Luger Dies on Training Run at Vancouver Olympics

[LashL]

21 year old Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luger from Geogia died this afternoon after losing control of his sled at high speed, flying off the track, and crashing into a stanchion, during a training run at the Vancouver Olympics.

Damn.

 

[applecorped]

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6202459n

 

[qayak]

Holy Luge Tights, Batman! 140 km/h! Most people can't keep a car on the road at that speed.

 

[WildCat]

I can't believe they left exposed columns right next to the luge track. That's seriously screwed up.

 

[Lolly]

That's terribly sad. I heard about it on the radio, and the report said that another luger has suffered a concussion on the track as well. The other injury also adds to the safety concerns about the track.

 

[paiute]

I can't believe they left exposed columns right next to the luge track. That's seriously screwed up.

Uh..... Why were there no pads there in an obvious place where one might be tossed out of the track?

 

[pgwenthold]

I can't believe they left exposed columns right next to the luge track. That's seriously screwed up.

That really had nothing to do with it. All tracks have that type of structure, and folks don't die on them. The columns aren't the problem. That's like blaming the telephone pole when the driver of a car smashes into it after getting thrown from the vehicle.

In fact, given the way the accident occured, there wasn't much way for him to avoid a very serious injury. Once they get outside the track, all bets are off. The safest place in a crash is inside the track (kind of like how the safest place in a car accident is in the car, which is why we wear seat belts).

The sledder in this case cleared the wall going probably 50 - 60 mph. At that speed, any abrupt stop is going to kill you, whether it is a padded or unpadded pole or a wall.

 

[pgwenthold]

Uh..... Why were there no pads there in an obvious place where one might be tossed out of the track?

Because pads won't do any good. It's not the hardness of the pole that is the problem, but the sudden deceleration. His head hit the pole, and his body kept right on going.

See my post above - the key is to not have anyone tossed out of the track in the first place. That's the flaw of the track, not the poles.

 

[LTC8K6]

A proper pad would certainly reduce the rate of deceleration. Making it not so sudden.

Whether it would have kept this fellow alive, it's not possible to say.

 

[qayak]

I hate to be morbid but I bet luge is going to be the new "must watch" event.

 

[WildCat]

Uh..... Why were there no pads there in an obvious place where one might be tossed out of the track?

Wouldn't have helped. There's video of the accident on this page, not for the faint of heart: http://www.lionsdenu.com/vancouver-...ger-killed-in-sled-crash-during-practice-run/

No padding will help that collision.

That really had nothing to do with it. All tracks have that type of structure, and folks don't die on them. The columns aren't the problem. That's like blaming the telephone pole when the driver of a car smashes into it after getting thrown from the vehicle.

They don't put telephone poles right on the edge of the road, they leave them 15 feet or so away.

In fact, given the way the accident occured, there wasn't much way for him to avoid a very serious injury. Once they get outside the track, all bets are off. The safest place in a crash is inside the track (kind of like how the safest place in a car accident is in the car, which is why we wear seat belts).

But that's just it - why wasn't the side of the track higher right next to the columns?

 

[Thunder]

My God was he moving fast. the guy probably felt no pain.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think we need mythbusters...

 

[quixotecoyote]

This verges on off topic, but to anyone who watched that clip: If you didn't know how it ended, wouldn't that seem par for the course on one of those "funniest" clip shows?

I say this not to suggest it's humorous, but to take a stab at the people hurt=funny attitude.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

This verges on off topic, but to anyone who watched that clip: If you didn't know how it ended, wouldn't that seem par for the course on one of those "funniest" clip shows?

I say this not to suggest it's humorous, but to take a stab at the people hurt=funny attitude.

Kind of like the "Agony of Defeat" guy on the Wide World of Sports opener. He beefs out at the bottom of the ski jump ramp and various pieces of skier shrapnel and bodily organs go flying out of him. He's famous for eating it on TV.

Bummer.

 

[WildCat]

Kind of like the "Agony of Defeat" guy on the Wide World of Sports opener. He beefs out at the bottom of the ski jump ramp and various pieces of skier shrapnel and bodily organs go flying out of him. He's famous for eating it on TV.

Bummer.

Vinko Bogataj. He only suffered a mild concussion on that crash.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Vinko Bogataj. He only suffered a mild concussion on that crash.

Good deal, he should have waited until the effects cleared up before he picked his own name.

 

[steve s]

I agree that pads wouldn't have done much good at that speed. Some sort of net along the edge to keep them from exiting the track would have been better.

Steve S

 

[Dragoonster]

But that's just it - why wasn't the side of the track higher right next to the columns?

Yeah, a lack of columns would've helped, but it's down the list on failures

1. Engineers failed to properly calculate the physics of a crash
2. Engineers failed to properly give enough margin for error on that wall for their prediction in 1.
3. There are unpadded columns on a likely course of a crashed luger instead of padded columns, no columns or foam pads

And/or a possible thing affecting all of this: Course designers or facility managers ignored or didn't take seriously the risks and warnings of engineers and athletes

But the luger never should've left the track like that. Putting pads on the columns is a redundancy that never should've been necessary if they'd taken proper steps in the first areas. Not that it isn't still a cost:risk positive thing to do even if the likelihood of what happened were expected to be extremely low.

 

[Travis]

It's obvious from the video that if the wall were just 30-50 centimeters higher he wouldn't have left the track. This is the fastest luge track ever built, right? There might be new safety rules in the future to take these new speeds into consideration.