Celski says team divide has been tough on speedskaters

• Head coach is suspended pending investigation
• Ten skaters qualified to compete in World Cup events
• Arbitration hearing has been scheduled for October

Amid the current dysfunction of the U.S. short track speedskating program, there was meaningful competition as 10 speedskaters secured a spot on the World Cup team when the U.S. Short-Track Championships ended Sunday.

Impressive performances by JR Celski and Jessica Smith and a notable comeback from injury by Jeff Simon were underscored by the continuing controversy surrounding suspended head coach Jae Su Chun.

"It was a very stressful situation given all that's been going on," Celski, an Olympic bronze medalist, told USA Today Sports on Sunday. "None of the speedskaters have been in this situation before where there was a divide between the group. We all managed to block it out but at times there was back and forth where it wasn't healthy and positive, but by the end of the meet we realized we're out here to skate."

Five of the 10 speedskaters who qualified seek the removal of their coach after accusing him of verbal, physical and psychological abuse. Other team standouts such as Smith, Lana Gehring and Chris Creveling have stood firmly behind their coach. Chun has denied the abuse charges.

Then there's Olympic bronze medalist Simon Cho, who failed to earn a spot on the World Cup team. Cho allegedly sabotaged a Canadian rival's skate at Chun's request at last year's World Team Championships, according to a demand for arbitration.

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Cho said Sunday he expects to be suspended or banned because of skate tampering allegations, according to the Associated Press. He declined to say if the allegations are true, but said he is preparing for a negative outcome.

Simon, who was a frequent target of Chun's alleged abuse according to the arbitration document, said he likely would not participate in World Cup events if Chun remains as coach. It was Simon's return to competition after fracturing his back two years ago, an injury he attributes to overtraining forced by Chun.

As for Smith and the other skaters who support their coach, they don't want to start the World Cup season without Chun. "Right now, I expect my coaches to be there. If I don't have my coaches there, I don't know, we'll have to deal with it," Smith told USA Today Sports.

An arbitration hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 8. However Chun's future could be decided before then if the independent law firm examining the charges on U.S. Speedskating's behalf finishes its investigation.

The 10 members have until Oct. 7 before deciding whether they will accept the spot -- a special time allowance granted since some may base their decision on whether Chun will be reinstated as coach. A selection committee from U.S. Speedskating will pick the final two members of the team.

With the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia only a year and a half away, the next step will be repairing a fractured team. "It's going to be important to establish the team again, a good team environment so when we are traveling we can have that bond rather than going into meets divided like this," Celski said. "Going into it as one is really the only way we're going to succeed against the rest of the world."