Alarm at Bergisel — Sabotage alarm after ski‑wax scandal

Material controller Mathias Hafele finds a non‑compliant suit almost every weekend, so such checks are usually routine in the jump circus. But the disqualification of Paweł Wąsek at Bergisel shocked many. The 26‑year‑old Pole was caught in qualifying for the Innsbruck competition on Saturday using prohibited ski wax. Since 2023 the use of fluorinated waxes is banned across all FIS disciplines because the substance is harmful to people and the environment.

At first Poland’s head coach Maciej Maciusiak could not explain the positive finding — because the service crew had used the usual wax when preparing the skis: “We don’t know where the mistake was made or what we should even be looking for. And above all I feel very sorry for Paweł. He is not to blame for this.”

How did banned wax get into the container?

The team around superstar Kamil Stoch later found the cause: a single wax block had been contaminated with fluorinated substance. No one in the Polish team wanted to use the loaded term “sabotage” aloud, but it remains unresolved how the banned wax ended up in the Polish container. “We are forbidden to buy such stuff,” Maciusiak stressed.

For Wąsek it was scant consolation that he was allowed to jump as a trial jumper on Sunday. “I feel I was treated unfairly,” he said.

The article was written by Norbert Niederacher for Krone.at and published on 04 January 2026.