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Olympic Luger Dies After Training Crash

   VOA News 12 February 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Nodar  Kumaritashvili of Georgia is seen just before crashing during a
   training run for the men's singles luge at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics
   in Whistler, British Columbia, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010.

   Olympic  luger  Nodar  Kumaritashvili of Georgia has died after losing
   control  of  his  sled  and crashing on the second of his two training
   runs in Whistler, British Columbia.
   The  21-year-old Kumaritashvili struck the inside wall of the track on
   the  final  turn  Friday  and  immediately  flew over the track's wall
   before hitting a steel pillar.
   Emergency  medical  staff  at the scene performed CPR (cardiopulmonary
   resuscitation)  and  mouth-to-mouth  resuscitation  on the unconscious
   luger before he was airlifted to a trauma center in Whistler.  But the
   International  Olympic  Committee  (IOC)  announced later that doctors
   were unable to revive him, and he died at the hospital.
   IOC   president  Jacques  Rogge  said  Kumaritashvili's  tragic  death
   "clearly casts a shadow over these Games."  The men's luge competition
   is scheduled to begin Saturday, but it is unclear whether the schedule
   will be affected.
   More  than a dozen lugers, including 2002 and 2006 gold medalist Armin
   Zoeggler  of  Italy,  have  crashed  during  the pre-Olympic training.
   Competitors  have  exceeded  145-kilometers per hour on the track, and
   several Olympians recently questioned its safety.
   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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