Quick to Blame in Luge, and Showing No Shame

[babylonsister]

Quick to Blame in Luge, and Showing No Shame

By JERÉ LONGMAN
Published: February 13, 2010


WHISTLER, British Columbia — Olympic officials treated the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luge athlete, less as a tragedy than as an inconvenience.

The sport’s international governing body released a callous statement late Friday night, about 10 hours after Kumaritashvili died, publicly blaming the 21-year-old for his own death. Athletes were attaining speeds at the Whistler Sliding Center far exceeding what the track was designed for, but the track was not the problem. It was a user error, the statement implied.

Kumaritashvili failed to compensate properly as he entered Curve 16 before he crashed at nearly 90 miles per hour, the federation’s statement said. It added, “There was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.”

A thorough investigation was supposed to have been conducted. Instead, the luge federation seemed more concerned about getting the track opened again for competition on Saturday than about taking a hard look at the conditions that might have contributed to Kumaritashvili’s death.

snip//

Frequent concerns were expressed about excessive speeds. Even Armin Zoeggeler of Italy, a two-time Olympic champion and a favorite here, had crashed on this track. On Thursday, after struggling to maintain control of her sled, Hannah Campbell-Pegg of Australia said, “To what extent are we just little lemmings that they throw down a track and we’re crash-test dummies?”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/sports/olympics/14longman.html?hp

[trumad]

1. Sorry

but didn't the guy fly out of the track?

Should that happen?

And--- should that metal pole---the pole he hit... shouldn't it have been covered with foam, etc.

[ashling]

2. Has anyone considered safety netting over the course

at least at critical points . . . or would that interfere with television coverage, ie lucrative contracts. :sarcasm:

[Lint Head]

3. It's about greed. Greed kills. Greed kills more often than speed.

Hit and runs save money for the person that gets away. Insurance companies save money by letting people die.
War makes money for contractors and gives power to criminal politicians. Playing down an accident in a sporting event keeps the heat off of the administrators lowering the impact of cost. The funeral director is the last person with his or her hand out.
It's greed all the way down the line. The 'love' of money is at the root of unnecessary death. There's nothing wrong with money in itself.

[90-percent]

4. Respect for human life

I'm a drag racing fan. Have been since 1964. Along with that comes an awareness of other forms of motorsports. In the drag racing area I know of, there has been sixty years of continuous improvement in safety efforts everywhere it's needed. New safety rules usually come after a tragedy. There are always new ways of getting hurt as technology evolves.

Drag strips went from no track barriers to hay bales to armco steel guardrails to jersey barriers that bracket the track for up to a full half mile, with some gates for emergency crews.

Going fast in racing always has an inherent danger, but the drag racing sanctioning bodies strive to learn from each accident and improve safety each time. For example, Scott Kalitta died recently at Englishtown N.J. It was a combination of unforeseen circumstances that led to his death. - blown engine - which happens all the time, possibly held the throttle open, fire burnt out the brake fluid in the lines and the body was cocked so the parachutes would not work. Combine that with a shorter than average shut off, and a rented camera boom in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time and poor Scott t-boned the boom.

At the next race the nitro cars were restricted to a 1,000 foot course, instead of the traditional 1320 feet of the classic quarter mile. They have recently enacted radio controls that activate the chutes and shut off the fuel at 1,400 feet to make things safer. At E-town last year, an alcohol funny car went off the end of the track with no brakes and chutes and the safety netting and length of pea gravel likely saved this drivers life. She would have died possibly if the track was not upgraded due to the Kalitta crash. (I've been told an NBC announcer discussed the Kalitta crash during the coverage of this tragedy)

Those vertical beams at the luge so close to the track are a fatality waiting to happen. If this was not upgraded immediately after this accident, then the people that run the Olympics seem to have little regard for human life.

Those concrete jersey barriers at most drag strips these days make it harder to see all of the race. From the stands, all you see of the car in the near lane is the top half. Screw it, racers lives are more important than the spectators view!

-90% Jimmy