Ski Jumpers are injecting their penises with acid so they can jump further

There’s been a weird scandal at the Winter Olympics before the games have properly opened, and it involved ski jumpers injecting acid into their penises. 

Yes, you heard that right – but why on earth would anyone want to do that? 

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are about to officially start

With the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics getting underway in earnest, there has already been one big scandal before the teams have had their big opening parade. 

Settle down for this, because it’s a weird one. 

Apparently, there are ski jumpers who are injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to make themselves fly further through the air. 

We all know that athletes make huge sacrifices to achieve marginal gains in their sports, but this is absolutely ridiculous. 

Also, how could it possibly help?

It all comes down to the suits that the ski jumpers wear. 

Equipment is strictly controlled in ski jumping

At the start of each season, ski jumpers have to submit to a test that measures and scans their body, including – crucially – their crotch height. 

The suits that they wear are then made up meticulously to those specifications, as the suit that is worn can have a ‘significant effect’ on the distance they can jump as it can add lift, as Professor Dan Dwyer from Deakin University told The Guardian. 

Can you see where we are heading with this?

Basically, injecting the penis with acid can increase the girth, meaning that the measurements of the suit can be bigger, and therefore the advantage gained more significant.

Sandro Pertile, from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, explained: “Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. 

“If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further. 

“Of course, this is a competitive sport and everyone’s on the limit with the rules because everyone wants to win.”

Yes, but at what cost?

Are there risks involved?

The short answer is yes.

Professor Eric Chung, a urological scientist, explained: “Poorly injected technique or incorrect dose would cause penile pain, poor cosmesis [disfigurement], deformity, infection, inflammation, sensory change, and sexual dysfunction. 

“In rare instances, infection can spread to cause gangrene (tissue necrosis) and loss of the penis.”

It’s a great maxim to live your life by – if something has even a small chance of rotting off your penis, you should probably just avoid it altogether. 

As if you needed another reason to keep a keen eye on the ski jumping when the games get underway.