FIS draws consequences

World Championships scandal: Three more Norwegians suspended

Robin Pedersen

(Bild: GEPA)

The scandal surrounding manipulated ski jumping suits in the Norwegian team, which came to light just under a week ago at the World Championships in Trondheim, continues to unfold. On Thursday, FIS press spokesman Bruno Sassi announced at a press conference at Holmenkollen that three more Norwegian ski jumpers would be suspended due to new findings: They are Robin Pedersen, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal and Robert Johansson.

This trio had bizarrely competed in training just a few minutes earlier. Pedersen and Sundal were part of the bronze quartet in the team competition at the home World Championships in Trondheim.

The FIS had already suspended the Norwegian jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang as well as three officials and tightened the rules for the rest of the winter following the scandal in Trondheim. Lindvik and Forfang claim to have known nothing about the illegal practices. Many experts and ski jumping colleagues find this implausible.

Skijumpers and combined teams inconspicuous
There were no anomalies in the suits of Norway's ski jumpers or either of the Nordic combined teams, Sassi added. "We are dealing with deliberate manipulation here," said FIS race director Sandro Pertile about the actions of the Norwegians in the second men's singles event. He believes that the world federation is "on the right track" with the investigation.

As decided on Wednesday, the stricter material rules stipulate that from now until the end of the season, athletes may only compete with a jump suit. This must be a suit that has already been fitted with an identification chip this winter. A second suit can be available as a backup in case the first one breaks.

Suits will be collected after the competition
Each selected suit will be checked together with the athletes before the (today's) World Cup at Holmenkollen in Oslo. The jump suits will be collected by FIS officials after the competition. They will be handed out again around 30 minutes before the next training session or competition. The changes also apply to the Nordic Combined.

"These measures ensure that our material checks are more efficient and that the inspectors have more time for their tests," explained Sandro Pertile and Lasse Ottesen, the Race Directors for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, in unison. This also proves how seriously the FIS is taking this matter. "We expect full support from the teams so that there can be fair competitions until the end of the season."

Recordings from the Austrians' warm-up room
In the meantime, a Polish journalist has once again published secretly recorded images. Unlike the Norwegians, who manipulated suits in a taped-off stadium box, this time it is not the content of the material that is particularly sensitive, but the location of the images. One thing is certain: the pictures are of Austrian athletes in the warm-up room in Trondheim.

Jakub Balcerski from the sport.pl portal shared the photos he received from an anonymous source. Only very few selected people are allowed into this area of the facility. Filming, photographing and publishing in and from these areas is strictly prohibited by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) did not want to comment on the secretly taken photos when asked.

Although the author points out anomalies in the gloves, boots and the upper part of the suit, he himself admits that there is no evidence or real indications of cheating. Last Saturday, Austria was one of the first nations to lodge a protest against the start of the Norwegians and subsequently demanded that the FIS cancel all of the host nation's World Championship results.