Just days before opening the Olympics 21 year old luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili told his father he will either “win or die.”
Nodar called his father days before the Olympics and told him the fear he was experiencing of the “lightening-quick track-believed to be the fastest in the world” at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
The cause of Nodar’s death was a direct result of losing control of the sled. In the trial run he came late out of curve 15 and was unable to come back to make it safely into curve 16. It has been concluded that this accident was not a result of a faulty track. The technical officials of the FIL stated they retraced the path of the athlete and concluded “there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.”
Luging is an extreme sport and like any extreme sport there will be associated risks involved. These athletes can reach speeds of up to 160km and hour; Nodar was at 144km when his accident occurred. These high speeds can knowingly lead to serious accidents and fatality. Nodar is the most recent fatality that occurred in preparation for the winter Olympics, and fourth in Olympic history.
Nodar was honoured in the opening ceremonies with words of kindness and a moment of silence. Approximately 16,000 people were there to witness the opening ceremonies and pay their respects in the moment of silence.
