Size always matters.
Tell that to Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig — who saw his gold medal dreams dashed all because his ski boots were too big.
Tschofenig, a World Cup winner, fell foul of the rules by just four millimeters.
The athlete, 23, tried out some new boots while practising but seemingly didn’t check if they met the requirements.
“I used new shoes in training, which, by the way, I wasn’t very happy with, but I kept them,” he told AFP.
“Unfortunately I was naive and I didn’t check the sizes. That was incredibly stupid of me.”
Tschofenig comfortably qualified for Saturday’s final but that was before his error became apparent.
He came into the Winter Olympics, having won the 2024-25 Ski Jumping World Cup and the Four Hills Tournament.
Jernej Damjan, a former Slovenian ski jumper, wasted no time in making a joke at the Austrian’s expense.
“Tschofenig finally finding something extra and when he does, he gets kicked out,” he quipped.
Slovenian ace Domen Prevc, 26, won the gold medal at Milano Cortina, defying the wet conditions to defeat rivals Ren Nikaido, of Japan, and Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak.
He finished ahead of the Japanese jumper by 6.8 points.
Ahead of the Winter Olympics, reports, which appeared in the German newspaper Bild, claimed some ski jumpers enhanced their groin to improve performance and gain an edge of their rivals.
It was alleged some athletes would turn to injecting hyaluronic acid which would help them fly further. An enlarged genital area would allow ski jumpers to wear bigger suits.
Last year, two Norwegian ski jumpers were found with extra fabric near the crotches of their suits.
And, a probe found that the team had made illegal adjustments to the attire.
To crack down on cheating, bosses at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation rolled out a set of new sanctions.
Some of the measures included advanced 3D body and suit measurements, redesigned suits to prevent tampering and microchips in the fabric that check for any manipulation
Athletes disqualified for an equipment violation will be issued with a yellow card.
They would then receive a red card for any subsequent violation. They would also be disqualified from a future event.
Annika Belshaw, from Team USA, was also booted out of the Olympic final after her skis were one centimeter too long.
With Post wires
