Austrian Olympic ski jumping team won't protest against Ammann

The Austrian Olympic ski jumping team has formally decided it will not protest against the modified boot bindings of chief Swiss rival Simon Ammann after all, a spokesman said on Saturday.                                           

Austria, saying the bindings gave Ammann an illegal advantage, had threatened to launch a protest after the first round of the large hill individual contest on Saturday unless Ammann switched back to regular equipment.                                           

The bindings supposedly made Ammann's position through the air more aerodynamic.                                           

The International Ski Federation (FIS) examined the bindings on Friday and said they were legal.                                           

"There will definitely not be a protest against the bindings that Simon Ammann is using. This is because of the FIS decision," said Florian Kotlaba, spokesman for the Austrian ski jumping team.                                           

Ammann, a double gold medalist from 2002, easily won last week's normal hill contest and is one of the favourites for the large hill. If he wins, he would become the first man to win four individual ski jumping golds.                                           

A statement from the Austrian Ski Federation said the focus should be on Saturday's competition.                                           

Swiss officials say the binding protest is designed to deflect attention away from the underperforming Austrian team, which has four of the top five jumpers in the world but has so far only won a bronze in the normal hill.                                           

Kotlaba denied it had been a mistake to threaten a protest over the bindings.                                           

"We needed a decision and they have made a decision. That was our goal," he said.