Great Britain’s skeleton team have been banned from wearing its new aerodynamic helmets at the Winter Olympics after the court of arbitration for sport ruled they were illegal because its “rear significantly protrudes”.
The news is a big blow to Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt, who have dominated skeleton all season, winning all seven of the World Cup races between them.
Those victories were won with a different helmet, but Weston and Wyatt were hoping to go even quicker by using a differently shaped design.
In its appeal to Cas, the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association had argued that the new helmet, which it started using in St Moritz last week, was compliant with the rules because it was manufactured without any elements “attached” to it and did not have “aerodynamic modifications”.
However the sport’s governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, disagreed, saying the BBSA’s innovative design was aerodynamic and did not comply with its rules.
After a hearing, Cas has now sided with the IBSF, saying the new helmet “departs from the standard shape and reflects a novel design specifically developed to enhance aerodynamic performance where the rear considerably protrudes”.
As a result, its panel ruled that the helmet was not compliant with IBSF rules as they currently stand for the current season.
In a statement, Natalie Dunman, BBSA’s executive performance director, admitted her disappointment – but insisted the team was still in a strong position to go for gold.
“Based on the strength of the case we put forward, naturally we are disappointed in today’s decision,” she said. “However, this does not affect our final preparations and nor has the discourse affected the athletes’ focus or optimism going into the Games.”
“Our athletes have been winning medals all season and throughout the Olympic cycle in their current helmets and we remain in a strong position to continue that trend. We will make no further comment until after the conclusion of the skeleton competition.”
UK Sport has spent £5,765,123 of national lottery funding on skeleton sliders over the past four years, and has been rewarded with Weston in particular dominating the sport. Last year the 28-year-old became world champion for a second time, beating his closest rival Wyatt by 1.9sec. This season, Weston has won five races and Wyatt two.
