"According to Uhlaender, a five-time Winter Olympian, Joe Cecchini admitted to the scheme in a telephone call with her. She said Ceccini's actions had dashed her hopes of making it to Italy for a sixth Winter Games. "I cried when I found out he went through with this plan," said Uhlaender, who has represented the United States at five Olympic Games, beginning in Torino 2006."
"'Eliminate possibilities' According to Uhlaender, six Canadian women had been lined up to race in the North American Cup at Lake Placid, New York on Sunday before four were instructed to pull out of the competition at the last minute, reducing the size of the field to below 21. Crucially, this meant fewer qualifying points were on offer and, as a result, it made it more difficult for Canadian athletes to be caught in the Olympic qualifying rankings."
"According to Uhlaender, Cecchini who competed for Italyat the 2018 Winter Olympics told her in a telephone call on Friday night that he wanted to "eliminate any possibilities" that Canada's Jane Channell, a veteran of two Winter Olympics, could fail to qualify. Uhlaender said that when she pleaded with him to change his mind, Cecchini asked how it was his responsibility to "uplift" other countries. Uhlaender's account of the call is backed up by an email forwarded to DW by a separate source."
Katie Uhlaender said Joe Cecchini, head coach of Canada's skeleton team, admitted in a telephone call that he manipulated a weekend qualifying event to protect Canadian athletes' Olympic positions. Uhlaender said Canadian team members withdrew from the North American Cup at Lake Placid at short notice, reducing the field below 21 and lowering available qualifying points. The change made it harder for rivals to overtake Canada's rankings and dashed Uhlaender's hopes of qualifying for a sixth Winter Games. Cecchini reportedly said he wanted to "eliminate any possibilities" that Jane Channell could fail to qualify, and an emailed explanation described the withdrawal as ensuring an accurate understanding of the points landscape.
Read at www.dw.com
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