Skeleton

EDMONTON - The head of Canada's skeleton program says the disqualification of slider Michelle Kelly for allegedly doctoring her sled was overturned because two of the three required inspectors went home early that day.

Don Wilson, CEO of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, also said Thursday he hasn't investigated the circumstances of what went wrong, doesn't plan to, and says the inspectors won't face any discipline.

"It's a moot point,'' he said in an interview.

"It's a Sunday afternoon. They (the inspectors) have been away from home. They're trying to catch an airplane out. So be it.

"In future, that situation would never come forward,'' he added. "Lesson learned if nothing else.''

Kelly, a former World Cup title holder and Olympian, was reinstated Tuesday to the World Cup team in time for Thursday's start of the World Cup sliding season in Park City, Utah.

It was a dramatic reversal for the 35-year-old from Fort St. John, B.C., who was disqualified from the first round of selection races, held a month ago in Whistler, B.C., site of the 2010 Olympic races. A post-race inspection discovered the markings on her sled had been altered.

Kelly, who won the 2003 World Championships and World Cup titles and finished 10th in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, was to speak publicly later Thursday for the first time about the situation.

In a written statement Tuesday she said, "I feel vindicated and that justice was served because there was no performance enhancement, and I competed fairly against my teammates.''

"All I want to do is focus on sliding, winning more medals for Canada, and focus on achieving my Olympic dream.''

To ensure no slider has a technological advantage, all skeleton sliders must race on the same steel runners, purchased from the international governing body, the FIBT (Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing).

Wilson said the one juror who stayed after the race in Whistler found that the lasered-on FIBT markings on the runner had been altered, in contravention of FIBT rules. The rules say that any alteration is deemed to be for competitive advantage, resulting in disqualification.

The Oct. 20 disqualification dropped Kelly down in the rankings for the second set of qualifying races, held a week later in Calgary, and she failed to make the World Cup team or the Intercontinental Cup development squad.

That effectively ended her Olympic dream, given that the 2010 squad will be selected based on World Cup points and points on the Intercontinental Cup circuit, where points have less value.

But that changed earlier this week when a three-member appeal panel of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton determined that two of the three judges - one of whom was American, the other two Canadian - were not present for the inspection, nullifying the case. At least three had to present for the allegation to move forward.

Wilson said he doesn't know what orders, if any, were given to the inspectors about leaving early that day, adding there will be no action taken against them.

"I would not take any punitive or remedial action against a volunteer.''

The reversal left the skeleton team scrambling this week on the eve of the World Cup season in an Olympic year. Kelly was flown in immediately to replace Sarah Reid, who had a blow dealt to her Olympic hopes, as Kelly's arrival forced her down to the Intercontinental Cup.

Kelly will race with teammates Amy Gough and Mellisa Hollingsworth, the bronze-medal winner at Turin in 2006.