The World Anti-Doping Agency may investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers have injected their penises to enhance performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild reported that jump rope athletes had their penises injected with hyaluronic acid before being measured for suit sizes.
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Hyaluronic acid is not prohibited during exercise and can be used to increase penis girth by one to two centimeters.
This will increase the surface area of ​​their ski suit during competition, which, according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, can increase their ability to fly in the air.
“Every centimeter added to a suit counts. If you increase the surface area of ​​your suit by 5%, you can go further,” said Sandro Pertile, FIS men’s ski jumping competition director.
Asked about Bild’s claims at a press conference at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Olivier Nigli, director-general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said: “I don’t know the details of the ski jumping or how it would improve performance.
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“If anything comes to light we will look at it and see if it is related to doping. We will not address other issues [non-doping] means to improve performance. “
Clearly interested in the issue, Witold Banka, WADA’s Polish president, joked: “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland, so I promise you I will go and see it.”
“There has never been any suggestion, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever used hyaluronic acid injections to try to gain a competitive advantage,” FIS communications director Bruno Sassi told BBC Sport.
Before the start of each season, ski jumpers are measured using a 3D body scanner, in which they must wear only “elastic tights.”
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The rules state that their suits must have a tolerance of only 2-4cm, and their crotch height is also measured as part of the measuring process.
The crotch height of the clothing must match the crotch height of the athlete. Men need to add 3 cm.
Hyaluronic acid injected into the penis can last up to 18 months.
There have been previous attempts to improve performance by manipulating suits.
In August, Norwegian Olympic medalists Marius Lindwijk and Johann-Andre Forfang received three-month bans for tampering with their ski suits during the men’s big mountain race at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, in March.
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Although it was later discovered that the athletes themselves were unaware of the tampering, the FIS said their team “attempted to cheat the system” by adding reinforcement threads to the jumpsuits.
Both athletes will compete in the Winter Olympics, which officially opens on Friday.
The men’s ski jumping competition begins on Monday.
BBC Sport has contacted the FIS for comment.
