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The Bizarre Enhancement Claims Rocking Ski Jumping (nytimes.com) 95

German newspaper Bild reported in January that some ski jumpers have been injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics -- the theory being that temporarily enlarged genitalia would yield looser-fitting suits when measured by 3D scanners, and those looser suits could act like sails to produce longer jumps.

A study published last October in the scientific journal Frontiers found that a 2cm suit change translated to an extra 5.8 metres in jump distance. No specific athletes have been accused. The World Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday it would investigate if presented with evidence, noting its powers extend to banning practices that violate the "spirit of sport." The claims arrive as ski jumping already faces scrutiny -- two Norwegian coaches and an equipment manager received 18-month bans in January for illegally manipulating suit stitching.
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The Bizarre Enhancement Claims Rocking Ski Jumping

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  • by kwelch007 ( 197081 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:40AM (#65972842)

    Uhuh. That's what I'd say too.

  • Come on. (Score:5, Funny)

    by greytree ( 7124971 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:45AM (#65972854)
    Come on now. Who amongst us can honestly say they haven't injected acid into their penis for performance gains ?

    .

    Hello ?

    .

    Just me ?
  • That we've reached peak peak.
  • by Heathren-bert ( 671356 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:47AM (#65972872) Journal
    Oh my!
  • DEEZ COLD NUTZ
  • do they piss green? and what does the drug test show?

    • by kellin ( 28417 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @03:10PM (#65973316)

      Hyaluronic acid is added to creams and certain supplements because it helps with moisturizing of skin and lubrication of joints as well as reduction in wrinkles, which means it can "make things bigger"

      It's produced by the body. The only way I can figure for testing purposes is if there's some baseline determined for normal body amounts and if someone tests for above that amount. I'm sure arguments could be made against the usefulness of such tests.

      • It's produced by the body. The only way I can figure for testing purposes is if there's some baseline determined for normal body amounts and if someone tests for above that amount. I'm sure arguments could be made against the usefulness of such tests.

        This is literally how many of the banned drugs are tested for at the Olympics. There's a long list of "drugs" that are actually just things our body produces naturally, such as testosterone or hormones. They are tested for and compared against a baseline.

  • by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:51AM (#65972888) Journal

    When the entire thing turns out to be 'shrinkage'

    i bet they are at a nice comfortable room temperature when scanned, and things get a little smaller when they are outdoors in winter flying thru the air..

  • Obviously (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:52AM (#65972890) Journal

    The answer to all these uniform issues is just have the Olympics return to form.

    Have everyone compete nude.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I think the source is a tabloid newspaper, not known for being accurate, and sorry to ruin the fun but it doesn't quite add up. If a looser fitting outfit was an advantage, people would just buy a looser fitting outfit. Also, stuff being loose and flapping about doesn't tend to improve aerodynamics or flight capability, quite the opposite in fact.

      • I wonder if there's a translation issue, because more-inside ought to translate to a tighter suit, not a looser suit. Perhaps they mean doing this enlarges the suit?

        • I wonder if there's a translation issue,

          No. The article is correct. Imagine if competitors could wear anything -- they would wear something like a wingsuit.

          • Then as AmiMojo says, why don't they?

            And again, more inside = tighter. Nothing about this adds up.

            • Then as AmiMojo says, why don't they?

              Because the rules don't allow it. They specify that the suits must be tight against the skin, or something like that. Temporarily enlarging a body part is a workaround of the roles.

              • Then as AmiMojo says, why don't they?

                Because the rules don't allow it. They specify that the suits must be tight against the skin, or something like that. Temporarily enlarging a body part is a workaround of the roles.

                * male athlete brings porn fluffer to suit fitting *

                Oh, so nature is against the rules now?

            • Re: Obviously (Score:5, Informative)

              by Ogive17 ( 691899 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @12:37PM (#65973038)
              I will start out my comment stating that I do not know the suit regulations for ski jump.

              From what I have read, each athlete must go through a scanning process that proves allowable dimensions for their custom fit suit. In ski jumping, the goal is to maximize your surface area for the best glide. Having a larger suit could help with that.

              If I could temporarily make my body larger to allow for more material in the suit, it's possible that could provide an advantage one the body returned to normal size.
            • by unrtst ( 777550 )

              (from a LLM result) Olympic ski jump suit rules for 2026 mandate strict, tight-fitting, and air-permeable microfiber uniforms, often measured within a 2-4 cm tolerance of the body via 3D scanning to prevent excess lift. Suits must be 4mm-6mm thick, with specialized controls for 2026 to prevent illegal,, "Crotchgate" style modifications, such as lowering the crotch to increase aerodynamic surface area.

              See also: https://www.olympics.com/en/mi... [olympics.com]

              TBH, there are so many over-specified details that I'd question t

          • Hang about. If the rules are that you must have a close-fitting suit and a wingsuit would be an advantage, surely the fix is to have skin grafts giving you flying-squirrel type webs of skin? The suit would fit closely over your aerodynamically enhanced body and you would swoop to victory!

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Maybe, but could that really make any measurable difference to flight performance? If anything you would think that the protrusion would compromise the aero, not enhance it. Planes are smooth for a reason - they have been trying to reduce the bumps from bolts and riveting for over a century now, to the point where modern aircraft are made of layers of carbon fibre and adhesive.

          • The claim is that the increase in lift provides more benefit than the increase in drag takes away. If they are keeping their legs close together in the part where drag is a detriment (while accelerating) and then spreading out while in the air then this makes sense, and in fact that's what they do normally.

          • It makes more sense when you think about how they angle their bodies when jumping - stiff, leaning very far forward, skis parallel to the body, effectively becoming one big wing. Well, lifting body I suppose. Extending the wing even a little bit can have a noticeable effect. Watch a video and you'll see why it works right away.
          • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

            It's not the protrusion. A couple of ski jumpers previously got in trouble for lowering their crotches. The extra fabric provides more lifting area. Because of that, the rules say the suit crotch has to be within a few cm of your actual crotch. If you make something bigger in that area when they're measuring, that gets you a little extra material in the suit. The stuff wears off after a few months, your built in equipment goes back to normal size, but your suit has a little extra fabric that can fill in a b

        • Re:Obviously (Score:4, Insightful)

          by PPH ( 736903 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @12:25PM (#65972996)

          ought to translate to a tighter suit,

          I suspect that measurements are made in an "inflated" state, which is only temporary. Then, after the application of what seem to be rather stringent rules[1], the suits are looser when actually worn. Worn in cold weather, I might add, with its concomitant shrinkage effects. A certain amount of material is allocated, based on body size. But that can be redistributed to a certain extent.

          [1] Undoubtedly an attempt to prevent some form of wingsuit [wikipedia.org] uniforms.

        • Looks like the... 'enhancement' was performed before they were fitted for their suit. So, when they put it on later, there's a little more room.
      • If a looser fitting outfit was an advantage, people would just buy a looser fitting outfit.

        The rules prohibit loose fitting outfits. If they allowed them, all the competitors would wear wingsuits.

          More surface area means more lift and longer "jumps".

      • Re: Obviously (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Baloroth ( 2370816 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @12:40PM (#65973044)
        They can't just buy a looser fitting outfit, the outfits are regulated by the Olympic comittee. And according to the scientific study mentioned in the summary (you did read that, right?) the more fabric in the suit, the farther jumpers go. So, anything that adds material to the suit could (theoretically) provide an advantage. Are they actually doing this? Maybe. Olympic level athletes have been known to do some pretty insane things for even the tiniest advantage. I have no doubt some would try this if it provided an advantage (maybe even if they only thought it provided an advantage).
        • Re: Obviously (Score:4, Insightful)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @12:52PM (#65973058) Homepage Journal

          If it's as simple as the amount of material affects performance, then it seems logical that they should specify standard sizes and either everyone uses the same (with padding) or they have divisions and a few fixed sizes.

          A lot of sports have similar problems now. The margins are so small at the top levels, it becomes extremely difficult to make them fair. Like the amount of effort they put into making sure the sound from the starting gun in a sprint reaches the ears of every competitor at the same time.

          • Clearly the solution is to make all the jumpers wear the mascot suit for the year's event. Consistent and a marketing opportunity!

        • by keltor ( 99721 ) *
          They use 3d scanning to confirm the suits are "right sized" and yes it's sports for minor physical characteristics can have performance enhancements.

          Having bigger shoulders in luge makes a performance difference. Having bigger cakes in skeleton has a performance difference. In women's sprint events, there's a performance difference for having bigger cakes as well.
      • by Malc ( 1751 )

        It's not about it being a looser fit, but just being a bit larger and thus generating more lift. I think the Guardian picked up more details, although still somewhat brief: https://www.theguardian.com/sp... [theguardian.com]

        As for looseness - who said anything about that? A batwing suit is pretty loose until it's put in to action, why would this be any different?

    • by pavon ( 30274 )

      Oh dear god. Now I am visualizing competitors finding ways to make their skin floppy in places so it parachutes out like a flying squirrel. Are you happy now?

    • Watching a bunch of white men naked in the snow would be depressing, to say the least (shrinkage).
    • Plus, if even that teeny bit of loosely flapping material measurably helps, maybe women would get closer to mens' performance?

      Feels like a win-win.
      I guarantee the Olympics would get much, much better viewer numbers across all events.

    • Nude ski jumping?
    • Body paint for amusement.

    • Have everyone compete nude.

      This may be a bit difficult in the *winter* Olympics... It's supposed to be 0 to -7 tomorrow.

    • The answer to all these uniform issues is just have the Olympics return to form.

      Have everyone compete nude.

      Talk about giving three-point landing a new meaning.

      God forbid he sticks it.

  • by weirdow ( 9298 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @11:53AM (#65972896) Homepage
    Nude Ski Jumping !
    • by JBMcB ( 73720 )
      Some ski areas have bathing suit days for charity. You do as many runs as you can in your bathing suit, each run gets a donation. There are a few hot tubs at the bottom of the hill to warm up. Of course, when falling at those speeds the snow won't sandpaper your skin off like a ski jump would :)
  • I would have been great in ski jumping.

  • https://www.nytimes.com/athlet... [nytimes.com]

    "professional" and "amateur" sports are just stupid.

    • All sport should be professional. It's not fair to reserve it for those who can afford it
      • You are so wrong: "All sport should be professional" . Ted Williams had a line about sports-fishing-tournaments. 'I don't care some much what they do to fish, but what they (payouts) do to fishermen.' As a long-time catch and release fly fisherman I agree.

        I might add that achieving "fairness" among the incompetent requires  both financial bankrupting and tyrannous government. Putting lipstick on a pig does not improve the pigs appearance and likely gives injury to the applier.
  • Rather than injecting chemicals into your dick, which sounds a bit extreme, couldn't they just do a "Spinal Tap" and shove a foil-wrapped pickle down there?

    Do Olympic officials actually inspect your junk before/after ski jumps ?

    • This is during the fitting session for the suits, not in the course of the actual competition.

      And yes, they do some kind of a 3d scan with the competitor standing in his underwear with a "medical professional" in attendance while this is underway.

      So the pickle won't work.

  • ...sold out of Hyaluronic Acid. Recommended dose? Asking for a friend.

  • Using this logic Ron Jeremy would have been a world class ski jumper in his day. Such a waste of talent...
  • Wow, truly creative - perhaps this aspect could be spun off into it's own sport as ski-jumping is stupid, unnecessary and boring - it's at the anti-sweet spot of sport.

  • Ski jumpers cheating by looking at porn before being scanned for their suit.

  • by TwistedGreen ( 80055 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @01:34PM (#65973134)

    By that logic all these ski jumpers should just get castrated if they were really serious

  • by zawarski ( 1381571 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @01:44PM (#65973148)
    To be uncircumcised.
  • I didn't complain when you wanted to shrink your junk for my amusement (steroids) and I'm not going to complain if you want to pop your junk like a balloon for my amusement....

  • I don't think, "My penis makes me more aerodynamic." is the brag they think it is.

  • Not fair (Score:4, Funny)

    by Bu11etmagnet ( 1071376 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @04:58PM (#65973520)

    That's a real dick move.

  • by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Friday February 06, 2026 @05:03PM (#65973536)

    ,,,or are you just happy to see me?

  • Why not just take a viagra?
  • That's why I'm always asking strangers if my crotch looks too roomy. Sometimes they don't want to answer, but there are ways to deal with that.
  • by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 ) <gameboyrmh@@@gmail...com> on Friday February 06, 2026 @08:25PM (#65973818) Journal

    Dicksail Deploy!

  • So that's what Adam West/Batman and others did in the 1966 television series. That and very tight spandex...and much testosterone pumping. Of course Robin had to "hide" his manhood.

    But after the "penis malfunction" of pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati no surprise this issue comes up again.

    https://www.eonline.com/news/1... [eonline.com]

    Now to wait for the moral panic and outrage over men being men. --JoshK.

  • Dude walks in and just thunks down a third leg like its no big deal

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