‘I received Winter Olympics ban due to my bra – they made my boobs look too massive’

A British Winter Olympian was blocked from wearing an accessory that made her breasts appear enlarged as she was forced to speak out on the ‘boob-gate’

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Chemmy Alcott is one of Team GB’s most decorated Winter Olympians(Image: BBC)

A former British ski star has recalled being caught up in ‘boob-gate’ at the Winter Olympics.

The start of the current Games in northern Italy was dominated by ‘penis-gate’ after reports that ski jumpers had been injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits. Such a controversy isn’t quite unknown territory for the Winter Olympics.

Going back to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, former Team GB has Chemmy Alcott recalled being told to remove an appendage that made her breasts look larger than normal as she endeavoured to compete despite breaking her ribs.

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She revealed on the Sports Agents podcast with Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman after discussing ‘penis-gate’: “I went to Vancouver to race with broken ribs. The Team GB doctors were really worried, so they sent me off to get a synthetic chest plate fitted.

“I happened to be wearing a Wonderbra that day, so I had this chest plate made which was quite a lot larger than my natural sizing. Then I tried to race in it and they banned it because it didn’t let air through for aerodynamics.

“I was like, ‘OK, but I’ve got these broken ribs and I don’t want to get further injured.’ So I’ve got this amazing chest plate that is ready for Lady Gaga in fancy dress!”

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Alcock, 43, who estimates she broke more than 40 bones during her career, competed in four Winter Olympics, including the Vancouver Games of 2010, where she secured 11th place in the women’s downhill race.

As for ‘penis-gate’, the controversy revolves around the alleged use of hyaluronic acid, which can be used to increase the male member’s circumference and therefore the surface area of the suit.

According to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, the alleged measure could increase their flight in the air. FIS ski jumping men’s race director Sandro Pertile said: “Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further.

While hyaluronic acid isn’t actually a banned substance, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it could investigate if the alleged practice was proven to be doping-related.

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WADA director general Olivier Niggli said: “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.”

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