A doping agency that usually worries about blood samples is now fielding questions about something far stranger: alleged penis injections in Olympic ski jumping, the Guardian reports. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says it will examine claims, first reported by German tabloid Bild, that some male jumpers are artificially enlarging their genitals before body scans in order to secure looser, more aerodynamic suits. The paper alleges athletes are using hyaluronic acid injections or even stuffing clay in their underwear to temporarily alter measurements, which are taken with a 3D scanner from the lowest point of the genitals.
WADA president Witold Banka, whose home country Poland is a ski-jumping power, responded with a mix of caution and humor. "Ski jumping is very popular in Poland so I promise you I'm going to look at it," he said. Director general Olivier Niggli added that while he had not previously heard of the practice, WADA could look at whether anything is going on that would fall into a banned category. Under the agency's code, techniques that endanger athletes and violate the "spirit of sport" are prohibited. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation has not commented, Reuters reports.
The flap, quickly dubbed "Penisgate," follows a more conventional scandal in the sport last year. Two Norwegian Olympic medalists, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, received three-month bans after officials found that their team had secretly altered crotch seams at the 2025 World Ski Championships to enlarge suit size. Three staff members, including head coach Magnus Brevik, were suspended for 18 months.
Research cited in the case suggested even a 2-centimeter increase in suit circumference can reduce drag by 4%, increase lift by 5%, and add nearly six meters to a jump. So far, the new allegations remain unproven, and no athlete has been formally accused of using injections or other body-altering tactics. If hyularonic acid injections are used, the BBC reports the effects can last up to 18 months.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
