Skiing's regulatory body slams viral Olympic ski jump rumor - ESPN

PREDAZZO, Italy — The regulatory body for skiing on Friday dismissed as a «wild rumor» reports that ski jumpers are enhancing their groin area to gain distance as the Winter Olympics begins.

A report by the German tabloid Bild last month suggested some ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid in their genitals or wearing a condom-like sheath before undergoing rigorous checks on ski-suit sizing. The newspaper said the manipulation would justify wearing a larger ski jump suit that could provide more lift and a longer flight to capture medals.

The report gained international attention this week after World Anti-Doping officials, in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics, suggested they were ready to investigate the matter, if it was doping related.

However, the international ski federation, FIS — the governing body for ski jumping — on Friday rejected the claims made in the report.

«This wild rumor started off a few weeks ago from pure hearsay,» FIS spokesman Bruno Sassi told The Associated Press. «There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage.»

The Bild report went largely unnoticed internationally until World Anti-Doping Agency Director General Olivier Niggli was asked about it in Milan on Thursday.

«If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at anything and if it is doping related. We don't do other means of enhancing performance,» Niggli told reporters.

The suggestion of such manipulation quickly became a media sensation with some reports offering medical experts weighing in on the wisdom of injecting the acid naturally created in the body that lubricates joints and is used in moisturizing