Norwegian World Championship Disqualifications Investigation – FIS Secretary General Dismisses One Speculation

Norwegian World Championship Disqualifications Investigation – FIS Secretary General Dismisses One Speculation

An investigation by the independent ethics committee of the International Ski Federation (FIS) has been opened regarding the disqualifications of Norwegian athletes during the Trondheim World Championships. The investigation was initiated following disqualifications of Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, as well as Jörgen Gråbak in team mixed competitions on Friday.

Lindvik and Forfang were disqualified for using illegal suits. Now, investigations are underway into accusations of potential manipulation regarding the Norwegian suits used for ski jumping.

After the large hill competition, Germany had called for a separate and independent investigation committee due to these incidents. According to Ralph Eder, the press officer of the German national team, such concerns reach a different level than previously observed and need to be clarified properly.

Janne Ahonen, an expert on ski jumping for Yle Sports, has compared the systematic manipulation accusations against Norway to the Finnish cross-country skiing doping scandal from 2001, indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Ahonen hopes that FIS will now take decisive action against the suit manipulation. He feels that it is a moment of reckoning for FIS.

The Secretary General, Michel Vion, described the independent and neutral investigation beginning Monday as the next step following the disqualifications by the competition committee. Vion explained that suspicions of manipulation mean that more than one individual is believed to be involved in breaking the rules.

"Let’s see what happens and what can be done. This is an allegation. No one has been convicted yet," Vion mentioned to Yle.

The FIS aims to clarify what has happened to the jumping suits used by Norwegian ski jumpers and combined athletes.

"We will try to secure all the suits. We can trace all the suits because they are embedded with chips. We know exactly which suits were used in which jumps by any athlete since the start of the season. We can investigate them and check if manipulation has occurred," Vion stated.

On the day of the major hill competition, Polish media also claimed that the Norwegians might have cloned the chips used for suit monitoring.

"Chips cannot be altered or manipulated. They are safe. In this manipulation case, it’s not about the chips, but the texture of the suits," Vion confirmed.

Vion admitted that disqualifications during the decisive weekend of the Trondheim World Championships were unfortunate. On Saturday, prior to the large hill competition, 100,000 people attended the men’s 50 km ski competition in Trondheim, generating significant excitement.

Vion emphasized that what happened is detrimental to skiing as a sport, ski jumping, and the Norwegian team. "This is sad, but we must move forward. FIS’s priority is to ensure that sports are safe and fair," Vion explained.

Updated at 14:06. Added comments from FIS Secretary General.