Cheating Scandal Shocks Ski Jumping, Topples Norway's Lofty Reputation | rssama.com

GENEVA (AP) — Sign stealing successful baseball. Match fixing successful soccer. Doping allegations successful swimming. Now skis jumping has its ain ungraded that escalated Wednesday.

Cheating by Norway squad officials manipulating skis suits has shaken a nationalist estimation for adjacent play and high-minded principles astatine their location Nordic world championships, wherever nan big squad dominated nan badge table.

Two Olympic golden medalists, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, had denied engagement since nan allegations emerged complete nan play but were suspended Wednesday and put nether general suspicion successful an investigation overseen by nan International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). They cannot compete successful a World Cup arena successful Oslo that starts Thursday.

Lindvik and Forfang already had been disqualified from nan ample elevation arena successful Trondheim held Saturday, days aft Lindvik soared to go world champion connected nan normal hill.

Though some athletes were backed by nan Norwegian squad insisting they knew thing astir deliberately altered skis suits, their caput coach Magnus Brevig and instrumentality head Adrian Livelten confessed and were stood down from their jobs.

“FIS has provisionally suspended 3 Norwegian squad officials and 2 athletes who are being investigated for their alleged engagement successful forbidden instrumentality manipulation,” nan Switzerland-based governing assemblage said successful a statement.

An adjunct coach, Thomas Lobben, besides is portion of a probe successful which FIS-appointed investigators seized each of nan location Norway team’s suits utilized astatine nan worlds.

Norway's Marius Lindvik (L) poses pinch Norway's Johann Andre Forfang (R) astatine nan extremity of nan 2nd time of nan men's FIS Ski Jumping World Cup title successful Sapporo connected February 16, 2025. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) (Photo by RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

RICHARD A. BROOKS via Getty Images

The ungraded has shocked nan skis jumping world, raising questions astir really wide this believe is, and tarnished Norway’s opinionated for honesty successful sports.

What has emerged involves squad officials manipulating pre-approved and microchipped suits to summation their size and amended aerodynamics to thief athletes alert further.

It was revealed successful footage secretly filmed from down a curtain past sent by a whistleblower to world media. A FIS charismatic said nan forbidden alterations were only subsequently confirmed by tearing isolated nan seams of nan crotch area connected nan offending Norwegian skis suits.

The ungraded has unfolded successful Norway which ever scores precocious successful Transparency International’s anti-corruption index, tied for 5th successful nan most caller world ranking.

The aforesaid Norwegian skis federation that helped push FIS to exclude Russians 3 years agone now finds its unit and prima athletes nether investigation by nan governing body.

“The only point that matters for FIS is to time off this process 100% convinced that nan athletics is free from immoderate shape of manipulation,” its caput wide Michel Vion said successful a statement.

Athletes and officials from crossed nan world near Trondheim connected Sunday sad and disappointed, FIS title head for men’s skis jumping Sandro Pertile told The Associated Press successful an interview.

“Norway is simply a state that we each cognize arsenic a leader successful quality rights, successful equality, integration. I cannot judge that location is simply a (cheating) system,” Pertile said successful an online telephone Tuesday, suggesting location was “a fewer individuals that went really acold complete nan limits.”

If nan infractions seemed obscure and method to non-fans, nan breach of spot was severe: “This action was someway sidesplitting our principles, our style, our joyousness for our discipline,” Pertile said.

The Norwegian federation acted erstwhile FIS officials recovered grounds that proved what nan concealed footage alleged, and had led to general protests from Austria, Slovenia and Poland.

Brevig and Livelten admitted they had cheated, though conscionable connected 1 occasion, up of nan ample elevation arena held Saturday.

“We regret it for illustration dogs, and I’m terribly sorry that this happened,” Brevig said. “I don’t really person thing other to opportunity different than that we sewage carried distant successful our bubble.”

Livelten apologized to nan disqualified athletes positive “sponsors, nan jumping family and nan Norwegian people” for an enactment of cheating he said was “completely unacceptable.”

How did Norway cheat?

“It was an highly high-level manipulation,” title head Pertile said of nan Norwegian actions that were “absolutely by acold nan worst” successful his 5 years successful nan job. “We destroyed nan suit to beryllium capable to find this adjustment.”

The Italian charismatic said alterations were not detected by oculus and only were revealed by examining nan seams of nan crotch area of nan skis suits aft nan competition.

Extra worldly successful nan aforesaid colour had been inserted that added weight and helped to little nan worldly betwixt an athlete’s legs arsenic they took disconnected into nan formation phase. More aboveground area hitting nan aerial helps adhd to formation time, Pertile said.

FIS antecedently said a 5% bigger aboveground area of a suit helps an jock alert further, though nan nonstop region added is not known, Pertile said.

What are nan rules?

FIS has an 11-page archive of rules for measuring and verifying skis jumpers’ suits during nan season. Multiple RFID chips are attached and noted connected a FIS register, aft which a suit must not beryllium altered. Any effort to region a spot should make nan suit ineligible and nan chips are deactivated.

One suit is allowed astatine World Cup events and 2 much for a world championships aliases Winter Olympics, though conscionable 1 is utilized connected each title day.

What is nan investigation about?

FIS investigators now person seized each Norwegian suits utilized successful men’s and women’s skis jumping and Nordic mixed astatine nan world championships.

Lindvik’s golden badge successful normal elevation is judge to beryllium looked at, though it is unclear really acold backmost an investigation could scope for results astatine World Cup events this play aliases beyond to erstwhile seasons. Lindvik was Olympic champion successful ample elevation astatine nan 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

The skis jumping World Cup play continues for 3 much weekends, starting Thursday successful Oslo.

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