Olympic athletes strive for victory, but their journey to the podium involves more than just pushing physical limits. Before any competition, they must ensure every piece of their equipment and attire strictly adheres to a myriad of rules and regulations.
These rules are surprisingly specific. For instance, a pair of cross-country skis needs to weigh a minimum of 750 grams (roughly 1.65 pounds). Ice hockey goalie pads are limited to a maximum of 11 inches in width and 38 inches in length. Even curlers have strict guidelines on branding: while they can promote clothing brands, the logo on their chest cannot exceed 30 square centimeters.
The meticulous nature of these rules, and the severe consequences for breaking them, recently came to light. Ahead of the Milan Olympics, several officials from Norway’s ski jumping team faced suspension for deliberately modifying the suits of their top athletes during a previous event.
The most captivating scandal centered around the ski jumpers’ suits. Their coaches and former equipment manager allegedly conspired to sew extra padding into the suits’ crotch areas. This seemingly minor alteration can significantly impact aerodynamics, allowing the suits to act like sails and grant jumpers a considerable advantage, leading to longer flights down the slope.
Following the scandal, the two Norwegian athletes implicated in the controversy performed poorly in the men’s large hill individual competition. Johann André Forfang finished 12th, and Marius Lindvik, who was a hopeful for defending his Olympic title, ended up in 32nd place.
But ski jumpers aren’t alone in their intense scrutiny of Olympic guidelines. Many athletes in Italy diligently examine these rules, always seeking an edge.
“We constantly have broom scandals,” recounted Tyler George, a gold medalist from the U.S. men’s curling team at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
For those unfamiliar with curling, athletes employ advanced brooms to steer the stone across the ice. Manufacturers are constantly developing new broom designs, sometimes to such an extent that the act of sweeping can become more crucial than the initial shot itself.
“That’s why new regulations are often introduced to balance the competition,” George explained.
The British skeleton team also faced equipment scrutiny when they attempted to debut a new, aerodynamic helmet featuring a pointy rear protrusion. The sport’s governing body rejected this innovative design, and their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was unsuccessful.
Despite this setback, Matt Weston, the British skeleton team leader and a two-time world champion, remained undeterred. On Friday, he competed in his standard helmet and still managed to secure a gold medal in the men’s singles competition.
Downhill skiers sport snug speed suits, typically a blend of polyester and spandex, designed to allow some airflow. Fully airtight suits, often made from rubber, are popular among thrill-seekers but are strictly forbidden in Olympic races.
“There are a few reasons for this,” noted Doug Lewis, a two-time Olympian who raced for the U.S. in the 1980s. “One major concern is that if you fall in an airtight suit, you could accelerate dangerously into obstacles like trees.”
During his competitive years, Lewis recalled skiers experimenting with rubber long underwear under their race suits – a practice both uncomfortable and now forbidden. By 2012, officials even had to crack down on the use of plastic undergarments.
The relentless Olympic pursuit of every conceivable advantage, whether proven or merely speculated, reached a colorful peak before the 2018 Games. Norway, a dominant force in speedskating typically recognized for its fiery red skin suits, surprised everyone at a World Cup event by appearing on the ice dressed in blue.
This dramatic color change, backed by a team of Norwegian sports scientists, sparked theories: perhaps blue fabric was genuinely faster, or perhaps Norway was simply engaging in psychological warfare. Regardless, the German team quickly swapped their black uniforms for blue ones.
“It led to countries conducting extensive scientific tests to determine if blue fabric was indeed slipperier or faster than red,” explained Todd Zaorski, a volunteer coach at Bay State Speedskating in Massachusetts. “It truly highlights the extraordinary obsession when success in your sport comes down to mere fractions of a second, and you’re desperate for every possible edge.”
Fast forward to last week: American speedskater Jordan Stolz clinched gold medals in both the men’s 1000-meter and 500-meter races, setting new Olympic records. And yes, he was wearing a predominantly blue suit.
However, excessive experimentation can lead to unforeseen disasters. A prime example is the U.S. speedskating team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. They competed in “Mach 39” skin suits, highly specialized uniforms with air vents on the back, co-developed by Under Armour and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
The team’s performance was so unexpectedly poor that they controversially abandoned these new suits after just six long-track events, ultimately leaving the Olympics without a single medal – a first for the U.S. since 1984.
In stark contrast to high-tech pursuits, Tyler George, the American curler, embraced a low-tech approach to winning gold at the Pyeongchang Games. He wore a pair of eight-year-old Skechers, modified with Teflon plates on the soles for gliding across the ice. By the end of the competition, his worn-out shoes were literally falling apart.
“Had my shoes degraded further and left any debris on the ice, it could have caused serious problems,” he reflected.
Today, those very shoes are proudly displayed at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. George recently visited them at a convention, finding his humble footwear alongside the impressive gear of fellow Olympians like Dan O’Brien, Nastia Liukin, and Bode Miller.
“Surrounded by all this high-tech, fancy equipment,” George recounted with a chuckle, “there I was, standing right next to my old Skechers.”
