Five female skiers disqualified from Winter Olympics for ‘loose’ suits with bosses accused of ‘destroying’ competition
FIVE female ski jumpers have been disqualified from the Winter Olympics after officials deemed their suits to be too loose.
Norway’s Silje Opseth and Anna Odine Stroem, Japan’s Sara Takanashi, Austria’s Daniela Iraschko-Stolz and Germany’s Katharina Althaus were all removed from the mixed team ski jumping event on Monday.
This was because the International Ski Federation believed the size of their outfits would give them an unfair advantage on other competitors.
A statement acquired by People, which insists the suits were made specifically for the Games and so had not previously been tested, adds: “A test of the suits had been offered by the FIS competition management to all teams before the competitions. Only a few teams took this opportunity.
“The used suits that led to the disqualifications were too big and offered an aerodynamic advantage to the athlete.
“There was no official protest by a team against any of the disqualifications.”
Althaus told Reuters: “We were looking forward to the second competition at the Olympics.
“FIS destroyed that with this action — they destroyed women’s ski jumping.”
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Speaking to SID, she then went on to add: “I have been checked so many times in 11 years of ski jumping, and I have never been disqualified once. I know my suit was compliant.”
Opseth was also left dumbfounded by the decision, telling Fox News: “I think they checked it in a new way today compared to what they had done previously.
“I think it’s very strange that they would suddenly change how they do it in the middle of a tournament.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m really just shaken. I’m sorry that I was disqualified today.”
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And a raging Horst Huttel, Germany’s head of Nordic events, said: “This is a parody, but I am not laughing … It is outrageous that this happens with the four biggest ski-jump nations.”
The final of the mixed team ski jumping at the Winter Olympics went ahead on Monday as Slovenia claimed the gold medal.
The Russian Olympic Committee secured silver, with Canada taking bronze.