Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili Dies in Luge Crash

Tragedy struck at the Olympic Games on Friday when a men’s luger from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia died in a training crash.

Nodar Kumaritashvili went over the wall of the track and slammed into a steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center.

Emergency personnel performed CPR on the scene, then Kumaritashvili was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter was later summoned and arrived on-scene approximately eight minutes after the accident.

It is not known exactly how fast Kumaritashvili was traveling, but many competitors have surpassed 90 mph on this particular course.  The track is likely the fastest in the world and several competitors have publicly questioned its safety in recent months. So far, over a dozen athletes have crashed during training runs at the Olympics.

Training has been suspended indefinitely in Vancouver and International Luge Federation members were called for a briefing.

Nodar Kumaritashvili has participated in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world.

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