Fast Track Tragedy: Shame on Olympics
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- So this is what the Olympics have become, a dateline for a death sport. It wasn't enough for organizers to build a safe, practical sliding track on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler. No, they had to design a $105 million monster that turned the luge into a joyride to hell, with wicked turns, a 152-meter drop -- the world's longest -- and a surface so rapid that it lured racers to approach 95 mph.Too fast. Too dangerous. And too deadly for a mere sled -- basically, a missile upon which a human being slides face-up and feet-first, vulnerable to his immediate demise.
All week, there have been crashes on the course, more than a dozen in total, one that left a Romanian athlete unconscious for a brief time. And all week, not a soul from the International Olympic Committee, the International Luge Federation or the Vancouver organizing committee expressed concerns about the wipeouts. Nevermind that one racer had described the 13th curve as the "50-50 Curve,'' based on the odds of a crash. Nevermind that 15 months ago, when the sport's elite racers familiarized themselves with the Whistler Sliding Center, athletes suffered 73 crashes during training runs. Nevermind that as recently as Thursday, U.S. luger Christian Niccum compared ramming into the ice at 90 mph to being on fire, saying, "I just wanted to rip off my suit, 'I'm on fire. I'm on fire.' '' And nevermind that on the same day, Australian luger Hannah Campbell-Pegg voiced an ominous tone and a cry for help.
"I think they are pushing it a little too much. To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies?'' she said. "I mean, this is our lives."
For Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, this would be his death. In an accident so grisly and horrific that Canadian TV stations suggested viewers turn away, the young athlete died shortly after flying too fast through the 50-50 Curve, losing control on the final 270-degree turn, hurdling projectile-like over an icy wall and slamming into an unpadded -- yes, unpadded -- steel pole. A rescue crew tried to revive him trackside by pumping his chest and giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but there was no hope. Kumaritashvili was dead, a victim of a sport gone mad and organizers who weren't paying enough attention
Wow. This is very sad. My condolences to the family. :(
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Fast Track Tragedy: Shame on Olympics
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- So this is what the Olympics have become, a dateline for a death sport. It wasn't enough for organizers to build a safe, practical sliding track on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler. No, they had to design a $105 million monster that turned the luge into a joyride to hell, with wicked turns, a 152-meter drop -- the world's longest -- and a surface so rapid that it lured racers to approach 95 mph.Too fast. Too dangerous. And too deadly for a mere sled -- basically, a missile upon which a human being slides face-up and feet-first, vulnerable to his immediate demise.
All week, there have been crashes on the course, more than a dozen in total, one that left a Romanian athlete unconscious for a brief time. And all week, not a soul from the International Olympic Committee, the International Luge Federation or the Vancouver organizing committee expressed concerns about the wipeouts. Nevermind that one racer had described the 13th curve as the "50-50 Curve,'' based on the odds of a crash. Nevermind that 15 months ago, when the sport's elite racers familiarized themselves with the Whistler Sliding Center, athletes suffered 73 crashes during training runs. Nevermind that as recently as Thursday, U.S. luger Christian Niccum compared ramming into the ice at 90 mph to being on fire, saying, "I just wanted to rip off my suit, 'I'm on fire. I'm on fire.' '' And nevermind that on the same day, Australian luger Hannah Campbell-Pegg voiced an ominous tone and a cry for help.
"I think they are pushing it a little too much. To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies?'' she said. "I mean, this is our lives."
For Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old luger
Yeah it put a damper on the opening last night.
I haven't been paying attention and didn't even realize that the games had started. :(
I haven't been paying attention and didn't even realize that the games had started. :(
The start today. The fatality came during a practice run.
I haven't been paying attention and didn't even realize that the games had started. :(The start today. The fatality came during a practice run.
Thanks. That I knew after reading this morning. When I said that I haven't been paying attention I mean that I didn't even realize this was the even year that the winter olympics occur in. Then when I heard them mentioned a couple days ago I didn't even realize they were getting ready to start. :)
+RIP
Death through sheer ignorance and negligence makes me extremely angry. The organisers should be arrested.
My condolences to his family. This was an avoidable tragedy.
Can't break a world record and go down in history if the organizers won't let you run the full length on the fastest courses. Not that I'm saying that the designers and organizers don't share some blame in this tragedy because they do but there are conflicting interests riddled throughout this.
My condolences to his family and friends.
While it is true that nobody forces the athletes down that track, it sure raises some questions about the track itself. First of all, the possibility of an athlete getting thrown out of it obviously had not been considered beforehand. Then, the track was built for speed - mind you, the speed was more than most people go on highways in their cars most of the time, and hitting anything while wearing only a helmet as protection at 90 mph can be fatal. Is ever higher speed necessary in that competition? Could the athletes ability not be tested without resorting to the highest speed possible?
And even if the track is noticed as dangerous while training on it, I am sure that there is immense psychological pressure on the athletes not to "chicken out" once they are there. At the very least, fielding a team of athletes in the Olympics costs quite a lot of money, and winning medals is a matter of national prestige, so it won´t sit well with the NOCs if some athletes would not race there due to the danger.
Hindsight is always perfect, of course, and it is easy to raise accusations now. Still, I think it should be scrutinized if this tragedy could have been avoided, beyond "not racing".
Stefan
You can have it be the fastest course but still pad the iron girders next to the track. I saw the footage. It was horrible. His body went up and upside down and crack. Over. The impact froze time as the crack of his helmet rang out.
Rest in piece, Nodar.
It did make me wonder why there isn't a Plexiglas dome sealing the track. At least that way there would be oblique impact instead of perpendicular impacts. It might mean the difference between injury and death.
Umm, yeah, pads on an iron girder will definitely help you even if you're traveling at an excess of 90 mph and come to a sudden stop.
Not.
I wondered about that too, Bart Simpson, but they've suggested it could have actually made the difference between life and death (guess it depends on what you envision when I say padding). Maybe not. I don't know. But I like ArchLich's idea.
I'll bet that from now on, those tracks are going to be designed just a little more cautiously, and future lugers will have Nodar to thank for that.
Now hold on a bit, nobody forced this poor man to enter the luge, nobody forced him to go all out on the course. The track was dangerous, all of the athletes knew that, but nobody was sledding conservatively and until this unfortunate accident nobody knew that launching out of the track was possible.
On a luge, you don't have a lot of choice but to go all out. The difference in finishing order has an enormous amount to do with how you take the corners to cut time but with this course, they were all going too fast to begin with. There was no possibility of sledding conservatively. That is why they called the one turn the 50/50. I am quite certain that everyone knew launching out of the track was possible. 90 MPH does that...
The track has been modified overnight, a safety wall has been erected, and as of this morning the athletes are not starting from the top of the course. Nobody wants to see people get hurt. Nobody expected the unthinkable to happen. Now that it has nobody is going to allow the athletes to risk their lives.
It is good that modifications have been performed.
Nobody expected the unthinkable to happen? Did you read the post or quote from the article?From the quote in the OP:
All week, there have been crashes on the course, more than a dozen in total, one that left a Romanian athlete unconscious for a brief time.
...
Nevermind that 15 months ago, when the sport's elite racers familiarized themselves with the Whistler Sliding Center, athletes suffered 73 crashes during training runs.
...
U.S. luger Christian Niccum compared ramming into the ice at 90 mph to being on fire, saying, "I just wanted to rip off my suit, 'I'm on fire. I'm on fire.' ''
...
And nevermind that on the same day, Australian luger Hannah Campbell-Pegg voiced an ominous tone and a cry for help."I think they are pushing it a little too much. To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies?'' she said. "I mean, this is our lives."
There was ample evidence of the danger. There was outcry among the lugers. The lugers were complaining that there lives were in danger.
The thing you have to remember though is that these athletes want to go fast! No one is forcing them to race. They're looking for the fastest courses, they want the faster courses, and they all know the risks. Even after this accident most of the athletes want to continue to ride the full course. These people are kind of crazy!
And, they said this course was too fast before the death. And, there was ample evidence from the training camp 15 monthsd ago that there was great danger and ample evidence from the wrecks during warmups which included one luger being knocked unconscious. They may be kind of crazy but they were complaining about the track and its danger.
Despite this the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton are not the most dangerous winter sports out there. Alpine skiing is usually far more deadly.
Sure, alpine skiing is usually more dangerous. In this case the track has caused the luge to supercede it though.