By Karolos Grohmann and Julien Pretot MILAN/CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee pleaded on Wednesday with skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych to compete without his banned helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia's invasion and avoid potential disqualification.

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych is set to test Olympic rules by racing in a banned helmet that honors Ukrainians killed in the war with Russia.

Lindsey Vonn successfully completed two training runs after rupturing her ACL. Up next, the 41-year-old will ski her final Olympic downhill race on Sunday in what she says may be her “most dramatic” comeback yet.

Boise High grad Sammy Smith completed in her first Olympic race Tuesday, finishing 19th overall in the women’s cross country classic sprint in Tesero, Italy.

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Justin Reiter is a rarity in snowboarding. He is an American who made his career carving curves into the snow banks at high speeds, instead of launching his board airborne from the halfpipe.

"Just because it seems impossible to you doesn't mean it's not possible," Vonn says.

Since a disastrous 2022, Mikaela Shiffrin has dreaded the Olympic Games. But a new team event, alongside downhill champion Breezy Johnson, will give her a chance to put that fiasco behind her.