“A rule is a rule. We cannot make exceptions. We don’t make exceptions,” said ski jump controller Mathias Hafele. He disqualified Slovenian skier Timi Zajc after the opening competition of the Four Hills Tour.
The reason for this disqualification? The length of his suit. The athlete’s outfit was three millimeters too short at the leg level, which deprived the Slovenian of second place. The athlete seems to have reacted with humor: “Let’s stretch the suit a little, maybe everything will be fine afterward,” he wrote on Instagram.
“We cheated”
The first event of the Four Hills Tour was won by Slovenian Domen Prevc, world number one. This is the first time since the creation of the Tour, 74 years ago, that a Slovenian has won in Oberstdorf. In second place, we find the Austrian Daniel Tschofenig, ahead of the German Felix Hoffmann.
At the start of the year, during the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, a similar affair tarnished the reputation of Norwegian ski jumpers, recalls the Swiss version of 20 Minutes. The organizers had illegally sewn a rigid strip into the suit, supposed to provide additional stability.
“We cheated and thus disappointed all ski jumping fans, including ourselves. I would like to apologize to the other teams, jumpers, sponsors and fans. We will get to the bottom of it,” sports director Jan Erik Aalbu said at a press conference.
