The International Olympic Committee has turned down a US request to grant Katie Uhlaender a discretionary berth at the Milano Cortina Winter Games, rejecting an appeal aimed at preserving the veteran skeleton racer’s Olympic bid.
Uhlaender, a two-time world champion, says she was unfairly denied a place at a sixth Winter Games after a qualifying race in Lake Placid, New York, earlier this month. She alleges Canada’s skeleton coach, Joe Cecchini, deliberately withdrew his female athletes from that event to reduce the field size and, in doing so, limit the available Olympic qualifying points.
In a letter to IOC president Kirsty Coventry, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee argued that Cecchini’s actions “circumvented the Olympic qualification principles” and damaged the integrity of the qualification process. The USOPC urged an amendment to the qualification system under what it described as “exceptional circumstances,” citing reputational harm to the sport and allegations that a national federation delayed withdrawing four women until they could not be replaced.
Rocky Harris, the USOPC’s chief of sport and athlete services, said the IOC informed the USOPC it would back the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s (IBSF) decision, which had already cleared the Canadian team. “We did send a letter to the IOC and we got a response this morning that they are supporting the international federation’s decision on the matter,” Harris said.
The IBSF has defended its ruling, saying no rules were broken. The federation reminded participants about fair play and ethical conduct and indicated it might revise rules for future events. Uhlaender criticized the IBSF’s review as inadequate, saying she was not asked to submit evidence — including a recorded phone call she says contains Cecchini admitting he intended to limit points at Lake Placid. In that recording, Cecchini is heard saying he needed to weigh “what’s in the best interests of our program and my team, both psychologically and then with points,” and, when asked whether he would try to limit points, replying that “that’s where I stand,” according to Uhlaender.
After the IBSF appeals tribunal denied her request to restore full qualifying points from the Lake Placid race on January 11, Uhlaender announced she would take the dispute to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “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,” she said.
Uhlaender won the Lake Placid event but received 90 points rather than the full 120 because fewer than 21 athletes competed. With national entry limits in place, she could not surpass her US teammate Mystique Ro in the rankings and missed Olympic qualification by 18 points. The USOPC argued that creating an additional spot for the 41-year-old would uphold fair play and the qualification system’s goal of including the best athletes, calling Uhlaender “one of the best athletes globally” whose presence would strengthen the field.
Discretionary Olympic places are uncommon. The USOPC pointed to a precedent in 2023 when Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was offered a guaranteed entry for the Paris Olympics by then-IOC president Thomas Bach, though Kharlan ultimately qualified independently. The IBSF declined to comment further.
This article was originally published on January 24, 2026, and updated on January 27, 2026, to reflect the IOC’s response to the USOPC letter. Edited by Wesley Dockery.