Fri, February 06, 2026
Ski jumpers are allegedly injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to gain advantage at Winter Olympics
The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) is reportedly investigating whether ski jumpers are injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, to gain an advantage at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, dubbed ‘Penis-gate’ and first reported by the German newspaper Bild. The first men’s ski jumping event will take place on Monday, 9 February 2026.
When ski jumpers have their suits created, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) uses its 3D body scanner to measure body length, including crotch height. Enlarging penis size using hyaluronic acid - or also by allegedly putting clay in underwear – enables an athlete’s body dimension to be larger, which means that a larger ski suit is created for the athlete, and as Associate Professor Dan Dwyer told The Guardian: “that slightly larger ski suit has a larger surface area which can then generate a small amount of extra lift.”
The scientific journal, Frontiers, reported that every 2cm in suit size circumference reduced drag by 4% and increased lift by 5%. It said that a 2cm change in the suits was equivalent to an extra 5.8 metres in jump length.
Witold Banka, WADA president, joked: “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [his home country] so I promise you I’m going to look at it.”
Olivier Niggli, Director General of WADA, voiced: “I’m not aware of the details of ski jumping – and how this can improve [performance] – but if anything was to come to the surface we would look at anything if it is actually doping related…
We don’t do other means of enhancing performance but our list committee would certainly look into whether this would fall into this category. But I hadn’t heard about that until you mentioned.”
Doctor Kamran Karim expressed: “It is possible to achieve a temporary, visual thickening of the penis by injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid. Such an injection is not medically indicated and is associated with risks.”
To expand on the risks further, urological surgeon, Professor Eric Chung, elaborated: “Poorly injected technique or incorrect dose would cause penile pain, poor cosmesis [disfigurement], deformity, infection, inflammation, sensory change, and sexual dysfunction. In rare instances, infection can spread to cause gangrene (tissue necrosis) and loss of the penis.”
In other news surrounding gaining an advantage at the Winter Games, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) have banned the new helmets Great Britain planned to wear next week due to their aerodynamic ridges. A petition lodged by Team GB's skeleton programme against the international federation has been accepted just before the commencement of the Games.
