The scandal about manipulated suits of the Norwegian ski jumper raises many questions. Ski jumping expert Sven Hannawald calls for consequences in the SWR interview “Rigorose”.
Anonymously filmed and published videos have been causing great excitement in ski jumping since Saturday. The pictures show how the Norwegian team in the presence of head coach Magnus Brevig processes the competition suits in an inadmissible way. Sports director Jan Erik Aalbu admitted on Sunday at a press conference that the association knowingly cheated on two suits. Aalbu himself asserted, personally – as well as the jumpers – not knowing about it.
ARD ski jumping expert Sven Hannawald classifies the situation in an interview with the SWR and demands extensive consequences.
SWR: What exactly have the Norwegians changed about the suits?
Sven Hannawald: It looks as if a round wire – or something made of plastic – was sewn into the seam that stiffens the suit. I believe that it goes in the direction of influencing the step – especially before the measurement, so that at the end you get through the measurement, but at the end of the day in the air of this step is so influenced that you can jump another technology. That annoys me rigorously, and I hope that there is now the possibility to roll up certain things. If you go down again, then good night at six.
Is that comparable to doping or how does this boot differ on a suit?
We have to differentiate between physical and material doping. But we don’t speak of cheating here, but of clear fraud. That is why we need a clear sign. For me, this means that you all throw everyone out completely. If that doesn’t happen, other nations will come in a few years and cheat again. And I don’t know if that comes out then. It always has to do with chance whether we have the opportunity to uncover such a scandal.
In this case, the Norwegian sports director, Jan Erik Aalbu, said in the interview that the video was suits that were prepared for the next World Cups in Oslo and Vikersund. Just because it was seen on the video that this suit had a chip – and a new suit does not have a chip – everything flew around your ears.
This is not the first time that such manipulations take place on the equipment in ski jumping. Who controls this?
Little things always take place with us. As in every sport, you can see: What would it affect positively and what is not in the rules? That’s why the inspectors are always behind because you always come up with new ideas. But I have the feeling that there is a blindness that certain things are ignored. It could have been prevented if the FIS had kept keeping up their eyes.
Isn’t there these chips that you have already mentioned?
You tried to get a certain order through the chips – also in terms of the number of suits. In recent years it has been the case that good nations had jumped partly 40 to 50 suits. The approach is good, but you can now see that you can also fake and exchange the chips. It is of course questionable that there are nations that go such a way. That’s sad. But in the end this means for the FIS not to rest on the chips just because you think you have something new now.
The Norwegians said that only individuals – and not all suits – were manipulated …
This is again a greater nonsense than what I heard on Saturday. If I now read from the Norwegian Johann André Forfang that he knew nothing – I could turn back on my chopping in the circles until it smoke. I just can’t understand how you can really be so brazen to lie to all of us. Starting from the sports director who tells us that it is some suits and forgets that you can see chips and all sorts of things that “World Cup Trondheim” is on. And now comes the mockery of Forfang, which says very remoriously: ‘I didn’t know anything about.’
As a jumper, you know how a suit feels. If the stiffer is, you notice that. He knew about it 100 %. This sets the whole fraud in the audacity again.
Sven Hannawald to Johann André Forfang, who claims to have known nothing of the manipulation.
How will that develop now?
In my eyes there are only two clear consequences: heads have to roll – whether this is the sports director or Norway coach Magnus Brevig. And then it is crucial about which placements have been achieved. Now everyone is crying around and saying: ‘These were just the suits with which the big hill was jumped. Before that, the suits were all compliant. ‘
Under no circumstances. We cannot prove it, but the suspicion is very obvious that these suits were also used in other competitions and across sports. Men like women, combination and ski jump. You have to think about whether you really rigorously set a complete sign that you all throw out. Everyone who has reached medals all completely consistently away. Only through this step can you learn that this makes no sense. Otherwise others will come on and continue. We need a clear sign.
And as far as the controls are concerned: we have to get this human constant out of the controls. Similar to the 3D scanner, which measures the body size and then creates numbers and facts. We also need this scanner at the top of the start, which can also measure the suit in such a way that this human constant, which can be influenced, is removed. The computer also gives a red sign of one millimeter if it is too far.
First personnel consequences
On Monday afternoon (March 10th) the Norwegian association drew the first personnel consequences and suspended coach Magnus Brevig and the employee who was also involved.
Is it realistic that athletes are revoked medals?
I don’t know if you can do it that way. But the statement has to be set – by the FIS and not by anyone. If it is not that feasible afterwards, then I wouldn’t care. But you have to set the sign that the FIS is behind the nations that have been cheated and are not on the side that cheated.
Broadcast on Monday, 10.3.2025 3:00 p.m., SWR currently in the afternoon, SWR Current
