smh. how could you not put padding around steel fucking poles right next to the fuckin half pipe?
Kumaritashvili killed in luge training
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ESPN.com news services
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A men's luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia died Friday after a high-speed crash during training for the Winter Games.
The International Olympic Committee said doctors were unable to revive Nodar Kumaritashvili, and the 21-year-old died at a hospital, hours before the Vancouver Olympics' opening ceremonies were to start.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said the death "clearly casts a shadow over these Games."
"The IOC is in deep mourning,'' said Rogge, who wiped his eyes and appeared choked up before speaking. "[Kumaritashvili] lost his life pursuing his passion. I have no words to say what we feel.''
Rogge said an investigation is under way but would not comment further on the accident's implications for the luge competition.
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Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled Friday, went over a track wall and struck a steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center.
"It is a time of sorrow, not a time to ask for reasons,'' he said.
Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center.
Rescue workers were at Kumaritashvili's side within seconds, chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation started less than one minute after the crash, and he was quickly airlifted to a trauma center in Whistler.
Vancouver organizing chief John Furlong said, "We are heartbroken beyond words."
Rogge said he spoke with the president of the Republic of Georgia to express his sympathy. Rogge said the Georgian delegation has not decided whether to remain in the competition.
Kumaritashvili became the fourth Winter Olympics athlete to die since the Winter Games began in 1924 and first since 1992.
At the 1992 Albertville Games, Nicholas Bochatay of Switzerland died after crashing into a snow grooming machine during training for the demonstration sport of speed skiing on the next-to-last day of the games. He was practicing on a public slope before his event was to begin.
Australian downhill skier Ross Milne died when he struck a tree during a training run shortly before the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki also died in a crash during training in Innsbruck.
At the 1988 Calgary Games, an Austrian team doctor, Jorg Oberhammer, died after being hit by a snow grooming machine.
At least two athletes have died while participating in the Summer Olympics. Marathon runner Francisco Lazaro of Portugal became severely dehydrated and collapsed during his race at the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
Danish cyclist Knud Enemark, who crashed during his race at the 1960 Games in Rome, fractured his skull and died shortly afterwards at a hospital. Enemark's death was later attributed to his ingestion of amphetamines and a blood pressure medication.
Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were taken hostage and later murdered by terrorists at the 1972 Munich Games.
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 before news of Kumaritashvili's death broke, clearly shaken moments after seeing Kumaritashvili tended to furiously by medical officials.
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."
Olympic competition in men's luge is scheduled to begin Saturday. It's unclear if that schedule would be affected.
It was Kumaritashvili's second crash during training for the Vancouver Games. He also failed to finish his second of six practice runs, and in the runs he did finish, his average speed was about 88 mph -- significantly less than the speed the top sliders are managing on this lightning-fast course.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the Georgian Olympic team," U.S. bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb said on Twitter. "The sliding community suffered a tragic and devastating loss to our family today."
"RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili," wrote American skeleton athlete Kyle Tress, who did not qualify for the Olympic team. "Let's never forget how dangerous these sports can be."
More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training for luge, and some questioned whether athletes from smaller nations -- like Georgia -- had enough time to prepare for the daunting track.
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AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Kumaritashvili, preparing for his first training run Friday, became the third Winter Olympics athlete to die in training. None has died in competition.
For weeks leading up to the Olympics, a major concern for bobsledders, lugers and skeleton riders beyond their competition has been the formidable reputation of the track, generally considered the fastest sliding track in the world.
Bobsledder Steven Holcomb, driver of USA I, nicknamed the course's 13th curve the "50-50" curve because of the odds of a crash.
The fatal crash places the politics of the track in a decidedly different light. Earlier in the winter, the American team complained of the tight restrictions the Canadian team placed on use of the Whistler track, which was seen as an example of simple gamesmanship. The Canadians are expected to do well during the Games and limited access to the track to preserve a competitive advantage.
During pre-competition interviews Thursday, sliding athletes discussed the difficulties and challenges of navigating the speed of the Whistler track. Generally, the athletes agreed the track was even more dangerous for bobsledders due to the significantly heavier weight of the sled.
Erin Pac, the driver of the second U.S. women's bobsled team sled, crashed on the Whistler track last year.
In light of Kumaritashvili's death, however, the Canadians will undoubtedly face criticism that with a track of such speed, athletes should have been given more practice time to become familiar with it.
At the finish area, not far from where Kumaritashvili lost control, athletes, coaches and officials solemnly awaited word on Kumaritashvili before eventually being ushered away. Access to the crash area was closed within about 30 minutes.
"I've never seen anything like that," said Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian from India.
The remainder of men's training was canceled for the day, with VANOC officials saying in a release that an investigation was taking place to "ensure a safe field of play."
Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.
Five-time Olympian Mark Grimmette, chosen as the U.S. team's flag bearer, said the speeds on the track are pushing the boundaries of safety.
"We're probably getting close," he said Thursday. "This track is fast and you definitely have to be on your game. ... So it's definitely something they are going to have to take into account on future tracks."
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.
"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."
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.
"Skeleton racers may be able to 'starfish' and kind of correct themselves because they can put their feet down," U.S. women's bobsled driver Shauna Rohbock said Thursday. "Luge, I would think it would be kind of dangerous for them, and for bobsled, yes, we have round runners on our sleds, and once you try to make a change, it doesn't react instantly, so I think it is the most dangerous of all because of the weight.
"The top of this track is pretty technical, and just from the World Cup last year, watching the sleds come down and watching people make mistakes at the bottom, I noticed that even if you make a mistake down there, it doesn't take time away because everybody is going so fast," Rohbock said. "Everybody is going very, very fast at the bottom."
American luger Christian Niccum crashed during a World Cup event in Whistler last year.
"When I hit that ice going 90 mph it turns into fire," Niccum said Thursday. "I remember coming around to the finish and I just wanted to rip off my suit, 'I'm on fire. I'm on fire.' "
Information from The Associated Press, ESPN.com senior writer Howard Bryant and ESPN.com's Bonnie D. Ford was used in this report.
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