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An investigation by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) has found that Team Canada manipulated the outcome of the North American Cup in Lake Tahoe, New York earlier this month.
Canada’s actions denied U.S. Olympian Katie Uhlaender a chance to earn enough points to qualify for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games.
After Team Canada withdrew its athletes from the North America Cup earlier this month, reducing the number of points the competition could award. The reduction made it mathematically impossible for Uhlaender to earn enough points to qualify.
The IBSF found that “the Canadians’ action was deliberate and aimed at reducing the points available to athletes who slipped at the last Lake Placid NAC,” it said in a statement obtained by Pakinomist Digital on Wednesday.
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Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) initially said the decision to withdraw the athletes was made “after careful evaluation of the needs of the program and in consultation with the IBSF” and “careful consideration of the athletes’ health, safety and long-term development.”
“It was determined that it was not in their best interest to continue running these athletes, nor in the best interest of the program,” it added.
Team USA skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender was denied a chance to earn enough points to qualify for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Team USA)
However, one of the Canadian athletes said the coaches said the reason for the withdrawal was “in the best interest of how points had worked.”
“They had come over and explained to us that it would be in the best interest of the way points had worked for Jane so that we as a team can qualify two spots for the Olympics,” Canadian skeleton racer Madeline Parra said. The Canadian Press.
Now the IBSF has decided that Canada made a deliberate decision to withdraw athletes to manipulate the potential points at stake.
“Although Canada subsequently attributed its decision to order four athletes not to compete in official training to concerns about the athletes involved, substantial evidence supports Ms. Uhlaender’s claim that the move was a deliberate effort by Canada to reduce the number of points available at the final Lake Placid NAC to protect its own Olympic quotas,” the release said.
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The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee requesting that Katie Uhlaender be awarded a spot in the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the IBSF is also not taking any action to penalize Canada or change the outcome of the event to give Uhlaender a chance to qualify for the Olympics.
“While disqualifying an athlete and voiding results may have a side effect (other competitors moving up in official goals, for example), the Olympic Movement Code does not specify standards or means by which event records may be changed other than through sanctions,” the statement read.
Uhlaender is still leading an international protest to qualify for the upcoming Olympics.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requesting that Uhlaender be allocated a place. Fourteen other countries have joined this petition.
The Olympic Committees of Malta, Israel, the Virgin Islands, South Korea, Belgium, Brazil, Jamaica, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ghana, Nigeria, Trinidad, Columbia and Latvia have signed their support for Uhlaender, either in their own letters, or are signing the USOPC’s letter to the IOC in favor of the American qualifying.
The IOC has since responded to the USOPC’s letter advocating for Uhlaender.
Several Olympic committees have signed their support for Uhlaender. (James Lang/USA TODAY Sports)
“This matter relates to the application of IBSF rules and procedures in relation to an IBSF organized event. The IOC understands that the IBSF has already responded to Ms Uhlaender regarding this matter,” the IOC said in a statement to Pakinomist Digital.
Vice President JD Vance will lead the US presidential delegation to the Cortina Olympics in Milan next month. Uhlaender hopes that the vice president will favor her participation.
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“As U.S. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to meet with the leadership of the International Olympic Committee, I respectfully ask that he stand with me as an Olympian who has represented the United States and our values, the USOPC, and the many affected nations in supporting our request to IOC President Kirsty Coventry to use her authority to uphold fairness in Olympic sports by granting an Uhla entry,” said a Uhla-enderry.
“Doing so would protect the integrity of the competition and prevent further harm. Such action would send a strong message to young athletes everywhere: that standing up for ethics and integrity can be difficult, but it matters.”
