This season, the women's short-track team has had just two finalists in 25 World Cup events. The men have fared better, thanks to a single skater, Celski, who has collected 10 of the team's 14 individual medals the last two seasons.

In men's relays — where training together harmoniously is crucial to success — performances have been in steady decline: a bronze medal in the second of five World Cups, followed by a disqualification and two failures to make the final.

If the friction and instability continue until next fall, when results at two World Cups will determine each country's number of Olympic spots, the U.S. could have a diminished short-track presence in Sochi. But for some who filed the grievance, it's a sacrifice worth making to force changes in the organization.

"If we stayed quiet, we'd probably perform better in 2014," said 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Jordan Malone. "There's so much damage done on the team. Our friends turned into enemies. It really is a very short-term loss, potentially long-term gain kind of thing."
February 23, 2013|By Jared S. Hopkins and Philip Hersh, Chicago Tribune reporters