Canada's skeleton team denies accusations of Olympic sabotage by U.S. slider

Canada's skeleton team denied accusations by American Katie Uhlaender that Canada's coach sabotaged her chances of sliding in the Olympic Games, while the world governing body of the sport has ordered an investigation.

Athletes from all countries are chasing the last qualification points for the Milan Cortina Games. Qualification ends Sunday.

At a North American Cup race, which is a developmental event below the World Cup level, Canada withdrew four of six women Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y.

The smaller field reduced the number of Olympic qualification points available in the competition, which Uhlaender won.

The 41-year-old Uhlaender is third among U.S. women and 20th overall in world rankings. The 2012 world champion says Canada's decision to pull athletes killed her chances of competing in a sixth Olympic Games.

The head of Denmark's bobsled and skeleton federation joined Uhlaender in accusing Canada of Olympic qualification manipulation.

"We believe that the conduct of the Canadian federation is in direct conflict with the Olympic spirit and is the opposite of fair play," Carsten P. Wulf said in an emailed comment.

"As a small Winter Olympic nation, we cannot and will not simply accept manipulative behaviour from major nations."

The Times of London reported that Uhlaender and Canadian head coach Joe Cecchini spoke in a phone call before Sunday's race, and Uhlaender described Cecchini's decision with an expletive.

The Times also reported Cecchini suggested he made the decision to protect the Canadians' positions in the IBSF rankings.

But Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton insisted the decision was made with athlete welfare in mind, and that women were withdrawn after rough outings in the first two of three scheduled races in Lake Placid.

"Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton [BCS] is aware of allegations being made against our program, following the decision to remove four of our younger athletes from the Lake Placid America's Cup," the organization said.

"The Lake Placid event this week presented unique circumstances, as it consisted of three races in a single week rather than the standard two. Four of our athletes entered in the event are young and relatively new to the sport. All experienced a particularly challenging week on the track.

"Following a collective assessment by the coaching and performance team, it was determined that continuing to race these athletes was not in their best interests, nor in the best interests of the program. As a result, they were withdrawn from further competition at that venue this weekend. Our two most experienced athletes continued to compete."