VANCOUVER VOICE: US skeleton protest angers British team

SO much for a special relationship. British Olympic Association officials are less than impressed that their American counterparts attempted to get gold medal hope Amy Williams thrown out of the final two runs of the women's skeleton.

ON COURSE: Great Britain's Amy Williams will start with a three tenth of a second advantage over her rivals ahead of the concluding two runs in the women's skeleton (Getty Images)

The US team - with the support of five other federations - claimed Williams had added a illegal spoiler to her helmet to help with speed, which is against the regulations.

The race jury considered the claim and promptly threw the case out - much to the relief of Williams, who leads the standings after two runs.

It's worth noting that American Noelle Pikus-Pace currently sits fifth, and the disqualification of Williams would have edged her even further into the medal mix.

But before we lambast the US team for their unsporting tactics, let us remember back to last year's men's 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Great Britain appealed to officials to have the American sprint quartet, who were expected to challenge Usain Bolt's Jamaica for gold, thrown out after claiming one of their changeovers was illegal.

The head of US Athletics, Doug Logan, was seething at the tactic - which worked because one day later the Great Britain relay team took bronze in the final, which the disqualified Americans angrily watched on television.

"Having our friends from the playing fields of Eton file their protest against us certainly hurt," said Logan.

"There is an element of politics and sportsmanship that goes into any country's decision to lodge or not lodge a protest. Our competitive status makes us targets." 

So before Britain lashes out at their cousins across the pond, let's remember some recent history and what we were taught at school about hubris.