"Nothing to hide"

Austrians defend themselves against cheating accusations!

ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl (left) and expert Andreas Goldberger also defend themselves against accusations from Norway.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/GEPA)

Excitement over cheating accusations against the ÖSV eagles! After fierce attacks from Norway against the Austrian team, they are now fighting back. "Nonsense", says ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl indignantly, while Daniel Tschofenig remains calm. 

Things are boiling behind the scenes of the Four Hills Tournament. The dominance displayed by the ÖSV eagles at the halfway point of the legendary tour has aroused suspicion among the competition. There are suggestions from Norway that the Austrians are cheating. "It's suspicious. There must be something there," complains former ski jumper Maren Lundby.

The current Norwegian participants in the tour are also perplexed or even suspicious. "If I had been Pius Paschke, I would probably have been pretty suspicious. It's strange and very unusual for a nation to dominate in the way it is doing now," Halver Egnor Granerud told Norwegian TV station NRK.

And even in Germany, where there were high hopes that Paschke could secure the first German Tour victory since Sven Hannawald in 2001/02, people are skeptical. There is also speculation in the newspaper "Bild" that the Austrians' suits would offer an advantage. There is talk of a "miracle fabric". 

"Pictures don't lie"
There was even speculation that the Austrian chief equipment controller Christian Kathol could turn a blind eye to his compatriots. "The FIS is on my head, not the ÖSV," he denied the accusations to Bild and continued: "All jumpers were scanned with 3D scanners before the season and these pictures don't lie. They were all measured with uniform underpants. And I would also recognize if other fabrics were sewn into the suits".

And the ÖSV camp is also resolutely defending itself against all accusations that something is not being done properly. "Nonsense. These are not new suits, we've already had them since Lillehammer and they've also been approved several times by FIS material inspector Christian Kathol. It has to be said that our boys are currently jumping better technically than anyone else. And they also have incredible self-confidence," emphasized ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl.

Meanwhile, Daniel Tschofenig was relaxed: "They can spy as much as they want. We have nothing to hide." "It is quite normal when one nation dominates to such an extent that the others get nervous and hope that there is something," explained Andreas Goldberger on ORF. "The others are trying to find something, but the suits are constantly being checked, I'm sure everything complies with the regulations," said ex-ski jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Daniel Tschofenig

(Bild: AFP)

And in any case, the Austrian team will continue to concentrate on giving the right answer on the hill, because now the two home competitions are coming up at the Four Hills Tournament!