Olympic Tragedy

[CDAgirlMI 51]

I don't think they should limit how fast something should go (sled, car, whatever).

Everytime a race car driver gets into the car, then know the risk. Anything can happen.

And things HAVE been done to make it safe through the years (In racing they've installed the SAFER barrier on track walls & the HANS device on driver's helmets).

[OBX 51]

So I was just watching CNN and they showed his crash and they showed him hit the poll. I was sitting here in complete shock!!

I was just surprised how much they showed. Crazy.

I think there are some things we just don't need to see.

[Malrothien 6]

I think there are some things we just don't need to see.

Agreed! My husband has watched the video and said it's horrific. I refuse to watch it.

[BriCar 0]

So I was just watching CNN and they showed his crash and they showed him hit the poll. I was sitting here in complete shock!!

I was just surprised how much they showed. Crazy.

After watching the video it is obvious the design of that section of the track is a hazard that could injure or kill more athletes before the games are done.

Officials need to put up some kind of retaining barrier NOW to prevent anyone else from leaving the track and colliding with the support columns.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

As a competive athlete in a high risk sport (Downhill mountain biking), it is the tougher, more mentally challenging courses that elite level athletes want to compete on. It is what seperates the the good from the best. These elite know that their sport comes with risk, including death. No course or track can ever be made to prevent all accidents including the very rare freak ones like today. To alter the tracks or courses to slow down the athlete is an insult to them and all there training, because its not the physical challenge that they crave, its the mental one. They want to push themselves to the edge and have the opportunity to do so. It is sad, but its part of the risk competing in such a sport.

Thank you!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

This luger was, by all accounts, VERY inexperienced. I saw the video too, and YES, it is tragic...but the sport itself is dangerous! I think they should absolutely put up more safety netting and padding on the beams...but don't mess with the track because of its extreme speed. That's just handicapping something for being superior.

[trailmix 77]

I don't think we know if it is safe or not, well at least I don't have enough luge track experience to say.

I guess the question is, how many people have to be injured or die before it is considered unsafe vs just being really challenging?

[Marilyn. 340]

those columns should have been padded...

[Sprailenes 47]

I agree. That close to the track they really should have been.

All the would have's and should have's.

It's sad... watching his country come out tonight was even sadder.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

In NASCAR, it goes both ways... at the two biggest tracks, Daytona (where the Daytona 500 will be held Sunday afternoon) and Talladega, speeds had to be limited due to safety concerns (a car went airborne during a race in 1987 after getting sideways and tore down several hundred feet of catch fence near the start/finish line, narrowly missing clobbering the flag stand and landing in the crowd). The carburetor restrictor plates installed in cars at those two tracks have made for a very different racing experience, with aerodynamic drafting (slipstreaming) taking on a greater importance than it does at most other tracks. Having 43 cars in a huge mob rather than spread out around the length of the track is certainly a different experience, both to drive and to watch.

{/NASCARfan}

Very true. 1987 was a huge lesson for NASCAR, as this will be a huge lesson for luge. Without the speed restrictions the cars could now surpass 200 Mph which isn't safe at all, especially given their aerodynamic design. If the cars sped down the track at 200 mph it wouldn't take much at all to make the cars fly into the air even more specatularily than in the past. Limiting the speed was an absolute must... for the safety of the drivers, the crew, and even the fans. If you have 43 cars bunched up at 200 mph they will fly, and people will get hurt or die. All the SAFER barriers, hans devices and other safety equipment they have and will develop aren't bullet prof. I love speed and I'm all for competition and allowing the athletes to go all out, but motor sports have taught us that allowing cars to get faster and faster and designing tracks that compliment this speed can get rather dangerous if left completely unchecked. Man is its own worst enemy.

Good to see another NASCAR fan Pauley! I love NASCAR, probably to much. The husband and I met on a NASCAR site while he was going to the NASCAR technical school in NC.

I don't know enough about luge to really know if this is a problem with the track or a problem with the operator, but I'd have to guess its a combination of both. If you put a super dangerous and high speed track with a distracted driver who doesn't necessarily have the most experience dealing with such challenging track designs then its a recipe for disaster.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Very true. 1987 was a huge lesson for NASCAR, as this will be a huge lesson for luge. Without the speed restrictions the cars could now surpass 200 Mph which isn't safe at all, especially given their aerodynamic design. If the cars sped down the track at 200 mph it wouldn't take much at all to make the cars fly into the air even more specatularily than in the past.

Not to get too off-topic here, but I don't think that argument holds water for Nascar. Restrictor plate racing causes all 43 cars to be in one big cluster, forcing them to rely on drafting rather than actual acceleration (i.e.: the pedal's to the metal, but it ain't going faster than the guy ahead of you). When there is the ability to adjust one's speed to power past other vehicles, it spreads out the field. For example...look at Ricky Craven's 1996 crash at Talladega...a restrictor plate race:

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He still went flying up into the catch fence, regardless of the constriction in the carburetor.

Honestly...in dangerous sports, there are going to be accidents. I contend that the luger died instantly, doing what he loved. But his inexperience was certainly a factor in his accident. I don't think it's fair to deprive all of the other willing lugers of an exceptionally fast track because of this accident. I DO believe that strong safety mesh should be put in place at key areas. Anything to promote safety other than slowing down the track itself.

[darkchilde794 5]

I don't think we know if it is safe or not, well at least I don't have enough luge track experience to say.

I guess the question is, how many people have to be injured or die before it is considered unsafe vs just being really challenging?

This doesnt answer the question, but I saw a clip earlier that reported that the last death in a luge track (that happened in the Olympics) was about 40 years ago (I dont know if they meant 40 winter games ago or 40 calendar years ago). There might be more deaths in regular luge leagues (if theres such thing).

I was (still am) really saddened by it. He was so young

[damilola 0]

With all the accidents on this luge track maybe this course design is unsafe.

WHISTLER, B.C. — Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has died after a horrific crash in an Olympic training run, according to the Vancouver Sun.

He was coming around the final 270-degree turn, where speeds approach 140 km/h, when he flipped off his sled and was hurled into a metal pole. He appeared to hit his head.

Medics administered CPR to the 21-year-old from Borjomi, Georgia, before he was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter arrived some eight minutes after the crash.

Training was halted for the day.

Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.

The $105-million sliding centre, on the southeast face of Blackcomb Mountain, has been billed as a wild ride and the accident happened at its fastest point.

The 1,450-metre course has 16 turns and drops steeply for 152 metres, the longest drop of any track in the world.

The average grade is about 11 per cent, including two stomach-inverting drops of 20 per cent.

It was the second crash of the day on the course after defending Olympic champion Armin Zoeggeler of Italy lost control on the lower part of the track. He didn't appear to be injured. On Thursday, Romanian women's slider Violeta Stramaturaru crashed and had to be airlifted out.

More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training

CP/ 12/02/2010

[damilola 0]

it was a sad news.

preventive measure should be taken against future reoccurences.

was just not good news

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Not to get too off-topic here, but I don't think that argument holds water for Nascar. Restrictor plate racing causes all 43 cars to be in one big cluster, forcing them to rely on drafting rather than actual acceleration (i.e.: the pedal's to the metal, but it ain't going faster than the guy ahead of you). When there is the ability to adjust one's speed to power past other vehicles, it spreads out the field. For example...look at Ricky Craven's 1996 crash at Talladega...a restrictor plate race:

He still went flying up into the catch fence, regardless of the constriction in the carburetor.

Honestly...in dangerous sports, there are going to be accidents. I contend that the luger died instantly, doing what he loved. But his inexperience was certainly a factor in his accident. I don't think it's fair to deprive all of the other willing lugers of an exceptionally fast track because of this accident. I DO believe that strong safety mesh should be put in place at key areas. Anything to promote safety other than slowing down the track itself.

Right, I know what restrictor plate racing is and what it does, I've seen all the crashes, and I agree that it may not be the best solution to restricting speed at 'Dega and Daytona. But, you think those cars are flying when they are going 180 mph, now imagine what they would do going 210 mph plus. The speed and air movement cause the cars to fly, which has little to do with the carburetor and drafting. You turn someone around when they are going that fast in a bulky nascar style stock car, that car will turn into an airplane. They get airborne now, absolutely, but going an extra 30 mph... they will fly. It can be a much much much worse scenario than anything we have seen in the past. The tracks were designed to maximize speed in a time where cars weren't going nearly as fast are they are now. Also consider that NASCAR restricts speed on the cars with a million different regulations from mandating engine sizes, shocks, tires, and almost everything else you see under the hood. There really isn't anything about mainstream NASCAR today that promotes doing whatever to the car to go as fast as you can, so yes comparing NASCAR to luge is pretty weak, agreed.

Honestly I don't know a thing about the sport, as most people who are watching it don't. In all dangerous sports there will be accidents and deaths, absolutely, but I think its the responsibility of the administrators of a sport to try and minimize the dangers presented to the athletes. This can be with greater safety devices, education, changing and adjusting areas of the track, and yes, even restricting speeds.

[Pauley 2]

Without the speed restrictions the cars could now surpass 200 Mph

In 2004, Rusty Wallace tested an unrestricted car at Talladega and clocked in at 228 going into turn three, and predicted that a car dialed in better to run those conditions could probably hit 235, and that was 6 years ago.

Seems like every year, the teams will "admit" to producing a few more horsepower... think they could hit 240 today?