The 2026 Winter Olympics, which are all set to kick off tomorrow, February 6, seem to still be recovering from one of the competition’s most “bizarre” and jaw-dropping scandals last year.
After a viral video from March 2025 first exposed Norwegian athletes allegedly “enlarging” their privates for the competition, officials have now rolled out a major new rule change aimed at shutting down the whole controversy, often referred to as “Pe*isgate.”
Highlights
- The 2026 Winter Olympics rolled out major new suit rules after last year’s viral “cr*tch-enlarging” controversy exposed illegal suit modifications in the sport.
- Norwegian officials were hit with serious suspensions and bans, while two star jumpers were disqualified in light of the controversy.
- The “absurd” details of the new rules have sparked a flood of hilarious reactions on social media, despite the seriousness of the situation.
But while officials deem it a necessary step, social media users can’t help but crack up over the “absurd” details of the scandal.
“So even ski jumping isn’t safe from performance-enhancing tailoring,” quipped one user online.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have introduced some “absurd” rule changes to tackle last year’s “cr*tch-enlarging” scandal involving certain athletes
Image credits: Tom Weller/Getty Images
Reportedly, in March last year, a whistleblower secretly filmed Norwegian head coach Magnus Brevik and suit technician Adrian Livelten through a hotel window, shedding light on the “cr*tch-enlarging” controversy during the Nordic World Ski Championships held in Trondheim, Norway.
The footage showed them using a sewing machine to add illegal stitching to the private area of suits after they had already passed official inspection.
As the controversy blew up, star jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang were disqualified from the men's large hill event after their suits failed post-jump measurements.
Image credits: Andrzej Iwanczuk/NurPhoto via Getty Images
People involved in the scandal were accused of adding more fabric to the suit’s groin area, as this catches more air when jumpers spread their legs in a “V-shape,” acting like a sail.
According to a study, adding just 1 cm of fabric to a suit's circumference can increase a jump by nearly 3 metres, and the extra fabric can also make the suits stiffer, further enhancing aerodynamics.
Image credits: Kenta Harada/Getty Images
The official rules of the sport allow suits to be mainly skin-fitted, with only 2 cm and no more than 4 cm of extra circumference around the skier's body.
Hence, the enhancements made by the Norwegian team last year were deemed illegal, and both the head coach and the technician involved in the scandal received an 18-month ban from the sport.
The head coach, technician, and two competitive skiers of the Norwegian team were suspended last year over “illegal” enhancements
Meanwhile, the two athletes involved, Lindvik and Forfang, were given three-month suspensions, which they have already served, after claiming they were unaware of the modifications.
Multiple media reports stated that coach Brevik was remorseful about his actions and said at the time, “We regret it like dogs, and I’m terribly sorry that this happened.”
“I don’t really have anything else to say other than that we got carried away in our bubble.”
Image credits: Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images
Addressing the controversy, Bruno Sassi, a spokesman for the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), said in a public statement, “There have been disqualifications in the past, many. It’s part of the sport.”
“But there had never been that kind of a brazen attempt to not only bend the rules, but like downright do something ... to cheat the system in a way that it is very different from simply having a suit that is a tad too long or a tad too loose.”
Image credits: olympics
One utterly confused netizen joked, “How stitching in the cr*tch area can make you more aerodynamic would require me to watch an AI demonstration and scientific explanations I would assuredly never understand. Frankly, I think every athlete should have an aerodynamic cr*tch.”
Another user, referencing the co-founder of the International Olympic Committee, Pierre de Coubertin, said, “‘illegal stitching into the cr*tch area’ -- not exactly what Pierre de Coubertin had in mind when he said "Citius, Altius, Fortius", amirite?”
“There had never been that kind of a brazen attempt to not only bend the rules, but like downright… cheat the system,” said a FIS spokesperson
Image credits: topfotogmw
Image credits: FeniksKnowsBest
“Why not just let everyone pad as much as they want to make it fair?” questioned a third person.
“All this time I was under the impression it was Red Bull that gave you wings, lol.”
To prevent future illegal stitching, the FIS has introduced several new measures effective as of tomorrow, February 6.
Under the new rules, officials, including two FIS controllers and a doctor, will use advanced 3D body measurements before jumps to ensure suits fit within the strict limit of 2 to 4 cm beyond the body’s surface area.
Image credits: MilanoCortina2026
Suits that pass inspection will be fitted with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips, and scanners will verify that the chips remain in their original positions both before and after jumps to ensure no mid-competition alterations occur.
A new soccer-style card system will be used; a yellow card will serve as a warning for equipment violations, while a red card will result in immediate disqualification.
The new rule changes sparked a wave of hilarious reactions, such as, “Where does one apply for the job of cr*tch inspector - asking for a friend”
Image credits: MilanoCortina2026
Even these new rules sparked more hilarious responses from viewers and enthusiasts of the sport, as one person joked, “Cr*tch Inspector… has his new job lined up then.”
“So the skiers need to eat a few more pies and make themselves naturally wider then,” chimed in a second.
“There you go, proof size matters,” quipped a third, while another added, “So, what was your job at the 2026 Winter Olympics? - Cr*tch examiner.’”
The ski jumping events for the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in Predazzo, a town in the Val di Fiemme region of Italy, from February 7 to February 16, 2026.
The competitions will be held at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium, also known as the Giuseppe Dal Ben Ski Jumping Stadium. They will feature two main competition hills, the Normal Hill (HS107) and the Large Hill (HS141).
Both Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang are allowed to compete in this year’s Winter Olympics, following their brief suspensions last year.
“Nothing to do with making themselves aerodynamic. They, like any man, are merely affording… maximum protection in such a cold climate,” wrote one netizen
