Ex-ski jumper reveals fraud
“It’s important that you tape your penis down”
Updated on January 16, 2026 – 1:04 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
In the past there have been repeated attempts at cheating in ski jumping. Now the statements of an Olympic athlete are causing even more controversy.
Mika Vermeulen knows exactly what he is talking about. From December 2013 to 2018, the multiple junior world champion competed in Nordic combined and ski jumping – and now told the Norwegian podcast “Skirious Problems” how cheating occurs in ski jumping, especially in the intimate area.
“People cheated all the time. They stuffed tons of plasticine in their underwear to get a bigger step,” said the 26-year-old. The advantage is clear: If the crotch is larger, there is more material and therefore a larger carrying surface.
The fact that people cheat is an open secret. “The first time I was supposed to take measurements, the older and more experienced jumpers came to me and said: ‘It’s very important that you tape your penis down because it will make your inseam one or two centimeters lower,'” the Austrian recalls. However, he restricted the fact that these are athletes who are not currently active in the World Cup.
But when it comes to topicality, the Olympic participant went one step further: “I can say this with 100 percent certainty: everyone who is disqualified in ski jumping and Nordic combined is deliberately cheating. And they justify it simply by saying: ‘Yes, yes, but everyone else does it too.'” Vermeulen himself switched completely to cross-country skiing for the 2018/19 season. According to him, people follow the rules there.
“But in ski jumping you prefer to consciously take a risk or move right to the edge of the limit and think that it will definitely go wrong at some point, but that it’s still completely okay,” he raged and called for even harsher punishments.
The requirements have already been tightened and the controls stricter, but that is not enough. After two violations, jumpers will be banned for two competitions. “I’m not saying everyone cheats. I’m just saying that when cheating isn’t severely punished, you create a bad culture. And that’s a dangerous culture. You create a culture where it’s OK to look for loopholes.”
