Size matters at Olympics: Why ski jumpers inject their manhood with acid

In a scandal that has gripped the sporting world, male ski jumpers have been accused of injecting their penises with acid to gain competitive advantage. It is claimed to help them go farther. 

According to BBC reporting, a German newspaper, Bild, claimed in January that some athletes were injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises before undergoing suit measurements. Hyaluronic acid is not currently prohibited in sport, and it can be used to temporarily increase penis girth by about one to two centimeters.

The idea behind this is that larger measurements could lead to a bigger suit surface area during competition. According to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), a larger suit surface could help athletes stay airborne longer.

"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.

During a press conference at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Wada director general Olivier Niggli responded to the allegations by saying: "I am not aware of the details of ski jumping, and how that could improve performance.

"If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at it and see if it is doping related. We don't address other [non-doping] means of enhancing performance."

Reacting to the reports, Wada president Witold Banka appeared amused and commented: "Ski jumping is very popular in Poland so I promise you I'm going to look at it."

FIS communications director Bruno Sassi also addressed the situation, telling BBC Sport: "There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage."

According to The Guardian, Banka repeated a similar remark: “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [Banka’s home country] so I promise you I’m going to look at it,” he said, with a wry smile.

The controversy, which has been nicknamed “Penisgate”, stems from the original report published by Bild. Beyond the shock value, there are wider concerns linked to fairness and athlete safety.

Previously, two Norwegian Olympic medallists, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, received three-month bans after their team was discovered to have secretly altered suit seams around the crotch area during the 2025 World Ski Championships. The adjustments made the suits larger, slowing descent speed by effectively increasing aerodynamic surface area.

Additionally, Norway’s head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben, and staff member Adrian Livelten were suspended for 18 months for their involvement.

Research published in the journal Frontiers suggested that even small suit changes can have a measurable effect. The study found that increasing suit circumference by 2cm reduced drag by 4% and boosted lift by 5%. It estimated that a 2cm difference could add roughly 5.8 metres to a jump.

More recent claims from Bild suggest athletes may have explored other ways to manipulate measurement results when scanned using 3D technology that records body dimensions, including the lowest point of the genitals. Alleged methods include injecting substances into the penis or placing materials such as clay inside underwear to temporarily increase measurements, potentially resulting in looser suits during competition.

The newspaper quoted a doctor, Kamran Karim, who said: “It is possible to achieve a temporary, visual thickening of the penis by injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid. Such an injection is not medically indicated and is associated with risks.”

At present, there is no confirmed evidence supporting these claims. However, Wada rules state that any technique that puts athlete health at risk or violates the integrity of sport could eventually be prohibited.

Addressing the rumours, Olivier Niggli reiterated: “I’m not aware of the details of ski jumping and how this can improve [performance] but if anything was to come to the surface we would look at anything if it is actually doping related.

“We don’t do other means of enhancing performance but our list committee would certainly look into whether this would fall into this category. But I hadn’t heard about that until you mentioned.”