The suit scandal at the 2025 Nordic Ski World Championships continues to plague the ski jumping scene. Philipp Raimund and Andreas Wellinger once again find harsh words.
The topic has been occupying the ski jumping scene for months, but the waves have not yet calmed down. At the Nordic Ski World Championships in March, the Norwegian team manipulated suits and caused a real scandal. Athletes were suspended, trainers fired. However, many have not yet forgiven them. The Germans too.
“It will take time until I can trust the Norwegians again. It had a stale aftertaste,” Philipp Raimund emphasized recently at the fitting of the German winter athletes in Nuremberg in response to a question from SPORT1 . “And it’s the same everywhere, that after such a situation you have to rebuild trust first. The Norwegians are in such a situation now.”
Philipp Raimund takes aim at the Norwegian ski jumpers
Raimund cannot simply dismiss suit scandal
The 25-year-old did not downplay his great anger about the behavior of the Norwegian competition. As an “extreme advocate of fair sport,” he cannot simply dismiss the scandal. “It has damaged not only us personally, but also the other athletes and the entire ski jumping. The entire image of ski jumping has been dragged through the dirt,” said Raimund.
The imposed sanctions are also causing great annoyance. At the World Championships, Marius Lindvik, Johan Andre Forfang and Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal were withdrawn from traffic and were not allowed to participate in any competitions until the end of last winter. Later they were banned for three months. But when the new season is ushered in on November 21 in Lillehammer, everyone is allowed to be at the start again as usual.
“First and foremost, I am happy that there was a penalty at all, because at first it looked as if the matter would be swept under the rug,” Raimund clarified. Nevertheless, he considers the ban insufficient. Teammate Andreas Wellinger sees it similarly. “I find the handling of the matter only somewhat satisfactory. But it’s not my decision,” said the Olympic champion.
“The yellow and red cards were introduced a year too late”
On the whole, the credibility of ski jumping has “suffered greatly” due to the suit scandal, Wellinger affirmed. “Whether this decision has restored credibility, I’ll leave that hanging in the air.” The International Ski Federation (FIS) has announced fundamental changes for the upcoming ski jumping season.
So far, a disqualification due to the material only had immediate consequences for the competition in question, but not for other ski jumping in the calendar. This rule has now been tightened and a system with yellow and red cards has been introduced. A good idea?
“The yellow and red cards were introduced a year too late. Otherwise, Germany would probably have won a few more medals,” Raimund said with a view to the World Championships in March, which were overshadowed by the scandal.