Scandal surrounding Norwegians

Cheating accusations: Nations lodge protest!

Marius Lindvik(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

Scandal at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim! Norway's ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang were disqualified for suit tampering after third and fifth place respectively. Now the host could be stripped of even more medals. "It's the most difficult moment as race director," admitted FIS race director Sandro Pertile.

What had happened?

Accusations of cheating against the Norwegian ski jumping team already caused a stir during the jump from the large hill on Saturday. Secret film footage shot by a Polish journalist shows Norwegian jumpsuits being sewn back together after being dismantled. Austria, together with Slovenia and Poland, lodged a protest about this, as Florian Liegl, ÖSV Sports Director for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, confirmed on Saturday. And with success!

Florian Liegl(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

The original second-placed normal hill winner Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, who finished in fifth place, were subsequently disqualified due to illegal suits. A Norwegian, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, was also disqualified after the first run.

FIS: Unusual, but not forbidden
Unusual, but not forbidden, said the FIS about the events in the video during the jump. "There is no regulation for this. They are allowed to open them, they can sew them up again," explained FIS material inspector Christian Kathol in an ORF interview. Kathol described the fact that jump suits that have already been checked and chipped by the FIS are opened and sewn back together as a "normal process, because the suits have to be adjusted to the daily body size".

However, the Carinthian also said that taking suits apart completely "is not usual, but it was done, obviously because they needed templates for new suits." This was apparently the reason given by the Norwegian team.

But after the jumping, the bombshell! Norway lost the silver medal, Jan Hörl got it. And the Norwegians' suit cheating could go even further.

"Most difficult moment as race director"
FIS race director Sandro Pertile explained on ORF: "They had extra material, with more tension." But how long have the Norwegians been using these cheat suits?

FIS race director Sandro Pertile(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

The Finn: "We can't say immediately after the competition. We had the opportunity to check today." Will it also have consequences for the medals that have already been awarded - in other words, could Norway be stripped of even more medals? "At the moment, it's still too early." Postscript: "But this is my most difficult moment as race director."

These medals are now in doubt
Things could still get dicey for hosts Norway. This could also bring Lindvik's gold medal on the normal hill back into focus. Here, the German Andreas Wellinger could be awarded gold retrospectively, while ÖSV eagle Hörl could take silver. Wellinger's compatriot Karl Geiger should be delighted with bronze. 

The team's bronze medal could also be in doubt. The Germans could move up and secure bronze. Furthermore, even the mixed competition could be affected. Here, too, Norway could lose gold. Slovenia would move up, Austria would take silver and Germany bronze. However, this remains speculative for the time being.