Deadly Luge Track Deemed Safe

After 21-year old Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed and died on the Olympic luge track, officials have deemed the track safe and determined that the first-time Olympian’s accident was a matter of human error. Though a number of other athletes have run into problems with the track and the wall is being raised at the turn where the crash happened, a statement from the International Luge Federation and Vancouver Olympic officials explained that Kumaritashvili was late on his second-to-last turn, and “this resulted in a late entrance into curve 16 and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident.” A luger from the U.S. team said, “When you are going that fast, it just takes one slip and you can have that big mistake.”