Norwegian ski jumpers suspended in cheating scandal over modified suits
Two Olympic gold medallist ski jumpers have been suspended after their ski suits were deliberately manipulated 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.
Athletes Marius Lindvik, 26, and Johann Andre Forfang, 29, will now not compete in a World Cup event that starts in Oslo this Thursday.
The pair had denied involvement since the allegations emerged over the weekend - but were suspended on Wednesday pending an investigation by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
Initially, both athletes were backed by the Norwegian team - until their head coach, Magnus Brevig, and equipment manager Adrian Livelten, confessed.
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.
Head coach Mr Brevig told local media he had "consented to the suspension" and said he was "terribly sorry for what we did".
"We have manipulated or modified the jumpsuits in a way that violates the regulations - ergo, cheated," he said.
The athletes had already been disqualified from the large hill event on Saturday - days after Mr Lindvik became world champion, winning silver.
Norway, where the cheating scandal emerged, always scores high in Transparency International's anti-corruption index and tied for fifth in the most recent global ranking.
Stine Korsen, chair of the ski jumping committee, said that Norway would welcome an investigation by the FIS into the cheating.
He said: "We take this matter very seriously and recognise that equipment has been deliberately manipulated in violation of FIS regulations in order to gain an advantage in the competition."
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