Fast and frightening, yes. Responsible for the death of a luger, no.The fact that a rider could be launched at 90 mph into an unprotected steel pole tells me there's something basically wrong with the track design. Had the wall in that area been a little higher he still would have had a vicious crash but his body would have stayed within the confines of the track and at worst he might have had a concussion.
Olympic officials decided late Friday night against any major changes in the track or any delays in competition and even doubled up on the schedule in the wake of the horrifying accident that claimed the life of a 21-year-old luger from the republic of Georgia.
They said they would raise the wall where the slider flew off the track and make an unspecified "change in the ice profile" -- but only as a preventative measure "to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again."
Within sight of the finish line, Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed coming out of the 16th turn and slammed into an unpadded steel pole while traveling nearly 90 mph. Despite frantic attempts by paramedics to save his life, he died at a trauma center.
Concerns about the lightning-fast course had been raised for months. There were worries that the $100 million-plus venue was too technically difficult, and a lack of significant practice time by everyone but the host nation's sliders would result in a rash of accidents.
But the International Luge Federation and Vancouver Olympic officials said their investigation showed that the crash was the result of human error and that "there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track."
This seems like an awfully quick judgment on the part of an Olympic Committee that doesn't want to take the blame for a bad design.
UPDATE: Just in from MSNBC:
It wasn't the track, eh?
Officials raising walls and lowering the start point on Luge course at the Olympics.
Men's luge competition to run from the women's start as an extra precaution after the death of a Georgian slider, Olympic officials say
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1 comment:
You know the drill...never admit wrong-doing.
I've been reading how skiers are also concerned about the safety of the downhill runs. In the quest for ever-exciting television, the danger level is constantly raised.
I refuse to watch luge and downhill racing.
BTW, raising the wall or padding the steel poll probably not prevented the death of the athlete. Coming to an abrupt stop after travelling 90 mph with only a helmet? He didn't stand a chance.
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