sports

Shakhtar Owner Donates $200k to Banned Ukrainian Skeleton Racer

Shakhtar Donetsk owner has donated $200,000 to Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych after he was barred from competing at the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet memorializing war victims.

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

The donation from the football club owner equals the prize money Ukraine pays to its gold medallists.