Luge athlete killed in Vancouver 2010 training run
 

Sad news on the first day of our Olympics here in my home town.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/G...532/story.html

Condolences to his family. Tragic accident indeed.

Is sad. One of my favorite events to watch.

I always thought it took alot of guts to drive one of those things.

90 MPH!

What a terrible accident. At those speeds there is zero room for error/malfunction. :nope:

There really should have been an extended retaining wall where he lost control. I am 99.9% sure there will be before another set of blades hits that course. It is unprecedented, and unacceptable for a rider to bodily leave the course.

Unfortunately like may auto racing crashes in the past, when you see a replay you can't help but wonder how that section was passed as "safe". These issues are often only detected after someone has paid the price.

I am hearing alot on local news today that it is the fastest track in the world, and a very difficult track, he was young and inexperienced.. none of that matters. The safety has to be improved on this track.

Push the envelope far enough someone pays dearly. Did he sign up to be a test pilot, or a luge man?

Fastest track in the world, wrongly calculated for speeds of 130-137 km/h, where actually they drive speeds in excess of 155 km/h. there were serious safety concerns from beginning on, and it is not the first accident there, and at that part of the track. Some measurements were added, obviously not enough.

The problem has been underestimated or played down, maybe intentionally for spectacular effects (not the accidnet, but record speeds).

It's a racing sport with high speeds and high risks, everybody involved knows, at least should know what he is in for, and it is voluntary. the track should be shortened, and if a majority of athletes wish (I doubt it), the competiton should be skipped. but the rest of the games should go on, with some symbolic gesture during the opening ceremony.

Tragic :(

That is just terrible. So sad for his family and friends, hope they make some safety adjustments so no one else gets hurt. It looks dangerous enough as it is.

It would seem that maybe luging should be done down a tube, like when u r at a water park.

Seems that the track in question is one of the fastest tracks and that the foreign competitors haven't had the chance of trying it out nearly as many time as the Canadian competitors. Might be a lawsuit or something in there somewhere, or the Georgians might quit the games.

CBS News last night tried to show me actual footage of the accident. I switched channels. About to give up entirely on network news. :nope:

What they need is restrictor plates on those things.

The president at a press conference shortly after the tragedy had the audacity to sidestep questions regarding the safety issues claiming the present time was more about the sorrow of the situation than the reasons/cause. :nope:

Five reasons just off the top of my head on why they don't.

1. You would not be able to see the rider which cuts down on the spectator appeal

2. It would have to be a very large tube so as not adversely affect the rider with wind.

3. It would be almost impossible to inspect the course for hazards

4. Maintaining a smooth ice surface in a closed (full) tube would be difficult.

5. If there were an accident the rider and the sled would be contained in the tube all traveling and bouncing at 90 mph. Imagine a food processor.

Mmm, processed food processor food... *drool*

Would make some sense to enclose the track to keep the luge drivers from catching serious air, but a crashed sledder would have to be extricated from the tube somehow. Plus, the above counterpoints ^^. At those kinds of speeds a dude's probably not going to survive anyway.