One day before the Opening Ceremony at the Winter Olympics in Milan, officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency addressed claims in a German tabloid that male skiers could be injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to gain an advantage in the Games.
Last month, a report in the German paper Bild suggested that male athletes were injecting the filler into their genitalia ahead of their ski jumping suit fittings, so that 3D scanned measurements used to assess their suit sizes would be slightly larger, thus potentially giving them an advantage in competition.
“I am not aware of the details of ski jumping, and how that could improve performance,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli told journalists in Milan when asked about the claims, BBC Sport reported.
“If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at it and see if it is doping related. We don’t address other [non-doping] means of enhancing performance,” Niggli said.
Witold Banka, WADA’s Polish president, joked in response to the question: “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland, so I promise you, I’m going to look at it,” BBC Sport reported.
In ski jumping, a small difference in suit size can make a significant difference in an athlete’s performance.
“Every extra centimeter on a suit counts,” Sandro Pertile, the men’s race director for the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), said in 2024. “If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further.”
Mike Lawrie / Getty Images
Before the start of each season, ski jumpers are measured for their suits by body scanners, according to BBC Sport. The rules dictate their suits must conform to their body measurements, within 2 to 4 centimeters.
“There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage,” FIS communications director Bruno Sassi told BBC Sport.
There have, however, been previous instances of suit tampering.
In August last year, Norwegian Olympic medallists Johann Andre Forfang and Marius Lindvik accepted three-month suspensions for their roles in tampering with suits using reinforced thread during the 2025 World Ski Championships, BBC Sport reported.
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