The Bizarre Enhancement Claims Rocking Ski Jumping
5 95German newspaper Bild reported in January that some ski jumpers have been injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics -- the theory being that temporarily enlarged genitalia would yield looser-fitting suits when measured by 3D scanners, and those looser suits could act like sails to produce longer jumps.
A study published last October in the scientific journal Frontiers found that a 2cm suit change translated to an extra 5.8 metres in jump distance. No specific athletes have been accused. The World Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday it would investigate if presented with evidence, noting its powers extend to banning practices that violate the "spirit of sport." The claims arrive as ski jumping already faces scrutiny -- two Norwegian coaches and an equipment manager received 18-month bans in January for illegally manipulating suit stitching.
5 comments
Come on. (Score: 5, Funny)
by greytree ( 7124971 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:45AM (#65972854)
Come on now. Who amongst us can honestly say they haven't injected acid into their penis for performance gains ?
.
Hello ?
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Just me ?
To quote George Takei (Score: 5, Funny)
by Heathren-bert ( 671356 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:47AM (#65972872)
Oh my!
Obviously (Score: 5, Insightful)
by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:52AM (#65972890)
The answer to all these uniform issues is just have the Olympics return to form.
Have everyone compete nude.
Re: Obviously (Score: 5, Informative)
by Ogive17 ( 691899 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:37AM (#65973038)
I will start out my comment stating that I do not know the suit regulations for ski jump.
From what I have read, each athlete must go through a scanning process that proves allowable dimensions for their custom fit suit. In ski jumping, the goal is to maximize your surface area for the best glide. Having a larger suit could help with that.
If I could temporarily make my body larger to allow for more material in the suit, it's possible that could provide an advantage one the body returned to normal size.
Re: Obviously (Score: 5, Interesting)
by Baloroth ( 2370816 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:40AM (#65973044)
They can't just buy a looser fitting outfit, the outfits are regulated by the Olympic comittee. And according to the scientific study mentioned in the summary (you did read that, right?) the more fabric in the suit, the farther jumpers go. So, anything that adds material to the suit could (theoretically) provide an advantage. Are they actually doing this? Maybe. Olympic level athletes have been known to do some pretty insane things for even the tiniest advantage. I have no doubt some would try this if it provided an advantage (maybe even if they only thought it provided an advantage).