The events of Willingen are just the tip of the iceberg. A real conflict between Slovenians and FIS regarding equipment control continues behind the scenes. What Timi did in the Mixty Competition – the matter of his disqualification and the gesture of Friday We describe in this text widely – It dragged this scandal in front of the camera and meant that the environment no longer talked about it quietly. In addition, the jumper proved on what absurdities the checking of jumpers at FIS competitions is currently based.
He mocked FIS. Almost all jumpers “enjoy” and “move their arms”, but not in front of the camera
Let's remind: Zajc was disqualified on Friday after he did not pass the length of the perineum length (how the overalls lies on the player in that place, and not what dimensions the circuit of the outfit itself – note) on inspection after the first series. However, he could start in the second round, because Slovenia was promoted to her. He founded the same suit and was no longer disqualified. He passed control after explicitly, ostentatiously and in front of the cameras stretched the suit on the shoulders and shoulders.
In this way, he wanted to display how jumpers could cheat the control of equipment in jumping. With the current rules, it is enough that, as he later called Slovene “they will enjoy it enough”, or move his arms after the jump and disqualify for how the outfit material lies at the height of the crotch and how large the surface it creates, it no longer threatens them. It's really that simple.
And it's not like what the very job has done is something special. Because almost everyone “helps”. It is enough, being at the World Cup competition, look at what is happening behind the so -called “Exit Gate”, or when the jumpers leave the object. Some of them look like it was still warming up before jumping. Such behaviors or a way of properly standing for control and body arrangement to hide the “advantages” of the suit, sometimes he learns young jumpers faster than everything they can improve in their technique.
The thing is that all this is not in the view. In the environment it is a taboo subject, jumpers talk about it and not with journalists. Well, who would clearly show that he was cheating and got caught on it? That is why the incident case detonated the bomb. Because the Slovenian did not do anything about the fact that everything was visible on the cameras. And the fact that he has not been disqualified is a joke. Mockery of what the equipment control looks like.
He ridiculed her and we haven't seen something like that in the jumps. There was one case of cheating the equipment control in the Norwegian combination: when the Finns coach Peter Kukkonen informed the media that his players pushed their underwear and thus manipulated at the height of the step in their costumes, gaining additional centimeters. In December 2020, however, we only had the words of the trainer, today in Willingen we got an open laughing of the rules in front of cameras.
It started in Zakopane. Hrgota talks about pressure on the Slovenes. “We have been hurt”
This is of course revenge for how Slovenes were treated by FIS. To understand what happened in Willingen, we must even go back to the World Cup competition in Zakopane. This is where the campaign of the equipment controller for coach Robert Hrgota was to start. – There were already pressure, pressure related to our equipment appeared. After the team competition (Slovenia took second place in it, losing only to the Austrians – note) we were admonished for some things that did not make sense to me. Then in Oberstdorf there were two random disqualification on Sunday after two of our jumpers stood on the podium on Saturday – explained Hrgota in an interview with Radio Val 202. On the situation with Oberstdorf We wrote more broadly here.
Here it is also worth quoting a fragment of the Slovenian Ski Association's statement of Friday. “Yesterday the Slovenian Skiing Association officially warned the World Cup director that the last decisions regarding equipment control are increasing doubts about the clarity and equality of rules,” we read in a message, with full content You can see here. These cited words refer to Thursday. Perhaps it is about the meeting of team captains before the competition in Willingen. It took place at the Gasthof Itterbach hotel near the hill, and Sport.pl watched what was happening around this meeting, although traditionally it was not possible to track it from the inside. It took quite a long time – it took over an hour with the later FIS meeting with television. We met Robert Hrgota, who only greeted us, but did not look nervous. This is how the World Cup director, Sandro Pertile, behaved, with whom we were able to talk to, but on other topics than those regarding equipment control. Christian Kathol had no problem to say hello to us with a smile, although a day later he told us that he “did not want to talk to us” by the spokesperson of the World Cup in Skoki, but he spoke for television and radio journalists.
By the way, such a message – that the Union officially warned Sandro Pertile regarding doubts about the last decisions made by the equipment controller – it is also a kind of sensation. Even in the case of another hardware scandal from Willingen before the 2022 Olympic Games, when the “Ferrari” Polish Nagaba shoes were banned, there were no official protests, and certainly not communicating that the World Cup and FIS authorities were warned.
Hrgota on Friday asked us to stop the conversation until the next day, when he managed to cool down and the emotions associated with what happened in the mixtures competition. Earlier he was pulled away from us by Sandro Pertile, who had a long talk with him after the competition. What did the Slovenian trainer say to local journalists? – We see that nothing really works here. This is a particularly big problem if we consider the upcoming World Championships in Trondheim. I see that things really get out of control and if they are not ordered, we will have no other choice but to submit protests. Unfortunately, we will not achieve much in this way. We have to calm down. Our team looked good, but unfortunately they can't compete with others, because we are apparently the only ones who have something in the equipment – said the Slovenian coach.
– The problem is that of course other countries put pressure on the controller or the authorities of our sport. Where do these warnings come from, where do the complaints come from? It is difficult to communicate in such circumstances with other trainers, but also managing jumps – reveals Robert Hrgota. And he admits that what happened on Friday with Zajc should not take place. – We came to a point where all this is not solved in the right way. Finally, for this gesture at the departure, Timi should be disqualified after the jump in the second series. But this did not happen. It is difficult for me to add something more objective here. We were hurt. I hope that the situation will calm down and we will not be so targeted that we will be able to focus primarily on the jumps – sums up Hrgota.
Will there be more disqualification? Kranjec suddenly published eloquent photos
Well, we have bad news for the Slovenian trainer. It seems that this is just the beginning and in a moment the situation can escalate even more. It is true that Friday's behavior from Christian Kathol and Sandro Pertile would suggest that they want to silence the case. However, will they really be able to avoid the strengthening of the conflict and the dense atmosphere also among other representations? You can have a lot of doubts.
– After the mixtures competition, we checked all jumpers and jumpers for the height of the perineum after the jump in the first series of competitions. Everyone was there. Unfortunately, two players were disqualified, one of them was a Slovenian. Zajc was not disqualified for the overalls, its circuit, and the height of the crotch. What we should get from that day is that bands should create costumes that will fit in all limits. They do not help each other, if it is fine once, once and in different places, because the suit is worn differently. I prohibit them from stretching the outfit, because it is manipulating it, which is prohibited in the regulations. The point is not to move him on the body and stood out differently, but to be prescribed – said after Friday's competition on Radio Val 202 Kathol. And he denied himself, because he saw him manipulated the overalls after the jump in the second series, and yet he did not disqualify him.
– I disqualified various players from several nations. Not only Slovenes. Maybe under the influence of emotions people see it differently – this is how Kathol responded to the allegations that he insisted on the team of Robert Hrgota. Anze Lanisek, however, was to tell Slovenian journalists that Kathol assured jumpers, that he was more stringently approaching other representations. – It is funny that some frames manipulate with the length of the perineum and how they have them low, so much that they have to commit such movements. I am fighting against it now. We will continue to do it – said the FIS equipment controller in an interview with Eurosport. I wonder if this is not the announcement that others can expect exclusions from the results for similar issues as those that Kathol indicates in the Slovenes.
Especially since they are already releasing nerves there and the accusations of others are also beginning. Robert Kranjec, a great aviator, and now a member of the staff of Robert Hrgota, who helps the frame in hardware matters, threw three photos of overalls on his Instagram profile: German Philipp Raimund and Norwegian Johann Andre Forfang from the Friday competition in Willingen, as well as Silje Opeth with Norway from the competition in Engelberg.
Everyone suggests that their overalls were too large, and on the first two taps Raimund received a sticker with a muscular man, referring to the shape of his outfit, and forfang at the height of the crotch was added by the word “tent”. You don't have to comment on that.
Slovenes announced legal steps. What next? There is an announcement of another move
The statement announcing the legal steps of Slovenes towards FIS is also important. Therefore, nobody wants to talk about details and specifics yet. There were requests not to accost up jumpers and trainers about it, and to give activists to gather all the data that can allow you to take the right steps.
What? We will probably find out on Thursday, February 6, when Slovenes plan to issue another statement or – if the situation requires it – convene a press conference.
We also do not know whether the matter of behavior after his jump, as well as gestures – applying a finger to the mouth – performed by Anze Laniska and Ema Klinec will be considered by FIS in the context of possible punishment of players. Before the season, the federation announced that in some cases such additional penalties may consider. However, if it stick to it as much as you stick to their own equipment control regulations, then the Slovenes can sleep peacefully.
For now, we can delude ourselves that the discussion about the equipment does not overshadow further competition on the hill in Willingen. Individual competitions of men and women are planned there on Saturday. The first will start at 12:00 and the second at 16:00. Live report on Sport.pl, and broadcasts in Eurosport, TVN and on the platform Max.