Heraskevych ban reflects badly on the International Olympic Committee | Letters
Lizzy Yarnold says the ban on the Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych centres on this rule in the Olympic charter: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas” (Olympic chiefs have got it badly wrong over Heraskevych ban and owe him an apology, 13 February),However, I’m not sure how the International Olympic Committee can say Heraskevych is presenting “political propaganda” when he simply has the images of deceased athletes on his helmet – there was no statement nor overt symbolism that is anti-Russia, and no mention of the war or nationalism etc,If those athletes had all died in a plane crash on holiday in the Caribbean, would they disqualify him? If his mother had died in the war and he had her picture on his helmet, would they disqualify him? If he was Christian and had a neck tattoo of a cross, would they disqualify him? This was a human tribute, not political propaganda,The IOC botched the interpretation of the rules here,I agree that they owe him an official apology.
Nicholas MarkosChicago, US Well said, Lizzy Yarnold,If politics doesn’t come into Olympic sport, why is Russia banned? Vladyslav Heraskevych’s helmet was a mark of remembrance,The other athletes should have supported him and refused to compete,The International Olympic Committee president, who was in tears over the ban, should visit Kyiv and see the tears of mothers who have lost their sons in that terrible war,Wayne GodfreyHuntley, Gloucestershire It seems to me that, perversely, the ban on Vladyslav Heraskevych has done more to highlight the human consequences of the criminal behaviour of Vladimir Putin and Russia than allowing him to compete with his remembrance helmet would have done.
Johnston Anderson Beeston, Nottinghamshire Lizzy Yarnold’s article highlights the tug of war between freedom of expression and rules, a recurring theme in our society of late.The International Olympic Committee is against the politicisation of sport but, as its spokesman argued, with 130 conflicts around the world, “once you start, as a sporting organisation, taking stands against wars and conflicts there is no end”.So does the IOC’s choice to ban some countries and not others break its own rules?Chris DrabbleWest Byfleet, Surrey Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Slalom heartbreak sparks McGrath’s trudge to the woods as Ryding bids farewell
As the Rocket zigged and zagged for a fifth and final time at a Winter Olympics on Monday, another skier made a very different kind of exit.Coming into the final run of the men’s slalom, the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath knew that victory was there for the taking – until he straddled a gate. Gold was gone. A heartbroken McGrath – who had hoped to deliver victory in honour of his grandfather, who died on the day of the opening ceremony – threw his poles as far as he could and trudged across the slope into the woods.TV footage then captured him lying on his back, occasionally putting his hands over his face on the side of the course
How British skeleton left the world in its tracks with golden Winter Olympics haul | Andy Bull
According to the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, 3,500 people have signed up to audition for their skeleton Talent ID programme in the past three days, an extraordinary surge of interest in what has never been what you might call the most accessible sport.It is all after Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker won Great Britain’s 10th and 11th Olympic medals in the sport, continuing a lineage that reaches back to 1928, when it was the winter sport of choice for the most reckless of a set of aristocratic adventurers. The 11th Earl of Northesk won bronze ahead of his teammate, and the pre-race favourite, Lord Brabazon of Tara. It is some legacy. After a century of competition, skeleton is the only Winter Olympic sport in which Britain lead the all-time medal table
Did the USA v World format revive the NBA’s struggling All-Star Game?
Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady flashed a look of disdain when recalling last year’s NBA All-Star Game.“The All-Star Game that we witnessed last year was not an All-Star game,” McGrady told the Guardian. “I don’t know what that was.”Prior to Sunday night’s contest, the All-Star Game had experienced years of disarray. In an attempt to make the game more competitive, the league replaced the classic East v West matchup and tinkered with multiple formats, including a playground-style selection process with team captains (Team LeBron v Team Stephen)
Ilia Malinin writes about ‘inevitable crash’ after Olympic figure skating shock
Ilia Malinin has written about “an inevitable crash” after he missed the podium at the Winter Olympics in one of the biggest shocks in the history of figure skating.The 21-year-old was the overwhelming favourite entering the men’s free skate on Friday in Milan, but he fell twice during his routine. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov won gold and Malinin finished 15th out of 24th in the free skate and eighth overall.This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies
England beat Italy by 24 runs: T20 World Cup cricket – as it happened
Simon Burnton’s piece from Eden Gardens has landed, so I’ll get outta here.As he says, it was a proper scare for England though they’re through to the Super Eights, which is all that matters in the end.Well done Italy. Hope to see more of them in future tournaments.Next up is Harry Brook:We haven’t played our best cricket but we’ve made it through, so can be happy about that
England survive Italy scare after Manenti’s blitz threatens T20 World Cup shock
If England keep up the winning habit, perhaps in time they will get good at it. Under the lights here in Kolkata they did enough to beat Italy and secure a spot in this T20 World Cup’s Super 8s, though again without establishing themselves among the form teams of the tournament.Harry Brook had declared he would “rather not start amazing and finish amazing than start amazing and finish bad”, and in that sense alone it is proceeding entirely according to plan. The next stage is unlikely to be so forgiving.“They were better than us for quite a lot of the game,” said Will Jacks, whose 22-ball 53 was decisive
From Wuthering Heights to Mario Tennis Fever: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
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Jimmy Kimmel on the US justice department’s handling of the Epstein files: ‘A brazen cover-up’
Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus: the story of one of Australia’s favourite political memes
Comedians pick on me for my loud laugh – but nothing will make me stop | Jane Howard
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump: ‘A code orange de-mental emergency going on here right now’