LILLEHAMMER / ’94 WINTER OLYMPICS : The Case of the ‘Stolen’ Runners : Bobsled: Despite controversy, Shimer will rent Rosselli’s equipment for four-man races.

Dave Kurtz, an assistant U.S. bobsled coach and the team leader, calls it a farce “in the truest sense of the word.”

Kurtz is also a lawyer, which seems appropriate, because U.S. drivers Brian Shimer and Jim Herberich won’t have to look for one if they decide to sue fellow driver Bruce Rosselli for libel and defamation of character. Kurtz says they plan to do just that and he plans to join them in that suit.

In the meantime, however, Shimer has agreed to rent Rosselli’s runners--the steel blades on which the bobsled rides--for this weekend’s four-man Olympic competition, even though:

--Rosselli has accused Shimer of theft.

--Rosselli’s runners didn’t help their owner get through the U.S. trials.

“Is this bizarre, or what?” Kurtz said.

It’s also a little complicated.

It starts with Rosselli’s accusation that the U.S. bobsled federation conspired against him in the trials and that Shimer contributed to it by stealing runners that belonged to driver Chuck Leonowicz, who was not in the trials because he had not passed the physical.

Rosselli accused Shimer of giving the “stolen runners” to Herberich, who used them in qualifying for the U.S. team, along with Shimer and driver Randy Will.

Rosselli, protesting that Herberich would not have beaten him without Leonowicz’s runners, took the case to arbitration, where his conspiracy complaint was rejected. He then asked an Illinois state court to vacate that ruling, but was rejected again.

Rosselli and attorney Bill Bock then sued in federal court, naming Shimer and seeking an injunction to prevent the U.S. team from participating here, but withdrew it just before the start of the Olympic two-man competition last weekend, when Bock and Rosselli arrived in Norway to pursue their claims.

On Tuesday, they met with Ron Rowan, general counsel of the U.S. Olympic Committee, then Wednesday breached what Rowan felt was the confidentiality of that meeting by distributing a statement saying the USOC had intervened to prevent use of the “stolen runners” here.

The statement also said Rowan had confirmed that the federation was aware the “stolen runners” were being used in the trials, and that the USOC would seek Rosselli’s advice in restructuring the bobsled selection process once the Games were over.

Harvey Schiller, the USOC’s executive director, promptly responded with his own statement in which he mildly derided the Rosselli-Bock interpretation of their conversation with Rowan and said the USOC had taken no position on the ownership dispute.

Kurtz, disappointed with Schiller’s response, was more vocal. He gave Rosselli and Bock 12 hours to withdraw allegations made in the statement they had distributed to the media, a deadline that passed here this morning without response.

“We’ve tolerated the insanity of these criminal allegations far too long and are now prepared to do what we have to do,” Kurtz said.

Responded Rosselli, “Everything we’ve explained is the truth. I’m not worried about (a suit).”

The allegedly stolen runners will not be used this weekend, although Kurtz said that Shimer and Leonowicz have indeed made an agreement on their use, if needed, and that the USOC has not and will not prevent it.

Instead, Shimer will use Rosselli’s runners, the sled designers believing they best suit the conditions of the Olympic course, Kurtz said.

Herberich is not involved in this weekend’s races because he was beaten by Shimer and Will in a race-off for the two U.S. berths in four-man.

Rosselli, who has failed in three attempts to make the U.S. Olympic team, will rent his runners for about $300, Kurtz said, suggesting that paying it is like giving the devil his due.