Two Olympic ski jumping medallists are facing a potential ban after being charged with cheating in a controversial case that could affect their participation at next year’s Milan Cortina Games.
Olympic champion Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, bronze medallist at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, had their ski suits tampered with and were caught during the World Championships in Norway in March.
An investigation by the International Ski Federation, the sport’s worldwide governing body, alleges the Norwegian athletes’ teams had broken the rules by reinforcing the thread in their jumpsuits in an attempt to create more lift in the air.
Lindvik and Forfang had been disqualified from the men’s large hill competition following an equipment inspection at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim.
Jan-Erik Aalbu, the Norwegian ski federation’s general manager, admitted they had ‘tried to cheat the system’ in a scandal which sent shockwaves through the country, which prides itself on its success in winter sports.
Head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben and service staff member Adrian Livelten have also been charged.
Johann Andre Forfang (left) and Marius Lindvik have been charged with cheating
The two athletes’ ski suits had allegedly been tampered with in a scandal that has sent shockwaves through sport in Norway
Lindvik and Forfang were both provisionally suspended pending the investigation, which has now concluded.
Their exact punishments are not yet known but the charges come with less than six months until the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Aalbu now claims the two athletes were unaware of the tampering.
‘We have listened to our athletes and believe them when they say they did not know about the manipulation of the ski suits,’ Aalbu said.
‘There is no evidence that they were aware of the manipulation that took place. We therefore disagree with FIS’s assessment that there are grounds to bring a case against Forfang and Lindvik, but we respect the process.’
