Saturday, February 13, 2010

Georgia Mourns the Death of Olympic Athlete

The start of the 2010 Winter Olympics should have been one of celebration, as over 80 countries in the world filled the Olympic Village in Vancouver to embark on a two week journey of pursuing the gold and peace. However, there has been a dark cloud on the international community, not meaning the fog and rain in Vancouver. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili passed away Friday during a practice at the Whistler track. Kumaritashvili had his fatal crash at turn 16, where he was clocked at 90 mph before slamming into an unpadded metal pole. While several Olympic lugers have crashed on the track during their practice runs, the Vancouver organizers stated Friday evening Kumaritashvili "came late out of curve 15 and did not compensate properly to make the correct entrance into curve 16," implying it was the Georgian's fault. There have been modifications to the course, including a wall blocking the pole Kumaritashvili crashed into.Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashbili, who is in Vancouver to support his athletes, made the most powerful statement about the tragedy stating "no human error should lead to the death of an athlete."

By: Alyssa Rabulinski

No comments: