Irish bobsleigh team wait on Winter Olympics decision

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal by Australia saying the governing body failed to properly apply its qualification system.

That wrongly left Oceania without a representative in Vancouver.

Irish duo Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin now need the International Olympic Committee to let an extra team in.

Currently 20 teams will race at Whistler Sliding Centre on 23 and 24 February but Cas has strongly recommended the inclusion of the Irish team, which will increase the field to 21.

Ireland's team, which boasts the tallest female in the 2010 Games, with Hoey standing at 6ft 4in tall, said it would be extremely harsh if their first ever female entrants in the Olympic bobsleigh were not allowed to compete.

"It would be outrageous if those girls were stripped of their accreditation and sent back home to Ireland," Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey said.

"We're already suffering from the football (situation) of (France's) Thierry Henry scoring a goal with his hand and eliminating us from the World Cup finals. And if something like this happened it would be a catastrophe altogether."

Ireland were ranked as the 20th best team in the world but Australians Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh contended they deserved an Olympic berth as the best team in Oceania.

Cas agreed the International Bobsleigh & Tobogganing Federation had wrongly applied the criteria - which let Ireland in instead of Australia.

Assuming the IOC follows the Cas ruling - and it would represent a radical departure from convention if they do not - Australia will now definitely compete.

It will then be up to the IOC and local organising committee Vanoc to decide whether to follow the recommendation from Cas that Ireland be allowed to join them.

A statement said: "The Cas panel found the clear wording of the qualification system implemented by the FIBT reflected the intention of representation by one men's bob team and one women's bob team from non-represented continents and could not be interpreted otherwise than as formulated.

"Accordingly, the application of the AOC was granted and the FIBT was ordered to allocate a continental representation quota place to the AOC for participation of the pilot Astrid Loch-Wilkinson in the two-man women's bob event in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

"Nevertheless, considering the situation of the Irish athletes, who expected legitimately to be entitled to participate in the Olympic Winter Games 2010 after their entry had been validated by the FIBT and the IOC, the Cas Panel has recommended to the IOC and Vanoc the inclusion of a 21st team in the women's bobsleigh event which is scheduled for 23 February 2010."

The IOC and Vanoc have yet to rule on the Cas recommendation but IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: "To be honest, it's a Cas situation and we clearly support any decision taken by Cas."

The Australian team were already in Canada and had been preparing for the Games while awaiting the outcome of the hearing, which lasted five hours on Tuesday.

BBC Sport