Controversy in the Winter Olympics: Exclusion of 5 Competitors Due to Their Suits

The ski jumping competitions at the 2026 Winter Olympics have sparked widespread controversy after the exclusion of five competitors due to violations of the International Ski Federation's rules regarding jumping suits.

Strict Suit Regulations

The regulations require that jumping suits be made from specific materials and that the fabric does not exceed an increase of 2 to 4 centimeters from the body to ensure that the athlete does not gain any aerodynamic advantage. In the current games, the committee used 3D scanning devices to ensure compliance with these rules.

The Disqualified Competitors

The names of the disqualified competitors included:
The German Katarina Althaus
The Norwegians Silje Opseth and Anna Odine Stroem
The Japanese Sara Takanashi
The Austrian Daniela Iraschko-Stolz
Points for Althaus, Iraschko-Stolz, and Takanashi were deducted from the opening round, while Opseth and Odine Stroem's points were canceled in the final, leading to Norway's elimination from the team medal competition.

Reactions

Althaus publicly expressed her dissatisfaction, describing the decision as "destroying women's ski jumping," while Opseth called the decision "very strange" and apologized to the audience.

The International Federation confirmed that the suits that led to the exclusion provided an aerodynamic advantage and that no formal protest had been submitted by the participating teams.
The decision significantly affected the teams' chances of competing, especially Norway, which was close to winning the gold medal had it not been for the exclusion of its athletes.