Posted on 03/13/2025 4:18:34 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Two Olympic gold medalist ski jumpers have been suspended over their alleged involvement in manipulating ski suits to make them more aerodynamic.
Three staff members embroiled in the cheating scandal - including the head coach - have also been stood down from their jobs.
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It has emerged that team officials manipulated pre-approved and microchipped suits to increase their size and improve aerodynamics to help athletes fly further.
It was revealed in footage secretly filmed from behind a curtain then sent by a whistleblower to international media.
A FIS official said the illegal alterations were only confirmed by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the offending ski suits.
The FIS has seized all the suits worn by the Norway teams at the world championships.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
I hope the offenders were not wearing the offendings suits at the time. Ouch.
Microchips for Ski Jumping suits - leveling the playing field and reducing waste
The custom-made suits worn by ski jumpers are among the most scrutinized equipment in winter sports, and for good reason. As well as having a thickness of 4-6mm, and possessing a specific permeability, excess slack (tolerance) can unfairly aid “flight”.
Coaches and athletes continue to ask suit manufacturers to push the boundaries in terms of materials used to maximize distances. And while jumpers from top nations can use multiple outfits in a competition - some getting through 40 or 50 in a season - those from smaller nations may only be able to source a handful for an entire campaign.
In order to promote fairness and reduce waste, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has limited the amount of suits an athlete can wear per season. To achieve this, suits will be marked with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips for identification purposes.
From now on, an athlete can only wear one suit per competition and a maximum of eight per FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season with an extra two for FIS World Championships.
Why would a ski jumper use multiple suits?
Ski Jumping suits comprise a number of sections - nine for men’s suits and 11 for women’s due to their different cut - stitched together. Tiny holes which allow air through expand with use, increasing permeability and reducing performance.
A new suit with holes of original size, only available to teams with bigger budgets, would counter that reduction in performance. A different cut, or even a slightly bigger suit, may also offer increase distances. However, the latter carries the risk of being discovered by race control.
FIS Ski Jumping Men’s Race Director Sandro Pertile says, “Every extra centimeter on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further. Of course, this is a competitive sport and everyone’s on the limit with the rules because everyone wants to win.
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Read more at the link.
"I still wouldn’t carry a microchip IN MY CROTCH"
This is racist. It discriminates against all African skiers.
The stuff you learn , thanks for solving that mystery.
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