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It wouldn’t be the Olympic Games without allegations that certain athletes are trying to get an unfair advantage. But some claims surrounding male ski jumpers at the Milano Cortina Games are spreading like wildfire. Why? It involves men allegedly enhancing the size of their penis to try to jump farther.
In case you haven’t been tracking this closely, here’s a quick recap of so-called Penis-gate. It all started when German outlet Bild reported on rumors of ski jumpers getting hyaluronic acid penile injections for enlargement. Hyaluronic acid is often used in injectable fillers to smooth out lines in your face—fillers like Juvederm or Restylane fall into this category.
These penile injections aren’t for fun—the idea is that a larger penis would allow competitors to have a bigger crotch area in their suits, which could create more lift in the area and allow them to fly farther. Apparently even a small change in fabric can lead to big jumping gains, which is why suits are closely monitored by regulating agencies.
As a result of the allegations, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it would look into it.
Before you crack up at how absurd all of this is, know this: The Norwegian team was previously accused of altering the crotch in its teams’ suits—and several coaches and players were suspended because of it. So crotch enhancement is a very real concern in the ski jumping world. However, the new allegations of penile enhancement injections have overshadowed that original scandal, because, c’mon.
But while there isn’t a ton of concrete evidence right now to support the latest Penis-gate allegations, it’s important to know that using hyaluronic acid for penile enhancement isn’t a new thing. Here’s how it’s used, plus the potential risks.
Penis injections are happening around the country right now.
It may sound wild that men would inject hyaluronic acid into their penises, but there are aesthetic clinics across the country that do this. “This is definitely a thing,” David Kaufman, MD, director of Central Park Urology, a division of Maiden Lane Medical, tells SELF. “It’s certainly popular.”
