Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
The Norwegian Ski Federation has suspended two members of staff amid a cheating scandal that has rocked the organization.
On Sunday, the federation said that the suits of two ski jumpers, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, had been manipulated ahead of the men’s large hill event at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim.
Both Lindvik, who had placed second, and Forfang were subsequently disqualified from the competition by global governing body FIS. Their suits were found to contain a reinforced thread, making them stiffer and therefore more aerodynamic.
The Norwegian federation announced on Monday that coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten have been suspended with immediate effect.
“We take this matter very seriously and perceive that equipment has been deliberately manipulated in violation of FIS regulations to gain a competitive advantage,” Stine Korsen, the head of the federation’s ski jumping committee, said in a press release. Brevik and Livelten have both accepted their suspensions, the federation said.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, head of jumping Jan-Erik Aalbu admitted that the manipulation of the suits amounted to cheating.
“The support system has explained that, on Friday, they chose to put a reinforced thread in the jumpsuit of Forfang and Lindvik,” Aalbu said. “This was done knowing that this is not within the regulations, but with a belief that it would not be discovered by FIS’ equipment controller. “The way I consider this, we have cheated. We have tried to cheat the system. That is unacceptable.”