Ski jumping-Norway ski jumpers charged over alleged suit tampering
(Reuters) -Norway's Olympic gold medallist ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang plus three team officials have been charged with ethics and competition violations following allegations of tampering with ski suits, the International Ski Federation (FIS) said on Monday.
Lindvik and Forfang, together with two coaches and a service staff member, face charges of equipment manipulation in the men's large hill event at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, in March after an FIS investigation.
Lindvik finished second but was denied the silver medal having been disqualified following an equipment inspection along with compatriot Forfang who came fourth.
The Norwegian Ski Federation admitted shortly after the competition that the team had manipulated the suits but said the ski jumpers were not at fault for the violations.
Norway's then-head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben and service staff member Adrian Livelten were also been charged by the FIS, having been provisionally suspended along with Lindvik and Forfang in March.
The FIS did not say when its ethics committee would issue a ruling, with the Milano-Cortina Olympics starting in six months' time.
Lindvik had been tipped to retain his men's Olympic large hill title at next year's Games. Forfang won the large hill team gold and normal hill individual silver at the 2018 Olympics.
JUMPERS DEFENDED
The head of Norway's ski jumping team Jan-Erik Aalbu said he was surprised by the decision to charge Lindvik, 27, and 30-year-old Forfang.
"We have listened to our athletes and believe them when they say they did not know about the manipulation of the ski suits," Aalbu said in a press release from the federation.
"There is no evidence that they were aware of the manipulation that took place. We therefore disagree with FIS's assessment that there are grounds to bring a case against Forfang and Lindvik, but we respect the process."
Brevik and Livelten apologised in March for modifying the jumpsuits that led to the initial suspensions.
"... they chose to put a reinforced thread in the jumpsuit of Forfang and Lindvik," Aalbu told a press conference in March.
"This was done knowing that this is not within the regulations, but with a belief that it would not be discovered by FIS's equipment controller.
"The way I consider this. We have cheated. We have tried to cheat the system. That is unacceptable."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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