Ski jumping coaches banned weeks before Winter Olympics amid suit scandal

Three Norwegian ski jumping officials have been handed 18-month bans, resolving a scandal over manipulated suits that had tarnished Norway’s reputation and its hosting of the Nordic ski world championships last March.

Head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben, and staff member Adrian Livelten were suspended for the period requested by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which announced the verdicts on Thursday.

This follows three-month bans accepted by Olympic gold medallists Johann André Forfang and Marius Lindvik in August, who have since returned to World Cup competitions ahead of next month’s Milan Cortina Winter Games.

An independent panel judging the team officials affirmed the appropriateness of the sanctions sought by the FIS.

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The three judges, led by sports law pioneer Michael Beloff, stated: "The panel’s starting point is that cheating of any kind is inherently antithetical to sport and its values."

The manipulation, involving the restitching of suits to increase their size and allow athletes to fly further, was captured on secretly filmed footage and published by media during the Trondheim world championships.

These alterations, which circumvented pre-approval regulations, could only be confirmed by tearing apart the crotch seams of the Norwegian team suits.

Lindvik and Forfang were disqualified from the men’s large hill event in Trondheim after placing second and fourth respectively.

However, Lindvik retained his normal hill title won days earlier, and both athletes kept their bronze medals from the team event.

In Trondheim, Brevik and Livelten quickly admitted their guilt, insisting the cheating took place only before the large hill event. The bans were backdated to the time of the world championships and will expire in September.

The verdicts have been handed down just weeks before the Winter Olympics in Italy get underway, with the global event due to run for 16 days from February 6-22.