"USA's Katie Uhlaender, a five-time Winter Olympian in skeleton, accused the Canadian team of deliberately pulling four of its six athletes from a race in Lake Placid, New York, last weekend in order to make it harder for athletes from other countries to qualify. The reduced field meant fewer qualifying points were available and Uhlaender, who won the event, missed out on a place at this year's Games, which will take place in Milan-Cortina, Italy."
"The current IBSF Rules allow National Federations to withdraw athletes from competition at any time, IBSF said in a statement on Thursday. The IIU dismissed the complaints as the current IBSF Rules and Regulations did not give grounds for a breach of the International Rules, the Code of Conduct, and respectively the Code of Ethics. Coaches from the US, Denmark, Israel and Malta, whose athletes were all affected by the Canadian withdrawals, had expressed serious concerns about the qualification process."
Canada's skeleton team was cleared of allegations that athlete withdrawals rigged a Winter Olympic qualifying event. Katie Uhlaender accused Canada of deliberately pulling four of six athletes at the Lake Placid race, a move that reduced available qualifying points and left her without a place at the Milan-Cortina Games despite winning the event. The International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation found no breach of rules and took no action, noting federations may withdraw athletes at any time. The IIU dismissed complaints for lack of grounds under existing rules. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton defended the withdrawals as appropriate for athlete rest and welfare.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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