British skeleton suits 'a little unfair' for US slider

Pyeongchang, South Korea (dpa) - US slider Katie Uhlaender said she "wasn‘t disrespectful" in raising the issue of the bodysuits worn by British skeleton rivals at the Winter Olympics.After Sochi 2014 gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold took gold again in the women‘s race and team-mate Laura Deas won bronze on Saturday evening, Uhlaender said both deserved their medals but it "seems a little unfair" that others do not have access to the same equipment.British athletes at the Games are benefiting from some 32 million pounds (around 45 million dollars) of national lottery and government funding across eight winter Olympic and Paralympic sports in the Pyeongchang 2018 cycle. British media report that around 6.5 million pounds has gone into skeleton.Rival athletes had questioned the legality of the advanced skinsuits worn by the British athletes, which they feel give them an aerodynamic advantage. However the suits were cleared to compete.On her querying the British sliders‘ suits, Uhlaender said: "Me posing the question wasn‘t disrespectful."The athletes do what they have to and I just wish we had the same equipment or access to it."All the more power to you (Britain) putting all the money you have into your equipment and your coaching. It‘s paying off."Uhlaender, who finished 13th, described her own struggles to finance her sport."As an American athlete I am struggling to do that on my own. So I pose the question more because it‘s unfair to the small nations and the people that don‘t have a six million pound budget," she said."The suits are not accessible to the whole world and it seems a little unfair."I funded myself. This helmet is eight years old. I look at the athletes and I‘m jealous. Not in a mean way but, dang, you got all this cool high-tech stuff."The women‘s medals in skeleton have followed a bronze for Dom Parsons in the men‘s event on Friday, the first British medal in men‘s skeleton since 1948.