"Completely Crazy Act, Unprecedented Disqualification Incident"... Mass Elimination of Chinese Olympic Ski Jumping Athletes

Disqualification of 5 Competitors from 4 Countries for Dress Code Violations

Japanese player Takanashi shedding tears after being disqualified for dress code violation. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, South Korean male short track speed skaters Hwang Dae-heon (23, Gangwon Province Office) and Lee Jun-seo (22, Korea National Sport University) were disqualified due to unfair judgments. Meanwhile, in the ski jumping event, as many as five top gold medal contenders were disqualified. The German team coach criticized this as "completely insane."

On the 7th (local time), at the National Ski Jumping Center in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, Germany's Katharina Althaus, Japan's Sara Takanashi, Norway's Anna Strøm and Silje Opseth, and Austria's Daniela Stolz were disqualified for wearing loose uniforms.

Ski jumping strictly regulates uniform specifications because the amount of wind resistance varies depending on the uniform's surface area, which affects flight distance and airtime. Uniforms must fit tightly, allowing only a 2 to 4 cm margin of error compared to each athlete's body measurements.

Nevertheless, Eurosport reported, "Being disqualified for uniform issues in ski jumping is quite common. However, such a mass disqualification is unprecedented," calling it "a very shocking outcome." AFP also noted, "Slovenia became the inaugural Olympic champion in the mixed team ski jumping event, but the unprecedented disqualification incident drew more attention."

Stefan Horngacher, head coach of the German team, told Eurosport, "This is completely insane," raising his voice, "We were given no explanation regarding the disqualification."

He pointed out, "Althaus wore the same uniform when she won the silver medal in the women's normal hill event held on the 5th, and there was no problem then. It's just strange."

Norway's Silje Opseth appealed, "The judges measured the uniforms in a completely different way and used a new method," adding, "We were told to stand differently than we had before."

Meanwhile, with many top contenders eliminated in the mixed team ski jumping event that day, the gold medal was claimed by the Slovenian team. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took silver, and Canada won bronze.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.