It is not uncommon to hear about alleged doping or performance-enhancing practices by professional athletes, yet the newest scandal around the Winter Olympics 2026 is a first of its kind: are ski jumpers injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it will investigate if athletes at the Milan-Cortina Games are doing this, after reports from the German newspaper Bild.
“Ski jumping is very popular in Poland, my home country, so I assure you I will investigate this matter,” said WADA’s President Witold Banka during a press conference.
The agency’s director general, Olivier Niggli, added that while the agency is not aware of these practices, it will be on the lookout and check if these practices could be considered doping.
How can hialuraic acid injections help athletes?
Hyaluronic acid, a natural substance used in cosmetics, can temporarily add 1-2 centimetres to penile girth, lasting 6-18 months.
This way, athletes could register larger crotch measurements during the mandated 3D body scans for suit sizing done by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), allowing for looser suits.
Does a bigger crotch size help ski jumpers?
Even small changes in sky jumping suits can help athletes fly farther, a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living found.
A ski suit can act like a tiny parachute; if the crotch space is larger, this adds surface area that benefits the flight. The study showed that even two extra centimetres created five percent more lift and four percent more air resistance.
Jumpers could gain five to six extra meters on a 130-meter jump by slowing their drop and keeping forward speed.
Previous suit tempering
It is not the first time suit tempering has been seen in ski jumping competitions.
In 2012, during the FIS World Cup events in Switzerland and Czechia, several jumpers were disqualified for wearing non-compliant suits.
These cases prompted the introduction of pre-competition 3D body scans and microchips in suits to measure suit size based on each athlete’s anatomy.
At the World Championships 2025 in Norway, Olympic medalists Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang received a three-month sanction for reinforcing their crotch seams to create extra lift.