The equation was simple: a bigger bulge meant a bigger ski suit, which in turn meant improved aerodynamics while flying through the air. The World Anti-Doping Agency were quick to respond to the claims, saying they aren’t aware of any verifiable cases of that happening, but would be quick to act if it came to light.
Well, as the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina enter their second week, fresh claims surrounding ‘penis-gate’ have surfaced. That’s because surgeon Alessandro Littara has told USA Today that he injected hyaluronic acid into a skier’s penis in the build-up to the Olympics.
Quite the claim, Littara said: “Regarding the news in question, I did in fact treat an athlete from that sport, whose name and nationality I will obviously not disclose, nor whether he is participating in these Olympics. However, I can say that I treated him last month and used a generous dose of hyaluronic acid.”
He continued: “I cannot say whether he told me the whole truth. But in any case, we did a good job and implanted a more than generous dose of hyaluronic acid. The result is immediate, so the athlete could wear the new suit after just a few minutes.”
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Understandably, eyebrows were raised when the initial suggestions surfaced, with WADA director general, Olivier Niggli, taking a firm stance. He said: « I am not aware of the details of ski jumping, and how that could improve performance.
« If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at it and see if it is doping related. We don’t address other [non-doping] means of enhancing performance. »
It came after members of the Norwegian ski jumping team were suspended in February after being found to have increased the size of the crotch area on their suits. Bans were handed out to three team officials, including head coach Magnus Brevik, as well as athletes Johann Andre Forfang and Marius Lindvik.
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