Olympic Athletes Disqualified Due to a Banned Substance

Three athletes were disqualified from competing in the 2026 Olympics due to a substance found on their equipment. Japanese snowboarder Masaki Shiba and two skiers from South Korea had used wax on their boards and skis that contained PFAS, known familiarly as the “forever chemical.” This chemical can help snowboards and skis glide down the slopes and half pipes faster.

Shiba had used the same board, same wax in previous competitions but was called out after his parallel giant slalom at the Winter Games.