U.S. skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender is pressing forward in her fight for a sixth Olympic berth, saying Saturday that she is appealing a decision by international officials that seemed to cost her a chance to compete at the Milan Cortina Games.
Uhlaender said she is asking the International Olympic Committee for a wild-card berth into the Olympic women’s skeleton field, which currently has the maximum of 25 sliders – including two from the U.S.
Uhlaender said she has made the ask with the backing of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which confirmed that it has asked that Uhlaender receive a discretionary spot in the field.
‘Had this race not been manipulated, I would be preparing to represent the United States of America and make history as the first woman to compete in six Olympic Winter Games for our country,’ Uhlaender said in a statement Saturday.
‘Instead, I am now focused on legally challenging what I believe to be a fundamentally flawed investigation and decision by the IBSF in a final attempt to earn my place at what would be my sixth and last Olympic Games.’
At a North American Cup (NAC) race earlier this month, Canada had four of its sliders withdraw. That decision lowered the number of available standings points available.
American Katie Uhlaender is appealing a decision that cost her a Winter Olympics spot
Joe Cecchini, head of the Canadian women’s skeleton team, withdrew four out of six athletes competing in a qualification event in Lake Placid, New York
If the Canadian sliders competed, Uhlaender likely would have gone on to make the U.S. Olympic team.
The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation looked into Canada’s decision and found no rules were broken. Uhlaender ultimately could take her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The NAC series is a tier below the World Cup level and tends to be a place for developmental athletes to compete. Uhlaender competed in seven races this season on the NAC and Asian Cup – another lower-tier – circuits in an effort to collect enough points to make the Olympic team after failing to make this season´s U.S. World Cup roster.
Kelly Curtis and Mystique Ro competed on World Cup this season for the U.S. and secured Olympic spots. Uhlaender has said repeatedly that she is not looking to thwart the Olympic dream for Curtis, Ro or any other athlete.
She said Saturday that she’s only looking for the IOC to be fair.
Uhlaender hit out at him over ‘unethical’ tactics used at the qualifying event earlier this month
The result means that Uhlaender needs a wild-card to be able to compete in Milan-Cortina
‘Doing so would protect the integrity of competition and prevent further harm,’ Uhlaender said.
‘Such action would send a powerful message to young athletes everywhere: that standing up for ethics and integrity may be difficult, but it matters.’
Uhlaender won the women´s skeleton world championship in 2012, medaled in that event at the worlds two other times and finished a controversial fourth at the 2014 Sochi Olympics – with many still believing she should have been awarded the bronze medal.
Russian slider Elena Nikitina won the bronze at that event, then had the medal stripped three years later because of a state-sponsored doping scandal only to have her finish eventually restored following appeal.
