The Olympic Games won’t officially start until Friday, but a report that ski jumpers may be using penis injections to get an edge is already stirring controversy.
The German-language publication Bild reported this last month jumpers injected hyaluronic acid into their genitals before being measured on their skin-tight suits. On Thursday, a reporter asked Witold Banka, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, whether the rumors about penis injections were legitimate.
“Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [Banka’s home country]so I promise you I’m going to watch it,” he said, according to the Guardian.
Wada director general Olivier Niggli told reporters he was “not aware of the details of ski jumping and how that could improve performance”, but added: “If something came to the surface, we would look into it and see if it is doping related. We will not comment on other matters.” [nondoping] means to improve performance.”
The extra girth is intended to improve performance on the jumps, not in the bedroom.
That’s because ski jumpers’ bodies are scanned before competition to ensure the tight-fitting ski suits don’t contain extra material that would improve their lift in the air. Reuters explained.
“The crotch of a ski jumper’s suit is allowed to extend to the bottom of the athlete’s genitals, meaning an enlarged penis would provide them with more potential performance-enhancing material,” the news agency noted.
Whether hyaluronic acid is the secret sauce to winning gold in ski jumping remains to be seen, but uniforms are a problem in the sport.
