Following reports about penis-related tricks to gain longer reach in ski jumping, Horst Hüttel, the sports director of the German Ski Association (DSV), says there is a need for action. “I have no indications that anyone cheated. I still see a need to act in order to put this issue to rest,” the 57-year-old told the German press agency during the Winter Olympics in Italy. “At least theoretically, there is a possibility of manipulation.”
It concerns the rules of the International Ski Federation (FIS) for measuring athletes, which are crucial for determining the size of the jumping suits. Put simply: more fabric in the right place yields more lift. And in ski jumping, even the size of the penis becomes a factor.
Penis can be injected with hyaluronic acid
“The problem with all of this is: The current measurement is performed by a 3D scanner. The point at which the stride length is taken, however, is defined manually,” Hüttel said. “The lower the genital parts sit, the lower the stride in the athlete’s FIS table is reflected.”
During the Four Hills Tournament around the turn of the year, Bild reported that some athletes might have turned to hyaluronic acid to gain a few extra millimeters of fabric by swelling their penis before the measurement.
“Until this report, I hadn’t given it any thought,” Hüttelsaid. “We also spoke with our doctors afterward, very seriously. They said that a hyaluronic acid injection or other measures could indeed alter things.”
How could manipulation be prevented?
Hüttel sees two possible improvements to the measuring method. “Option one: either you measure the skeletal structures and then fix the stride length afterward,” Hüttel said. “Option two: you base the stride length on the athlete’s height.”
The former Nordic combined athlete explained: “In 98 percent of cases, the stride length corresponds to about 45 percent of body height. That would be simple and transparent, and in my view a solution worth pursuing further.” Hüttel added: “Then you would only need to measure height, which would also be workable for the lower-tier competition systems such as the Continental Cup or Alpine Cup.”
Hüttel also stated: “I would like to see in the spring, for the new Olympic cycle, a new approach found within the FIS committees.”
