Disqualifications at the Olympics: ski jumping controller dismisses guilt after farce

The Finnish material controller Mika Jukkara has rejected any criticism after the ski jumping farce in the Olympic mixed competition.

“The disqualifications were pronounced solely by Mrs. Aga Baczkowska.

I had nothing to do with it, ”clarified the 58-year-old in a written statement that is available to the Sport Information Service.

At the mixed premiere, five jumpers from four top nations were disqualified because their suits were too big. Katharina Althaus (Oberstdorf) was also affected.

As a result, all four nations had no chance of winning the medals.

Then the men's inspector Jukkara was also dealt with harshly.

"Some person falsely claimed that I was in the women's cabin during the checks.

That is not true.

Since I checked the men at the same time, that wasn't even possible," wrote the FIS inspector.

Only the Pole Baczkowska was responsible for the women.

National coach Stefan Horngacher had also criticized Jukkara, but was mainly referring to the numerous controls and disqualifications during the World Cup season.

Jukkara also defended himself against this criticism.

"During the season we followed the rules more closely and carried out the controls more precisely than in previous years.

The result can be seen with the men, the suits are much more similar than in the past.

It ensures more fairness and takes our sport in a fairer and safer direction," Jukkara said.

The Finn had also been backed up recently.

Jukkara is an inspector "who pays rigorous attention to the suits, and that's why the men's competitions are fairer," Sven Hannawald told Watson.

The international ski jumping scene was concerned about the external impact of the disqualifications.

The fined Katharina Althaus accused the world association Fis of having "destroyed" women's ski jumping, other responsible persons or former officials spoke unanimously of a "disaster" - and all this on the largest possible stage.

Job only taken on last year

Material controller Mika Jukkara and his Polish colleague Agnieszka Baczkowska were the focus of criticism.

Baczkowska fought back.

"I can't be happy about that," she told the Polish broadcaster TVP Sport about the exclusion of a total of five jumpers.

"But if the teams or the athletes themselves don't follow the rules, they have to reckon with being caught, and unfortunately that ends with a disqualification."

Jukkara took over the job from Joseph Gratzer the previous year.

The Austrian attacked his successor head-on after the unusual series of disqualifications.

"I have the impression that he wants to change everything overnight and organize the control activities differently.

For me, he's not the right man on the pitch at the moment, I guess you were wrong," Gratzer told the "Tiroler Tageszeitung".

In the ARD, the 66-year-old more or less clearly demanded that his successor be replaced.

He has his doubts about continuing with Jukkara after the games.

“We still have a ski flying world championship and a few more world cups to contest.

I think his image is already badly damaged.”

According to the Fis regulations, every athlete is completely measured before the season.

Among other things, data such as height, arm length, leg length, step length or weight are collected.

Based on the numbers recorded, the appropriate material such as skis and the suit must be used for the jumps.

In the Zhangjiakou cases, the suits of the five disqualified jumpers involved stride length.

According to the rules, the suit may have a maximum distance of three centimeters from the body in the crotch.

Inspector Baczkowska assured that the differences in the suits in question were not just one or two centimeters.

More transparency demanded

In addition to Althaus, one jumper each from Japan and Austria and two Norwegians were affected by the exclusions because of the allegedly incorrect suits.

The medals in the canceled competition went behind Olympic champion Slovenia to the team of the Russian Olympic Committee and Canada - two underdogs.

Althaus was very upset that the long-awaited mixed debut at the Winter Games went so badly wrong.

"Our names are all there now and we've played the arse card.

That destroys nations, funding and the whole sport unfairly,” said the 25-year-old.

She had cried in the outrun of the ski jump.

Overall World Cup leader Karl Geiger spoke of "a bottomless cheek".

But what has to be done now?

“You don't have to rethink material control, and you don't have to reinvent the rules either.

You just have to approach it with tact," said the long-time incumbent Gratzer of the ARD.

The former national coach Werner Schuster hopes that the messed up Olympic jumping will be an opportunity to talk about more transparency in the complex sport.