The Norwegians Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang were disqualified on the World Championship's second-to-last day after being caught using manipulated competition suits during the large hill event. Lindvik lost his silver.
In an interview with the German news agency DPA, Sandro Pertile, competition chief for ski jumping at the International Ski Federation (Fis), does not rule out that Lindvik may also lose his gold in the normal hill from March 2.
"Need to understand"
That Saturday evening, we didn't know what had happened. You need to understand the whole situation, and understand when these manipulations began. In the aftermath of this, we want the decisions made to be very clear, says the Italian.
Fis has set up an external investigation into the suit scandal, which involved the Norwegians sewing in extra and stiffer thread in the seams. The cheating has also been caught on video.
Lindvik, Forfang, and three other Norwegian male ski jumpers – Robin Pedersen, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, and Robert Johansson – are all suspended. Several leaders have also been suspended.
More suspicions
Fis suspects that the suits of the three latter jumpers were also manipulated during the World Championship. Norway also took a bronze in the team event on March 6 through Lindvik, Forfang, Pedersen, and Eriksen Sundal.
The International Ski Federation says that a preliminary assessment of their suits indicates this, which is disputed by Norway's ski federation lawyer who does not entirely agree.
Norway has admitted to suit cheating in connection with the men's competition in the large hill and subsequently, among other things, the chairman of the country's ski jumping committee, Stine Korsen, has resigned.
