KYIV, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Energy workers flashed signs of support. A bank offered a cash prize worth nearly $25,000. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his courage was "worth more than any medal".
Just hours after the International Olympic Committee disqualified skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Olympics on Thursday, a wave of support for the 27-year-old swept Ukraine.
The Kyiv native had refused an IOC demand that he give up a hand-painted helmet emblazoned with two-dozen portraits of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia's four-year war against its smaller neighbour.
Olympic officials cited rules that prohibit political statements during the Games.
ZELENSKIY GIVES RACER A STATE AWARD
The war has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops and civilians, ravaged swaths of land and left countless psychological scars - making Heraskevych's defiance resonate widely.
"The IOC's disqualification of Vladyslav Heraskevych is a disgrace," said First Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on social media. "It is moral surrender dressed up as 'neutrality'."
IOC President Kirsty Coventry met Heraskevych early on Thursday but said she had not been able to broker a solution. The IOC had suggested compromises including wearing a black armband or showing the helmet before and after racing.
It had also allowed him to wear it in training runs.
Zelenskiy, Kyiv's military and leading Ukrainian banks were among those from almost every walk of life who joined a chorus of support for Heraskevych.
The Ukrainian leader - who gave the racer a state award - said the disqualification contradicted the spirit of the Games, adding that "the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors".
ENERGY FIRM SAYS HE IS 'ALREADY A CHAMPION'
Speaking in central Kyiv on Thursday morning, after a Russian air strike hammered the city's energy system overnight, local resident Anzhelika Rymar, 56, said the IOC decision was unjust.
"If a person has the honour, conscience and dignity to participate in the Olympic Games, they don't have the right to disqualify him," she said.
A co-founder of Ukrainian online lender Monobank announced on Thursday his business was awarding Heraskevych a 1 million hryvnia ($23,240) prize. Leading energy firm DTEK - which frequently repairs damage after Russian strikes - posted images of its workers holding hand-written messages of support.
"For us, Vladyslav is already a champion," it said in a statement.
Sheltering in a metro station during an air-raid alert, former Olympic rower Natalia Huba described the disqualification as a "tragedy" for Heraskevych, but called him a "hero".
"Yes, it's unfair - but it happened. At least it was one way to focus attention on us."
Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, athletes from Russia and Belarus were largely barred from international sport, but the IOC has since backed their gradual return under strict conditions.
Moscow has condemned the mixing of sport and politics in decisions to exclude its competitors from global competitions.
(Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Alison Williams)
