Skeleton

Calgary -- Michelle Kelly is fighting for her skeleton career as she appeals a disqualification ruling that has already cost her a spot on Canada's World Cup team and a possible run at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The former world champion from Fort St. John, B.C., who now resides in Calgary, was disqualified after the runners on her sled were inspected and were deemed to be tampered with, according to Don Wilson, chief executive officer of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton.

Under rule 14.8 of the FIBT, the international governing body for the sport, manipulating runners could produce a competitive advantage.

"I am in complete shock, and filled with endless emotions as my world has been turned upside down," Kelly said in a statement released yesterday. "I feel that I have been wronged and I have therefore launched an official appeal with regards to my situation."

Although Kelly, who will turn 35 next week, described the situation as "extremely unfortunate," she did not explain what happened or the basis for her appeal. She asked for privacy until the appeal process is completed.
The issue surfaced during races at the Whistler Sliding Centre, which were held prior to last weekend's Canadian championships in Calgary.

According to Wilson, Kelly and another athlete were warned in Whistler that one set of their runners did not meet FIBT regulations. Uniformity is assured by a FIBT stamp that is pressed into the steel. Any tinkering with the runners, whether done intentionally or not, is banned.

Kelly competed with a different set of runners and, at the post-race review, there was a problem found with the markings, Wilson said.
The disqualification wiped out Kelly's races at Whistler. The Whistler races, and one of the two races held in Calgary, were used to determine the three-man, three-women 2009-10 World Cup team.

Kelly, who came third at the national championships last weekend behind Mellisa Hollingsworth and second-place racer Amy Gough, would have made the World Cup squad had she not been disqualified.

Instead, 22-year-old Sarah Reid of Calgary made the cut for her second season on the World Cup squad. But instead of thinking about the Kelly controversy, she said she's trying to focus on her season and qualifying for the Olympics.

"No one's a sure thing, everyone's got to compete for their spot on their team," Reid said. "I'm excited. We have a really good team going into this season and I think we'll do really well."

This may be Kelly's last shot at an Olympics.

Even though she was the first Canadian woman to win the overall World Cup title and world champion bragging rights, she placed 10th at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and failed to qualify for Turin four years later. She had been working her way back up the rankings in her bid to compete in Vancouver in February.

Wilson said the appeal could be done by week's end.

"We have a three-member appeal committee and Michelle will state her case to them," he said. "Time is of the essence."

The coaching staff is allowed a discretionary call that could put Kelly on either the nation's World Cup or Intercontinental Cup teams, but she was on neither when the squads were announced yesterday. Kelly is appealing that decision, too.

She could also turn to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, which handles rows in elite-level athletics.