Two Olympic champions have agreed to a three-month suspension following a controversy involving the tampering of ski jump suits for the Norwegian men’s team during this year’s world championships. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced on Saturday that Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang from Norway have consented to the penalties recommended by the federation’s ethics committee.
FIS clarified that Lindvik and Forfang, who were temporarily suspended in March, were not directly involved in the suit manipulations but should have been more vigilant and inquired about the modifications. The duration of the ban, with credit for the provisional suspension period already served, allows both athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics scheduled in northern Italy in February.
The Norwegian ski jumping team faced scrutiny at their home Nordic world championships for altering suits to potentially enhance aerodynamic performance and enable athletes to jump further distances. Although Lindvik and Forfang denied any misconduct, the team’s head coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten admitted to making alterations solely before the men’s large hill event.
In response to the scandal, an ethics investigation was initiated by the federation in August involving the prominent ski jumpers, two coaches, and a support staff member from Norway’s men’s ski jumping squad. The unauthorized adjustments to the suits, which were pre-approved and equipped with microchips by FIS, were captured on hidden camera footage and could only be confirmed by dissecting the seams in the crotch area of the Norwegian suits.
The revelation prompted official complaints from the ski teams of Austria, Slovenia, and Poland. Lindvik was poised to defend his Olympic crown in the men’s large hill competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, while Forfang previously secured team gold and individual silver on the large hill and normal hill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.