Jan 15 (Reuters) - Three officials for Norway's men's ski jumping team were suspended for 18 months and fined on Thursday by the FIS Ethics Committee (FEC) for manipulating competition suits at last year's Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim.
Head coach Magnus Brevik, former assistant coach Thomas Lobben, and suit technician Adrian Livelten were sanctioned following an investigation into equipment tampering during the men's large hill event in March 2025.
The controversy erupted after Norway's Olympic champions Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, along with the coaching staff, were charged over the use of altered suits.
Lindvik initially finished second but was stripped of his silver medal after being disqualified, while Forfang, who placed fourth, was also disqualified following an equipment inspection.
The Norwegian Ski Federation admitted after the competition that the team had manipulated the suits but said the ski jumpers were not at fault for the violations.
The organisers found nothing untoward during the initial check, but after the race they discovered different material in the seams.
In a statement, FIS said the trio would be ineligible for a period "of 18 months, commencing on the date of the decision (8 January 2026), less the period of provisional suspension already served since 12 March 2025."
The governing body added they would have to contribute CHF 5,000 ($6,246.88) each to the costs of the proceedings and the investigation.
In a statement to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, the trio's lawyers said the decision was "disproportionately strict".
"The grounds of the judgment expressly state that similar rule violations have not been sanctioned previously – or have only been met with a warning – and that this case is being used as an example to mark a new and stricter line in international ski jumping," they added.
($1 = 0.8004 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair and Pearl Josephine Nazare in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
