Five feminine Winter Olympics stars have been banned over their outfits in wardrobe malfunctions
Five female ski jumpers were disqualified at the Winter Olympics for wearing suits that didn’t appear to meet regulations
Norway’s Silje Opseth was among the five female ski jumpers disqualified from the event at the last Winter Olympics (Image: TOBIAS SCHWARZ, AFP via Getty Images)
Ski jumping is always a crowd favourite at the Winter Olympics but the 2022 Games were tainted by controversy when five female jumpers were disqualified due to their attire.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) strictly enforces regulations regarding ski jumpsuits. Rules dictate suits must be made from specific materials and fit certain dimensions, allowing only two to four centimetres of fabric over the body to ensure no aerodynamic advantages are gained.
In light of previous controversies, 3D scanners have been introduced to verify compliance with these rules. Yet during the Beijing Games four years ago, several athletes still fell short.
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No fewer than five jumpers were found to be in violation of the regulations at the last Winter Olympics. Five female competitors were judged to be wearing suits that were excessively loose, leading to their disqualification from the mixed team event.
Among those who ran afoul of the judges were Germany’s Katharina Althaus, Norwegian duo Silje Opseth and Anna Odine Stroem, Japan’s Sara Takanashi and Austria’s Daniela Iraschko-Stolz.
Althaus, Iraschko-Stolz and Takanashi were each disqualified from their opening-round runs and had their scores wiped. Meanwhile, Opseth and Odine Stroem saw their scores scrubbed in the final, a move that dashed Norway’s medal hopes in the team event.
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“A test of the suits had been offered by the FIS competition management to all teams before the competitions,” the FIS informed PEOPLE magazine at the time. “Only a few teams took this opportunity.
“The used suits that led to the disqualifications were too big and offered an aerodynamic advantage to the athlete. There was no official protest by a team against any of the disqualifications.”
Despite the FIS saying there were no formal protests, Althaus publicly criticised the decision. The German claimed the FIS had “destroyed women’s ski jumping” with its ruling, while Opseth apologised but labelled the judgement “very strange.”
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The decision had a particularly detrimental effect on Norway’s medal prospects given male team-mates Robert Johansson and Marius Lindvik posted top scores that could have resulted in gold if their female colleagues had followed suit. Odine Stroem has since gone on to win two gold medals and a silver at this year’s Games.
The 2026 competition has also been mired in controversy following allegations that male athletes were undergoing penis-enlarging procedures with hyaluronic acid to enhance wind resistance. One plastic surgeon even confirmed he had administered this very treatment to a ski jumper ahead of the Olympics, though he declined to disclose their identity.
“Regarding the news in question, I did in fact treat an athlete from that sport, whose name and nationality I will obviously not disclose, nor whether he is participating in these Olympics,” Alessandro Littara told USA TODAY Sports when asked about the scandal being referred to as ‘penis-gate’.
“However, I can say that I treated him last month and used a generous dose of hyaluronic acid. I cannot say whether he told me the whole truth. But in any case, we did a good job and implanted a more than generous dose of hyaluronic acid.”
