General Chat

There is already some very bad news


......... a Georgian luger has been killed during this morning's training run.

He came off his luge at the last 270 degree turn, where he could have been travelling as much as 140kph, and slammed into a metal pole.


The training has been suspended indefinitely.



The venue has been open and in use for almost 18 months, has been noted as being the fastest luge track in the world, and has the steepest drop of any other course, but there have been no serious accidents at other events.

However, a woman luger came off and was injured yesterday, had to be airlifted off the mountain, and another man was injured earlier today



so what's going wrong?

I have to admit that I didn't know what a luger was - apart from a gun - so I had to resort to Google. There's a picture of him and he's only 21 bless him. His family must be devasted.


Not a good start to the Games at all and there has been mention over here of the overspending etc.etc. Hope they haven't been cutting corners where safety is concerned.

Cx.

Cynthia

I don't think safety was compromised when it was built, there have been no complaints over the last 18 months except that some lugers have said it was very fast.

And the overspending is really because they haven't cut corners.

All the venues were finished well before the economy tanked and costs rose.


I wonder if it is because the lugers who have made it to the Olympics are perhaps going faster than their ability or experience?


In fact it is being said right now by a commnettor on the radio that no-one has seen an accident like this one ever before, anywhere. And inexperience is being mentioned.


It's now thought that the whole Georgian team is withdrawing from the Games.

lol......when I read lugers, I thought of the gun too......but what awful things to happen ........ all that training and you have to be really fit for the luge.......I feel so sorry for the competitors and for Canada, who are hosting the Games.....

The run would have been used for a good time before the Games opened, so I can't think its anything to do with the design......whatever it was it is sad......

They have just had a news conference announcing the death


..... the head of VANOC was almost breaking down as he spoke.

I stopped home briefly after going to the bank, about an hour ago, and just heard the news - wondered whether it was the course to blame. Pretty horrible. I should google - have there been deaths at Olympics before?

No fan of the whole Olympic blowout, here, but they're here now, and what an awful way for all of the athletes and volunteers to go into the biggest moment in their lives. And certainly how awful for him and those who knew him.

Janey

I think there have been a few deaths at previous Olympics,

and there have been quite a few very nasty injuries of course


Not knowing that much about it .............. but I do wonder if inexperience, and therefore inability to handle a very fast track, might not have more to do with it than the track


Although some lugers have complained that the track is too fast.

My heartfelt condolences to this boys family.
How very, very sad.

I have been looking forward to this day for years, now with this happening, my enthusiasm has waned a little.
We will continue later this evening with our Olympic opening ceremony party. But this poor boy (he was only 21 so he still is a boy) will be in our thoughts.

I wish all athletes from all countries the very best.

Welcome to Vancouver.

Deb

Hi Deb


we're going to watch the Opening Ceremony also .... on TV that is :))


Janey

There have been deaths before, and they have usually occurred at the Winter Games


British luger/Polish-born Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski was killed on a practice run on the Olympic track 2 weeks before the 1964 Innsbruck Games, which was actually the first time luge had been an Olympic event, so an eerie echo

Kay-Skrzypeski was not the only athlete to die in the lead up to the 1964 Olympics. Ross Milne, 19, an Australian downhill skier, was killed after careering off the course and smashing into a tree during a training run.

Skiing also saw a death at the 1992 Albertville Games. Nicholas Bochatay, a Swiss speed skier, died after crashing into a grooming machine during a practice run. Speed skiing, in which racers rocket straight downhill, was a demonstration sport at those Olympics; it has not made it into the family of Olympic sports.

The Albertville fatality echoed a tragedy which occurred at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. The chief doctor of the Austrian team, Jorg Oberhammer, was killed during a break in competition when a collision with another skier knocked him into the path of a snow clearing machine.

By comparison, it's been 50 years since a Summer Games athlete has died during an Olympics. The two who have are the only ones to have died during their competitions.

In 1960, Danish cyclist Knut Enemark (sometimes identified as Knut Jensen) fell from his bicycle and later died. He was found to have had amphetamines and nicotinyl tartrate - performance enhancing drugs - in his system and it is believed they contributed to his fall.

Portuguese marathon runner, Francisco Lazaro, 21, collapsed during his event in the 1912 Games and died the next day.

However, the most memorable Olympic deaths occurred during a Summer Games, though not during competition. At the 1972 Games in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes, coaches and team officials were killed after being taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist belonging to a group called Black September.





The Georgian team are apparently going to march in the Opening Ceremony as a tribute to their team-mate.

It's so tragic especially as it would have been such an exciting time for him. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

this is such a tragic accident and loss of life - I can't understand why the area he hit was not in some way padded - it looked a bit like the pillars in the tunnel when Diana had her crash - poor lad didn't stand a chance, but if there had of been padding there perhaps it could have been different? years ago the formula 1 drivers used to crash in to hard surfaces, but mostly these have been covered by tyre walls now.
Its just so sad.....

I read about this sad event earlier. The lad was killed during a practice run. The track has been declared safe by officials, although they are not the ones risking life and limb!

During any type of downhill speed race the athlete can be catapulted from the track at ANY stage. The laws of physics don't apply when a human is in control, too many variables! No areas along the route should expose the athlete to serious injury so they need to re-think the safety aspect.

It's a terrible loss for his family who would have been so proud that he was going to take part.

Sue