A mens Olympic luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia died after crashing today during training on a track that is the worlds fastest and has raised safety concerns among competitors.
Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled near the finish, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center, near Vancouver, British Columbia.
An Olympic official told The Associated Press that the International Olympic Committee received confirmation of Kumaritashvilis death.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the 21-year-old lugers family hadnt been notified yet.
The death cast a shocking pall over the Olympics just hours before the Vancouver Games were to open.
Rescue workers were at his side within seconds; chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation started less than one minute after the crash, and he was quickly airlifted to a trauma center in Whistler.
Kumaritashvili struck the inside wall of the track on the final turn. His body immediately went airborne and cleared the ice-coated concrete wall along the left side of the sliding surface. His sled remained in the track, and it appeared his helmet visor skidded down the ice.
Its a very rare situation, three-time Olympic champion and German coach Georg Hackl said. But theres some things that you cant do anything about.
It was unclear how fast Kumaritashvili was going, although many sliders have exceeded 90 mph on this course. The track is considered the worlds fastest and several Olympians recently questioned its safety. More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training.
At the finish area, not far from the crash scene, athletes, coaches and officials solemnly awaited word on Kumaritashvili.
Ive never seen anything like that, said Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian from India. Im afraid its bad.
Training was suspended indefinitely, International Luge Federation members were called for a briefing and team captains from each nation were asked to attend a meeting.
Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services