Georgian luger dies in Vancouver

[rafikz]

A Georgian luger has died from one of the most horrible accidents imaginable just hours before the official start of the Olympics. Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled, went over a wall, and slammed into a metal support beam. Observers said his sled was traveling nearly 90 mph.

The 21-year-old was knocked unconscious, then immediately administered CPR and air-lifted to a Whistler hospital where he died. The 2010 Games would have been Kumaritashvili's first Olympics.

Kumaritashvili's crash occurred at the fastest part of the track, which steeply declines for 152 meters, making it the world's longest luge drop. This is the third crash there in the last two days. Earlier on Friday, defending gold medalist Armin Zoeggeler of Italy lost control but suffered no injuries. On Thursday, female Romanian luger Violeta Stramaturaru crashed and was air-lifted from the track. Her injuries are not considered serious.

[azmark]

What a sad story and tough way for athletes to start the games tonight.

[hojusimpson]

It's been a horrible year, injury-wise, for Olympic hopefuls and this is the worst news yet.

With so many things going wrong this far for the athletes, we can only wish that the rest of the games are safe for the athletes, organizers and attendees.

[gollum83]

Very sad, but three accidents in the past two days? Wow...

[Greyfox]

Sad indeed. RIP.

[Live2Ride]

This is a huge tragedy. So very sad. Luge is a personal favorite as is B.C. Canada.

[Shane]

What a truly awful story. Though no one wanted him to die, perhaps even a little solace can be taken in the fact that he passed doing something he loved. Rest in peace.

[RILEY]

Mixed emotions here on opening day.
Apparently the Georgian contingent will march in the opening ceremonies this evening & will compete in a tribute to his honour

[gollum83]

Now they're reporting that this is actually the latest of nearly a dozen accidents on this track. I know luge is an inherently dangerous sport, but why didn't all these accidents on a new track raise some red flags? It's a real shame that someone die, but maybe this tragedy will get them to cancel the luge competition before someone else gets seriously injured.

[garyg]

Saw the crash on video - the track is lined with posts, it looks like if anyone goes off track it would be more likely to hit one than not. I know nothing about the luge track, what is the purpose of the posts?

[Storer50]

Saw the crash on video - the track is lined with posts, it looks like if anyone goes off track it would be more likely to hit one than not. I know nothing about the luge track, what is the purpose of the posts?

they are support posts for something

[TheScalpel]

...they should probably cover or pad those exposed steel posts...

[Mohillian]

they are support posts for something

for a useless something for sure. what a tragedy. racing is what it is, dangerous (any racing with something besides our own selves). but it seems this could have been avoided. padding? no posts at all? post further away from track? This is already supposed to be the fastest and most dangerous track in the world...duh. Just terrible what happened.

[PaulX608]

It was a horrible and tragic accident. I really wish NBC hadn't led off their coverage by actually showing it. Twice.

[garyg]

for a useless something for sure. what a tragedy. racing is what it is, dangerous (any racing with something besides our own selves). but it seems this could have been avoided. padding? no posts at all? post further away from track? This is already supposed to be the fastest and most dangerous track in the world...duh. Just terrible what happened.

Yes, sad, though it is a dangerous sport. But I still can't fathom why the designer put that picket fence of sure harm right next to the slide. Those who built, or more precisely, designed that young athlete's death ought to be wondering about it. Can't believe the "posts supporting something" need to be that close and that unpadded.

[blackfoot]

Now they're reporting that this is actually the latest of nearly a dozen accidents on this track. I know luge is an inherently dangerous sport, but why didn't all these accidents on a new track raise some red flags? It's a real shame that someone die, but maybe this tragedy will get them to cancel the luge competition before someone else gets seriously injured.

I just saw this, literally 2 minutes ago on the news. They have shut down the track pending investigation. They said this is the fastest track in the world.

[gollum83]

I just saw this, literally 2 minutes ago on the news. They have shut down the track pending investigation. They said this is the fastest track in the world.

Thank goodness.

[riooso]

Very sad. I know that this a dangerous event but don't you think one could make the coarse so that metal 24" "I" beams are not right next to the track? I really don't understand all that.

Later,
Richard

[laconic1]

It was a horrible and tragic accident. I really wish NBC hadn't led off their coverage by actually showing it. Twice.

This. When did it become acceptable to broadcast someones death? As a auto racing fan I have seen my fair share of fatal wrecks through the years. It used to be the tv network would not show a replay of a fatal wreck once they knew the outcome. That changed with Earnhardt's wreck in 2001. But even then you wouldn't see the person dying, just the car crashing with the driver inside. But this was just sickening to watch, seeing him get tossed in the air and that awful thud as he hit the beam and fell limp. I'll never get that image out of my head. What a total lack of decency to show that video.

[cfriend]

As others have said, sports in general can be dangerous, racing especially so; but I think the fact that there have been so many accidents on this one course, and in this specific spot, highlights a design flaw that should've been discovered in the analysis/design phase of development.

[mark3d]

It was a horrible and tragic accident. I really wish NBC hadn't led off their coverage by actually showing it. Twice.

no different to any other day - they have an expression "if it bleeds, it leads".

.

[Fnord5]

What a truly awful story. Though no one wanted him to die, perhaps even a little solace can be taken in the fact that he passed doing something he loved. Rest in peace.


This. When did it become acceptable to broadcast someones death? As a auto racing fan I have seen my fair share of fatal wrecks through the years. It used to be the tv network would not show a replay of a fatal wreck once they knew the outcome. That changed with Earnhardt's wreck in 2001. But even then you wouldn't see the person dying, just the car crashing with the driver inside. But this was just sickening to watch, seeing him get tossed in the air and that awful thud as he hit the beam and fell limp. I'll never get that image out of my head. What a total lack of decency to show that video.

I've seen worse. And 99.99% of the time, it was not in the course of doing something that the person loved to do.

I pray that I would be so lucky to go that way.
Doing something I loved, quickly and without pain.

Was it somewhat tasteless to show the accident on TV? Yeah, but it's not like it was a murder, torture, or an execution. It was an accident, and a non-gory one at that.

[DFrancis]

This is very sad. I've been hearing on the CBC for the past week about how fast and dangerous this track is.

[blary54]

Very sad. I agree they should pad or place Plexiglas along the edges so something like this doesn't happen again.

I don't want to sound morbid, but at those speeds when he hit that pole he probably didn't suffer at all. Probably was instantaneous death.

Ill be cheering for the Georgians to get a medal.

[tob1303]

I believe the posts support what I guess you would call a "roof" for the track....that way when it rains it does not get even slicker....so I believe the roof itself (and therefore the necessary beams) are a safety measure. I also believe at those speeds a pad on the beams would not have prevented what happened...90mph head first into a beam with a two inch (or 12 inch for that matter) pad is not going to end well.

However, I fail to understand why ,at any point on a luge track where there is a curve, the outer edge of the wall is not fitted with a three foot thick NASA science super pad of some sort that would break away with minimal force that way someone who goes flying off track will hit it and it will at least prevent the athlete from heading full speed into anything outside the track. That perhaps wouldn't prevent someone from hurting themselves, or perhaps even seriously hurting themselves...but would atleast prevent someone from going flying off the track or for that matter head-first into a support beam directly.

It is beyond me. The poor kid was 21 years old. Very, very sad. I hope and pray a Georgian wins a medal....frankly, if I won his event, I would ask that the Georgian national anthem be played and that the medal go on his record.

[Cuttingboard]

Saw the crash on video - the track is lined with posts, it looks like if anyone goes off track it would be more likely to hit one than not. I know nothing about the luge track, what is the purpose of the posts?

Yes, I saw that. At the very least, the posts should have very thick padding. I'm not sure if it takes away from the "integrity" of the sport but I was thinking that there should be a higher wall around that corner so that people do not fly off the track.

[Grumpy Old Git]

no different to any other day - they have an expression "if it bleeds, it leads".


And yet it doesn't need to be - the BBC in the UK has a strict policy on the use of such images. To quote the policy document (bold is their emphasis, blue italic is mine):

We will always need to consider carefully the editorial justification for portraying graphic material of human suffering and distress. There are almost no circumstances in which it is justified to show executions and very few circumstances in which it is justified to broadcast other scenes in which people are being killed. It is always important to respect the privacy and dignity of the dead. We should never show them gratuitously. We should also avoid the gratuitous use of close ups of faces and serious injuries or other violent material.

Full context is here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide/privacy/reportingsuffer.shtml

(I used to work at the Beeb many, many moons ago)

[ouch]

This. When did it become acceptable to broadcast someones death? As a auto racing fan I have seen my fair share of fatal wrecks through the years. It used to be the tv network would not show a replay of a fatal wreck once they knew the outcome. That changed with Earnhardt's wreck in 2001. But even then you wouldn't see the person dying, just the car crashing with the driver inside. But this was just sickening to watch, seeing him get tossed in the air and that awful thud as he hit the beam and fell limp. I'll never get that image out of my head. What a total lack of decency to show that video.

I agree. As the networks clamor to air footage in an effort to beat their competition to the punch, they concentrate more and more on the wonderful technology that allows for such instantaneous broadcasts, but have seemingly abandoned any thought to whether or not they should broadcast an event.

In this regard, they could take a lesson from no less an authority of over the top, beyond the pale, unseemly, and outrageous productions than the WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment may employ writers to come up with the most offensive and ridiculous storylines imaginable, but even they had the good sense to pan away when they suffered their greatest on-air tragedy (the fall and death of Owen Hart), a sense of propriety the "legitimate"and "respectable" news organizations were unable to muster for yesterday's disaster.

When Vince McMahon has more sense than the heads of broadcasting of major news organizations, we're all in trouble.

[blackfoot]

I agree. As the networks clamor to air footage in an effort to beat their competition to the punch, they concentrate more and more on the wonderful technology that allows for such instantaneous broadcasts, but have seemingly abandoned any thought to whether or not they should broadcast an event.

In this regard, they could take a lesson from no less an authority of over the top, beyond the pale, unseemly, and outrageous productions than the WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment may employ writers to come up with the most offensive and ridiculous storylines imaginable, but even they had the good sense to pan away when they suffered their greatest on-air tragedy (the fall and death of Owen Hart), a sense of propriety the "legitimate"and "respectable" news organizations were unable to muster for yesterday's disaster.

When Vince McMahon has more sense than the heads of broadcasting of major news organizations, we're all in trouble.

Very well said.

[Obsessed]

Well, even though they strenuously deny the track was too fast, they have now shortened it so the racers don't pick up as much speed. Too bad they didn't think of that two days ago.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35381303/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

[RILEY]

I hope not a single one of his family members happened to turn on the TV at a moment of re-broadcasting the accident only to endure seeing that horrible image because the media chose to broadcast it.

IMHO, there was a fine & sensible line crossed. I feel I didnt need to see what happened, I only needed to know what happened.

[Grumpy Old Git]

It seems more and more it's all driven by what attracts a demographic so they can sell 'advertising'see note

note: "Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket." George Orwell

[Doc4]

When Vince McMahon has more sense than the heads of broadcasting of major news organizations, we're all in trouble.


:blink: +1


Sadly, the same Georgian had wiped out on the same track a day or two earlier. :001_unsur




... so add to the other costs of these olympics the legal costs of defending, and likely paying judgment on, the inevitable lawsuit.

[riooso]

I am not usually one to back lawsuits for the sake of lawsuits but there was something very wrong about the design. I come from the camp that says if you are going to hurl your body down the hill at 135 ft/sec, with little or no protection, crap happens. Keep the athlete contained in areas that do not involve massive "I" beams,the rest is on the competitor. I find it incredible that in the entire organization, which includes probably 10 levels of management alone, that toured the facilities that not one of them saw the possibility of a problem in that area. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but come on!


Later,
Richard

[Fnord5]

I am not usually one to back lawsuits for the sake of lawsuits but there was something very wrong about the design. I come from the camp that says if you are going to hurl your body down the hill at 135 ft/sec, with little or no protection, crap happens. Keep the athlete contained in areas that do not involve massive "I" beams,the rest is on the competitor. I find it incredible that in the entire organization, which includes probably 10 levels of management alone, that toured the facilities that not one of them saw the possibility of a problem in that area. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but come on!


Later,
Richard

Even just having hockey rink glass installed at those kinds of corners would have saved his life.


I am sure they have some extra laying about, after all it is Canada. :lol:

[blackfoot]

Even just having hockey rink glass installed at those kinds of corners would have saved his life.


I am sure they have some extra laying about, after all it is Canada. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[tg16]

And yet it doesn't need to be - the BBC in the UK has a strict policy on the use of such images. To quote the policy document (bold is their emphasis, blue italic is mine):

We will always need to consider carefully the editorial justification for portraying graphic material of human suffering and distress. There are almost no circumstances in which it is justified to show executions and very few circumstances in which it is justified to broadcast other scenes in which people are being killed. It is always important to respect the privacy and dignity of the dead. We should never show them gratuitously. We should also avoid the gratuitous use of close ups of faces and serious injuries or other violent material.

Full context is here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide/privacy/reportingsuffer.shtml

(I used to work at the Beeb many, many moons ago)


I agree completely; however, the network(s) can not take the full blame. They are like the drug dealer or bartendar offering something that each individual has the choice to accept or not. This does not diminish the blame for the media and its sad decision, but also places it on the consumer.

[gollum83]

Even just having hockey rink glass installed at those kinds of corners would have saved his life.

Well we can't say for certain that such measures would have definitely saved his life, but it would have no doubt greatly improved his chances.

[riooso]

I too, would not go so far as to say that it would have saved his life. He was, after all, going 90 Miles an hour. That fact alone means you have a problem falling down a hill!


Later,
Richard

[ouch]

I too, would not go so far as to say that it would have saved his life. He was, after all, going 90 Miles an hour. That fact alone means you have a problem falling down a hill!


Later,
Richard

But he wasn't falling down a hill- he was sliding down a course. If he was able to stay on the course, I'd think he could continue sliding sans sled even upside down and backwards with no more than a broken bone of torn ligament. It certainly could have been survivable.

[riooso]

Just because you are on a track does not mean you are not "falling". You are in a controlled fall, but it is a fall. The gradient of a luge track is about 11% or for every hundred feet you are dropping 11 feet. At 90 Mph you are going about 135 feet/ second which means every second your average drop is 15 feet/sec.
Kinda makes you wonder what the Hell they are doing, don't it?


Later,
Richard

[blackfoot]

But he wasn't falling down a hill- he was sliding down a course. If he was able to stay on the course, I'd think he could continue sliding sans sled even upside down and backwards with no more than a broken bone of torn ligament. It certainly could have been survivable.

I completely agree. I remember doing a lot of stupid things. I can definitely say, when I know I am not going to fly off into oblivion, I at least feel safer. :lol: