Women Lose Jobs Over Loose Clothes

Katharina Althaus

At NYPo, Female ski jumpers disqualified over baggy clothing at 2022 Olympics: ‘Destroyed’ the sport

Five female ski jumpers representing Austria, Japan, Norway (twice) and Germany were disqualified from the competition for wearing loose-fitting suits. According to news.com.au, it was determined that the clothing could give athletes an advantage while in the air.

After Germany’s Katharina Althaus was disqualified in the first round, she was brought to tears and accused the International Ski Federation (FIS) of “destroying” and “damaging” women’s ski jumping.

Katharina Althaus

“I have been checked so many times in 11 years of ski jumping, and I have never been disqualified once, I know my suit was compliant,” Althaus wrote in a post on Instagram.

“160 World Cup starts, 5x World Championships, 3x Olympic Games and I got DSQ for the first time. My heart is broken.”

  

Anna Odine Strøm

Anna Odine Strøm, one of the Norwegians disqualified, said officials had used a different method to measure their suits from previous events in the Games.

“It was a bit strange and didn’t conform to how it’s been done in the past,” Strøm said, according to the Guardian. “It is a bit the result of me being in quarantine and not eating properly the whole week.”

German ski jumper star Karl Geiger addressed the situation on social media and questioned the rules and regulations for female ski jumpers.

Anna Odine Strøm

According to news.com.au, Germany’s national team coach Stefan Horngacher said the controversy is “not good for the sport … but the rules have to be accepted.”

Horngacher added, “It is just strange that they have been using the same suits (Saturday) and there was no problem.”

Norwegian ski jumping chief of sports Clas Brede Braathen reportedly apologized on behalf of ski jumping and said, “This is something we should have cleaned up in before the Olympics. The sport of ski jumping has experienced one of its darker days today.”

On the few occasions that I have watched ski jumping (almost always from the Olympics), it seemed to me that all their suits flirted with the idea of being a wingsuit, so I'm not surprised they have some sort of regulations to keep it from becoming too blatant, but I wonder how they set those standards. I also think it's pretty suspicious if 5 competitors were suddenly disqualified for ill-fitting suits. 

A little late, the Wombat posts Rule 5 Sunday: Return From Reno Double-Scoop Edition.