Norway’s ski team suspends three staff members amid world championships cheating scandal

By George Ramsay, CNN

(CNN) — The Norwegian Ski Federation has suspended three members of staff amid a cheating scandal that has rocked the organization.

On Sunday, the federation said that the suits of two ski jumpers, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, had been manipulated ahead of the men’s large hill event at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim.

Both Lindvik, who had placed second, and Forfang were subsequently disqualified from the competition by global governing body FIS. Their suits were found to contain a reinforced thread, making them stiffer and therefore more aerodynamic.

The Norwegian federation announced on Monday that coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten have been suspended with immediate effect, while assistant coach Thomas Lobben was suspended on Tuesday.

“We take this matter very seriously and perceive that equipment has been deliberately manipulated in violation of FIS regulations to gain a competitive advantage,” Stine Korsen, the head of the federation’s ski jumping committee, said in a press release.

Brevik, Livelten and Lobben have all accepted their suspensions, the federation said.

“We regret it deeply. I feel terribly sorry that this happened,” Brevik told reporters on Monday. “I have nothing else to say except that perhaps we got carried away inside our world championship bubble, crossed the line completely – and we apologize for that.”

Livelten, meanwhile, apologized for his actions and said that it was a decision he would “regret for the rest of my life.” The federation explained in a statement on Tuesday that Lobben admitted to being involved in manipulating the suits.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, head of jumping Jan-Erik Aalbu admitted that the manipulation of the suits amounted to cheating.

“The support system has explained that, on Friday, they chose to put a reinforced thread in the jumpsuit of Forfang and Lindvik,” Aalbu said. “This was done knowing that this is not within the regulations, but with a belief that it would not be discovered by FIS’ equipment controller.

“The way I consider this, we have cheated. We have tried to cheat the system. That is unacceptable.”

Aalbu also said that the athletes had only used the manipulated suits for the men’s large hill event and not for any other competition at the world championships.

In posts on social media, both Lindvik and Forfang said that they did not know their suits had been manipulated for the individual large hill competition.

Writing on his Instagram Stories, Forfang said that he was “beyond devastated” to have been disqualified, adding: “These World Championships were supposed to be a week of dreams, but instead, they ended in tragedy.

“It is important for me to emphasize that I was never aware that my suit had been manipulated. I have always had great trust in the staff, who have worked tirelessly to develop competitive equipment. But this time, a clear line was crossed … This is a heartbreaking situation not just for me, but everyone who loves our sport.”

Lindvik called the situation a “nightmare” and said that he felt “broken and sad,” writing on an Instagram Story: “I did not know that my suit was being manipulated and I would never ha(ve) used it if I knew. It’s hard for me to put words on what I feel right now.”

The 26-year-old Lindvik, an Olympic gold medalist, had initially won a silver in the large hill competition before being disqualified. He also won golds in the normal hill and mixed team large hill competitions at the world championships, with both of those results standing.

FIS said that both athletes were disqualified after an inspection of their jumping suits found them to be “not in compliance with the equipment rules.” It has also opened an investigation into the matter.

“The only thing that matters for FIS is to leave this process 100% convinced that the sport is free from any form of manipulation,” secretary general Michel Vion said on Tuesday. “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that respect and fairness prevail – in this specific case and across our entire ecosystem.

“This means … reviewing the entire process and, if the conclusion is that there should be drastic changes to the equipment regulations, this is what we will do.”

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CNN’s Henrik Petterson and Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou contributed to reporting.