CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The U.S. may have only one sled in an Olympic two-man bobsled competition for the first time in the nearly century-long history of the event, after the sport’s governing body denied an appeal to give American driver Kris Horn a spot in that event at the Milan Cortina Games.

The Americans aren’t happy about that. A few other nations aren’t happy, either.

Horn’s issue is this: He finished only four two-man races this season, and the rules require five races being finished for Olympic eligibility. But the Americans believe extenuating circumstances should have mattered, and USA Bobsled was backed by multiple other teams — the powerhouse Germans among them — in an effort to get the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation to change its mind and let Horn compete.

“I feel a little cheated,” Horn said Monday. “But that’s life. Life’s unfair sometimes. Just kind of roll with the punches and fight back when you can.”

He understands the IBSF decision — “rules are rules,” he said — and acknowledged that he’s losing hope of minds being changed so he can compete in the two-man race. But the push by other nations to let Horn compete, U.S. officials believe, could get him into the field. It’s not a case where the Americans are asking for an extra spot or to bump another team from the field; the spot in the race is theirs, and unless Horn is allowed to drive, it will be vacant.

“I think everybody in the U.S. hopes there’s a path for him,” U.S. women’s bobsled pilot Elana Meyers Taylor said. “I think the hardest thing is how hard he’s worked throughout the year and just had some bad luck. And that’s part of the sport. You just have some bad luck, but it doesn’t mean he’s not qualified to be a driver here. … If Kris Horn has an opportunity, he can contend for a medal.”

Horn and USA Bobsled appealed on several points, including how the World Cup schedule had one fewer race this year than many other Olympic seasons and how his training schedule before a double-race weekend in Latvia this season was limited compared with other pilots.

But the IBSF’s appeals tribunal ruled last week that the five-race minimum cannot be ignored even though USA Bobsled earned two spots in the two-man Olympic field. Those spots are given to nations, not individual drivers.

“The rules are clear,” the appeals tribunal said in the ruling, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

The IBSF did not immediately reply to a request for further comment Monday.

Horn will compete in the four-man event at the Olympics, as will USA-1 pilot Frank Del Duca — one of the U.S. flag bearers for the opening ceremony of these Milan Cortina Games. But Del Duca, for now, is in line to be the only American pilot in the two-man race.

Horn — an exceptional athlete who was a college track star before turning to bobsled in 2018 — had two top-seven finishes in the four World Cup races he completed this season. He was in the 2022 Olympics as a brakeman, then transitioned to pilot.

“As his teammate, but also as somebody who’s been on both sides of the sport in the board rooms and everything like that, you just want the competition to be the best competitors in the field,” Meyers Taylor said. “And he is one of the best competitors, so you want to see him in the field. You can’t help but feel the field is diminished if he’s not out there being able to fight for medals.”

The U.S. has won seven Olympic medals in the two-man event: gold and bronze in 1932, gold and bronze again in 1936, bronze in 1948, silver in 1952 and, most recently, a silver by Steven Holcomb and Steven Langton at the Sochi Games in 2014.

The Americans have been part of all 21 previous Olympic two-man races, with two sleds in those fields on 17 occasions and three sleds four other times.

Horn earned some notoriety last month when he and his team had issues loading into their four-man sled for a run at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Horn’s three push athletes unsuccessfully tried to get in, leaving him to drive down the track himself and then needing to scurry backward after crossing the finish to pull the brakes and avoid what could have been a tragic crash.