Bobsleighers win appeal

Bobsleigh pair Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh will get to compete at the Winter Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Australia's appeal for its women's two-man team to be included.

The Australian Olympic Committee appealed to CAS on the grounds that the International Olympic Committee had not followed its own qualification guidelines regarding continental representation and CAS agreed.

But while the inclusion of driver Loch-Wilkinson and brakeman McIntosh had seemed set to be in place of another team, CAS has recommended that 21 teams contest the event, with the IOC yet to confirm if it will - as is the norm - ratify that recommendation.

While the ruling would appear to have ensured that Irish pair Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin - the 20th sled qualified - also get to compete, as the AOC had argued for, it's been a nervous few days for the Aussie duo.

Having already spent plenty of time in Vancouver waiting for a ruling they then had to wait more than 20 hours for CAS to rule following a five-hour hearing on Monday at which the AOC presented its case.

With the first heats of their event to be held on Tuesday, February 23, Loch-Wilkinson and McIntosh will head to the Whistler Olympic Village after completing their outfitting and accreditations, and also still need to paint their sled.