The latest Olympic sports scandal began in mid-January when Katie Uhlaender, a veteran of five Winter Games, showed up at the sled track in Lake Placid, N.Y. It was the American skeleton racer's final shot to win enough points to qualify for the Milan Cortina Games.
Uhlaender told NPR that just before the make-or-break competition began, she received a text message from the head coach of Canada's skeleton team, Joe Cecchini. The message said he had bad news for her.
The text was concerning enough that when Cecchini called, Uhlaender arranged to record their phone conversation. In that recording, shared with NPR, Cecchini appears to be laying out a plan to manipulate the point system used by sledders to qualify for the Olympic Games.
"We've had some crazy races that have not gone our way this year," Cecchini is heard saying. "And I'm like, I can just eliminate any possibilities here."
Benching his own sledders, a Canadian coach penalized athletes from other countries
Here's how Uhlaender says Cecchini's point manipulation scheme worked. Athletes competing in Lake Placid were awarded qualifying points depending on how well they raced. Uhlaender was lightning fast that week. She rocketed headfirst on her sled down the winding ice-covered track.
But under international rules, the points awarded to each athlete drop dramatically if fewer athletes compete. At the last minute, Cecchini withdrew four of the Canadian team's six female skeleton sledders. When that happened and despite her dominant performance, Uhlaender received far fewer points.
"The full points [that would have been awarded if all the Canadians competed] were 120," Uhlaender told NPR. "What I was awarded was 90. I missed the games by 18 points."
Uhlaender says she's been friends with Cecchini in the tight-knit world of international sled racing for years. In their phone conversation, he appeared to voice regret about how his maneuver would affect her Olympic dream.
"I wanted to tell you personally, because of our relationship," Cecchini said.
Uhlaender can be heard questioning Cecchini, saying, "So you're going to make sure it's not full points today?"
"That's where I stand today," he responded, according to the recording. "I'll have two girls race. I'll keep it [the total number of athletes competing] at 19."
Canadian sports officials say their team's maneuver was "appropriate, transparent"
In the end, Cecchini's decision made all the difference, causing Uhlaender to fall just short of an Olympic bid. NPR reached out repeatedly to Cecchini and his Canadian team requesting an interview.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton instead sent a series of statements, describing Cecchini's decisions in Lake Placid as "appropriate, transparent, and aligned with both athlete welfare and the integrity of the sport."
"Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is aware of allegations being made against our program," the statement reads. "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."
International sports officials say Canada's move to penalize other athletes was "intentional"
But a probe by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation — the organization that governs skeleton racing — backed up Uhlaender's allegations that Cecchini had deliberately gamed the point system.
In its findings, the federation determined Cecchini "became concerned that Canada might lose an overall Olympic quota spot if non-Canadian athletes in Lake Placid performed well."
In order to prevent that from happening, officials say, Cecchini benched his sledders in a way that was "intentional and directed to reducing the points available to athletes."
In a letter to the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee also concluded that Uhlaender had been sidelined from the Olympic Games due to "unfair actions taken at Lake Placid."
But while a growing number of sports officials say the system was manipulated, they have so far declined to intervene. There have been no sanctions for Canada by any international sports body. Uhlaender still isn't scheduled to compete at the 2026 Winter Games.
That outrages Rob Koehler, who heads an organization based in Canada called Global Athlete that advocates for fair sport. "I'm Canadian by passport, but my job doesn't allow me to favor athletes country to country," he told NPR.
““Substantial evidence supports Ms. Uhlaender’s contention that the move was a deliberate effort by Canada to reduce the points available at the final Lake Placid NAC so as to protect its own Olympic quotas,” the federation said.
— Global Athlete (@GlobalAthleteHQ) January 30, 2026
However, the IBSF also is not taking any action to…
According to Koehler, the International Olympic Committee should intervene, allowing Uhlaender to compete. He also wants Canadian sports officials to open a probe into Cecchini's behavior.
"The reaction and the response of silence from the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Bobsleigh and Skeleton [team] speaks volumes," Koehler said. "Silence equals complicity."
One more appeal for Uhlaender
This isn't the first time a Canadian Olympic women's team has been accused of unethical behavior. During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the Canadian soccer team was accused of using a drone to spy on the practices of opposing teams.
Uhlaender, meanwhile, has now appealed her case to one final international sports review body: the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She's hoping it will intervene in time for her to compete.
She said this case will also determine whether the point qualification system for future Olympics is fair or open to manipulation. "We want our sport to be ethical," Uhlaender told NPR. "We want the integrity of our sport to be upheld. Integrity matters."
Time is running out. The opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina Games is next Friday. Women skeleton racers make their first training runs in the mountains of Italy on February 9.
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