Unique 'Shortage' At Winter Olympics As Regulatory body Rejects 'Wild Rumour' About Ski Jumpers

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is facing an intriguing "shortage" - there are no more condoms left in the Games Village. The February 6-22 Games organisers had stocked an initial batch of 10,000 packs, but it has already been exhausted. The organisers have promised a fresh supply, though there is no clarity on when it will arrive. Meanwhile, the regulatory body for skiing on Friday dismissed as a "wild rumor" reports that ski jumpers are enhancing their groin area to gain additional distance as the Winter Olympics begins.

A report by the German tabloid Bild last month suggested that some ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their genitals or wearing a condom-like sheath before undergoing rigorous checks on ski-suit sizing. The newspaper claimed such manipulation would justify wearing a larger ski jump suit, potentially providing more lift and a longer flight to secure medals.

The report gained international attention this week after World Anti-Doping officials in Milan for the 2026 Games suggested they were prepared to investigate the matter if it was related to doping.

However, the international ski federation, FIS - the governing body for ski jumping - rejected the report's claims on Friday.

"This wild rumor started off a few weeks ago from pure hearsay," FIS spokesman Bruno Sassi told The Associated Press. "There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage."

The Bild report went largely unnoticed internationally until World Anti-Doping Agency Director General Olivier Niggli was asked about it in Milan on Thursday.

"If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at anything, and if it is doping-related. We don't deal with other means of enhancing performance," Niggli told reporters.

The suggestion of such manipulation quickly became a media sensation, with some reports quoting medical experts on the risks and reasoning behind injecting hyaluronic acid - a substance naturally produced in the body that lubricates joints and is commonly used in moisturizing products.

Asked to clarify whether WADA was investigating the matter, agency spokesperson James Fitzgerald told AP on Friday that hyaluronic acid was not on its list of banned substances, and referred queries to FIS for issues related to ski-jumping suits.

The subject is particularly sensitive for ski jumping following a cheating scandal last year in which Norwegian team officials were caught on camera manipulating ski suits at the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway.

Head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben and staff member Adrian Livelten were recently banned from the sport for 18 months for tampering with suits prior to the men's large hill event.

Norwegian ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang accepted three-month suspensions that allowed them to compete in this season's events.

In the wake of the scandal, FIS introduced more rigorous equipment controls, including checks before and after each jump and improved 3-D measurements to evaluate athletes in their uniforms. Microchips embedded in suits are also designed to prevent manipulation.