After the suit scandal
Hannawald still angry: “I really have to pull myself together”
November 25, 2025 – 7:44 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The suit scandal made waves in ski jumping last season. Sven Hannwald is still angry – and finds clear words.
Sven Hannawald still hasn’t completely dealt with the suit scandal from the last ski jumping season. The two Norwegians Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang were at the center of the scandal over manipulated jumpsuits at the World Cup in their home country and got away with mild punishments. They were allowed to serve a three-month ban over the summer and Lindvik was allowed to keep his World Cup gold medal. They were allowed to start at the start of the new winter season last weekend.
Hannawald is annoyed by this, as he now admitted in an interview with the Sport 1 broadcaster: “It’s still a small problem because nothing has really changed in terms of punishment,” he said. “Nobody notices a punishment in the summer,” says Hannwald. “The fraud happened in the winter, so you have to impose the punishment in the winter,” demanded the 51-year-old. “In addition, Marius Lindvik is still the current world champion, which is a total blow to the knee for me. These are things that work inside me. Unfortunately, the hope that something will change is fading.”
His anger at Lindvik and Forfang is great: “When I see the two candidates at the jump, I really have to pull myself together. I have to admit that,” said Hannwald. What bothers him is that both jumpers still won’t admit that they knew about the fraud. “All I care about is that they just admit it and stand by it. Obviously they only stand by one thing: that they didn’t know anything. These are things that just upset me.”
In Hannwald’s eyes, Lindvik could restore his credibility by voluntarily returning his World Cup medal. “We all agree on that and unfortunately that’s how it is. Unfortunately, you can also tell from all the jumpers. They don’t really want to talk to the Norwegians,” said the 2002 Four Hills Tournament winner.
Hannwald is particularly upset that it is now the Norwegians who are denouncing other nations for alleged rule violations. “They need a basic wash so that they know where the front and the back are again. I really don’t know what’s going on with them, especially this stubbornness,” he said. The fact that they cheated last season was “embarrassing and sad for our sport,” said Hannawald. “The fact that they are now the first to complain again and claim that some nation is cheating is really the worst thing,” he made clear.