US skeleton athlete accuses Canada coach of rigging Olympic qualifying event

A row has erupted between the US and Canada skeleton teams after American athlete Katie Uhlaender accused a Canadian coach of sabotaging her chances of qualifying for next month’s Winter Olympics.

Uhlaender, a five-time Olympian and two-time world champion, said Canada’s head coach Joe Cecchini manipulated the entry lists for the North American Cup at Lake Placid on Sunday in order to guarantee that the Canadian team made the cut for the Games.

Uhlaender alleged that Cecchini deliberately pulled four of Canada’s six athletes from the race, which reduced the field to under 21 athletes, thereby offering fewer qualifying points to the remaining athletes because of the lack of competition.

The comparative lack of points available meant it was harder for Canada’s athletes to be caught in the race for Olympic qualification, and meant that despite ultimately winning the race Uhlaender could not accrue enough points to qualify.

Uhlaender told DW: “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.”

The 41-year-old alleged that Cecchini admitted the scheme in a phone call to her. She said he wanted to “eliminate any possibilities” that Canadian Jane Channell would miss out on Milan-Cortina and that he claimed it was not his responsibility to “uplift” athletes from other countries.

She added: “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.”

Uhlaender has called on skeleton’s governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), to investigate Cecchini’s actions.

The federation told DW: “Following the recent discussions around the withdrawal of several Canadian Skeleton athletes at last weekend’s IBSF North American Cup (NAC) in Lake Placid (USA), the IBSF has requested its Integrity Unit to conduct an investigation into the incident.”

Coaches from the American, Danish, Israeli and Maltese teams - which were all affected by the Canadians’ withdrawal - have written to the International Olympic Committee’s athletes commission expressing “serious concerns” about the qualification process.

Cecchini has not personally responded to the allegations but his national federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS), defended the decision to withdraw the athletes.

It said that some had already raced several times that week and that another race was “not in their best interests”, and withdrawing them was “appropriate, transparent and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport”.