The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it does not have jurisdiction to consider an application by American skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender against Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and Canadian coach Joe Cecchini.
In a statement summarizing the case issued Monday, the CAS Ad hoc Division set up to handle cases around the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games ruled that the case fell outside the timeline for the temporary court's jurisdiction.
The incident at the centre of the case occurred on Jan. 11 and the application for appeal was in response to a decision made by the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) on Jan. 23. The Ad hoc Division's jurisdiction runs from Jan. 27 (10 days before the opening ceremony) through to the end of the Games.
"Skeleton qualification places for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 remain unchanged," the CAS wrote in a statement.
Uhlaender, 41, entered a North American Cup race in Lake Placid in early January hoping to add enough standings points to earn one of two women's spots on the American skeleton team. However, the amount of points available to sliders is determined by how many people compete in the race.
Cecchini withdrew four of the six Canadian sliders initially set to compete from the race, lowering the number of points available to Uhlaender. As a result, despite winning the race, Uhlaender did not earn enough points to surpass American teammates Kelly Curtis or Mystique Ro for one of the two American slots.
"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 to The Associated Press on Jan. 24.
Before bringing the case to the CAS, Uhlaender first appealed to the IBSF Appeals Tribunal, which ruled on Jan. 23 that the Canadian team had not broken any rules by withdrawing athletes. She then applied for a wild-card entry from the International Olympic Committee, which was also denied.
In her case made to the CAS, Uhlaender asked for the court "to determine whether the decision to withdraw four athletes from the race was in violation of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions." She also asked the CAS to restore full points for the Lake Placid race.
The Canadian response argued that changing the results of the Lake Placid race would not give the U.S. team three athletes in Milano Cortina, leaving it up to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Bobsled Skeleton to replace Curtis or Ro with Uhlaender. The Canadian argument also mentioned that the case was outside the CAS Ad hoc Division's jurisdiction, which the court ultimately agreed with in its decision.
Cecchini, the Canadian team coach, said in an interview with CBC Sports earlier this week that the whole situation "has been horrible."
“I feel really bad for the athletes in trying to understand why people are so potentially angry," Cecchini said, adding that Uhlaender's position in the standings never factored into his decision to withdraw the athletes. "There's a voice from an athlete who's been in multiple Olympics and is carrying a certain clout. And it's been really hard and it has challenged myself, my staff.”
