Suspilne Sport reports.