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New York Times
14-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Norwegian Ski Jumpers Suspended for Illegal Alterations to Their Suits
There is a long tradition of teams trying to get an edge in ski jumping, making tweaks to equipment to try to gain a few feet in distance, or even a few inches. But a recent alteration to the crotch area of a team's ski suits went too far. Five Norwegian ski jumpers and three officials were suspended by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation this week, accused of cheating after altering the crotches of the team's ski suits. Some of the officials soon confessed to the scheme. The officials are accused of engaging in 'illegal equipment manipulation' at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, last week. The suspensions will continue while an investigation takes place. The suspended Norwegian athletes are Marius Lindvik, a gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics in 2022; Johann Andre Forfang, a gold medalist at Pyeongchang in 2018; Robin Pedersen; Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal; and Robert Johansson. Lindvik also won a gold medal at the world championships days before the suspensions. The federation seized all of the ski jumping suits used by Norway at the event. An inspection of those suits 'raised additional suspicions of manipulation' of the suits used by the men's team, the federation said. No irregularities were found in the women's team's suits. The ski jumping federation said it planned to toughen its 'suit control policy' at future events. The international federation did not immediately make an official available for an interview on Friday. 'What we have done is manipulate or modify the jump suits in such a way that it violates the regulations,' one of the suspended officials, the team coach, Magnus Brevig, told the Norwegian news media. 'It was a deliberate act. Therefore, it is cheating. It was a joint decision. I should have stopped it.' Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Sky News
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
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."
Reuters
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Ski jumping-Norwegian ski jumpers suspended amid equipment investigation
March 12 (Reuters) - Ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang have been provisionally suspended, along with three Norwegian team officials, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced on Wednesday. The Norwegian ski jumping team are under investigation for allegedly manipulating equipment during last Saturday's men's large hill event in the World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway. Lindvik had finished second but was denied the silver medal following his disqualification after an equipment inspection, along with compatriot Forfang who had finished fourth. "The only thing that matters to FIS is to leave this process 100% convinced that the sport is free from any form of manipulation," FIS Secretary General Michel Vion said in a statement. "We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that respect and fairness prevail – in this specific case and across our entire ecosystem." The Norwegian Ski Federation had earlier suspended two staff members, including head coach Magnus Brevik, after admitting that the national ski jumping team had manipulated jumpsuits to gain an advantage. FIS added they had seized all Norwegian jumpsuits from the Championships for re-inspection as part of an ongoing investigation.
CBC
12-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Olympic champion ski jumpers suspended as cheating scandal rocks sport
Two Norwegian ski jumpers are now suspended and under formal suspicion in a cheating scandal, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) said Wednesday in widening its investigation of altered ski suits. Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, who are both Olympic gold medallists, can no longer compete in a World Cup event in Oslo that starts Thursday. "FIS has provisionally suspended three Norwegian team officials and two athletes who are being investigated for their alleged involvement in illegal equipment manipulation," the Switzerland-based governing body said in a statement. Lindvik and Forfang have denied involvement in cheating at the world championships held last week at Trondheim that their head coach and equipment manager already confessed to. Though both athletes were backed by the Norwegian team insisting they knew nothing about deliberately altered ski suits, their head coach and equipment manager confessed and were suspended. The scandal has shocked the ski jumping world, raising questions about how widespread this practice is, and tarnished Norway's standing for honesty in sports. What has emerged involves team officials manipulating 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. An official from the FIS said the illegal alterations were only subsequently confirmed by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the offending Norwegian ski suits. The scandal has unfolded in Norway which always scores high in Transparency International's anti-corruption index, tied for fifth in the most recent global ranking. Norwegian sports officials also led on controversial issues by taking public positions in 2022 in refusing to host Russian athletes days after the full invasion of Ukraine and challenging soccer World Cup host Qatar on human rights. The same Norwegian ski federation that helped push FIS to exclude Russians three years ago now finds its staff and star athletes under investigation by the Switzerland-based governing body. 'Killing our principles' "The only thing that matters for FIS is to leave this process 100% convinced that the sport is free from any form of manipulation," its secretary general Michel Vion said in a statement Tuesday. Athletes and officials from across the world left Trondheim on Sunday sad and disappointed, FIS race director for men's ski jumping, Sandro Pertile, told The Associated Press in an interview. "Norway is a country that we all know as a leader in human rights, in equality, integration. I cannot believe that there is a [cheating] system," Pertile said in an online call Tuesday, suggesting there was "a few individuals that went really far over the limits." If the infractions seemed obscure and technical to non-fans, the breach of trust was severe: "This action was somehow killing our principles, our style, our joy for our discipline," Pertile said. The Norwegian federation acted when FIS officials found evidence that proved what the secret footage alleged, and had led to formal protests from Austria, Slovenia and Poland. Norway men's head coach Magnus Brevig and equipment manager Adrian Livelten admitted they had cheated, though just on one occasion, ahead of the large hill event held Saturday. "We regret it like dogs, and I'm terribly sorry that this happened," Brevig said. "I don't really have anything else to say other than that we got carried away in our bubble." Livelten apologized to the disqualified athletes plus "sponsors, the jumping family and the Norwegian people" for an act of cheating he said was "completely unacceptable." How did Norway cheat? "It was an extremely high level manipulation," race director Pertile said of the Norwegian actions that were "absolutely by far the worst" in his five years in the job. "We destroyed the suit to be able to find this adjustment." The Italian official said alterations were not detected by eye and only were revealed by examining the seams of the crotch area of the ski suits after the competition. Extra material in the same color had been inserted that added weight and helped to lower the material between an athlete's legs as they took off into the flight phase. More surface area hitting the air helps add to flight time, Pertile said. FIS previously said a 5% bigger surface area of a suit helps an athlete fly further, though the exact distance added is not known, Pertile said. What are the rules? FIS has an extensive 11-page document of rules for measuring and verifying ski jumpers' suits during the season. Multiple RFID chips are attached and noted on a FIS register, after which a suit must not be altered. Any attempt to remove a chip should make the suit ineligible and the chips are deactivated. One suit is allowed at World Cup events and two more for a world championships or Winter Olympics, though just one is used on each competition day. What is the investigation about? FIS investigators are now likely to want to closely inspect all the Norwegian team suits, in men's and women's ski jumping and Nordic combined, at the world championships. Lindvik's gold medal in normal hill is sure to be looked at, though it is unclear how far back an investigation could reach for results at World Cup events this season or beyond to previous seasons. Lindvik was Olympic champion in large hill at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
Japan Times
10-03-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Norwegians admit to cheating at World Ski Championships
Trondheim, Norway – Norway's ski jumping team deliberately cheated by using manipulated jumpsuits at the Nordic World Ski Championships, where two of their competitors were disqualified during Saturday's ski jumping event, the Norwegian Ski Federation said on Sunday. Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang were disqualified from the men's large hill competition, while Joergen Graabak was also disqualified from Friday's Nordic Combined team event, but this was related to his bindings. "The support system has explained that on Friday, they chose to put a reinforced thread in the jumpsuit of Forfang and Lindvik," Norway Ski Federation general manager Jan-Erik Aalbu told a press conference.
