By Mitch Phillips
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday that its ad-hoc panel has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal by U.S. skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender and consequently she will not be added to the Winter Olympic roster.
Uhlaender had asked CAS to award her ranking points from a race last month after the late withdrawal of four Canadian athletes meant she received reduced points for winning, ending her hopes of qualifying for her sixth Olympics.
However, CAS said in a statement that its Olympic ad-hoc panel was entitled to hear appeals relating only to events within 10 days of the Games’ opening ceremony on February 6.
That meant the race on 11 January and the subsequent judgment by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) on January 23 that cleared Canada of wrongdoing took place before the January 27 cut-off.
The decision should end what has been an emotional and controversial issue between athletes, coaches and officials of the neighbouring countries.
It began when the late Canadian withdrawals from the development race in Lake Placid last month meant the field dropped to a size that reduced the number of ranking points available, ending two-time world champion Uhlaender’s hopes of getting to Cortina.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) was cleared of any wrongdoing two weeks ago by the IBSF’s Integrity Unit after an investigation, saying they were under no obligation to give a reason for withdrawing athletes.
They did, however, say “the Canadian coach and the National Federation shall be reminded that, whilst acting within the letter of the IBSF Code of Conduct, it is expected that all parties concerned should also act within the spirit of the Code.”
Uhlaender alleged that the BCS “manipulated” the race by withdrawing their athletes so late that they could not be replaced, impacting Olympic and World Cup qualification points for athletes from more than five nations.
The 41-year-old American, who says she has recordings of Canada’s head coach Joe Cecchin saying he was withdrawing the athletes to ensure the qualification of another Canadian, appealed to CAS, claiming the Canadians’ action was in violation of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions.
Uhlaender requested that she be awarded full ranking points from that race and that she be added to the U.S. team, rather than replacing any of the selected athletes.
She had also appealed to the International Olympic Committee to issue her a wild card, but that was rejected.
BCS said it withdrew the athletes over “health, safety and long-term development concerns” and that its actions “were appropriate, transparent, and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport.”
BCS did say it recognised the move had an unintended impact on the size of the field. The Canadian withdrawals also impacted Denmark, Israel and Malta.
In response to the CAS appeal the IBSF and Canadian Bobsleigh argued that, even if Uhlaender were awarded extra points, it would be for U.S. officials to decide whether to select her in place of the two already-picked athletes rather than create an extra place.
They also argued that it was beyond the date range to be considered – which CAS eventually agreed with.
Two days ago, CAS issued a similar “out of jurisdiction” judgment on an appeal by the Irish Luge Federation, who argued that their athlete should have been given an Olympic berth that instead went to a Russian who will compete as an Individual Neutral Athlete.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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