American speedskater allegedly tampered with Canadian’s skates:documents

An American short-track speedskater allegedly tampered with a Canadian opponent’s skates at the 2011 world championships, according to documents obtained by U.S. media outlets.

The tampering charge is contained in demand for arbitration documents filed earlier this week on behalf of 13 U.S. short-track skaters seeking to have head coach Jae Su Chun dismissed on allegations of physical and mental abuse.

Speed Skating Canada says it is aware of the tampering allegations but will not comment further until the resolution of the court proceedings.

The documents allege that American skater Simon Cho told a teammate that Chun ordered him to tamper with Canadian rival Olivier Jean’s skates before the final of the 5,000-metre relay at the 2011 championships in Poland.

Canada won bronze in the race, behind South Korea and China. Canada was only able to field three skaters in the relay because of a problem with Jean’s blades.

Chun issued a statement Sunday denying that he abused athletes in any way while expressing confidence he would be found innocent. He has not commented publicly on the tampering allegations. A U.S. Speedskating spokeswoman referred questions to his lawyer.

According to NPR, U.S. Speedskating said Cho had no comment.

Seven members of the American team, including Olympic bronze-medallist Lana Gehring, have recently signed a statement supporting Chun, claiming abuse allegations against their coach are “baseless” and a “false attack on his character.”