SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Cuban-born kayaker Angel Perez has cleared another legal obstacle in his bid to compete in the Olympics for the United States.

 The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sunday threw out a legal filing by Cuba that essentially appealed the panel's decision last week to allow Perez to be part the U.S. team. His first race is Tuesday (Monday night EDT).

 "CAS said Cuba had proper notice about the previous hearing," Mark Muedeking, general counsel for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said Monday (Sunday night EDT). "Cuba could have appeared then or asked for a postponement to prepare its case."

 CAS, which has a strict rule against appeals, wasted no time rejecting the Cubans. The filing was made around 2 p.m. Sydney time and was squashed by 5:30 p.m., Muedeking said.

 Perez was preparing for practice when the USOC learned of Cuba's move.

 "We told him to go out and train and not to worry about it," Muedeking said. "After what he's been through, this was only a minor palpitation"

 Perez competed for Cuba in the 1992 Olympics, then defected to the United States in 1993. He became a permanent resident in '95, began competing internationally on U.S. teams in '97 and received citizenship in '99.

 Olympic rules require anyone changing nationalities to have three years of citizenship in their new country or to get permission from the spurned nation. Cuba denied Perez and several other athletes seeking to compete for other countries.

 CAS rejected a USOC bid to make Perez eligible, but reversed itself in a second filing personally made by Perez. The different names on the documents circumvented the no-appeal policy.

 The second case also had a tact: Although he wasn't American long enough, he also hadn't been Cuban since defecting seven years ago. A letter from a Cuban attorney said Perez renounced his citizenship then a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Australia said the federal government considered Perez a U.S. "national" since '93.

 Cuba isn't likely to pull off the same legal end-around -- and doesn't have much time to try.

 "I hope it's all over with," Muedeking said.