Bobsleigh

PARIS - French winter sport chiefs have called a halt to a bid by their women's bobsleigh team to qualify for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics after disappointing results and a no-show at a competition last week.

Double world athletics champion Eunice Barber had been hoping to join a team whose driver was Canadian-born Lesa Mayes-Stringer.

However last month doubts were raised over the team's future after Mayes-Stringer was denied French nationality for a second time.

Things didn't get any better when Mayes-Stringer, partnered with Flore Remy, finished 19th in the first World Cup event of the season, at Park City on November 13.

A week later the team went against the wishes of the French Winter Sports Federation (FFSG) and decided not to compete a week later at Lake Placid.
The FFSG held a meeting Monday and said it had decided to put the brakes on the team's bid.

"We found ourselves in something of a delicate situation. Finishing 19th then deciding not to compete at the next leg didn't make things any easier," said Eric Le Chanony, a chief tecnical director at the Federation.

"The bobsleigh (team) is well off the mark as far as qualifying goes, and is therefore well off Olympic qualifying.

"We've therefore decided to bring their season to an end."

To qualify for the Vancouver Olympics the French women's team would have had to finish among the top 15 in the overall World Cup or finish among the top 10 at the European Championships on January 18 at Igls, Austria.
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