A Luger Dies During Practice

Posted by admin on February 12, 2010 · 1 Comment

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died from injuries suffered in the crash during training when he lost control of his sled near the finish line, German IOC official Thomas Bach confirmed.

He is the third athlete to die in training in Winter Olympic history. No Winter Olympic athletes have died during competition.

“It is a tragedy for his family and the team,” said Bach, the IOC vice-president.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said the death hours before the opening ceremony “clearly casts a shadow over these games.”

“We are deeply struck by this tragedy and join the IOC in extending our condolences to the family, friends and teammates of this athlete, who came to Vancouver to follow his Olympic dream,” said John Furlong, chief executive of the Vancouver organizing committee.

The head of Georgia’s delegation also said Friday that the Georgia team may withdraw from the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

“We are all in deep shock, we don’t know what to do. We don’t know whether to take part in (today’s) opening ceremony or even the Olympic Games themselves,” Irakly Japaridze said.

Nodar Kumaritashvili needed emergency treatment after an accident on a track that is the world’s fastest and has raised safety concerns among competitors.

Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled near the finish Friday, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Centre.

Rescue officials rushed to the scene and were performing 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.”

Shortly before the accident, Hackl said he didn’t believe the track was unsafe.

“People have the opinion it is dangerous but the track crew does the best it can and they are working hard to make sure the track is in good shape and everyone is safe,” he said. “My opinion is that it’s not anymore dangerous that anywhere else.”

Kumaritashvili was scheduled to compete in the men’s singles luge event, which begins Saturday.