SEOUL — Virgin Islands skeleton slider Kathryn Tannenbaum will miss the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday turned down her attempt to compete via a quota spot.
The CAS said it acknowledged that the slider met the general qualifying crieria but added all quota spots had been given away and that the International Olympic Committee “was not obliged to allocate any additional or further invitation place.”
It was the first case handled at the February 9-25 Pyeongchang Games by CAS which has two ad hoc divisions in operation since Tuesday at the host city to deal with doping and other matters and make swift decisions.
With the court’s dismissal of the VIOC’s application, the U.S. Virgin Islands will not compete in the games, which are being held in Pyeongchang County, South Korea.
Tannenbaum had met all qualification criteria established by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) but no available quota place could be allocated to the Virgin Islands.
On that basis, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was not in position to grant her a qualification place for these Games.
The CAS Panel in charge of the matter Carol Roberts (Canada), President, Martin Schimke (Germany) and Bernhard Welten (Switzerland) found that according to the applicable regulations, the IOC was not obliged to allocate any additional or further invitation place offering the Virgin Islands an opportunity to be represented at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.