BillyBalata Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Some reports that this guy might not have survived. story Video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) according to espn, he's dead. link WHISTLER, British Columbia -- A men's Olympic luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia died after a crash during training Friday, an Olympic official with direct knowledge of the crash said. The official tells The Associated Press that the International Olympic Committee received confirmation of Nodar Kumaritashvili's death. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the 21-year-old luger's family hadn't been notified yet. An official statement is to be released soon. Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled near the finish, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center on a course that is the world's fastest and has raised safety concerns among competitors. Rescue officials rushed to the scene and performed chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Kumaritashvili was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter was summoned and was over the track about eight minutes after the crash. Kumaritashvili struck the inside wall of the track on the final turn. His body immediately went airborne and cleared the ice-coated concrete wall along the left side of the sliding surface. His sled remained in the track, and it appeared his helmet visor skidded down the ice. "It's a very rare situation," three-time Olympic champion and German coach Georg Hackl said. "But there's some things that you can't do anything about." It was unclear how fast Kumaritashvili was going, although many sliders have exceeded 90 mph on this course. The track is considered the world's fastest and several Olympians recently questioned its safety. More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training. At the finish area, not far from the crash scene, athletes, coaches and officials solemnly awaited word on Kumaritashvili. "I've never seen anything like that," said Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian from India. "I'm afraid it's bad." Training was suspended indefinitely, International Luge Federation members were called for a briefing and team captains from each nation were asked to attend a meeting. Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings. Earlier in the day, gold-medal favorite Armin Zoeggeler of Italy crashed, losing control of his sled on Curve 11. Zoeggeler came off his sled and held it with his left arm to keep it from smashing atop his body. He slid on his back down several curves before coming to a stop and walking away. Training days in Whistler have been crash-filled. A Romanian woman was briefly knocked unconscious and at least four Americans -- Chris Mazdzer on Wednesday, Megan Sweeney on Thursday and both Tony Benshoof and Bengt Walden on Friday in the same training session where Zoeggeler wrecked -- have had serious trouble just getting down the track. "I think they are pushing it a little too much," Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg said Thursday night after she nearly lost control in training. "To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives." Edited February 12, 2010 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Wow! That looks very bad. I mean he was going around 80 and came to a sudden stop. I fear that he will be in very bad shape if he is alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) Sad http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/n...s_n_460474.html link to video and some pretty nasty pics Edited February 12, 2010 by MrTed46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 The official tells The Associated Press that the International Olympic Committee received confirmation of Nodar Kumaritashvili's death. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the 21-year-old luger's family hadn't been notified yet. Which means this person isn't just a POS but a spineless one as well, ie it's OK to blab to the press as long as I'm not named. I wonder how'd they like to hear about their son's death on the news vs someone contacting them directly? Terrible tragedy. Afraid this will hang over the whole thing now like Munich in 72. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Terrible tragedy. Afraid this will hang over the whole thing now like Munich in 72. Uh, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Thanks for clearing that up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Which means this person isn't just a POS but a spineless one as well, ie it's OK to blab to the press as long as I'm not named. I wonder how'd they like to hear about their son's death on the news vs someone contacting them directly? Terrible tragedy. Afraid this will hang over the whole thing now like Munich in 72. Thats tough to compare this to Munich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Thanks for clearing that up. Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. I'm not on anybody's side here. But I agree with Chief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitzkek Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. +10000 Wow. Seriously, Beer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. +1 and I've read some stupid sheet here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 FYI, the Olympic folks pulled the video from YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitzkek Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Not to be the bearer of bad news, but go here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/nodar-ku...vili-luge-crash It's a little grainy and w/out sound, but you can appreciate the speed he was traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budlitebrad Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) Vancouver Engineer - "Besides designing this track so it's super fast, let's make sure to add in plenty of unpadded steel poles nearby. You know, because flying down a tube of ice with a skate up your ass isn't crazy enough by itself." Edited February 12, 2010 by budlitebrad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) Vancouver Engineer - "Besides designing this track so it's super fast, let's make sure to add in plenty of unpadded steel poles nearby. You know, because flying down a tube of ice with a skate up your ass isn't crazy enough by itself." First thing I thought, absolutely idiotic design and disregard for safety, and now, apparently human life. Edited February 12, 2010 by Hugh 0ne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. Not half as stupid as the misinterpretation of what I said. Geezomighty. My only point was a tragedy which occurred at the Olympics will put some degree of tarnish/damper on the whole thing. This was also the case in Munich. They are similar only in that way. Still going too fast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 wow, that is awful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Sorry, but comparing a luge accident to a terrorist massacre is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here. that's covering a pile of ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Are these tracks all built to the same specifications? Because that turn at the end just looked like poor design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 First thing I thought, absolutely idiotic design and disregard for safety, and now, apparently human life. Wonder if this will have fallout on the rest of the competitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I don't see how anyone could've survived that...just awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricrelish Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) Is it safe to say they will be canceling this event? Numerous people were hurt in their practice sessions. This track is not ready to go. Insightful quote: "To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies?" - Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg Edited February 12, 2010 by electricrelish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Are these tracks all built to the same specifications? Because that turn at the end just looked like poor design.No. Tracks can have various lengths and number of turns. I also don't believe they keep world records for luge run times since the tracks do vary. Their are speed and course records though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Is it safe to say they will be canceling this event? Numerous people were hurt in their practice sessions. This track is not ready to go. Insightful quote: "To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies?" - Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg Clearly, this track is unsafe. If they let the events begin, it would be gross negligent something or other....endangerment? Maybe even manslaughter, if another athlete dies. The athletes should demand it be moved... maybe Lake Placid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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