Olympics Athlete Killed In Sled Crash

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Written by Cindy Castillo, Staff Writer

An athlete from Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in a crash in training on the Olympic track on friday at the Whistler Sliding Center. Many of the athletes at this years winter Olympic games have already made the complaint that the tracks this year may very well be too fast. Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled 48 seconds into his run, just as he we about to finish his run down the track. According to the clock on the station, he was going at deadly speeds of 88 mph and was launched over the track wall. At the end of all of this horror, the luger slammed into a huge steel pole just off of the finish line, and died there.

Medical officials were then rushed to where the luger was laying and began performing chest compressions along with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, said the associated press. Kumaritashvili was then put on a stretcher and was then lifted into an ambulance . A helicopter was then called, and was there to pick up the luger about eight minutes after the crash ended.

The Associated Press reports the following as to how the luger was killed. “Kumaritashvili struck the inside wall of the track on the final turn. His body immediately went airborne and cleared the ice-coated concrete wall along the left side of the sliding surface. His sled remained in the track, and it appeared his helmet visor skidded down the ice.”

Georg Hackl, a three-time champion at the winter olympics, and a German coach told the Associated Press that “it was a very rare situation.” The coach also exclaimed that even though it is a very dangerous sport, you cant think about it while your racing.

Believe it or not, there was rumor that Kumaritashvili was only killed because he made a mistake on the course as his speeds raced in excess of 90 mph. This specific Olympic track is considered to be the fastest track in the world up to date, and there have been more than a dozen crashes in training this year alone, however, none were fatal. Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian summed up the whole day by saying “I’ve never seen anything like that, I’m afraid it’s bad.”