Men's Practice Luge Crash.

[spurs_2108]

I was watching the practice luge run on http://www.nbcolympics.com/

The guys name is Nodar Kumaritashvili. Try to watch the practice luge run. It may ask for your cable provider and information about it. But at around the 2:45 mark, a luge guy starts to take his run and crashes horribly. I don't even know if hes gonna make it out alive.

I did hear that the track has been fast all week and numerous crashes have occurred.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=4908988

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/nodar-kumaritashvili-cras_n_460474.html

Video is up.

Reports coming in that he has died. He was DOA at the hospital.

[CosmicCowboy]

Performing chest compressions on the scene certainly isn't a good sign.

[IceColdBrewski]

History channel had a show on last night about the upcoming winter games. I guess a lot of the luge track teams have already nicknamed it the "50-50 track", becasue they give themselves a 50-50 chance of making it down without crashing. Apparently, it's wicked fast. Like 100 mph fast.

[Cry Havoc]

Oh goodness. That's one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. :(

[JoeChalupa]

I heard about his during lunch.

[CosmicCowboy]

Shit. I just saw the video. Dude went from 90 to 0 when he hit that big ass I-beam. I'll bet they shut that track down till they get some damn safety nets up. That was a STUPID track design.

[desflood]

A Georgian luger has died from one of the most horrible accidents imaginable just hours before the official start of the Olympics. Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled, went over a wall, and slammed into a metal support beam. Observers said his sled was traveling nearly 90 mph.

The 21-year-old was knocked unconscious, then immediately administered CPR and air-lifted to a Whistler hospital where he died. The 2010 Games would have been Kumaritashvili's first Olympics.

Kumaritashvili's crash occurred at the fastest part of the track, which steeply declines for 152 meters, making it the world's longest luge drop. This is the third crash there in the last two days. Earlier on Friday, defending gold medalist Armin Zoeggeler of Italy lost control but suffered no injuries. On Thursday, female Romanian luger Violeta Stramaturaru crashed and was air-lifted from the track. Her injuries are not considered serious.

[Dr. Gonzo]

They took the video down.

[spurs_2108]

Its still up here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/nodar-kumaritashvili-cras_n_460474.html

[Dr. Gonzo]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/nodar-kumaritashvili-luge-crash

For those that want to see it.

[word]

There is a faces of death video from a couple decades ago of a bobsledder that starts falling/leaning off of his sled and his head bangs into a steel support beam like that. I can't recall if it decapitated him or not. Been years since I've seen it. What a stupid design. So, if you fall off your sled, you either die or get extremely fucked up. Great.

[JoeChalupa]

I heard he has passed away from his injuries. So sad.

[tlongII]

That track design is CRAZY! Why do they have those beams right next to the track without nets or padding? I think they're going to have to do something about that before they let that competition continue.

[CosmicCowboy]

That track design is CRAZY! Why do they have those beams right next to the track without nets or padding? I think they're going to have to do something about that before they let that competition continue.

Padding the columns isn't gonna help...they need a barrier to keep them in the track...

[Dr. Gonzo]

Laser bars would be the best.

[spurs_2108]

Well I don't think any one would ever imagine someone on a luge would fly off the track. Not just in the manner that Nodar did, but fly off the track just in general.Thats probably why there wasn't any padding on the steal beams. People are just quick to judge and say "wtf no padding?" I don't even think this has happened before.

Crazy thing is, i was watching the practice runs. I was talking to someone as Nodar flew off the track and suddenly saw next to a pole and not moving.

[Phenomanul]

R.i.p.

[CosmicCowboy]

Well I don't think any one would ever imagine someone on a luge would fly off the track. Not just in the manner that Nodar did, but fly off the track just in general.Thats probably why there wasn't any padding on the steal beams. People are just quick to judge and say "wtf no padding?" I don't even think this has happened before.

Crazy thing is, i was watching the practice runs. I was talking to someone as Nodar flew off the track and suddenly saw next to a pole and not moving.

It is intentionally "the fastest ever", with the "biggest drop" ever...the athletes have been complaining and the Canadian Olympic people have been claiming it's "safe".

Guess we saw who was right.

[spurs_2108]

^ While that is true, some one had to screw pretty badly. Even though they claim it to be "the fastest ever" I don't necessarily think people thought some one would fly off the track. It just seems that it would be impossible for some one to fly out. It seems as if a lot of science and physics have to be calculated in order for this track to be safe. If the athletes complained it was unsafe something should have been done.

[KEDA]

They need to shut that shit down immediately, more people are going to die, that is just crazy.

[baseline bum]

Man, that is awful. To see someone die in what should be the greatest moments of his life is tragic. R.I.P. Nodar Kumaritashvili.

[JMarkJohns]

Damn shame... Push the limits of what's reasonable and this is a common result. Sacrifice safety for thrill and the possibility of world-records. That was truly disturbing, and I echo the thoughts of many on the design, the need of nets and the need of this track getting shut down NOW to get those safety nets.

[EricB]

most likely a net or wall will be put up in the problem areas, but, I'm curious if theres a way to slow down the track in some way.

[Blake]

I always wonder how someone decides one day that they want to be a luge guy, shooting 80+ mph down a tube of ice on a thin board.

[JamStone]

Another issue that has been brought up is that Canadian officials weren't allowing many Olympians other than Canadian Olympians to practice on the luge until these official practice runs so they could give the Canadians a homecourt advantage. That also looks to have been a very unfortunate decision. I've heard on tv that they can adjust the ice and other factors to slow down the luge so if they don't completely shut it down then hopefully theyat least do that. Terrible for that kid and his family during what should have been a great time for pride and celebration.

[Cry Havoc]

So sad. The dude probably put so much of his time and effort into his young life into a sport that killed him. Even if he screwed up, they need to make tracks that allow for such mistakes without such devastating consequences.

[Wild Cobra]

Here's a better video:

H5lAS7H6tkg

It shows it in the first few seconds, then goes into a story.

[Wild Cobra]

I always wonder how someone decides one day that they want to be a luge guy, shooting 80+ mph down a tube of ice on a thin board.

I can't believe the designers were so stupid as to not having a barrier right after the curve. Nobody should be ably to fly into steel beams.

Is there a lawsuit coming?

[mrsmaalox]

I can't believe the designers were so stupid as to not having a barrier right after the curve. Nobody should be ably to fly into steel beams.

Is there a lawsuit coming?

Are all the courses wide open like that or was this one desired for a better television viewing experience? Even the waterslides at parks have the curved upper walls to keep the riders in the track.

[CubanMustGo]

Well, it's Canada, eh, so probably harder to file a lawsuit than here. But a damned stupid design nonetheless.

[baseline bum]

Are all the courses wide open like that or was this one desired for a better television viewing experience? Even the waterslides at parks have the curved upper walls to keep the riders in the track.

I have never seen any kind of net around a luge course in the Olympics. It would be horrible for television. As an aside, I wonder if he would have survived landing on the edge of the wall on his back if he didn't hit the support.

[Whisky Dog]

The still shot on those sites where his face is all bloodied and his eyes are open but you can tell there's no life in him is very haunting. Sports shouldn't kill you, but dangerous ones sometimes do.

[samikeyp]

Very sad. Watching the Georgian delegation walk in...you felt for all of them. Nice gesture by the crowd to give them a standing ovation.

[Cry Havoc]

I have never seen any kind of net around a luge course in the Olympics. It would be horrible for television. As an aside, I wonder if he would have survived landing on the edge of the wall on his back if he didn't hit the support.

You wouldn't have to net the entire course. Just in certain places near the corners.

[The Reckoning]

lol have you seen google's sign for today?


:bang

[Slomo]

Damn shame... Push the limits of what's reasonable and this is a common result. Sacrifice safety for thrill and the possibility of world-records. That was truly disturbing, and I echo the thoughts of many on the design, the need of nets and the need of this track getting shut down NOW to get those safety nets.

There are no world records in luge/bob sleds. The courses are not standardized (size, no. of curves...). It's has the fastest recorded speed which in many ways has nothing to do with how good and/or difficult of a track it is.
The German are saying that the problem is a bad design of the track not it's speed and that it's length makes it very difficult/dangerous for less prepared athletes.


most likely a net or wall will be put up in the problem areas, but, I'm curious if theres a way to slow down the track in some way.

They can play with the ice temperature and regulate the speed of the track. Of course taking the ice temp out of its optimal range makes the conditions less stables and doesn't guarantee the same conditions for all competitors.


Are all the courses wide open like that or was this one desired for a better television viewing experience? Even the waterslides at parks have the curved upper walls to keep the riders in the track.

Some are, others are not - depends on the track design.


I have never seen any kind of net around a luge course in the Olympics. It would be horrible for television. As an aside, I wonder if he would have survived landing on the edge of the wall on his back if he didn't hit the support.

Usually they only put nets where there's a need for them. One thing I would like to add is that a luge track is so expensive that there is a very limited number of operational tracks around the world. Those are quite old, which means they are very well known and data exist for track conditions for almost all combination of weather/temp.
To build the steepest, fastest track and not thoroughly test it (usually there's at least one international competition held on such installations a year before the main event for exactly these reasons) is irresponsible.
And finally the Olympics have created a situation where less experienced competitors that wouldn't be allowed to compete in i.e. the world cup, are competing along side the best of the sport. So what do you do? Dumb down the event and transform it into a meaningless competition or keep it as the pinnacle of sport and tighten the participation rules at the risk of offending some nations?
I prefer the second solution, but politics are a powerful force.

[velik_m]

Really depressing opening, to what should otherwise be a great sporting event...

[CosmicCowboy]

Well, even though "there's nothing wrong with the track" They are starting everyone lower down the track to get them back into the 80's...

[tlongII]

I understand they also erected some wooden siding near the end of the track as well.

[Hank the Tank]

I didn't think this story could get any more heartbreaking...

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Luger-who-died-told-father-he-was-terrified-of?urn=oly,219592

Also the woman, Natalie Geisenberger, who said

"I'm not happy about the new start.
It’s not a woman’s start, it’s a kinder (German for children’s) start. The rest of the track is OK, but it's not as fast as from the proper start. It's the same for all the athletes, but I don't like it. I felt very good, but now because of the new start it's not fun."

is a real disrespectful bitch. It's a kids race now? Really?

[sabar]

An impact at 90+ miles per hour impacts an extremely large amount of force on the body. This guy was destined to die the second he left the track. Car collisions at much lower speeds (50-60 MPH) can tear your aorta off your heart and smash the brain against the skull.

This is equal to jumping off a 22 story building and hitting an I-beam at ground level.

[Sisk]

An impact at 90+ miles per hour impacts an extremely large amount of force on the body. This guy was destined to die the second he left the track. Car collisions at much lower speeds (50-60 MPH) can tear your aorta off your heart and smash the brain against the skull.

This is equal to jumping off a 22 story building and hitting an I-beam at ground level.

This.

If it wasn't for the suits he was wearing, I wonder how much more brutal this accident would've looked. At the end of the day, it doesn't take an engineer to realize that on a sharp turn where there are steel beams a few feet ahead, to put a damn wall up in front of them. If there was that simple wall they've put up in front of it as there is now, this accident could've ended much different. Sure, he'd have broken bones, but I doubt the accident would be fatal.

Reports are he was terrified of this track. Tragic stuff.

I guess there's not a "common sense" course that engineers take in school.