BEIJING, China — The International Ski Federation (FIS) has come under fire after five jumpers were disqualified during the Olympic debut of the mixed team competition, with one athlete saying the organization “destroyed” women’s ski jumping.
FIS said the disqualified athletes’ jumpsuits were too big and offered an aerodynamic advantage.
German silver medalist Katharina Althaus and Japanese star Sara Takanashi were among the five women whose suits violated rules in the Olympic debut of an event that featured two women and two men on each team.
“We were looking forward to the second competition at the Olympics. FIS destroyed that with this action — they destroyed women’s ski jumping,” Althaus said after she was disqualified.
FIS says no one filed an official protest after the jumpsuits were inspected during the competition, but the athletes and their teams have been criticizing the sport’s governing body ever since.
Norway had two jumpers, Silje Opseth and Anna Odine Stroem, with jumpsuits that didn’t pass inspection. Austria’s Daniela Iraschko Stolz was also disqualified.
Opseth was in tears as she told reporters the suit that was deemed too big was the same one she wore in Saturday’s competition without any problem from the judges, according to Reuters.
FIS says the suits that violated rules were produced exclusively for the Olympics and were not tested in advance, an opportunity that just a few nations took advantage of before arriving in Beijing.
Norwegian team official Clas Brede Braathen said the issue should have been worked out before the Olympics, Reuters reported.
“The sport of ski jumping has experienced one of its darker days,” he told reporters.
The disqualifications directly impacted four nations that had been expected to contend for medals. As a result, Slovenia won gold while Russia and Canada earned silver and bronze.