An international investigation has determined that the Canadian bobsleigh and skeleton team intentionally altered the outcome of a North American Cup (NAC) competition by deliberately disqualifying its athletes from the race in January.
The issue was raised by U.S. Olympian skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender, who missed an opportunity to qualify for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy after four of Canada’s six women athletes were pulled out of the NAC women’s skeleton race, a move that dropped the number of Olympic qualification points available to athletes.
Uhlaender earned 90 points for a first-place finish at the final NAC race on Jan. 11, but if all of the Canadian athletes had competed, she would have earned 120.
Uhlaender and other international teams, including the Dutch, complained about Canada’s move, and IBSF agreed to investigate.
The IBSF tribunal’s report said none of the Canadian athletes participated in the first training session and only two participated in the official training. IBSF rules require an athlete to complete two training heats without accident to be permitted to compete in the race, thus none of the Canadian athletes were eligible to participate.
The results of the investigation say, however, that while Canada said its decision was made over concerns about its athletes, there was evidence the Canadian team deliberately withdrew its athletes from the competition.
“The Appeals Tribunal is satisfied that the action of the Canadians was intentional and directed to reducing the points available to athletes who slid at the final Lake Placid NAC,” the report said.
“Substantial evidence supports Ms. Uhlaender’s contention that the move was a deliberate effort by Canada to reduce the points available at the final Lake Placid NAC so as to protect its own Olympic quotas.”
Despite that finding, the IBSF tribunal dismissed the case, saying that “the Olympic Movement Code has no provision for the remediation of alleged manipulation.”
The tribunal noted that while disqualification of an athlete can have “collateral impacts,” such as “other participants moving up in the official finishes,” there are “no standards or means by which event records can be changed other than through sanctions.”
The veteran U.S. athlete had previously said it was about standing up for fairness in sports.
Canada Team Responds
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, in a statement provided to The Epoch Times, thanked the IBSF for its “thorough, objective, and independent review of the situation.”“With regards to the most recent IBSF Appeals Tribunal, it is important to recognize that Canada did not violate the NAC competition rules as it relates to entry, withdrawal, or start-list procedures and the decision was made in consultation with IBSF which is why this case has been dismissed three times,” the statement said.
The organization also said it was “committed to competing with honesty, transparency, and respect for the rules and standards that govern our sports.”
