Suited and booted: ski jumpers disqualified as kit chaos returns to sport

The Guardian

a day ago

Ski jumping has become mired in more controversy with six months to go until the Winter Olympics, after the first high-level competition of the new season was marred by ­numerous athletes being disqualified over ­ill‑fitting suits. The governing body said it was 'perfectly normal'.
The sport was rocked in March by the discovery of illegally altered suits on the Norwegian team at the world championships. The International Ski Federation investigated officials and athletes over those changes that could help the wearer to soar through the air for longer thanks to the suit's larger surface area.
On Monday, the Olympic gold medal­lists Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, and three staff members on the Norway men's team, were charged with ethics violation as part of an investigation into 'equipment manipulation'. Lindvik's gold medal in the men's normal hill event at the Trondheim world championships, and Norway's bronze in the men's team event on the large hill, are at risk.
On Saturday at the first event of the 2025-26 season – a summer Grand Prix event on an artificial surface in France – six male ski ­jumpers were also disqualified because of suit issues such as waist size and three more were 'not permitted to start'. Another jumper from Japan was blocked from competing as the Grand Prix continued on Sunday.
The federation confirmed it is treating the spate of ­disqualifications as the natural result of tightening up the rules after the Norwegian suit scandal. The FIS race director, Sandro Pertile, said he did not think anyone was trying to cheat and that fewer ­disqualifications would occur as teams became accus­tomed to the rules. Making specia­lised ski jumping equipment is 'a fairly complicated matter', he said.
'It's perfectly normal for teams to need some time to adapt to the new situation after such comprehensive changes to the equipment regulations. Some cope with it straight away, others find it difficult at first,' Pertile said. 'It's also important to highlight that these disqualifications are clearly a result of technical inadequacies – there's no sign whatsoever of ill intent from the teams.'
The FIS indicated that a further nine men and five women did not ­compete after a 'technical approval' process, though it was not clear if all of those cases involved their suits. Five of those 14 were on the USA team, which did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Among those disqualified on Satur­day was Norway's Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, who had previously been provisionally suspended this year after the world championships.
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The FIS indicated it will remain rigorous in its checks through the Olympic season but expects to find athletes wearing increasingly snug, and therefore legal, suits. 'The teams know that they have our full support, and we expect the number of disqualifications to decrease significantly in the coming weeks,' Pertile said.
'With that said, we will remain strict and precise with equipment check the whole season long; there is no room for exceptions.'