ClayMeow Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 A luge athlete from the Republic of Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in a crash during training on the Olympic track at the Whistler Sliding Center on Friday, Olympic officials confirmed. Olympic and luge officials immediately began an investigation of the cause on a track that some competitors have said is too fast. Kumaritashvili, 21, lost control of his sled 48 seconds into his run, near the end of the track. According to the speed clock visible on a broadcast feed, he was going 143.3 kilometers per hour, or 88 miles an hour, and was propelled over the track wall. He slammed into a steel pole near the finish line. He was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. Full Article Found Here. Two videos of the actual crash can be watched here. You don't see any blood or dismemberment or anything, but it's still not for the feint of heart. No offense to the Canadians here at OCC, but this is a disgrace. Does Canada really care so much about being able to claim they have the fastest track, that they don't care about putting athletes' lives at risk? 6mph faster than the previous best is not just a minor difference. And although it's only claimed one life so far, there have been several crashes already, and the games haven't even begun. Hell, here's one quote from the article: Curve 13, higher up the course, has been called the 50-50 curve by the American bobsled driver Steven Holcomb because he believes those are the odds of getting through it without crashing. Seriously, wtfudge??! Can we not have an Olympics without controversy before it even begins? (Last year = air quality & underage gymnasts) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 Why aren't those steel pillars buffered in some way? Makes sense to me. Cheers Paul Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kash Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 That is some awful placement for bare steel pillars. It's one thing to have a difficult, yet competitive, track, it's something else entirely to make it dangerous. Shame on the designers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 I saw it about 10 mins after it happened on the news. My first thought was why that section of track was not protected. What a way to start the games off :angry2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayMeow Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 Why aren't those steel pillars buffered in some way? Makes sense to me. Cheers Paul Yeah, I said the very same thing on Facebook. Forgot to express my disgust at the track design here. Even in basketball, the poles are padded....in football, the goal post is padded. It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that hard surfaces should be padded. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great_Gig Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 (edited) S*@t that is not good. Agree 100% with everything thing OP says.... a sad day for sport. Edited February 13, 2010 by Great_Gig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great_Gig Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that hard surfaces should be padded. I am amazed that those pillars are literally right at the edge of the track? If you lose control you are totally .%$, nowhere to go but a steel pillar... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 From the looks of the speed he was going, I doubt padding on the poles would have helped. Why they are there is because some overpaid engineer put them there, they should have been no poles period near the track... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 I'm surprised they're showing the video on national news. They also showed 3 or 4 other videos of people crashing and there was one woman luger who was unconscious for a few hours after crash. Crazy... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kash Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 From the looks of the speed he was going, I doubt padding on the poles would have helped. Why they are there is because some overpaid engineer put them there, they should have been no poles period near the track... Actually, they look like support beams. Regardless, some padding is better than bare steel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccokeman Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 At 90 MPH I dont think padding would have helped in this instance but it should have been there. I've never seen anyone thrown from the track though either! Its a shame to see but the human body has a hard time with an impact like that. 90 to 0 in 0 seconds spells disaster! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoArmistead Posted February 13, 2010 Posted February 13, 2010 Jesus Christ... Epic Design Fail? Thankfully the guy was dead before he had any idea what the hell was going on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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