U.S. Speedskater Accused Of Sabotaging Rival

The allegations of physical and verbal abuse at U.S. Speedskating have a new twist: A coach allegedly directed a skater to tamper with the skates of a Canadian competitor at an international competition last year — and the skater complied.

The allegation is contained in a “Demand for Arbitration” obtained by NPR and filed by an attorney for 13 American short track speedskaters who are seeking the dismissal of U.S. Speedskating coaches accused of physical, verbal and psychological abuse. (Note at 9:50 a.m. ET, Sept. 21: An arbitration hearing has now been scheduled; see our update below.)

The document describes a series of conversations, in person and via Skype, between Simon Cho, 20, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and two unidentified teammates in March of last year and the spring and summer of 2012.