US skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender has told DW that she is "extremely disappointed" after her last-ditch attempt to compete at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics appeared to fall short, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling it did not have the "jurisdiction" to consider her appeal.
On Monday, CAS said its ad hoc division, set up for the Games, could only adjudicate on cases that occur within 10 days of the start of the event — from January 27 onwards.
"I'm extremely disappointed that once again, nothing can be done," Uhlaender said. "It's frustrating in a sense that we spent five hours arguing the case, and they ultimately said we couldn't be heard, even though we were."
'Hard to stand up for the right thing'
Uhlaender had turned to CAS, the world's highest sports court, after claiming she was cheated out of vital Olympic qualifying points at an event in Lake Placid, New York, in January.
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The 41-year-old, who was hoping to reach her sixth Winter Games, accused Canada's skeleton coach, Joe Cecchini, of deliberately pulling his female racers out of the event. By reducing the size of the field, Cecchini's move meant that fewer points were on offer for those who did compete.
Uhlaender had wanted CAS to restore full points for the race, which would have seen her overtake her nearest US rival, Mystique Ro, for the second spot on the US Olympic skeleton team.
"This isn't about me. This is about all of the athletes in that field that witnessed an attack on the integrity of sport," Uhlaender said, adding that 15 countries were supporting her case.
"I've gotten a lot of criticisms saying I'm old and washed up, and I should just let it go, and I'm just fighting for myself. It's hard to stand up for the right thing."
Canada's actions were 'intentional'
Uhlaender, a two-time world champion, now looks to have run out of options, although she told DW that she still wasn't giving up on her chance.
Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected her request for a "discretionary" place at the Games, deferring to decisions made by skeleton's world governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).
The IBSF dismissed Uhlaender's original complaint, saying that no rules had been broken, while the governing body's appeals tribunal ruled on January 23 (the relevant date for determining CAS's jurisdiction) that it could only hand out sanctions and did have the power to re-award qualifying points.
The appeals tribunal did, though, conclude that the "action of the Canadians was intentional and directed to reducing the points available."
"Although Canada subsequently attributed its decision to order four athletes not to slide [...] to concerns about the athletes involved, substantial evidence supports Ms. Uhlaender's contention that the move was a deliberate effort by Canada to reduce the points available [...] so as to protect its own Olympic quotas," the appeals tribunal wrote in its ruling, seen by DW.
That evidence included a recording of a telephone conversation between Uhlaender and Cecchini, in which he told her that he wanted to "eliminate any possibilities" that Canada's Jane Channell could fail to qualify for Milan-Cortina.
"My concern is that these athletes go on to race and think that competing this way is the right way or that it's acceptable," Uhlaender said.
Athlete group bemoans lack of remedy
At the CAS hearing, Canada's skeleton federation and the IBSF argued that even if Uhalender were awarded full points, she wouldn't automatically make it to the Games, because the US would still have to decide to replace "one of the already nominated athletes" — either Ro or Kelly Curtis, the top-ranked US slider — on its roster.
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CAS said it had "carefully considered the evidence and submissions," but that ultimately the "application fell outside the jurisdiction" of its ad hoc division.
"This whole situation reinforces that the 'athlete first' slogan by the IOC is pure rhetoric," Rob Koehler, head of the athlete-led movement Global Athlete, told DW.
"It also highlights that justice delayed is justice denied. There's no remedy here. What does an athlete do when they don't have an opportunity to fight and get justice when sporting organizations take someone's life and treat it like a hot potato?"
Meanwhile, Uhlaender is still pinning her hopes on a wildcard entry from the IOC.
"What I'm hoping the IOC will see, is that this truly is about the integrity of sport, and the wildcard would symbolize that," she said.
