Olympic Luge Death

The Olympic luge death occurred at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia. Georgian Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed during a training run the afternoon before the opening ceremony weas held. Kumaritashvili, who was 21 years old, died when he lost control of his sled and was thrown over the track wall. 

The Crash As Kumaritashvili neared the end of his test luge run, his sled hit a side wall of the Whistler track. The impact of the hit propelled him over the track wall and into a steel pole that stood beside the track. Emergency responders attempted to revive him but were unsuccessful. He was airlifted to a trauma center where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Concerns About the Track Soon after the crash, sporting officials began voicing their concerns about the safety of the Whistler track. Some coaches were frustrated with the lack of available practice time on the track, while others expressed fear that the track was built to allow speeds that are too fast for safety. The year before the Olympics, one luger was clocked at a record speed of over 95 miles per hour on the Whistler track. The secretary general of the Austrian Luge Federation decried the faster track, saying, "It's not necessary to do the sport of luge at 96 mph."

A Somber Olympic Games At the opening ceremonies of the Games that evening, Kumaritashvili's fellow Georgian Olympians wore black armbands during their country's procession to display their grief. After an investigation into the accident, Olympic officials raised the height of the track wall at the spot where Kumaritashvili crashed in an attempt to prevent another Olympic luge death during the games.