I am very saddenned to report that Nodar Kumaritashvili, an Olympic athlete representing the Republic of Georgia died today while participating in a practice run on the luge. Here are the details taken from the NBC Olympic website:
Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled near the finish Friday, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center . . . Rescue officials rushed to the scene and were performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Kumaritashvili was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter was summoned and was over the track about eight minutes after the crash.
This is not the first crash that has occurred during practice runs on the controversial course. Considered the fastest luge course in the world, many lugers are topping 90 miles per hour. It is unclear just how fast Kumaritashvili was traveling at the time of his crash.
Experts are obviously questioning the safety of the course, and it will be interesting to see what transpires now that Opening Ceremonies starts in just a few short hours.
The quest for Olympic Gold is the dream of just about any kid that runs across a soccer field, laces up her ice skates, straps on her skis, or practices free throws tirelessly in the gym. We must ask ourselves, however, at what point does the human body reach maximum potential and technology has to kick in. Is this safe? Is this fair? Is this a true demonstration of athletic ability or technology at it’s finest?
We saw unprecedented success in the pool at the Beijing Olympics by athletes wearing the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit. 94% of all races were won by athletes wearing this suit. This suit is now banned by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
There are more than 175 drugs, both legal and illegal that make up the official Olympic banned substances list. Some of them are obvious such as cocaine, oxycodone, and morphine. But many others on the list such as common diuretics might surprise some people. But they’re all on the list for one reason: in some way, even if very slight in nature, they could provide that edge to one athlete over the other.
I’m excited about the Olympics. I plan to watch the Opening Ceremonies tonight. And I look on with eager anticipation as dreams are made and Olympic medals are placed around the necks of hardworking athletes that have trained and sacrified for years. I celebrate those athletes. I celebrate the training, and I celebrate their drive and determination. And we mourn the loss of a great athlete who died attempting to achieve that dream.
Good luck to all of the athletes from across the world! Enjoy the Olympics everyone!