In the quest for Olympic gold, professional athletes must endure hardships that seem unfathomable to most of us mere mortals. But do these lengths also apply to ski jumpers who inject their penises with hyaluronic acid to fly further?
That is the question the World Anti-Doping Agency will investigate, as such sensational allegations first emerged in the German newspaper Bild in what is now being dubbed “Penisgate”.
Bild has claimed that athletes have had the acid injected into their penises to game the system when they are measured for their suits, which is tightly regulated to prevent athletes from having an aerodynamic advantage.
While the outcome of that study is still pending, other questions remain: why would a ski jumper want to tamper with his penis, is it safe, and what does it have to do with aerodynamics?
What does injecting hyaluronic acid do to the penis?
Hyaluronic acid is a common filler used in cosmetic surgery, including injections penis enlargement surgerysays Prof. Eric Chung, a urological surgeon.
Injecting a penis with hyaluronic acid would make it larger in girth, “but you would have to inject a lot of hyaluronic acid,” says Chung, who previously led the specialist andrology advisory group for the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Hyaluronic acid has a temporary effect and should be replenished every six to 12 months, depending on the absorption and migration of the particles, Chung says.
How does penis size affect ski jumping?
Before the start of the season, ski jumpers must have their suit made up based on their height, including crotch height determined by an FIS-approved 3D body scanner in the presence of a doctor, stripped down to their underwear and with special provisions regarding posture.
That suit’s dimensions are strictly regulated because the overall size of the suit can have a “significant effect” on the amount of lift you can generate, allowing them to jump further, says Associate Professor Dan Dwyer, from Deakin University’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.
Enlarging the penis with hyaluronic acid could provide an advantage if the athlete is subjected to this standardized body measurement process, because the recorded measurements of their body would be larger than they would otherwise have been, allowing them to have a slightly larger ski suit made, says Dwyer. “And that slightly larger ski suit has a larger surface area, which can generate a little bit of extra lift.”
Sandro Pertile, Men’s Race Director of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), say “Every extra centimeter of a suit counts. If your suit has 5% more surface area, you fly further. Of course this is a competitive sport and everyone is at the limit with the rules, because everyone wants to win.”
What are the risks?
Chung warns that injecting a penis with hylauronic acid carries significant risks, both in the short and long term.
“Poor injected technique or incorrect dose would cause penile pain and poor cosmesis [disfigurement]deformity, infection, inflammation, sensory change and sexual dysfunction. In rare cases, the infection can spread and cause gangrene (tissue necrosis) and loss of the penis.”
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