Why Olympic ski-jumping suits are so tight — and why they can get an athlete disqualified

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Winter Olympics: Ski Jumping and the athletes’ snug suits

Fox News learns some surprising facts about the jumper’s uniform from New York Ski Educational Foundation coach and veteran ski jumper, Colin Delaney.

It’s not a bird, and it’s not a plane — it’s a ski jumper in an extremely snug suit!

Staring down at a harrowing 120-meter ski jump is a nausea-inducing sight for most, but for ski jumpers, it can mean a gravity-defying flight to fame and glory on the podium at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. And a very important part of those gravity-defying flights are their suits.

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Those form-fitting suits accompany all ski-jumping competitors from the top of the jump to the bottom, but they're more than just stretchy, super-tight uniforms.

“Each suit is handmade for the individual jumper, and they have to fit within a tight tolerance to your body,” explains veteran ski jumper Colin Delaney. “So each point of the suit has to be within a two-centimeter tolerance to your own body measurement or else you could be disqualified.”

A ski jumper competes in a qualifying round at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. A veteran ski jumper who spoke with Fox News said the athletes' suits can make or break — or even disqualify — a jump. (Reuters)

According to Delaney — who also serves as a coach at the New York Ski Educational Foundation — a suit that allows for a looser tolerance would create more lift, allowing the jumper to hang higher and fly farther through the air.

"It could kind of be like a wingsuit for a skydiver," said Delaney of a too-loose suit.

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Be sure to check out the full interview with Delaney to learn how other factors — including wrinkles and even colors — can impact the ski jumper’s performance.