Norway suspend staff in ski jump cheat scandal at World Championships

Team admitted cheating by employing altered suits

The Norwegian ski jumping national team's coach Magnus Brevig (left) and sport director Jan-Erik Aalbu deliver a press statement in Granaasen, Norway, on March 8, 2025, after two Norwegian jumpers were disqualified and accused of cheating after the men's large hill jumping competition during the World Ski Championships in Trondheim. Photo by TERJE PEDERSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images 

The Norwegian ski federation has suspended a ski jumping coach and an equipment manager over their alleged role in a cheating scandal which shook the world championships this weekend.

The federation said coach Magnus Brevig and equipment manager Adrian Livelten were suspected of modifying ski suits by sewing in an extra seam in an attempt to create more lift in the air. Norway is one of the traditional powers within ski jumping, and the scandal at its home world championships has caused a massive outcry in a country that prides itself on its winter sports prowess.

Two Norwegian ski jumpers, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, were disqualified from Saturday’s men’s large hill competition after organisers said their suits broke the rules. Lindvik had finished second in the event before he was disqualified.

The federation on Sunday admitted that the suits had been deliberately altered, after a video emerged online of the alterations being made. “The way I consider this … we have cheated,” said Jan-Erik Aalbu, general manager of the federation. “We have tried to cheat the system. That is unacceptable.” 

Brevig told Norwegian media on Monday that several team members had been involved in the decision to alter the suits, but added: “I should have stopped it.” 

He claimed it was the first time they had stitched in an extra seam, but made a sailing analogy to explain why a stiffer suit would help the jumpers fly farther in the air. “A tighter sail is better than a loose sail,” he said.

The federation said Brevig and Livelten would be suspended indefinitely while inquiries continue. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said Sunday that it had opened its own investigation.

Associated Press