Name: Canada’s skeleton team denies Olympic sabotage allegations
Uploaded: 2026-01-13T10:14:04.767Z
Duration: 2 min 1 s
Description: Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is defending a decision to remove four athletes from a competition after a coach was accused of intentionally sabotaging an American athlete trying to reach her sixth Olympics.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is defending a decision to remove four athletes from a competition after a coach was accused of intentionally sabotaging an American athlete trying to reach her sixth Olympics.

Ottawa

Canada’s skeleton team has been accused by American racer Katie Ulander and others of sabotaging Olympic qualification opportunities by withdrawing athletes from the North American Cup, reducing available points for competitors. Team Canada’s head coach, Joe Cicchini, reportedly acted to improve the chances of Canadian racer Jane Channel qualifying for the Milano Cortina Olympics.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton maintains that no rules were broken and that the decision was made to rest athletes, asserting the actions were appropriate and transparent. The Danish team and Team USA have also criticized the move, and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is investigating. The official announcement of Canada’s skeleton team is expected next week, ahead of the Olympics starting February 6th.

Canada’s skeleton team denies Olympic sabotage allegations

She's been purling down the ice headfirst for more than 20 years, but now American skeleton racer Katie Ulander is accusing Canada of sabotaging her attempt to make it to her six Olympic Games. Without the full points, my Olympic dream is likely crushed and that's why it hurts so badly. Team Canada's head coach Joe Cicchini pulled four of the women from the North American Cup on Sunday at the last minute. With fewer athletes competing, fewer points were up for grabs, making it more difficult to qualify for the Olympics. Ulander says Cicchini called to say he did it in order to help Canadian racer Jane Channel get enough points to potentially qualify for Milano Cortina. He said that it was not his responsibility to uplift other nations and help them and that it was his duty to ensure his athlete or his athletes would qualify by any means necessary to paraphrase. Bobsleigh Canada skeleton is defending the decision, saying it didn't break any rules and simply chose to rest its athletes. Adding it remains confident that its actions were appropriate, transparent and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport. But Ulander and Team USA aren't the only ones upset. This is a unique situation where someone, in this instance Canada, has made a decision that impacts, well, several countries. The Danish bobsleigh and skeleton team has called the move dirty skeleton tricks and the opposite of Olympic values. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is now investigating. In the long history of Olympics and seeing how teams manipulate things and put different strength of teams in there sometimes to try to qualify more, this is just the way the game is played. Canada's skeleton team should be officially announced next week with the Olympics set to begin on February 6th. Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal.

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