Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili takes his first training run Friday in on the Olympic luge track in Whistler, British Columbia. On his second run, Kumaritashvili was killed in a crash. Photo courtesy of the Christian Science Moniter.
Today’s tragic death of Olympic luger athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, just hours before tonight’s opening ceremonies, has raised hard questions about the safety of this year’s daredevil competitions and the impact they can have on the athletes.
Kumaritashvili, a 21 year-old representing the country of Georgia, died while practicing on what is considered the world’s fastest track. He lost control of his sled during training, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center, according to the AP wire. Doctors were unable to revive him and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that he died at the hospital.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said his death “clearly casts a shadow over these games.”
A recent article in the New York Times described the injuries of snowboarder Kevin Pearce, an Olympic gold hopeful who sustained a traumatic brain injury after attempting to land a double cork, the newest stunt in the category. The article goes in-depth on risky new Olympic sports, including the latest addition to the line-up – skier cross.
Casey Puckett, a skier cross Olympic hopeful and subject of the IndieFlix documentary “Appointment in Vancouver” faces some frightening odds in this Olympic event. Athletes race down a man-made course full of dips and jumps that they fly down and hope to avoid each other.
Thrilling television? Absolutely. But the impact on the athletes in their real lives, sustaining debilitating injuries and traumatic crashes, sound far away and hollow from the lust for gold and owning the American dream.
Tags: 2010 Olympics, Appointment in vancouver, Casey Puckett
