#trondheim 2025

[lewanarta]

Nika and Domen Prevc - the first siblings who became ski jumping World Champions at the same event 🌟🌟

[mackenskibc]

Norwegian suit scandal and probably the most detailed article about everything translated from Polish, enjoy:

«Equipment Controller Christian Kathol Tried to Discredit the Video Exposing the Norwegians Altering Their Suits, Saying That "Nothing Illegal Can Be Seen There." Really?

In this article, we show the reason why Marius Lindvik was disqualified due to his suit after the large hill competition at the World Championships in Trondheim. We also publish a previously unavailable photo and footage that ultimately confirm that the altered suits contained chips—chips that the International Ski Federation (FIS) implemented this season to prevent cheating in ski jumping.

"The sound of sewing machines could be heard from many rooms in this hotel," we were told recently about the Scandic Lerkendal in Trondheim, the place where the Norwegian team stayed during the World Championships. Already at the beginning of winter, during the November competition in Lillehammer, I overheard a conversation at the reception involving a staff member from one of the national teams about renting extra rooms for suit alterations—a story I reported on at the time. Back then, I didn’t suspect that just over four months later, I would be publishing a video from one of those very locations—curtained off and hidden from the world like a crime scene.

At First, the Coaches Lacked the Guts. Then They Showed They Had Them the Size of Watermelons

The first sign that something major might unfold at these World Championships came after the normal hill competition. I reported on Sport.pl about the possibility of a rebellion among the top teams' coaches due to the fact that "some nations can do whatever they want." However, in the end, no rebellion took place. At that time, the Germans and Norwegians were already being pointed out, but the coaches "lacked the guts" to file protests and take the issue further. The situation calmed down. Tensions subsided. Until Friday.

That’s when I first received information about the possible duplication of the chips that FIS introduced to ensure fair competition among athletes. I described how they work in this article. In short, their goal was to reduce the number of suits produced, give officials insight into which suits each team was using by storing them in a central database, and level the playing field—helping smaller teams compete against wealthier ones. Athletes were allowed to use up to ten suits throughout the winter. Nine—two of them new—were available for the World Championships. A tenth could be added for the final period of the World Cup

The chip-tagging—sealing a suit with seven chips in different locations—was carried out by FIS equipment controller Christian Kathol. He had to measure certain parameters before approving and registering the suit in the system. After this, no modifications could be made—no major parts could be replaced, and the chip could not be removed. Any tampering would deactivate the chip, and significant suit alterations would be detectable by FIS controllers.

However, the video we published before the large hill competition in Trondheim casts doubt on the system’s effectiveness. It brought the issue to public attention and put pressure on FIS, along with protests that emerged before and during the competition. Everyone who protested and exerted pressure had the guts—guts the size of watermelons.

This Is How FIS Tried to Sweep the Scandal Under the Rug. Everything Came to Light

Let’s establish the timeline. The teams had known about the problem for a long time. Thomas Thurnbichler stated that "week after week," they showed FIS photos proving that the Norwegians were altering their suits with stiffening material inside. FIS did nothing. The first formal protest was filed even before the competition. Officials held a meeting to discuss the issue and presented evidence—videos I later published, and perhaps even more

The goal was not only to prevent the Norwegians from competing but also their American and Estonian allies. Teams were also convinced that previous competition results at the World Championships should be analyzed, along with potential irregularities in Nordic combined events. However, these actions did not bring the desired outcome. FIS wanted to sweep everything under the rug. A suit inspection was conducted, but it found no irregularities.

At this point, we released the videos. And the teams did not let go. Austria, Slovenia, and Poland protested, demanding the disqualification of all Norwegian athletes before a single jump was even recorded. This led to another inspection after the first round. Again, nothing was found. Meanwhile, Germany formally demanded an explanation from FIS via a written protest.

The disqualifications of Marius Lindvik—who lost his silver medal—and Johann Andre Forfang only came after the competition when their suits were opened. There, as the Norwegians admitted, an "overly inelastic element in the crotch area" was found. It was a string that could be adjusted to pull the suit material downward, widening the stance.

Thomas Thurnbichler claims that this works like a wing, and together with Polish equipment expert Mathias Hafele, he argues that this kind of cheating is not much different from conventional doping.

Christian Kathol Dismissed the Evidence. But There Was a String in the Footage

In his initial statements to television crews gathered at Granasen—after qualifications but before the large hill World Championship event—Christian Kathol insisted that the suits were fine and that the published videos showed nothing suspicious.

Well, according to Sport.pl, the string that caused the entire controversy is indeed visible in the footage. It can be seen in the screenshot below.

This contradicts Kathol’s claims and suggests that the videos reveal more than many initially thought. And what if the videos are just the beginning?

If They Manipulated the String, What About the Chips? We Explain and Publish New Evidence

Before the competition, I only released the videos. Many viewers claimed that they did not prove chip duplication, even though I hinted at it in my post. They argued that the chips were not visible. Well, perhaps they were not perfectly visible, but they were there. Below, you can see them, although an untrained eye might struggle to recognize them.

But don’t worry—the videos are not all we have.

There is also a photograph where the chip on one of the altered suits is clearly visible. Moreover, we have confirmed that it bears the marking used by Christian Kathol for chip-tagging suits: "WM2." The black lettering around the chip indicates that it was the second suit approved for these World Championships.

We are publishing this photo here for the first time.

Thurnbichler Asks: "How Is This Possible?"

I am not the author of the videos or the above photograph, which I recently published on social media and Sport.pl. However, I obtained them and decided to release them. The photo reached me indirectly—not from the person who recorded the videos.

The head of German ski jumping, Horst Huettel, has already confirmed that the evidence shown to him by the Austrian Ski Federation likely came from someone within their organization. The Austrians were staying at the same hotel in Trondheim as the Norwegians. However, I don’t know exactly who recorded it.

For Norwegian media, one of the key questions is: Who secretly filmed the Norwegians? Well, good luck to them in finding out. My priorities lie elsewhere.

Primarily, the issue of the chips and possible duplication needs to be clarified. The protest regarding chip concerns was rejected—true. But that was because the video does not explicitly show chip duplication. Therefore, it cannot be proven

The footage, however, suggests the possible effects of chip duplication—because without tampering, alterations would have been impossible. Chips were placed on new material, and the suits in the footage do not appear to have been inspected by the controller. "How is this possible?" asks Thomas Thurnbichler.

We don’t have an answer yet. But we must find one.

What’s Next for the Norwegians?

Will the only consequences be disqualifications? Some suggest longer bans for Norwegian athletes, officials, or coaches. The coming days may be crucial in determining whether FIS will take further action—and how and when it will announce it.

Ski jumping has never faced such a crisis. The Norwegians cheated everyone, casting doubt on the credibility of the entire sport. What they did is disgraceful. And looking at what might unfold next, it’s possible that the entire future of ski jumping is about to be dragged into the mud.»

The mentioned pictures:

EDIT AS OF SUNDAY 4PM: “The Norwegian federation's sports director Jan-Erik Aalbu admits at a conference in Trondheim that the Norwegians cheated on purpose, but he personally did not know about it. "We manipulated the uniforms on purpose, sewing stronger string into them" @Eurosport_PL “ here, it is all confirmed now

All credits to Jakub Balcerski @ sport.pl, the original article: https://www.sport.pl/skoki/7,65074,31753152,tak-fis-chcial-ukryc-oszustwa-norwegow-tego-zdjecia-jeszcze.html

[world-of-stone]

I mean, even apart from the suit scandal I'd have classed these championships as eventful: contrary to what most probably expected beforehand, the Austrians didn't get a single gold medal, we had diverse and varied podiums, different nations winning, some unexpected winners (Domen, what the hell?!?!) - there really was no need for this to make us remember Trondheim 2025.

[crusheddstars]

very glad that we finally got a statement from one of the norwegian athletes. but how come there is still no statement from fis on the situation???

i truly hope that they really did not know of the suits being manipulated.

[stolligaseptember]

i wasn't even able to watch the relay but i'm still crying............

[ifindus]

What do you think of Snedi (the mascot)?

Honestly could have been a lot worse!

I like the concept of combining a snowman with a bird, though I would have preferred fewer colours or maybe a clearer rainbow with the feathers.

The name is also fun because "sne" is another way to spell "snow", and "snedig/snedi" is a dialect word that means either "weird" or "convenient/useful" depending on the context.

[in-spain-without-an-s]

Like I’ve not been part of skijumpingblr since 2022 or so but

DOMEN PREVC WORLD CHAMPION ?????

LFG 😭😭😭

[lysgaardsbakken]

i can't believe Robert didn't jump in team comp