PREDAZZO, Italy, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Norwegian ski jumpers greeted with scepticism suggestions that anti-doping officials must now police their anatomy as well as their equipment, after regulators said they would stay alert to rumours of athletes artificially enlarging their genitals to exploit suit rules at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
The sport briefly found itself in an absurd spotlight after the World Anti-Doping Agency signalled it would watch for evidence of manipulation, following a report in German newspaper Bild which raised fears of some male ski jumpers attempting to manipulate the 3D body-scanning measurements used to size competition suits by temporarily enlarging their penises.
Skiing's governing body also dismissed talk of competitors injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid for aerodynamic gain.
Jumpers said the speculation had travelled faster than any athlete down the in-run — and with considerably less grounding.
The story has gained international attention and taken the spotlight from the competition that is about to start on Saturday with the women's normal hill individual event.
For many of the Norwegian ski jumpers, talk of a creative attempt to gain extra inches in their jumps was met with scepticism and head shaking, with several dismissing it as a gimmick and hearsay.
"I do not think we need that kind of attention, and on the women's side we are quite calm about the subject," Norway women's coach Christian Meyer told Reuters.
"I have not seen anything like it, so I am also wondering whether it is true. I actually do not believe it, but if someone is that sick..."
Ski jumper Anna Odine Stroem said the controversy reflected poorly on the sport.
"If it takes something like this to get people watching ski jumping, I do not know what to think. It is sad that we need controversy for people to find our sport endearing or exciting," she said.
"That is not something we want in our sport," Johann Andre Forfang added, while fellow Norwegian Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal suggested the spotlight would be better directed elsewhere.
"All interest is good interest, but I wish it came more from what is happening on the hills," Sundal said.
(Editing by Christian Radnedge)
