Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili's Olympics luge death during a training run was the fault of the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre, not the athlete.
That is the opinion of this blogger as of this writing, not anyone else. It runs counter to the official view of Olympic officials, who fault the athlete and not the track. This bloggers' view comes from a back understanding of how a vessel moves along a surface at a certain speed.
The basic problem is the track, which has been adjusted since the accident, was such that it had the luger coming from a curved, banked part of the track to a right-angled, straight-away portion. If one takes the curve high, it literally tosses the luger into the wall that is the straight-away part of the course coming out of the turn.
While many have criticized NBC for showing the video of the crash, the public should see it, given the design issues the track presented. What's curious is how, in the 21st Century, the course designers could have overlooked such an obvious flaw?
And update as this blog post is being written: Deadspin reports that the Whistler Sliding Centre track's design was questioned by many athletes and observers. Three riders were hospitalized in 2008 duing the World Cup. Deadspin quotes American lugar Tony Benshoof as telling NBC that someone "was going to kill themselves" on the track.
Having higher track walls isn't the answer at all. The whole track needs to be torn down and rebuilt. It's simply too dangerous to be used.
My name is Steve.
ReplyDeleteNodar Kumaritashvili’s death is a tragedy! Luge looks like such a neat sport, but also very dangerous at the same time. His death will cast a pall over these Olympic Games. The safety of the sport definitely needs to be addressed appropriately and immediately.