Two Olympic cross-country skiers have been disqualified from the Winter Games after a banned substance was found on their skis during their qualification round.
The equipment of Han Dasom and Lee Eui-jin of South Korea were deemed to have been contaminated with fluorinated wax, a substance that has been prohibited since the 2023-24 season.
Known as ‘fluor’, the wax gained popularity among skiers in the 1980s for its capacity to boost an object’s glide, having initially been used in sailing.
But the substance was outlawed for its toxic impact of the environment, with fluor a ‘forever chemical’ which does not biodegrade.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) banned the chemical in 2019, with the ban coming into effect four years later.
The FIS confirmed that Han and Lee had been banned on Tuesday following the women’s sprint qualifiers that morning.
Han Dasom (pictured) and Lee Eui-jin have been disqualified after a banned substance was found to have contaminated their skis
Neither skier was thought to be in contention for medals, with the pair sitting 157th and 158th in the World Cup standings coming into Tuesday’s event.
Prior to Han and Lee’s disqualifications, the Olympic skiing had been dogged by unsubstantiated claims that male ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their genitals in a bid to gain a competitive advantage.
The saga known as ‘penis gate’ took a surreal hold on the opening stages of the Games, which began in Milan and Cortina d’Apezzo in earnest last week.
While the allegations may have been little more than speculation, ski jumpers are subject to rigorous checks to ensure that they are not enhancing the crotch of their ski suits to ensure they have the edge.
Ahead of this season, athletes underwent a 3D body scan to determine the size of their competitive suit and prevent athletes from tampering with them.
Scientific studies suggest that any increase in the surface area of a skinsuit can effectively turn the jumper into a human glider, implying that the bigger a particular bulge, the further they might fly.
A study by Frontiers established that every two centimetres in suit circumference reduced drag by four per cent and increased lift by five per cent – equivalent to an extra 5.8 metres in jump length.
At the world championships in March 2025, it emerged that the Norwegian team had adjusted the seams around the crotch of their suits in order to gain an advantage over their rivals.
Magnus Brevik, their head coach, his assistant coach Thomas Lobben and another staff member, Adrian Livelten, were handed 18-month bans in the fallout.
The defending Olympic ski jump champion Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang were also suspended for three months, though it was found that the athletes were not aware of the plot.
Returning to the Olympics in Italy, Fofang finished ninth in the normal hill jumping on Monday, with Lindvik coming 17th in the standings.
