Team GB’s skinsuit row escalated on Wednesday as rivals openly accused Britain’s skeleton sliders of gaining an unfair advantage with their kit.
Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday that multiple nations were questioning the legality of Britain’s game-changing suits, which have helped Lizzy Yarnold, Laura Deas and Dom Parsons dominate the training runs in each of the men’s and women’s competitions.
That ratcheted up a notch with former world champion Katie Uhlaender, who is racing here for the USA, going public to call for clarity on whether the suits are illegal.
The argument over Team GB’s game-changing skeleton ‘skinsuits’ has escalated
The aerodynamic suits had drawn formal protests after it helped exceptional results in training
The suits, developed by TotalSim in Northampton, are said to feature drag-resistant ridges that improve aerodynamics, with the apparent contention coming from section 10.16.3 of skeleton’s international rules, which include the stipulation that ‘no aerodynamic elements whatsoever may be attached either outside or under the race suit’.
Team GB’s lawyer has held discussions with organisers at least twice to discuss the suits, as revealed by Sportsmail, and the British Olympic Association issued a statement on Wednesday to insist their suits were compliant.
But the storm has raged on with Uhlaender saying: ‘If you see something that is questionably illegal, it is OK to ask.
And now former world champion Katie Uhlaender has questioned if they are legal
Uhlaender, who is racing here for USA, wants to ensure everyone is on an equal playing field
‘In this case it’s not in a race, it’s outside of that and so I’d rather ask the question now than during the race, just get it out of the way and make sure everyone is on a fair playing field.
‘I’ve been focusing on sliding so I have no idea, but I am curious to know if they’re going to look into it.
‘I mean, what else can I do? I just asked the question, I guess it was answered, I just want to know then can the rest of us do the same thing?’
Uhlaender indicated she had previously attempted to deploy a similar suit and was told it was illegal, only for the goalposts to move with Britain. She also cited the cutting-edge helmet Amy Williams used in winning gold at Vancouver 2010.
Lizzy Yarnold, Laura Deas and Dominic Parsons (pictured) have all posted very quick times
Parsons, the world No 12, has drawn particular attention after posting the best time in training
She said: ‘I’m not a scientist, I just know that I was trying to get a suit of the same quality and I was told that it was illegal, and now it’s legal.
‘It’s kind of like Amy’s helmet in 2010. Amy is one of my best friends and I have the utmost respect for her – I couldn’t have been more proud when she won – but in my opinion that helmet was illegal based on what I saw in the rules. I don’t really know what else to say except, “Huh”?’
USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Darrin Steele said: ‘The rules are clear that there can’t be any aerodynamic elements attached to the suit, and we don’t expect to see any on the British speedsuits in the race. Athletes from various nations are talking about the British suits instead of focusing on the upcoming races.’
The British slider that has drawn particular attention is Parsons, who is ranked 12th in the world but was fastest in two of the first four training runs ahead of Thursday’s first heat.
The British Olympic Association issued a statement insisting the skeleton suits are compliant
Team captains were due to meet on Wednesday evening to discuss the situation. The BOA responded in a statement that read: ‘We are confident that all competition equipment meets the technical and commercial requirements for every sport and discipline. We do not comment on specific technical aspects of equipment prior to competition.’
The suits could yet help Britain make their breakthrough at these Games after failing to win a medal so far. Team boss Mike Hay has admitted they need to find ‘momentum’ in the wake of Elise Christie crashing out of the 500m speed skating final if they are to hit their target of five medals.
‘It would’ve been great to have got a great start (at the speed skating),’ he said. ‘We need a little bit of momentum to run through the team. It gives people the belief.
‘The medal target is hard, it was tough in the first place. We didn’t win any short-track medals in Sochi and we won four so I’m still confident we’ve got athletes to take us there.’