First death at Olympics.

CoriSCapnSkip said:

My first thought. They are now making the wall higher and other changes, but why have the pole there at all, with nothing to even slow velocity down? Even the skiers have barriers, nets, etc.

Click to expand...

The poles are support beams for the cover that sits over the track, which is needed to keep the sun off it and keep it cool. They can't remove those. Though that doesn't mean they can't find some way to still protect lugers, like soft padding or nets or something. They should have planned that turn with the EXPECTATION that people would crash.

I think the reason past deaths haven't been honoured is because deaths are becoming more high profile. To use the tour de france example, well I don't watch that race so if there have been fatalities I wouldn't know. Same with auto racing (though that really doesn't surprise me, the number of deaths). But with the Olympics getting bigger, the opening ceremonies are starting to get more elaborate (IMO Vancouver outdid Beijing, and that's huge because I thought Beijing's were pretty awesome!) and so more people are starting to get exposed to the reality of people dying at the Olympics.

It's dangerous. Whatever feel good remedy is applied, the fact will remain.

That's an idiotic and extremely dangerous way to set up a course. Unless something is changed, I'll be amazed if there aren't other fatalities, or at least extremely severe injuries. I've never seen such a foolish design, and they should have known going in that it was foolish.

That track has been there for two or three years, I'm thinking. IIRC, while there has been a buzz in the sliding community of sports that this is the fastest track in the world, there haven't been any other severe crashes at the site. There is something to be said for what the NBC luge commentators said about the crash last night--that there isn't any fear for the top twelve or so ranked competitors, who've had obvious training benefits and the advantage of substantially greater practice experience, but for thirteen on: the younger competitors from the smaller countries, who don't have the advantages of high-tech training facilities or enough practical experience to correct a flawed exit from one of those curves without panicking or overcompensating. I'm not saying this death is the fault of the luger--not by any stretch of the imagination. But, there is a substantial safety difference between the facilities/experience athletes have in countries like the US or Russia and the smaller, poorer Olympic countries.

Torrance said:

It's dangerous. Whatever feel good remedy is applied, the fact will remain.

Click to expand...

True, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be attempting to reduce the likelihood in any way possible.

M.R.J. Le Blanc said:

True, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be attempting to reduce the likelihood in any way possible.

Click to expand...

Right, a luge course should be designed with the idea that a workman could fall into the course, or that an untrained person might attempt to run it. I've seen TV personalities go down them with obviously insufficient training. Of course there's nothing they could do about ice burn, but they could take into account someone flailing or unconscious and calculate where the G Forces might take them, and make sure that there are no obstacles.

I watched a World Cup Luge event on this track last year - a few crashed, but some were able to get back on their sleds and finish their race.
I'm in Whistler right now - was skiing when I heard of the crash. Every track is dangerous - this one might be more dangerous than many - but learning the course is important for every competitor. According to one of the locals here, he hit the turn a little late - went high and lost control.
Too bad his family had to find out from the TV news flash.

Latest news is that they moving the starting points (men & women) down the track in an effort to slow the speeds and increase the comfort level of the racers.

The reality is that if you're moving along at 90 mph, the physics of a crash just aren't in favor of a squishy human being.

I don't care if you're skiing, driving, sky diving, whatever, if you wreck at 90 miles an hour you're in for some pain. Ideally in that situation you're going to be IN a vehicle, and not BE the vehicle like you are when you're skiing or on a luge.

Here's an update from the Olympic Committee -

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympi...s-defend-whistler-sliding-track_274696sA.html

Dommo said:

The reality is that if you're moving along at 90 mph, the physics of a crash just aren't in favor of a squishy human being.

Click to expand...

Yes, Princess Diana died, but even at that speed, her survival chances would be greatly increased by wearing a seat belt and if those concrete columns would have had a guard rail. Has one gone up since? Any more fatal crashes there?

CoriSCapnSkip said:

Yes, Princess Diana died, but even at that speed, her survival chances would be greatly increased by wearing a seat belt

Click to expand...

Especially considering that the single person in that car who did survive was the only one wearing a seat belt, and he was sitting in the front passenger seat, often regarded as the most dangerous seat in an automobile.

Back to that luge track: looking at the pictures and track diagram, two things stand out. One, that there really isn't a good reason for those steel support columns to be immediately adjacent to the track wall; they could easily have been set back some distance, with an intervening safety net of the kind they use on competitive ski courses. The second being that that final curve, where the track speed was at its maximum, was the sharpest curve on the whole course. There is no good reason it couldn't have been less acute. But, we've already had the official pronouncement that the track was in no way to blame for the accident, so it's all settled. Right.

caw

The raw video is on ABC news.

I agree with one of the commentators, if the poles weren't there he might be alive.
Hurt bad, but alive.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/nodar-kumaritashvili-video-fatal-luge-crash-9823485

Art_Sempai said:

The raw video is on ABC news.

Click to expand...

Had not seen it from that angle, but now agree even more: criminally stupid track design.

Apparently this opinion is held by experts in the field as well as observers: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=433011.html?__source=msnhomepage&cid=

Just got back from watching the last 2 races of the 2-man Bobsleigh at the Whistler Sliding Center. 40 trips down the track at amazing speeds. Over 140 km/hr. Some shaky turns by a few drivers, but not a single accident.
It was quite exciting.

The Germans took Gold and Silver - Russia the Bronze. Canada 5th and USA 6th.

Mac H. said:

That's the interesting thing ethically about the Olympics - we plan them KNOWING that people will be killed.

2008 Beijing Olympics - At least ten people were killed during construction. At least one athlete (a Hungarian Canoe champion) died during training.
2004 Athens Olympics - Five people were killed during construction
2000 Sydney Olympics - At least one person was killed during construction.
1996 Atlanta Olympics - One welder died during construction

We know that people are going to be killed, yet we plan the events anyway. We know lives would be saved if we didn't keep building new places to entertain the masses in ... yet we consider their deaths to be acceptable.

Why didn't we have a big memorial during the opening event of any of the previous Olympics to remember those who died to create our entertainment?

Why only remember this one ... was it because it happened on camera?

Mac

Click to expand...

Don't forget David Berger of the Israeli Olympic team in 1972.