Australia accuses Russia of unfair advantage at Sanki Olympic Sliding Centre

THE Aussies have accused the Russians of playing dirty at the skeleton, but their protests fell on deaf ears.

The Aussies have accused the Russians of playing dirty.

The Australian Olympic Committee lodged a protest overnight at the end of the first day of the Olympic skeleton competition, featuring Queenslander Michelle Steele and West Australian Lucy Chaffer.

Officials are upset that Russian athletes are being given exclusive access to a training facility within the Sanki Olympic Sliding Centre.

“The AOC believed it provided a distinct and unfair advantage to the Russian athletes who had access to the facility and a disadvantage to Australia and all other competitors,’’ a statement issued by the AOC said.

But the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation gave Australia’s protest short shrift.

A federation jury dismissed the appeal, ruling that the training facility was not a “certified facility” and therefore outside its jurisdiction.

Australian Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said the team had no option than to “accept the verdict of the umpire and get on with the Olympic competition”.

Steele, reaching speeds of up to 130km/h, was in 12th place after the first two runs of the event, while teammate Chaffer was in 17th spot.

Russian Elena Nikitina was in third spot, with the final two runs to be held today.

“I’ll go over the video, see where I can make some improvements and focus on relaxation,’’ Steele, who lives in Brisbane, said.

British athlete Elizabeth Yarnold was in a strong position to claim gold, being 0.44 seconds ahead of the USA’s Noelle Pilus-Pace.