mono will pay UAH 1,000,000 to Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych. The award was announced after an incident at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the athlete was disqualified due to his pro-Ukrainian stance and performance in a «memory helmet.»
mono will pay UAH 1,000,000 to Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych. The award was announced after an incident at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the athlete was disqualified due to his pro-Ukrainian stance and performance in a «memory helmet.»
In a post on Telegram, co-owner of Fintech-IT Group, developer of the mono ecosystem Oleg Horokhovsky, called Geraskevych «a worthy person, an outstanding athlete and a true patriot of Ukraine» and announced a prize of 1 million hryvnias. According to him, the team wants every Ukrainian athlete who represents the country to know: it is important for society that Ukraine’s voice be heard in the world.
Before that, Geraskevych was disqualified before the first race in the skeleton at the Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The reason was the «memory helmet» with images of athletes who died as a result of the Russian attack. The International Olympic Committee referred to the ban on political manifestations during the competition and demanded that the equipment be replaced, but the athlete refused to go to the start without this helmet.
Geraskevych is known for his public stance on the war and the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions. After the incident, he stated that for him it was a matter of principle and memory of the dead, and the Ukrainian side was considering legal steps to appeal the decision.
The story of the «memory helmet» has once again highlighted the controversy surrounding Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter (prohibition of political manifestations on the field of competition) and how it is applied in practice. Ukrainian media have drawn attention to other cases of symbolic gestures at the Games that did not lead to sanctions: in particular, there was a report about an Italian snowboarder who competed in a helmet with a set of flags, including the Russian flag. The media also mentioned that Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone appeared at the opening ceremony in a kippah with the names of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed during the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
UPD. Oleg Horohovsky also called on other companies to join in supporting Vladyslav with cash bonuses on his social networks.
«I would really like other businesses to join in and also pay Vladislav a cash prize. That would be right. Athletes dedicate their lives to achieving results. Vladislav sacrificed his goal for the sake of justice and truth. Is this less valuable to us than an Olympic gold medal?» he wrote.
The entrepreneur recalled that Ukrainian athletes are paid $125,000 for Olympic gold, and suggested that businesses «present him with their 'gold'» themselves: «Can’t we present him with our 'gold' ourselves? After all, he definitely deserves it.»
UPD 13.02. WhiteBIT also transferred UAH 1,000,000 in support to Vladyslav Geraskevych. In addition, the Kyivstar TV film and television platform, 1+1 Ukraine TV channel and OBRIO announced that they would each transfer UAH 500,000 to the athlete. Ukrainian lawyer and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Masi Nayem reported that Andriy Yermak joined the defense team in the case of Geraskevych’s disqualification as a lawyer after his certificate was renewed. The defense has already filed an appeal against the IOC decision within the established time limits and insists that the athlete is being punished not for a committed violation, but for a declared intention. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) session in the disqualification case is to be held today, February 13, with the participation of Geraskevych.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Ajax gave a valuable gift to a girl who united a patriotic community of Ukrainians around her on Threads and «surrendered» an Italian Putin fan to border guards. Monobank also thanked her.
