Officials closed the 2010 Olympics luge track yesterday to investigate its safety after Georgian competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili died crashing in a practice run. Alarms had been raised by lugers who tried the course in the days and hours before Kumaritashvili's death, and after the terrible news broke, the president of the International Luge Federation, Josef Fendt, echoed their claims, calling the course "too fast."
"We had planned it to be a maximum of 137 kilometres an hour but it is about 20 km/h faster. We think this is a planning mistake,'' he said.
Today it was reported that the track had been altered to make it safer and runs would be starting at a lower spot to lessen top speeds.
Despite those moves, Sven Romstad of the International Olympic Committee maintained, "There was nothing out of the ordinary that signalled the need for change."
He added: "This is a fast sport and there are athletes who do encounter problems."
Those, like Romstad, who imply the Georgian's death was mainly due to his own bad luck and perhaps lack of skill, point out the track is two years old and has seen more than 5,000 runs since it opened.
But hard questions persist about responsibility for the Kumaritashvili tragedy. Who decided to make the course so fast? When were the first alarms raised and to whom? What was the response? Did the desire to gain an edge for Canadian athletes factor into such decisions? Did the desire to provide a spectacle of heightened speed and therefore danger factor into such decisions?
The answers to those questions are not clear at the moment. But as they emerge, Olympics organizers will be defending themselves against accusations like those hurled by sports writer Ed Berliner, published by The Examiner and The Huffington Post, who writes today:
"There is blood on the hands of the International Olympic Committee. On the hands of someone who decided a track this fast would give Canadian competitors an edge because they could practice on it much more often than those from other parts of the world. And on the hands of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee for going along with this insane and now proven deadly idea to emerge with a few more pieces of gold and silver."
Berliner lays out his case:
"Canadian Olympic officials puffed up their chests in the weeks and months prior to the opening ceremonies, telling all who would listen that they would own the medal platform at their home games. To do anything less would be a national disgrace...
"But it is now alarmingly evident the apparent lengths that were taken to tip the odds in their favor.
"Vancouver Olympic organizers, with the blessing of the IOC, turned to noted German engineer Udo Gurgel to design this track. Gurgel's reputation is well known in Olympic circles, having mathematically engineered layouts for the three previous Winter Olympics.
"A Canadian-based company, Stantec Architecture Ltd., took those numbers and created the track. One designed by the man whose previous concepts, put into proper use and followed to the letter, produced fast and competitive layouts that created a challenging, but safe, test for the athletes.
"So while this track was naturally designed for speed, Gurgel's expertise and calculations, if followed precisely, could not and would not have taken this test beyond the expected limits of human ability. It was meticulously designed to allow speeds of up to 85 mph, the number these athletes train for and are thus prepared for.
"The Vancouver track was tested in advance of the Games. The results were alarming and should have set off not merely concerns about the speed, but how it could affect the competition.
"Speeds of up to 95 mph. A 12 per cent increase in what was planned and expected. Well beyond the current endurance level of these athletes. Well beyond what left the designer's table."
Yesterday afternoon, Vancouver author and housing developer Howard Rotberg sent an email to various B.C. media, including The Tyee, saying every fan of the Olympics bears some responsibility for the death of Kumaritashvili.
"Was it the track that was made unreasonably fast and dangerous, all for the better entertainment of the fans?
"Was it the Canadian Olympics folks who banned other teams than Canada from practicing on the track before this week, so that Canada would be more likely to win?
"Was it the gross negligence of the designers of the facility by having unprotected steel beams close to the most dangerous part of the track, without anyone bothering to put protective padding on the steel?
"Not exactly -- we all killed him. We who let ourselves be 'snowed' by the sports bureaucrats, the big corporations, the self-aggrandizing politicians, and especially the corrupted mainstream media to cheer on this ... monstrosity."
The Tyee is pointing fingers at no one until the facts emerge. But Olympics organizers must be aware that questions, and pressure, will only mount until answers are provided.
David Beers is editor of The Tyee.
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DPL
2 years ago
I do agree, we helped
I do agree, we helped getting him killed. Many skilled teams complained about the track but of course our experts always know best. Not their fault, yet they modified the track and start the runs at the level origionally set for women. Winning is great but living is even greater, but let's face it, this is supposed to a sport not a place where large pilings are just waiting for a person to leave the track. Sad state of affairs and I do hope we all get sued for not being more particular with the issues.
Heck I used to race speed boats and was careful to end up alive.
lynn
2 years ago
Blood red mittens
Good article. Good questions.
"There is blood on the hands of the International Olympic Committee. On the hands of someone who decided a track this fast would give Canadian competitors an edge because they could practice on it much more often than those from other parts of the world. And on the hands of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee for going along with this insane and now proven deadly idea to emerge with a few more pieces of gold and silver."
Well said, Ed Berliner.
It's written in the DNA of our seriously flawed corporate system - where the ante....and the profit margin is continuously "upped"....in order to gain the competitive edge.
Upped to the point of tragedy - where lives are put at great risk. where lives are lost to the highly precarious nature of so-called "gaining" a competitive edge.
It is why some of us are protesting these Games.
Quarry bae
2 years ago
Not in the budget
Sea to Sky highway upgrade...$1 billion dollars..
Convention center...$1 billion dollars.
Canada Line sky-train...$ 2.8 billion dollars
$30 million dollars for Vanoc bonuses.
No padding on a immovable steel post....
PRICELESS
Cheers-Eyes Wide Open
UrbanWorkbench
2 years ago
Architect had no previous experience
It might be relevant to note that the architect from Stantec had no previous experience designing a luge track, in fact he said he normally designs office buildings - article on UrbanWorkbench - http://ow.ly/17akK
Ed Seedhouse
2 years ago
Apparently we could afford
Apparently we could afford to pad a steel post only after someone died. Maybe if one less free ticket had been given away to a politician the budget might have had room for that expenditure.
Fiat lux
2 years ago
I'm no supporter of these
I'm no supporter of these "games", because they've long ceased to be games,and became advertising gimmicks, we the public and especially our young people, will have to pay for, for many years.
At the same time, having been involved in many sports, I know exactly how the competitors feel, what makes them go and the challenges they face at any cost.
When people take part in dangerous activities, sports, by their own free will, unless there's a clear case of neglect by the organizers, it is their own responsibility if they get killed, or hurt.
I've been involved in motorsports at the national level for quite a few years, with the full knowledge that I could be hurt, or killed at any time, but it was my own decision, I practically lived for the sports, and nobody nobody forced me to endanger my life .
While I feel very sorry for this poor kid and even sorrier for his parents, who'll have to carry the burden all their lives, he knew exactly what he was doing, the dangers he was facing and took his chances willingly.
As I understand the accident happened on his 26th run on the course, which means that he knew what the run was like and, remembering my own young years, he wouldn't have missed the chance to compete for anything.
May he rest in peace !
Ed Deak.
HawkEyes
2 years ago
sorry Ed
I don't agree.
There was enough complaining that the ride was too fast, by miles per hour, for a sport where a hundredth of a second is considered... How do you bow out of Olympic participation, especially coming from where the young man did?
It's the responsibility of the host to ensure the ride is safe and it clearly wasn't-by design.
It's not quite the same, imho. The questions raised in this story are shameful.
Fiat lux
2 years ago
Hawk....In every sporting
Hawk....In every sporting event there's the possibility to protest certain conditions, or results.
The course has been designed and built by the best experts, checked out by international organizations, incl. the IOC and the lugers' body, open for some time and used by hundreds of competitiors, thousands of times. If there was anything wrong with it, have they laid legal protests? I don't mean complaints, but protests.
If not they have no reason to claim anything now.
I'm not suggesting that the course may not have been unsafe, which could happen with any new infrastructure. But if the competitors and their official bodies have not protested, they're equally responsible for the accident.
I have made myself very unpopular with certain organizers for unsafe conditions, but they had to comply, because they had no choice and I had the support of others.
The same applies here. Why didn't anybody lay an official protest some time ago? This is not the time, after the accident.
Ed Deak.
Ramona777
2 years ago
What the Rest of the World is Saying
Maybe read what journalists are saying in other countries to get different perspectives.
If I was a luge competitor I would likely be scared of participating. This wasn't the first incident on the track.
Sport or spectacle?
Fiat lux
2 years ago
Ramona, I've been in high
Ramona, I've been in high speed sports as competitor, organizer and federation official for many years.
There are accidents and deaths on every high speed track on Earth, whether in running, on horses, hockey rinks, bobsleds etc. winter sports, and especially in motorsports, where tracks have existed for 100 years, with all the safety precautions in place, yet accidents and deaths occur.
High speeds are waiting games for accidents.
I had no idea what a luge is about until we saw it on the news, but from what I saw it takes more than simple courage to slide down on those tracks at over 140 km/hr. without any protection, dressed in skimpy plastics, and any mistake can be deadly.
When a track is inspected and approved by a sporting federation, especially at the highest international level, as in this case, it is the responsibility of the authorizing body to demand changes, or of the competitors to protest to the appointed officials, or protest committee, to point out safety problems and demand changes, or precautions
When I was BC Rally Steward, in charge of car rallies in BC, under the auspices of the njow defunct CASC, Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs, BC. division, it was my job to run and inspect every national championship route, some of them over 1,000 miles, and either pass them or demand changes.
In the case of international rallies, as was the Shell 4000 Car Rally across Canada in the 60s, the National Steward had to inspect over 4,000 miles before passing it.
The same applies to all motorsport tracks with federation officials on hand all the time and I expect it is the same in other sports, especially with high speeds as in winter actions.
If there had been official protests, or complaints laid against the course, the organizers would have had to make changes to get permission to run the competition.
If not, there are no reasons to complain now.
I'm not saying this in defence of the Olympics, or of the course , only to point out how the system works in every sport receiving national, or international sanction.
It is not the organizers' decision to "take it or leave it" . All these facilities have been inspected and approved time after time, from the ground up, for years and the organizers had to abide by all and any demands to get permission.
We can also expect more accidents in the and injuries in the next couple of weeks, on account of the speeds involved. The competitors are fully aware of the risks they're taking.
Hockey players are injured every day, yet nobody blames the rink owners.
Ed Deak.
Fiat lux
2 years ago
PS. to my previous. On your
PS. to my previous.
On your question whether this case, or the Olympics, are sports or spectacle, they've long ceased to be sports and became simple show business spectacles I wouldn't cross the street to watch with a paid ticket in my pocket.
Nevertheless, the same rules still apply.
Ed Deak.
alive
2 years ago
on the other hand Ed
In other words Ed, as far as you are concerned, the track was OK, and it a few people get killed, so what?
The fact is that the officials knew the track was faster than planned (so much for mathematical design).
To expect a hopped up athlete to admit he is less daring than the next is not reasonable.
Anyway interesting to see that you have a large carbon footprint, and feel no remorse.