– We saw that it was going in the wrong direction, so we had to act to get it on the right track. Our fear was that they would become too thin if we continued. So we need a system that cannot be fooled. This is how the equipment controller at the International Ski Federation (FIS), Christian Kathol, explains why the methods for measuring the weight and height of the jumpers are now changed as follows: Previously, the weight of the athletes was measured with the jumper suit on. Now they must go without clothes. Previously, the height of the athletes was measured manually. Now they will be measured in a 3D scanner. WRONG DIRECTION: Equipment controller in FIS, Christian Kathol, tells about the background for the changes. Photo: FIS These measurements are important because they determine the size of the equipment that can be used, both skis and suits. In addition, the measurements are used to determine whether the mares are on the right or wrong side of the BMI limits. Maren Lundby says that until now the Norwegian national team athletes have prepared well for the official measurements, in order to use the system to their advantage. – Then it is necessary to curl up. Last year we were lying on the floor, so it was all about arching our backs and making ourselves as short as possible, without it looking weird. If you practice a lot, it is possible to achieve it, states the best jumper of all time. Affects ski length and jumping suit In order for an athlete to be able to have the maximum ski length, the person concerned must have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 21. If the jumpers have a lower BMI, they must also jump on shorter skis – which means a smaller surface in the glide. This rule was introduced at the time to stop a trend towards sickly thin athletes in jumps, as low weight is also an advantage for those who have to fly through the air without wings or engines. The fact that the mares must now be weighed without a dressage means that they must increase in real body weight in order to have the same BMI as before. The height measurement is important for two reasons. The shorter you are, the fewer centimeters you get to distribute your kilos over in the BMI measurement. If you are 180 cm tall, you must be 68 kg to have a BMI of 21. If you are measured at 178 cm, you need just under 67 kg to maintain the maximum ski length. The height also determines how big a suit the mares can have, and it is the difference between the total body height and the height from the waist down (the stride measurement) that is decisive. Simply put, the shortest possible legs and the longest possible back are what give the greatest possible suit, something that has proven to be extremely important for the ability to fly. LIVING FLY: Skis, suit and weight are factors that play a role when Halvor Egner Granerud plunges towards 250 metres. Photo: JURE MAKOVEC / AFP Getting lower Until now, the height of the mare pairs has been measured manually, in a lying position. For at least two reasons, it is an advantage to be measured as low as possible. When the height from the waist up is to be measured, there is, on the other hand, an advantage in that the distance from the seat up to the top lid is as large as possible. It is these measurements that Kathol and FIS believe the jumpers have tried to manipulate to their advantage. – We are introducing a 3D scanner, because we discovered last season that the jumpers could manage to lower themselves, that they “lost” a few centimetres, says the controller to news. – It can be a bit dangerous, considering the BMI. Because if they are shorter, they can weigh less. We saw that it was going in the wrong direction, so we had to act to get it on the right track. Our fear was that they would become too thin if we continued, says Kathol. WC SILVER: After working his way back to the crown Maren Lundby last winter with WC silver in Planica. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Øver The biggest jumping stars in Norway in recent years, Maren Lundby and Halvor Egner Granerud, confirm that FIS is right. – I actually feel that for every measurement method that we have had, it is the case that the athletes try to get the best starting point they can, in order to get the best possible result. As it was last year, it was somehow possible to manipulate the body length, in order to get a low stride measurement. In other words, lower the suit more, says Lundby to news. – It is clear that we are aware of that, confirms Granerud. Lundby believes that the height trick is essential. – It is very important to get good goals and a good “setup”. It is something we practice, she asserts. – Is it an ethical problem to trick yourself into/cheat yourself into a different body length than you are? – I don’t want to say that. It’s like they set the rules, so it’s our job to find what works best. It is not illegal to practice these things. Everyone, both us and all the other national teams from other nations, practice this and of course want to get the best. In a way, it also becomes a kind of competition. I would say that it has become part of the sport, says Lundby. – Do you see this as cheating? – No, we look at this in the same way as we work to optimize physics and technique. Then we have to optimize the equipment and the goals we get. If we don’t do that, in a way we have nothing to show for it. It’s about being well prepared, and doing what the others do. Evensen: – Be stretched in all directions news’s jumping expert Johan Remen Evensen agrees with Lundby, and sees no ethical problem with doing what controller Kathol calls “cheating the system”. STRETCH: Johan Remen Evensen was helped by the physiotherapist to stretch a couple of centimeters more. Photo: NTB – No, I see it as a set of rules that you have to try to use to your advantage, something that has been done for years in all top sports. I don’t see it as ethically questionable, says Evensen. The former world record holder in ski flying confirms that both he and the rest of the team were also aware of altitude measurement in his time. At that time, BMI was not a factor. Instead, it was about being as high as possible in order to have the longest possible ski. – We thought it was important to have as long skis as possible. If you got one centimeter longer body, you got 2.5 centimeters longer skis. So we were roughly lifted out of bed and stretched in all joints on the physio bench to get as tall as possible. I was measured at 180 on one of these measurements, even though I was actually 178, says Evensen. Compressed by strength training He knows that there are also other methods than curling up that are used to get shorter. – Firstly, you are often 1-2 cm taller when you get up in the morning than when you go to bed at night. And if you do hard strength training, you compress all joints and become shorter, he explains. – So when the athletes know that they are going to be weighed down, they probably make a plan to be as low as possible. If it’s in the morning, they can get up in the middle of the night and do a strength session, says the experienced jumping expert. POSITIVE: National team manager Christian Meyer is positive about the new methods. Photo: Terje Haugnes / news Maren Lundby is in any case positive about the new measurement methods, especially that the suit will no longer count on the scale. – Seen from my side, which has had some challenges in getting down to match weight, it is a good change. From this year, we will be eating without a suit, which means that we will have to gain 1.5 kilos in weight. It is a big increase, I would say, says Lundby. The women’s national team coach Christian Meyer is also happy about it. – Hopefully it will go in the direction you wanted. It will work out for the vast majority of people. It is the main message, which we think is good, says Meyer to news.
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Practicing “fooling” the system – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
