Austrian ski jumper Daniel Chofenig was disqualified from the large hill competition at the 2026 Olympics due to equipment non-compliance with established standards. The athlete admitted his mistake and stated that he felt "extremely stupid." This was reported by UNN with reference to the BBC.
Details
The 23-year-old 2025 World Cup champion confidently passed the qualification and was considered one of the medal contenders. In the first attempt, he scored 137.7 points, but during the equipment check, the judges found that his boots exceeded the allowed size by 4 millimeters, which automatically led to disqualification.
The athlete explained that he used new shoes, which he did not check properly due to a busy training schedule.
I was naive and didn't measure them. It's very stupid of me, but rules are rules
Due to the disqualification of the Austrian, Slovak Hector Kapustik made it to the final, getting a chance to compete in the decisive round.
The gold medal was ultimately won by Slovenian Domen Prevc, silver by Japanese athlete Ren Nikaido, and bronze by Pole Kacper Tomasiak.
In addition, the competition organizers announced another disqualification: American Annika Belshaw was removed from the women's large hill final due to skis whose length exceeded the norm by more than a centimeter. The athlete also successfully passed the qualification but could not compete in the final.
The scandal surrounding equipment checks at the tournament intensified amid media reports of possible manipulation of costume measurements by athletes, which drew additional attention to control procedures.
Recall
Earlier, UNN wrote about how the IOC disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the competition. The reason for the athlete's removal was a memorial helmet he wanted to use during his run at the 2026 Olympics.