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Ski jumping hit by cheating scandal as competitors accused of outfit 'crotch tampering'

EXCLUSIVE: Event that gave the world Eddie The Eagle Edwards has become the latest seemingly squeaky clean sport caught up in a cheating scandal - hot on the heels of chess and conkers.

[Eddie Edwards ]

Eddie 'The Eagle' finds his former sport hit by stitch up scandal (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Ski jumping has been hit by a stitch-up scandal with competitors accused of using reinforced thread in their suit crotches so they fly further.

The event that gave the world Eddie The Eagle Edwards has become the latest seemingly squeaky clean sport caught up in a cheating scandal - hot on the heels of chess and conkers. While there is no suggestion battling Brit Eddie was involved in anything untoward two Norwegian jumpers and three team officials have been charged following allegations of tampering with ski suits, the sport's governing body has announced.

Olympic medallists Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang have been charged with equipment manipulation in the men's large hill event at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, in March. Then-head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant Thomas Lobben and service staff member Adrian Livelten have also been charged following a probe by the International Ski Federation - aka FIS.

[eddie the eagle]

Eddie at a special screening of his movie (Image: Getty Images)

Norwegian sports chiefs have admitted the team tried to cheat the system by putting reinforced thread in Lindvik and Forfangs jumpsuits.

Lindvik, 27, finished runner-up in the large hill event while Forfang, 30, came fourth. Both were disqualified after an equipment inspection.

Team officials stand accused of manipulating pre-approved and microchipped suits to increase their size and improve aerodynamics to help athletes fly further.

Secret footage filmed from behind a curtain was reportedly captured by a whistleblower.

An FIS official said the illegal alterations were only confirmed by tearing apart the seams of the crotches on the Norwegian ski suits.

Race director Sandro Pertile alleged it was an extremely high-level manipulation that was absolutely by far the worst he had witnessed in five years in the job.

He said the alterations could not be detected by sight and were only revealed by examining the crotches after the competition.

Extra material in the same colour had been inserted which added weight and helped lower the suits between the athletes legs as they took off into the flight phase.

More surface area hitting the air helps add to flight time and subsequently distance, Pertile said.

We destroyed the suit to be able to find this adjustment, he added.

The federation has previously said a 5% bigger surface area of a suit helps a jumper fly further.

It has not said when its ethics committee will issue a ruling in the case.

The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, start in February.

[COURCHEVEL, FRANCE - AUGUST 9: Marius Lindvik of Norway takes first place during the FIS Ski Jumping Summer Grand Prix on August 9, 2025 in Courchevel, France. (Photo by Vianney Thibaut/NordicFocus/Getty)]

Olympic medallists Marius Lindvik has been charged with equipment manipulation(Image: Getty Images)

Norwegian ski association sports director Jan-Erik Aalbu said Lindvik and Forfang were unaware of the reinforced thread and questioned the decision to charge them.

We have listened to our athletes and believe them when they say they did not know about the manipulation of the ski suits, he 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.

Lindvik won gold in the men's large hill individual at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, while Forfang claimed silver at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in the normal hill individual.

The scandal comes after chess grandmaster Hans Niemann, 22, was accused of using vibrating anal beads to help him make moves.

He was cleared in 2023 after filing an 80 million lawsuit disputing he had secretly used the trick to win matches.

Last year David Jakins was found with a dummy conker made of steel in his pocket after winning the world championship for the first time at his 46th attempt aged 82.

He too was cleared after telling organisers he had not used the super-strength nut and only taken it along so he could crack jokes.

Ski-jumping soared in popularity in the UK after plasterer Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, now 61, went from earning 6,000-a-year to 10,000-an-hour by qualifying for the 1988 Olympics.

Though he came last in both jumps his exploits were turned into hit 2016 movie Eddie The Eagle which grossed 36million at the box office.

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