Ski jumper Dominik Peter takes a break – and again it’s about weight

Swiss-Ski announced on Wednesday morning that 22-year-old ski jumper Dominik Peter is taking a year’s break due to health reasons. The crux of the matter is his eating habits. “It is important for me to give myself enough time during this process to be able to eat healthily again,” the ski jumper explains his decision.

Eating disorders in ski jumping – this is not a new problem. In the sport where lightweights have a clear advantage, athletes walk a fine line: to be competitive, weight control is essential.

For some athletes, however, starvation goes so far as to pose health risks. Four-time Olympic champion Simon Amman also knows it. The question of how to get rid of a few hundred grams is “the daily life of a ski jumper,” he told Blick.

Problematic eating habits in ski jumping became apparent as early as the 1990s. The most prominent example was Sven Hannavald, who dominated the sport for a while at his own discretion. After holiday photos appeared showing his emaciated body, he was repeatedly suspected of anorexia.

At 1.85 meters tall, Hannawald sometimes weighed only 61 kilograms. After his retirement, the high-flyer told Zeit Online about his rigorous weight control: “It just had to be that way, because in my eyes the issue of weight was the recipe for success.”

To stop the hunger trend in ski jumping, the ski association introduced a body mass index rule in 2004. Those who did not reach the prescribed BMI were not allowed to compete with the maximum ski length and were at a disadvantage due to the smaller wing area. The BMI value, which was initially set at 20, was gradually increased to 21 over the years.

However, the FIS calculated this without taking into account advances in ski construction. Nowadays you can also fly far with shorter skis – so the BMI rule only applies to a limited extent when it comes to weight problems. Since last winter, however, athletes have had to stand on the scale without shoes, which in turn has led to a slight tightening of the rule. However, for many ski jumping players, this measure does not go far enough. For example, Polish national ski jumping coach Thomas Thurnbichler calls for an increase in BMI and a greater reduction in ski length if the minimum BMI is not reached.

The weight also thwarted the plans of Norwegian Olympic champion and multiple World Cup winner Maren Lundby in the winter of 2021/2022. She announced at the time that she would miss a winter because her body had changed. «Currently I have a few kilos too much to jump at the highest level in the world. And I’m not willing to do anything crazy to change that,” she said.

The then most successful ski jumper of today received a lot of support for her decision to prioritize her health and not risk replacing her success. When she returned in the 2022/23 season, Maren Lundby was no longer able to fully build on her previous successes and achieved “only” 20th place in the overall World Cup.

Yet she was still able to demonstrate her class. Lundby set a new world record with a flight of over 210 meters – which was beaten just a few minutes later by Canada’s Alexandria Loutitt.