greenspandan Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 dam. At that speed I'm not sure padding would do much. Those poles need to not even be there. very sadIt is amazing how fast he is going. Wow the real problem is not the steel poles, it's the 93mph. if you fly off a track going that fast, a wall of marshmallows would kill you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnhay Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Is it really important for the Huffington Post to have the video of a guy dying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I saw the footage on TV just after it happened, and at that stage, he was still alive, but barely. An interview with an Aussie official soon after, who was at the accident site, said it happened just after the finish line, but that is no excuse for the lack of some sort of padding. Then again, padding or not, you hit an unmovable object at 93 mph, and it will **** you up. Sudden stops from that speed generally do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HA1LV1CT0RY Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d02_1266004280 Full video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljs Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 the still photos were hard to look at- surreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinFeathers Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 God that's so terrible. Prayers to his family, friends, and country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Horrible horrible horrible. RIP. Terrible way to start the games. I just watched the video, it is impossible to see where he hits because he is going so fast. It happens in like a fourth of a second then you see rescue workers running towards him. *edit* Actually just saw another video, and yeah you can see him come out of the turn, hit the right curve, and go flailing into one of those poles. Jesus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 This is a terrible and shocking death, but I have to say that I'm kind of surprised there aren't more deaths in this sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy Burner Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 That's the third serious accident at this track in the last week. It needs to be changed or shut down. Hardly any snow in the region (we have plenty in the mid-Atlantic). This Olympics is off to a bad start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 ugh!!! CNN just showed the video. I was completely unprepared. Poor guy... Why is it necessary to even show the video of someone's death? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Saw the video too. That sucked. Really sucked. This is tragic and there have been complaints that the track is too fast. There was word that speeds could reach the 100mph area. That's just nuts. Thoughts and prayers to that racer's family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiCkSoULjA Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 wow that sport is insane and that track is entirely too fast thats crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 A lot of professional lugers have a lot of trouble with this track. Sad that someone passed away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSellers45 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 RIP Nodar Kumaritashvii. It is unbelievablehow he just got flung off the track like that. What a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackest Eyes Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Really sad way to start the Olympics. Thoughts definitely go out to his family and countrymen. Hopefully there are no more incidents like this the rest of the olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Rest in peace Olympian. May your eternity be filled with wind upon your face a sled on your back and gold around your neck. why is there an unpadded steel pole at the end of the track? Having watched the video, padding on that pole would not have saved him. A wall surrounding it probably would have but at 80+ mph he would have been luck to survive once he came out of the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englands Redskin Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 From the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/luge/8513794.stm "The technical officials of the FIL were able to retrace the path of the athlete and concluded there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track. "Based on these findings the race director, in consultation with the FIL, made the decision to reopen the track following a raising of the walls at the exit of curve 16 and a change in the ice profile. "This was done as a preventative measure, in order to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again." So no deficiencies in the track, but they have modified it before reopening it???? RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aruna Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 From the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/vancouver_2010/luge/8513794.stmSo no deficiencies in the track, but they have modified it before reopening it???? RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili. Yea it's silly how the officals are blaming the luger for failing to make adjustments in the corner saying it wasn't their fault, so death should be possible outcome for making a mistake in a corner? Seems reasonable for an olympic event... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I'm watching the local FTA coverage, and they were talking about the accident, and it was mentioned that a well respected official in the sport was quoted as saying 'Someone could die at this track sooner rather than later'. Prophetic much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Monarch 06 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 The video of the incident is downright terrible. Wish I hadn't watched it. My thoughts go out to his family, friends, country, and fellow Olympians. Hope they bring some golds home for their fallen comrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Guy was only 21 years old And I cannot believe anyone showed that video on TV after the fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Luger-who-died-told-father-he-was-terrified-of?urn=oly,219592 Luger who died told father he was 'terrified' of Whistler track By Chris Chase Three days before his death, luger Nodar Kumaritashvili spoke to his father by phone and said he was "terrified" of the track at the Whistler Sliding Center. David Kumaritashvili gave an interview outside his house in the mountain town of Bakuriani, Georgia on Sunday and recounted one of the last conversations he had with his 21-year old son. The Wall Street Journal reports: "He called me before the Olympics, three days ago, and he said, 'Dad, I'm scared of one of the turns.' "I said, 'put your legs down on the ice to slow down,' but he said if he started the course he would finish it ... He was brave." Nodar Kumaritashvili also spoke with his parents hour before his fateful slide. He reportedly told them he planned to make them proud. There has been much debate in the wake of Kumaritashvili's death about whether the track was too fast or whether the relatively-inexperienced luger was out of his element. A number of Olympic lugers feel that the track was fine and that the accident was Kumaritashvili's fault, a sentiment shared by luging officials who deemed the track safe (even while hypocritically lowering the starting location and adding pads to the metal beams which caused the death). Germany's Natalie Geisenberger, who won a race at Whistler last year, said that the women's event has turned into a "kid's race", a startlingly insensitive remark given the tragedy of Friday: "I'm not happy about the new start. It's not a woman's start, it's a kinder start. The rest of the track is okay but it's not as fast as from the proper start. It's the same for all the athletes but I don't like it. I felt very good but now because of the new start it's not fun." Canadian Regan Lauscher complained that in the wake of the lowered start, the home-track advantage for Canada is "basically gone." Given that some have said Canada's resistance to allow other countries to train at the Whistler track played a role in Kumaritashvili's death, that comment beats out even Geisenberger's for insensitivity. Maybe Lauscher is taking cues from her coach, who said that "exotic sliders" are the reasons luge accidents happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 "He called me before the Olympics, three days ago, and he said, 'Dad, I'm scared of one of the turns.' Was he speaking of the actual turn that killed him ? A number of Olympic lugers feel that the track was fine and that the accident was Kumaritashvili's fault, a sentiment shared by luging officials who deemed the track safe (even while hypocritically lowering the starting location and adding pads to the metal beams which caused the death). So, not only are the track officials showing no mercy to the grieving family, the other lugers have to rub salt into the wound, as well :doh: And the author gives a good point. If there was nothing wrong with the track, and it was all the luger's fault, then why is it necessary to make those adjustments to the track ? :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Okay, dumb question, but shouldn't the guy's helmet've protected him? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 At that speed? And what he hit? No. Not even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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