Ski jumpers with pumped-up packages can reportedly glide further than their competitors
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is investigating a bizarre scheme in which ski jumpers allegedly injected hyaluronic acid into their penises to fly longer and further at the Winter Olympics.
The athletes reportedly pumped their peckers with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their skin-tight suits ahead of this year’s Winter Olympics, German tabloid Bild reported last month. It is understood that the bigger the jumper’s suit, the more aerodynamic friction is caused, thus extending the athlete’s flight.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Thursday, WADA Director-General Olivier Niggli said he was not aware of any performance-enhancing schemes involving penis enlargement. However, he added that his organization would “certainly look into whether this would fall into this category.”
Bild did not name any of the athletes suspected of modifying their members, but claimed that acid injections are just one of several methods jumpers use to enlarge their penises before measurement.
Before competitions, ski jumpers strip to their underwear and are measured for their suits using a 3D body scanner. The scanner measures crotch height, meaning artificially-endowed athletes end up with a lower crotch seam. Once the swelling subsides and the athlete’s penis returns to its normal size, they are left with a looser-fitting suit that generates additional lift.
Just like a sugar glider uses its ‘wings’ to fly from tree to tree, an athlete with a looser suit can use a few extra centimeters of material to fly further than his competitors. A study in the scientific journal Frontiers determined that two extra centimeters in suit circumference increases lift by 5%, extending jump length by more than five meters.
According to Bild, some athletes choose to wrap their manhood in foam, or wear condoms filled with silicone to their measurement appointment. These tricks, however, are easier to detect.
Defending Olympic champion Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, both of Norway, were handed three-month suspensions after last year’s world championships, after it emerged that their coaches adjusted the crotch seams of their suits to gain a lift advantage.
Both will compete at this year’s Winter Olympics, which start on Friday. Men’s ski jumping begins on Monday.
