Norway parts ways with three ski jumping officials amid cheating investigation
Coach Magnus Brevig, his assistant Thomas Lobben and staff member Adrian Livelten are suspected of having modified the suits of Norwegian athletes, to improve their performance in the air, in a way that ran afoul of the rules.
Brevig and Livelten were secretly filmed in early March in a room where the suits were cut open and manipulated, according to Norwegian media.
The incident prompted the International Ski Federation (FIS) to launch an investigation, which is still ongoing, and to temporarily suspend Norwegian athletes Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang.
Three other athletes were also provisionally suspended the following day, including Robert Johansson -- the 35-year-old former Olympic champion and world record holder who announced this week that he was retiring.
On March 10th, the Norwegian Ski Federation said it believed that "the equipment was deliberately manipulated in violation of FIS regulations in order to gain an advantage in the competition" and suspended Brevig and Livelten.
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"We have always made it clear that we take this case seriously," Secretary General Ola Keul said in a statement on Thursday.
"After a thorough process, we have now reached an agreement to end our working relationship," he added.
"Brevig is, given the circumstances, satisfied that an agreement has been reached regarding his contract, allowing the athletes to fully concentrate on their preparation for the Olympic season," Brevig's lawyer Julie Hoydal Davik said in a statement to AFP.
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