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Alleged Cheating Scandal Rocks Norwegian Ski Jumping Team

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 3:24 PM ET

According to several news reports, two staff members of the Norwegian Ski Federation—Magnus Brevik, a coach, and Adrian Livelten, an equipment manager—have been suspended because of their alleged involvement in a ski jumping cheating scheme.

Brevik and Livelten are suspected of adding an extra stitch to the suits of ski jumping athletes in the hopes of improving in-air performance.

The scandal led to the disqualification of Norwegian skiers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang from Saturday’s men’s large hill world championships event after organizers said their suits weren’t legal, the Associated Press reports.

Lindvik, who took second in the men’s large hill event before being disqualified, wrote in an Instagram story, “This has been a nightmare. I’m broken and sad,” stating that he did not know that his suit had been manipulated and he wouldn’t have used it if he knew.

Forfang, also in an Instagram story, wrote that he also wasn’t aware that his suit had been manipulated and added that this was the first time he’d used the suspect suit.

“I have always had great trust in the staff, who have worked tirelessly to develop competitive equipment,” Forfang wrote. “But this time, a clear line was crossed.”

During a press conference on Sunday, Jan-Erik Aalbu, the general manager of the Norwegian Ski Federation, confirmed that Forfang and Lindvik’s suits had been manipulated by staff who knew what they were doing was outside regulations, CNN reports. According to him, staff thought that the altered suits wouldn’t be discovered by the FIS, the primary governing body of elite ski jumping.

“The way I consider this, we have cheated. We have tried to cheat the system. That is unacceptable,” Aalbu said.

According to Aalbu, the manipulated suits weren’t used at any events other than men’s large hill. The FIS, in a statement, said that its Independent Ethics and Compliance Office is “now investigating a suspicion of illegal manipulation of the equipment by the Norwegian team.”

Lindvik is an Olympian who took gold in men’s large hill individual at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. During the 2025 world championships in Trondheim last week, he claimed first in the men’s normal hill and the mixed team large hill events. Those results are still standing.

Forfang, in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, took gold and silver in the men’s large hill team event and the men’s normal hill individual, respectively. At world championships, he competed alongside Lindvik during Norway’s winning mixed team large hill bid.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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