# Explainer 505: Are the Winter Olympics apolitical?

An episode of [The Foreign Desk](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/786319916), 18 Feb 2026, 7:13.

Audio: https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e6127ab7-b81e-456b-893c-a8d600215365/7b9f282e-1b97-4d40-a38f-ab8a0123a4e7/ca921778-f1c2-42c7-be14-b3f500d5c5f5/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=ed6a263e-d325-4e94-a10c-ab8a0123a4ec

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was not allowed to compete in a helmet decorated with pictures of athletes killed in the war with Russia. But is it really true that the Olympics are apolitical? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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