Poor Planning Kills Olympic Luger

The Olympics are supposed to be a time of joy and excitement as all countries unite with the common interest of cheering on their respective athletes through two weeks of intense competition. The commencement of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, however, did not evoke a feeling of joy; instead, feelings of shock, sadness and anger were abundant.

On the morning of Friday, February 12, as the Opening Ceremonies approached, Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed during his final trial run when he lost control of his sled and slammed into a trackside steel pole at almost 90 mph. This devastating incident occurred following criticism that the track was unsafe and much faster than in past Winter Games.

Following the incident, reports emerged of other athletes’ concerns regarding the speed and safety of the 4,500-foot-long, record-setting track at the Whistler Sliding Center, since several others had crashed around the same area that claimed Kumaritashvili’s life. David Epstein, reporter for Sports Illustrated, told CNN that this course is “15 to 20 mph faster than any course in the rest of the world.”

Almost a year ago, on February 21st, 2009, a single men’s luge athlete reached 95 mph on the track, setting not only a track speed record, but also a world speed record. While luge is often considered to be the fastest sport on ice, with sliders frequently reaching speeds of 90 mph, approaching an unprecedented 100 mph on the Whistler track is just asking for problems.

Since the Whistler track is the fastest in the world, athletes and coaches understandably questioned its safety. How then did Vancouver officials not take every precaution in order to ensure that the Olympic track was as safe as possible? Only after Kumaritashvili’s death did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognize the complaints they had been receiving and took steps to alter the course. Conn women’s rowing head coach, Eva Kovach, has first-hand experience with maintaining an Olympic venue, as she was a field-of-play assistant on the rowing course at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

Kovach said, “Although I can only imagine what kind of effect this single tragic event has on the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), I am sure after the Games are over there will be a serious evaluation or investigation of the accident and how the site committee handled the situation.”

Some have speculated that the Vancouver Games are cursed, but really what it comes down to is VANOC’s motive of pushing the limits of the Olympic motto: “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” Since the start of the Winter Games, there have been several mishaps at Olympic venues that have further served to discount VANOC.

The men’s 500-meter race in long-track speed skating faced more than an hour delay because of technical difficulties in producing the ice.

The unstable conditions caused several racers to stumble during competition and even led American Shani Davis to skip his first run for fear of injury.

The women’s downhill skiing course proved to be extremely treacherous during these Winter Games after three competitors smashed into the ground due to uncontrollable high speeds. The course is longer than most of these skiers are used to and had been described as packed ice and hard as cement. During trial runs, competitors were only able to ski about ¾ of the course, so they had no idea what to expect from the bottom during actual competition.

Although many crashes and injuries can be attributed to minor mistakes made by the athletes themselves, unsafe conditions of multiple venues cause these mistakes to become possibly life-threatening.

Kovach said, “I believe the accident on the luge track was in fact just that, a terrible accident. However, the incident with the quality of ice making at the speed skating venue and the torch malfunction at the opening ceremonies are issues VANOC should have probably considered as areas for troubleshooting long ago in the preparation stage.”

Despite the fact that these athletes knowingly put their lives in danger, VANOC should have taken extra measures to ensure their facilities were capable of hosting athletes competing at such high levels. It is unacceptable to ignore the complaints of athletes when they know every aspect of their sport better than anyone else. They know how the ice should feel, how the turns should run, and the speed at which they can go before losing control.

While they do make mistakes, these athletes train well enough to keep themselves safe while competing in the sports they love.

Kumaritashvili should not have been able to set his sled on the ice before officials had taken every necessary precaution to ensure the safety of the track.