“Bullshit” and “ignorance”
Fluorine chaos is causing a lot of discontent in the ski circuit
October 30, 2023, 7:19 p.m
There is a big change this season for ski racers and their technicians: the fluorine ban. It’s causing a stir in the ski world even before the first race. After the first fall at the start, the annoyance is even greater – especially because it poses puzzles.
Ragnhild Mowinckel was in tears. The two-time Olympic silver medalist and two-time World Cup bronze medalist had just been given the dubious honor of being first – the Norwegian’s disqualification from the World Cup giant slalom in Sölden was a first. And a scandal with an announcement.
Right at the start of the season, an athlete was taken out of the race for the first time because of a violation of the fluorine ban introduced in all ski sports, including biathlon, at the beginning of this winter. Mowinckel protested her innocence, and the critics of the ban saw their reservations confirmed. “Bullshit,” the Italian world champion Federica Brignone called the innovation, representing the unanimous opinion.
Athletes and experts had already sounded the alarm before the start. “There is a danger that innocent people will become guilty,” said Roswitha Stadlober, president of the powerful Austrian Ski Association. Charly Waibel, national trainer for technology and science at DSV, warned of a “culture of fraud like in cycling in the 90s”. Athletes feared their skis would be tampered with or contaminated by sprays or abrasion.
Former head coach is stunned
The skeptics are not and are not concerned with the meaning of the ban. Fluorine is harmful to the environment and health. It is also extremely water-repellent and can therefore provide a speed advantage. The World Ski and Snowboard Federation FIS and the IBU in biathlon implemented an EU directive with their ban on waxing aids. But right from the start there were doubts about the measurement methods, especially those of the FIS.
Like other large associations, the DSV has purchased several of the 30,000 euro devices that use infrared spectroscopy to search for fluorine residues on skis. “We have found significant deviations,” Waibel told “Münchner Merkur”/“tz”. This applies both to comparison tests with different devices and to multiple measurements with the same device at the same location.
The DSV, other associations and athletes such as downhill skier Kira Weidle reported doubts to the FIS. But the world association, Waibel said, dismissed the issue “with empty phrases.” The former head coach of the German Alpine team was stunned. He has “never experienced so much half-knowledge and ignorance.”
Why did it happen to Mowinckel?
The biathlon world association IBU was a little more open-minded and is initially planning a warning system. And the FIS also suddenly had doubts shortly before the start. Three days before the race in Sölden, the fluorine limit was raised from 1.0 to 1.8 until December 31st to avoid disqualifications.
Mowinckel still got it. But why? Two days before the fall, her ski had been tested “green” with the same preparation, assured racing director Rainer Salzgeber from her ski brand Head and spoke of a “disaster”. After normal brushing, the value was only 0.1 – actually a clear indication that the ski could not have been prepared with fluorine because it would only be difficult to remove.
“But that,” said Norwegian women’s head coach Atle Skaardal, “raises even more questions than it answers.” Head now wants to have two test machines purchased “so that we can sleep at night again,” as Salzgeber said. Sölden winner Lara Gut-Behrami has a different idea. “Maybe,” mused the Olympic champion from Switzerland, “the service people should sleep in the room with their skis on.”