‘No single reason’ caused death at Vancouver Games
Posted April 19, 2010 7:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BERCHTESGARDEN, Germany – The International Luge Federation said Monday there was “no single reason” for the death of Georgian racer Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The 21-year-old died February 12 during a training run at the Whistler Sliding Centre just hours before the Opening ceremony.
Kumaritashvili was flung from the track and slammed into a steel pole while travelling at almost 145 kilometres an hour.
“After an in-depth analysis, we concluded that there was no single reason, but a complex series of interrelated events which led to this tragedy,” FIL secretary general Svein Romstad said in a statement on the federation’s website.
The federation report noted Kumaritashvili “did commit driving errors” which resulted in him “leaving the track and subsequently hitting a post.”
It said the training run appeared to have been routine until the exit at curve 15 when “Nodar appears to have hung on to the curve too long.” This resulted in him being sent to the right side of the straightaway entering curve 16 instead of being left of centre.
Moreover, said the report, the luge sled Kumaritashvili was using met all FIL criteria and was found to be “compliant with every regulation.”
Following the crash, the luge track reopened on a shorter, slower and safer course.
In its report, the federation also said Kumaritashvili had the credentials to compete at the Olympics and he had “earned the right to participate.”
The Georgian was ranked 44th out of 65 sliders in the World Cup standings.
The federation pledged to continue working with Kumaritashvili’s family, the Georgian luge team and the IOC to “build a positive legacy for Nodar.”
The FIL added it is “committed to doing everything in its power to ensure, around the globe, that this tragic accident never happens again.”
The report will now be sent to the British Columbia coroner’s service, which is expected to release its own report in May into how Kumaritashvili died.
