SPORT, SACRIFICE, AND SPEAKING OUT: A UKRAINIAN OLYMPIAN AT UL – DR PHIL KEARNEY.

On Tuesday afternoon, the PESS Department was proud to provide the venue for a talk by Ukrainian Olympian and Human Rights Advocate Vladyslav Heraskevych. Vladyslav was disqualified from the Winter Olympics due to his helmet, which features pictures of athletes – several of whom were teammates – killed in the war with Russia and his case was recently heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The event in PESS, which was sponsored by UL Global, was attended by UL Staff and members of the Ukrainian community.

In his opening remarks, Prof Colin Fitzpatrick (Vice President of Global and Community Engagement) emphasised how “Sport occupies a very special place here at UL. It is part of the identity and culture of our university. We believe deeply in the role sport plays not only in excellence and achievement, but in building character, resilience, leadership and community….What makes his story so compelling is not only the courage to speak out, but the willingness to accept personal consequences in order to honour others…Symbolic acts of courage, particularly through sport, which commands such global attention, play a vital role in keeping human stories visible and in keeping public attention focused on the realities of conflict and loss.”

In his talk, Vladyslav explained the story behind the helmet (“War is not about statistics, war is about names”) and shared the stories of some of the featured athletes. A powerful moment was hearing how the images on the helmet gave those athletes an opportunity to compete with him at the Olympic Games.

His talk emphasised the power of sport to build community and to give hope.

During the Q&A, reflecting on the rise of the sport of skeleton within Ukraine, he suggested four lessons for small nations such as Ireland with a limited history in an Olympic discipline competing with their larger neighbours:

1. Diplomacy – small nations can cooperate with each other for their mutual benefit, providing examples from Ukraine’s collaboration with Latvia within skeleton.
2. Patience – building a successful Olympic programme requires time for gradual progress to accumulate.
3. Notice the small details that others don’t – holding a MSc in physics as well as pursuing elite sport, Vladyslav emphasised observing, asking questions, and finding areas to innovate where sports more bound by tradition might not think to look
4. Work hard. Whether in sport or physics, dedication and diligence is essential to success.

As I left the event, my thoughts returned to another element of Professor Fitzpatrick’s opening address:

“At UL, we are honoured to provide a platform for these conversations. Universities must be places where difficult truths can be shared, where empathy is strengthened, and where international communities come together in support of peace, understanding and human rights.”

If you missed the event, Vladyslav will attend two further events in Kerry at the end of this week:

Tralee Meeting (County Kerry)
Date: Friday, May 29
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Kerry Suite, The Rose Hotel, Dan Spring Road, Tralee (V92 HKA4)
🎟️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/egBTirHG

Killarney “Chestnut Run” with Vladyslav (County Kerry) Join this legendary charity tradition from Kyiv, Ukraine, which is now celebrating its 4th year in Ireland! Run or walk 5km alongside the Olympian and the local community.
Date: Saturday, May 30
Time: 09:00 AM
Location: Killarney House and Gardens, Mission Road, Killarney (V93 HE3C)
🔗 Join the run: https://probig.in.ua
 
Admission to all events is free, but pre-registration is highly recommended.

Dr. Phil Kearney is the Course Leader for the MSc Applied Sports Coaching at the University of Limerick. A Fellow of the Higher Education Authority, his teaching and research centres on the domain of skill acquisition, particularly as it relates to youth sport. A regular contributor to RTÉ Brainstorm, Phil is a member of the Gaelic Athletic Association’s Player & Coach Development Advisory Group, an Associate Editor for Perceptual and Motor Skills and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Motor Learning and Development. Phil is a co-founder of Movement and Skill Acquisition Ireland.

Contact: philip.kearney@ul.ie https://pure.ul.ie/en/persons/philip-kearney/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pekearney/