Finland’s protest over Olympic sprint dismissed — Norway outraged by Finns’ actions

Finland’s protest about events in the men’s Olympic sprint has been dismissed — Norway shocked by the Finns’ actions

Finland can still appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Finland’s Ski Association and the Finnish Olympic Committee filed a protest on Saturday morning regarding what happened during the men’s sprint at the Winter Olympics. They argued that the International Ski Federation (FIS) had violated principles of fair play and its own rules.

As expected, FIS has rejected the Finns’ protest.

The Ski Association and the Olympic Committee submitted the protest Saturday morning even though the protest deadline had already passed. Evidence about service actions by Norway and the United States emerged on Thursday. The sprint was raced on Tuesday.

FIS told Norwegian paper VG that the Finnish protest simply arrived too late. According to FIS, article 361.3.3 of the international cross‑country competition rules says a protest against another competitor or a competitor’s equipment must be submitted no later than 15 minutes after the publication of the unofficial results. Because the race was held on Tuesday 10 February, FIS considers the protest filed by the Finnish team today not admissible.

FIS also noted that the deadline for appealing a jury decision — no later than 48 hours after the publication of the official results — has also expired.

However, FIS’s rejection is a decision that the Finns can appeal to CAS’s ad hoc division, which handles urgent Olympic cases. The matter can therefore be brought for independent review.

What was the protest about?

FIS granted Norway’s service team an exemption to bring a waxing pot into the service area during a transition phase. That was forbidden in the pre‑race instructions given to teams, and other national teams were not told about the pot. Meanwhile the U.S. team was observed bringing a prohibited liquid into the service area.

FIS later acknowledged the mistake and apologised for what happened.

"To me it’s very strange. Unbelievable conduct. The basic assumption is that the rules are the same for everyone," said Finnish Olympic Committee high performance director and team leader Janne Hänninen to Yle Sport on Saturday.

Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen finished fourth in the men’s sprint in question. Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, the United States’ Ben Ogden and Norway’s Oskar Opstad Vike reached the podium.

"We want to get a proper clarification. If it affects results, it affects them — but you can never know in advance," commented Finnish Ski Association CEO Marleena Valtasola to Yle Sport.

Valtasola said the protest did not spell out whether the waxing pot or the liquid was considered the more serious offence.

Norway outraged

News that the Finns had filed a protest stirred strong reactions in Norway.

"It’s both disappointing and downright ridiculous that they would protest this," Norwegian TV2 pundit Petter Skinstad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, explaining his view. "First, Norway had permission from FIS for the waxing pot — FIS is the one at fault here — and secondly, that had no effect on the result."

NRK commentator Jann Post reminded viewers that, according to Finland’s wax chief Heikki Tonteri, Vuorinen is a moral Olympic champion.

"It looks like they’re trying to protest their way to gold," Post said.

Former Norwegian greats Pål Golberg and Therese Johaug also spoke out. Golberg said he did not see how Finland could benefit from the protest, given that FIS had allowed the Norwegians’ actions. Johaug agreed, saying FIS must be held accountable.

Background links & notes

FIS has confirmed to media it received the Finnish submission too late to process under competition rules, and Finland may now take the matter to CAS’s Olympic ad hoc division. FIS has also admitted to and apologised for an error concerning the handling of service‑area permissions.