18th Feb 2010
“Our hearts are broken”: Dead luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s father
His hands shaking after two sleepless nights and his voice cracking with emotion, Nodar Kumaritashvili’s father said Sunday the Georgian luger’s death had devastated his family.
Nodar Kumaritashvili - Image Results
17th Feb 2010
Luge controversy continues
The head of Georgia’s Olympic contingent isn’t ruling out taking further action following the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Games.
Giorgi Natsvlishvili suggested in comments aired on Georgia’s Rustavi-2 television that the controversy — the 21-year-old was killed in a brutal crash while training at the Whistler Sliding Centre last Friday — is far from over in Georgia.
“Regarding further actions, let’s wait for the result of the investigation and then decide together with the family,” he said, though no specifics were offered.
Natsvlishvili also said “safety standards were not properly observed” at the Whistler track, where the Georgian luger crashed twice while training, including the fatal incident.
“No matter what the speed, the sportsman should never have left the track.”
Kumaritashvili’s death made international headlines and sent shockwaves through the sporting world. Following a small funeral in Vancouver, his body was flown home earlier this week
Former Olympic luger Werner Hoeger claims he warned officials about dangers at Whistler Sliding Centre
An Olympic luge athlete who was injured in a crash at the Whistler Sliding Centre in November 2009 warned Canadian officials about the dangers of the track months before the death of Georgian Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili.
Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, died on Friday after he lost control of his sled and was flung off the Olympic luge track before smashing into a metal pillar.
As a steady stream of local villagers arrived at the home to offer condolences, Kumaritashvili’s mother Dodo sat in the family living room, surrounded by photographs of her son and wailing inconsolably.
Standing outside in the snow, Kumaritashvili, 46, said his son had been a devoted athlete who had dreamed of competing at the Olympics.
“His whole life he wanted to be an athlete, it was his dream to be at the Olympics,” he said. “He was so excited about going; I’ve never seen him so excited in his entire life.”
Kumaritashvili said he had heard that video footage of his son’s tragic death was being broadcast around the world, but could not imagine watching it himself.
A joint statement from the International Luge Federation (FIL) and the Games organisers after the accident said it was a result of human error and there was no indication of track deficiencies.
But Georgian officials, including President Mikheil Saakashvili, have raised concerns about the Whistler Sliding Centre track and the fact that athletes were attaining exceptionally high speeds. Kumaritashvili reached a speed of 145 kilometres per hour before his accident.
“I don’t know anything about why it happened, I don’t know if it was the track or if it was a mistake. But I know that he should never have been going that fast; that kind of speed is too much in this sport.”
Relatives outside the family home described Nodar Kumaritashvili as a devoted athlete, a respectful young man and a fervent Orthodox Christian believer who prayed at the local church just before leaving for the Olympics.
His cousin, David Bedushvili, said Nodar had been convinced he would do well at the Olympics.
“Nodar said he would come home with a medal,” Bedushvili said, choking back tears.
Bedushvili said he believed it was a combination of Nodar’s lack of experience and the track in Canada that were to blame for the accident. “No one thing was to blame, it was just a tragic accident,” he said.
A day after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death in a training run, Olympic and International Luge Federation officials were chin deep in damage control.
First they said it was a mistake by the 21-year-old pilot that led to the crash that took his life. They said the Whistler Training Centre track is fast but not too fast. And although they’d decided to lower the start gates for the men’s, women’s and doubles luge events and raise the height of the wall near corner 16 where the incident occurred — an apparent admission that the track played a role in this tragedy — they claimed the changes were made to protect the emotional stability of the athletes who must still compete. They lost a friend yesterday. It is emotional for everyone.”
“This is a fast sport,” continued Romstad. “Athletes do encounter problems on a regular basis. There was nothing out of the ordinary that signalled there needed to be a change.” Gayda said about 5,000 runs have been made on the track. Kumaritashvili had 26 of them.
During luge training on Friday morning at Whistler one of the event favourites got a scare. The 2002 and 2006 gold medalist Armin Zoeggler of Italy crashed rounding corner 11.
Zoeggler slid about 200 metres while holding his sled with one hand to keep from being hit with it. Zoeggler recovered from his crash and took his second run in a fast 47.9 to put him near the top of the training times.
Despite the tragic loss of Nodar Kumaritashvili, if they’re passing out gold medals for grace under impossible circumstances at these Olympics of ours, they might want to award the first one to the Republic of Georgia.
Not to point the finger of blame for the horrific luge crash that claimed 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili’s life Friday morning.
To say thanks, Canada, for caring. “I have heard lots of things about Canadian ways — the way of thinking, Canadian way of being compassionate,” said President of Georgia, Saakashvili, 42, before taking questions in both English and French. “We’ve seen it (Friday), first-hand.
“Especially we are very happy how our hosts are handling this. I watch Canadian (TV) channels, and I am amazed at how united this country is around the idea of having the best Olympics, and the way Canadians are making this a big celebration of humanity.
“No matter how this Olympics ends, how many records are set here, certainly this Olympics will go down in history as a great celebration of human solidarity, and of humanity, and perseverance, and in a very Canadian way. Thank you, Canada.”
A day after the accident that catapulted Kumaritashvili’s helpless body over a wall near the finish line and headfirst into a metal pillar, the Georgians were determined to complete the Games. Despite the tragic event, our team will carry on with the dream of Nodar, and compete in his honour.”