U.S. skeleton racer disqualified an hour after World Cup win

You don’t see this in the NFL.

Noelle Pikus-Pace, a top American in the Winter Olympic sport of skeleton, won a season-opening World Cup race in Calgary, Canada, only to be told -- an hour or so later -- that she had been disqualified.

The reason? Her sled failed a post-race inspection because of an extra piece of tape wrapped around the handle.

“Clearly, clearly, I should not have been disqualified,” Pikus-Pace told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I’m so frustrated.”

The sled had been approved for competition earlier in the week, but the British team reportedly complained afterward.

“People get away with whatever, and I get disqualified for a piece of tape?” Pikus-Pace said. “A piece of tape that they said was OK? It has no competitive advantage whatsoever.”

The ruling shifted Britain’s Elizabeth Yarnold into first, with Russia’s Elena Nikitina and Australia’s Michelle Steele taking second and third.

U.S. officials have appealed.

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