Olympian flashes ‘No War in Ukraine’ sign after competing

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) — A Ukrainian skeleton athlete flashed a small sign that read “No War in Ukraine” to the cameras as he finished a run at the Beijing Olympics. Vladyslav Heraskevych said after his race Friday that he only wanted peace for his country. The gesture came as Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine. That has stoked fears in the West that Moscow is planning an invasion. Russia insists it has no such designs but doesn’t want Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to be allowed to join the western NATO alliance. Shortly after the race, the International Olympic Committee said there would be no repercussions for the athlete. There had been a question of whether the body might consider Heraskevych’s act a violation of a rule that bans protests.