What is 'penisgate', which has caused a global scandal at the Winter Olympics?

Controversy in the Winter Olympic Games Milan-Cortina due to possible cheating by some athletes. This January, the German newspaper Bild It was reported that Norwegian ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises before being measured for their competition suits. The substance, which is not banned in the sport, can be used to increase the circumference of the penis by one or two centimeters. As a result of this practice, the surface area of ​​the competitors' suits would be wider, and according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, this could increase the length of their jumps. This investigation has generated a major scandal, already dubbed the "Ski Jumping Scandal." Penisgatewhich has caused a stir worldwide.

The men's ski jumping competition began this Monday, and the World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating the case and looking for evidence that the athletes injected hyaluronic acid into their penises. It might seem that adding one or two centimeters to the clothing wouldn't make much of a difference, but in this discipline, the rules are very strict: the athletes' attire greatly influences the final result. Falsified measurements could make the fabric wider, less fitted to the body, and offer greater gliding ability, thus favoring longer jumps. According to the scientific journal FrontiersA trick like this could give a skier up to five meters more distance on the jump.

Sandro Pertile, men's race director for the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, explained in The Guardian"Every extra centimeter of a suit counts. If it has 5% more surface area, you'll fly farther."

Before each season, skiers have their bodies measured with 3D scanners while wearing only tight-fitting, stretchy underwear. Regulations state that suits must have a tolerance of between 2 and 4 centimeters at most. The athletes' crotch, like the rest of their bodies, is also measured, and, as the BBC explains, three centimeters are added to men's measurements in that area. Even if hyaluronic acid only added 1 centimeter to the crotch, the difference can still be significant. In fact, the acid injected into the penis can last up to 18 months.

Following the accusations, athletes have reacted skeptically. "It's not something we want in our sport," Norwegian skier Johann André Forfang told the BBC. Some Norwegian skiers added: "I don't think we need that kind of attention, and the women are calm about it," said Christian Meyer, coach of the Norwegian women's team. "I haven't seen anything like it, so I also wonder if it's true. I don't believe it," he added. One of the skiers, Anna Odine Strøm, also lamented: "If something like this is what it takes for people to watch ski jumping, I don't know what to think. It's sad that we need controversy for people to find our sport appealing."