At the conclusion of the Ski Jumping World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, Norwegian ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang broke their silence regarding the scandal that led to their disqualification. "We apologize for not having had the energy to speak to the media after what happened yesterday," they stated, according to Die Zeit. The two athletes addressed the controversy surrounding their alleged manipulation of ski jumping suits, which sent shockwaves through the ski jumping community.
On Sunday morning, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced that its ethics committee would investigate the circumstances leading to the Norwegian disqualifications in the World Championship's large hill event and the team competition in Nordic combined. Die Presse reported that the investigation aimed to clarify the extent of the illegal equipment manipulation and determine sanctions.
Jan Erik Aalbu, the sports director of the Norwegian ski jumpers, admitted to cheating in light of anonymously distributed video evidence. "We have cheated. We have tried to deceive the system," Aalbu stated on Sunday afternoon. "We made changes to the suits knowing that they are not legal. As I see it, we cheated. We tried to outsmart the system. That's unacceptable."
The scandal erupted after protests from Austria, Poland, and Slovenia led the FIS controllers to inspect the Norwegian suits. According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the FIS resorted to cutting open the suits of the Norwegian athletes. This examination revealed unauthorized alterations to the suits, resulting in the disqualification of Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang from the competition.
The disqualifications had ramifications for the competition's results. Slovenian Domen Prevc won the men's large hill ski jumping event, but his victory was overshadowed by the chaos and accusations of material manipulation. As reported by L'Équipe, the result lists were corrected following Lindvik's disqualification, with Jan Hörl from Austria moving up to second place and Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan taking third.
FIS race director Sandro Pertile expressed his astonishment at the situation. "I am shocked. We did not expect something like this," he stated. The scandal raised concerns about fair play and integrity in the sport, prompting calls for sanctions and an investigation.
Poland's head coach, Thomas Thurnbichler, condemned the actions of the Norwegian team. "For me, it's a mockery. It's clear manipulation and clear sports fraud, similar to doping," he said, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung. The sentiment was echoed by other figures in the ski jumping community, including Sven Hannawald, who described the scandal as an "absolute farce."
The controversy centers around allegations that the Norwegian ski jumpers deliberately manipulated their suits to gain an unfair advantage. A video circulating on the internet purportedly shows Norwegian coach Magnus Brevig overseeing alterations to the suits after they had been approved by officials. The video raised suspicions that an impermissibly stiff band was sewn into the suits and that chips used to verify the suits' compliance may have been tampered with.
Both Lindvik and Forfang denied any knowledge of the illegal modifications. "We are both completely crushed. Neither of us would have jumped in suits we knew were manipulated. Never," they said.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.