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≡ COMPLAINTS ABOUT CANADA ≡
A move by Canada to withdraw four of its six athletes from the North American Cup women’s Skeleton races on Sunday has caused a furious reaction from others in that race, including five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender of the U.S.
Uhlaender, 41, explained to the German DW.com site that with the removals, only 19 athletes raced, resulting in fewer points awarded due to the size of the field being less than 21. Uhlaender said Canada’s coach, Joe Cecchini (ITA) did this intentionally in order to protect the point total of the better Canadian entries for Olympic qualification. Said Uhlaender, who was trying to make a sixth Olympic team, but cannot score enough points now:
“I cried when I found out he went through with this plan. I didn’t know if it hurt more that my friend of 20 years just nailed my coffin – my Olympic dream is over – or that my best friend of 20 years is doing something so horrible that hurts so many people.”
An e-mail sent by Cecchini to the Canadian team, provided to DW.com by someone else, “explains that the decision to withdraw athletes was made to ‘ensure that we have a complete and accurate understanding of the points landscape, qualification implications and confirmed start numbers,’ adding that participation would be determined in the ‘best interests of the national team.’”
Said Uhlaender, “He did not have to do that. He did it because he could. And it wasn’t to protect his athletes; it was to manipulate the system. He waited until after everyone was registered and gave the illusion that the Canadians were going to be competing. He wanted to make sure that we could not get full points.”
She called on the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation to inquire and the federation has directed its integrity unit to investigate.
Athletes from Denmark, Israel and Malta were apparently also impacted, and the Danish federation also asked for an IBSF investigation; its statement from federation Chair Carsten Wulf noted:
“To protect the integrity of skeleton sport, we initially contacted our Canadian colleagues, but when they rejected our appeal, we have gone a step further and as a federation have filed a formal complaint with the IBSF.
“As a small Winter Olympic country, we cannot and will not simply stand as a model for the manipulative behavior of large nations.”
The Times (London) reported that the U.S., Denmark, Israel and Malta all reported the incident to the International Olympic Committee through its Athlete365 portal.
In a statement to Reuters, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton explained:
“The Lake Placid event presented unique circumstances, as it consisted of three races in a single week rather than the standard two. Four of our athletes entered in the event are young and relatively new to the sport. All experienced a particularly challenging week on the track.
“It was determined that continuing to race these athletes was not in their best interests. As a result, they were withdrawn from further competition at that venue this weekend. Our two most experienced athletes continued to compete. …
“[I]t is well understood within the sport that development circuits do not carry fixed points. The National Skeleton Program has always treated the development circuit as exactly that – a developmental environment – not a pathway for Olympic qualification. BCS remains confident that its actions were appropriate, transparent, and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport.”
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