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Skis Too Long, Olympian Disqualified from Finals
17 Feb
Summary
- Annika Belshaw was disqualified from the ski jumping final due to skis being too long.
- The American's skis exceeded the permitted length by over 1cm.
- This is not the first equipment-related disqualification at these Games.
Annika Belshaw, a 23-year-old ski jumper from Colorado, faced disqualification from the women's large hill individual final at the Winter Olympics. Officials found her skis to be more than 1cm longer than permitted.
According to Olympic ski jumping regulations, ski length is determined by a competitor's height and body mass index. Athletes can be disqualified even if they lose weight during the competition. Belshaw had qualified for the final, placing 29th after her first jump and improving her score with her final attempt, but was subsequently removed from the competition.
This incident follows other equipment-related controversies during the Winter Olympics. Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig was also banned from his final because his shoes were four millimeters too large, a mistake he attributed to not checking the sizes carefully.
Belshaw's previous performances at her Winter Olympics debut included a seventh-place finish in the mixed team event and 21st in the normal hill individual competition.
