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Nodar Kumaritashvili

Nodar Kumaritashvili, Official IOC picture
Personal information
Full name	Nodar Kumaritashvili (ნოდარ ქუმარიტაშვილი)
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Weight	Template:Kg to lb
Sport
Country	Georgia
Sport	Luge

The Death of Nodar Kumaritashvili happened in 2010. He was a non-notable person who gained notability upon his death. Nodar (Georgian: ნოდარ ქუმარიტაშვილი; November 25, 1988 – February 12, 2010) was a Georgian luger. Kumaritishvili suffered a fatal crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics competition. He was the fourth athlete to die during Winter Olympics preparations, after British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski, Australian skier Ross Milne (both Innsbruck 1964), and Swiss speed skier Nicolas Bochatay (Albertville 1992).

Life and career

Nodar Kumaritashvili was born in Borjomi, then a part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union.

He finished 55th in the 2008–09 Luge World Cup.

Kumaritashvili finished 28th of 32 competitors in the 2009–10 Luge World Cup Cesana Pariol event in January, which was his last World Cup event. His father, Selix, is the head of the Georgian Luge Federation.

Accident and death

Kumaritashvili qualified for the luge men's singles event at the 2010 Winter Olympics, which was set to be his Olympic debut. On February 12, 2010, Kumaritashvili was fatally injured in an accident during a training run at the Whistler Sliding Centre when, coming out of turn 15 too late he was unable to compensate for turn 16 and lost control of his luge and was thrown off and over the protective wall on the side of the track, striking a steel support beam at the end of the run. He was travelling 143.3 km/h (89.0 mph) at the moment of the incident.

Medics were at his side within seconds of the crash and began CPR within one minute. He was airlifted to a Whistler hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead. It was also luge's first fatality since 10 December 1975 when an Italian luger was killed.

In response to the accident, the Georgian team announced that it would consider skipping the opening ceremonies or withdraw from the games entirely. However, Nikolos Rurua, the Georgian minister for sports and culture, later announced the team would stay in Vancouver and "dedicate their efforts to their fallen comrade." The other seven members of the Georgian Olympic team wore black armbands during the opening ceremony, tied a black ribbon to the Georgian flag, and left a space vacant in the procession as a mark of respect, immediately leaving BC Place Stadium after the procession. They were greeted with a standing ovation from the assembled crowd. A one-minute moment of silence was held during the opening ceremonies to honour his memory, when both the Canadian and Olympic flags were lowered to half mast.

The organizers of the event expect the luge competition, scheduled to start on February 13, to continue after an agreement was made during a meeting with the national team leaders. The event may still be cancelled by top IOC officials who were heading to Whistler. The International Luge Federation (FIL) has stated that Kumaritashvili's death was not caused by "an unsafe track", despite FIL president Josef Fendt saying earlier that the track is too fast and that the track design was a planning mistake. It was announced that, as a "preventative measure", the walls at the exit of curve 16 will be raised, and the ice profile will be adjusted. In addition, the men's luge will start from the women's start to reduce speed.

See also

• List of athletes who died during their career

References

1. ^ "Nodar Kumaritashvili – Luge Athletes: Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". IOC. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010.
2. Wilson, Stephen (12 February 2010). "Breaking News – Georgian Luger Dies After Crash During Training In Vancouver". Associated Press. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
3. Longley, Rob (12 February 2010). "Georgian luger killed in training". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
4. "Georgian luger fourth-ever Winter Olympian to die". ESPN. 12 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. ^ Baldwin, Alan (12 February 2010). "Luge-Dead Georgian just wanted to live his dreams". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
6. Zinser, Lynn (12 February 2010). "Luge Athlete Killed in Training Crash at Olympics". New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
7. "Officials perform CPR after luger wrecks". ESPN. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
8. ^ Bondy, Filip (12 February 2010). "Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia is killed after horrific training crash". New York Daily News. Retrieved 13 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. "Luger from Georgia dead after high-speed crash". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
10. "Source: Official confirms death of Olympic luger". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
11. "Luge:Luge start moved as officials defend Whistler Sliding track". - Vancouver2010.com 13 February 2010 article accessed 13 February 2010.
12. Rutherford, Kristina (12 February 2010). "Georgia to remain at Games despite luger's death". CTV Olympics. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
13. "Georgian team wears black during opening ceremony". Kansas City Star. Feb. 12, 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. ^ "Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili dies after crash". BBC News. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
15. Maki, Allan (12 February 2010). "Luge track declared safe following fatal crash". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
16. Magnay, Jacquelin and Hart, Simon. "Winter Olympics 2010: luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili killed in training accident", London Daily Telegraph, 2010-02-12. Retrieved on 2010-02-13.
17. "Joint VANOC - FIL Statement on Men's Luge Competition". vancouver2010.com. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
18. Blair, Jeff (February 13, 2010). "Shaken sliders back on Whistler track". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 13, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• Template:FIL-Luge name
• Vancouver2010.com profile

Template:Persondata

• Recent deaths
• 1988 births
• 2010 deaths
• Accidental human deaths in British Columbia
• Filmed deaths in sports
• Georgian lugers
• People from Samtskhe-Javakheti
• Sport deaths in Canada