Condolences to the Kumaritashvili family.

Hopefully the Winter Olympic games will memorialize this tragedy in some way.

This unfortunately reminds me of the old ABC Sports intro on Saturday's,,,,,,

The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.

I agree with Rogue--what a tragedy! I surely hope that the team will stay for the opening ceremonies and that, even if they do not compete, that they stay--at least if only to be recognized as the Olympic athletes that they are. Although, if they chose to leave, who could blame them? Too painful..

But I believe that, in an effort to break records, designs of some of the venues definitely push the envelope. Absolutely tragic.

Russian will never sabotage this way. You must be crazy thinking that. I fewel sorry for Family and all Georgina's team

really a shame that safety isn't considered a top priority. Those steel support beams should have a wall just to keep any pilot from leaving the confines of the track when they crash. Pilots will crash, it is a part of the sport. How can safety be neglected at 100 mph.

Just awful. Condolences to this young athlete's friends and family.

And yes, why no padding or plexiglas on those steel beams?

Because, while hurling down a track at 90 miles per hour, padding or plexiglass would do little to change the outcome. Throw 180 pounds into a padded post at 90 miles an hour... Not much difference from an unpadded post.

This is the fastest track in the world. that's the problem. There are ways to slow it down,

Danny, that track is obviously extremely flawed in design, and is not the fault of Nodar's pursuit of speed. Who places steel columns on the side of a luge track? It would be like placing steel columns on the side of the downhill.

Seems those steel columns should be taken out of play with some plexiglass or something to keep the pilot on the track. Agree that padding the columns would do little good, but there are several options to keep a pilot from getting into the columns when they crash. Even several sheets of plywood might have prevented this.

Whilst I feel incredible empathy for this luger and pray that he recovers

Danny...ummm...the title is

Olympic luger dies in training-run crash

There is no recovery from death. to quote some idiot who testified in front of Congress in the late 90s "When you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."

Am I the only one who noticed this ? *LOL*

Sgt, I think this thread was started when the early word was there had been a serious crash but no status on the pilot. The story was updated with the news after some posts had already been made.

He died doing what he loved doing best....slide. May peace be upon his family and may his soul rest in perfect peace. You will never be forgotten Nodar Kumaritashvili.

Hope they pad everything up on that course, My condolences..

I don't know..call me stupid..but Steel Poles...a human body and 90 miles per hr...don't seem like a safe bet to me...and they say someone going over the side is rare? how rare can it be? one wrong turn of the head and its all over..this is a tragedy...one of epic proportions and that slide should be SHUT DOWN. Are they idiots for not having padding? I even think the poles should be non existent...if they fly over the rail they should fly into a snow bank... I mean come on.

I too, like Danny, wish Nodar Kumaritashvilis' friends & family & team members, et al, peace & calmness, and the willingness to soon accept what has happened. It should probably be said that Nodar died doing what he probably loved spending his time of young life doing what he loved doing the most. And that, it does not have to be argued, is worth a LOT.
Secondly, Danny, I take exception to a comment you made about the Australian who is quoted as saying "To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives."
Your response was cynical & thoughtless, in my opinion.
I agree with you that Olympian athletes do pursue what you vaguely term "glory" but not the kind of "glory" that you've juxtaposed closely alongside "financial gain." I believe that in reality, all the time, most all of the athletes do not prioritize their motives in such a way, as you stated you believe most of them to do.

But some do, some do.... no doubt about that. But I'd bet that most of those athletes, in their heart of hearts, eschew such gains particularly huge financial gains just for the sake of possessing such gains (which, judging by your scathing verbiage, you no doubt had in mind when you wrote that), but instead work & wish & sometimes pray for, to put it succinctly, a single-mindedness, the heart & the passion and the wholeness & true genuineness of all of those things that their goals require. Why? Well, I believe it's for simply personal, inner-valued achievement with the majority of those athletes. And why not believe that, anyway, if one does not know, one way or the other? Your reaction bespeaks & betrays what you, Danny, value for yourself & think of yourself & of life's worth & meaning.

Your stated belief that "If the course had been slowed down for fears of injury she would also be the first person making complaints" is a quick & cheap cynical assumption on your part. You must accept the personal responsibility for NOT putting yourself mentally & emotionally in the place of a shocked & angered & perhaps mystified athlete who was a fellow Olympian athlete as Nodar was before you publicly spoke out as "one who knows."

And so for that simple reason, that you really DO NOT know what the feelings among the athletes in Vancouver are, you must temper your cynicism because you, private citizen Danny, "ain't all that." You have NO idea what the athletes there in Vancouver are going through.
You, buddy, and sadly many others like you who've made quick publicly-spoken judgements as you've done, are just dime-a-dozen armchair cynics who are quick with the barb rolling off their sharp tongues & their adled hearts, spoken wide-eyed from the cushy comforts of thoughtlessness.
Next time, feel first, from your subject's point of view or what it might possibly be like, with respect. And then think. And then write your very public statements.
Again, condolences to those who knew & loved Nodar; may you be at peace, have acceptance and the faith to continue on, with strength.

I clicked on the Reply button inside a particular individual's post, thinking my reply would show up right below his.

Didn't.

My post is a Reply to this individual:

Danny-1622400
#1 - Fri Feb 12, 2010 2:56 PM EST

God bless him and his family. I heard the news when driving home from work. I just started crying. What a terrible way to open the games and what a damper.

Then, I am watching coverage right now and one freaking talking head was so insensitive - talking about inexperienced kids coming to the Games.

Excuse me? HE QUALIFIED FOR THE OLYMPICS. That is hardly inexperience.

God bless him and his family. I pray that they find peace.

Update if you have not heard. The American lugers (or the whole team) will be wearing black armbands in his honor.

According to the talking head, we on the west coast should be able to see the Opening Ceremony at about 8:50pm Pacific time.

Danny - #1 post

I agree with Kevin Kendall. NO OLYMPIC ATHLETE is competing for financial gain.

People do not train for hours and hours every day, for years and years and years without financial gain, thinking that maybe one day I will be one of the lucky 3 people to win a medal in the Olympics and then pick up endorsement deals.

I disagree with Kevin on one point. He supposes that maybe some of the athletes are doing it for financial gain. I don't think one of them does. They do it because they want to be the best in their sport. They have competitive spirit.

But I have to go watch TV now. My cute speed skater (who's my inspiration), who appeared on "Dancing with the Stars," was just on TV and I'm going to rewind the TV to watch his interview.

Rob, thanks for the clarification.

That's what I get for showing up late.

Sorry if you felt maligned there Danny.

No track should be so dangerous that the slightest error will result in death. His mistake was tiny, so small that anyone could have made it of any skill level. The perfection required is about like running on a tightrope.

The track killed him, no question about it. He didn't have a chance. Not only were the walls not high enough there to keep him inside, but at the point in the course where a luger would be at top speed, there are steel pillars without even a pad to hit. It is like having steel pillars on the side of a slalom run.

Very sorry about that Mr. Kumaritishvili.

TRAGIC..100 million dollar track SHOULD have higher walls to keep you on the track, wrecking is part of the sport.

RIP

This is what happens when the slow and normal folks--with considerable advice and help from their technology challenged accountants--send all the bright and fast folks home to save a few pennies . . .

The bright and fast folks--most of whom tend to be a bit older these days--might be highly annoying during staff meetings, but they have more than sufficient sense to realize without doubt that placing narrowly spaced, exposed vertical steel beams just around a tight corner is virtually guaranteed to have the same or similar consequences as using widely spaced vertical bars on baby beds and stair banisters, or badly designing and programming automatic gas pedal and braking control systems . . .

Attempting to blame the accident on the experience level of luger is beyond outrageous!

Anyone with a functional brain and enough common sense to make Jiffy Pop® popcorn can look at the track for just a few seconds and connect the dots with respect to its safety, or if one is too busy or unable to observe the obvious, then how difficult is it to ask the people who have to use the track for some tips during the design phase?

Not so difficult!

Especially winter sports, can be dangerous. Just think, your hurtling yourself down hills in different events, flying through the air on many others, they all have the possibility of danger. That is the attraction of the sports. By them making the wall higher should do the trick until some other unforeseen accident happens and they have to make another change. It is all part of the game, other wise no one would do it!

You hope he recovers? He died on impact.

The cause of death was caused by their lack of safety precautions where the pole was sitting - The people responsible for looking away from the possibility of an impact - it's just like putting hay forks in the run-off of a blind corner, and calling it unfortunate when someone is impaled.

sara: As someone else pointed out, this thread was started before his death had been announced.

Why do these design always idiots have to wait to for someone to die before thinking?

What are steel poles doing anywhere near the track?

A simple tubular construction would prevent this type of accident.

Dr. Mike: I agree that the steel poles were ill placed at best, the walls were too low, there was too much ice on the track, etc., etc. However, making it a tubular construction wouldn't be a good idea either. The sleds have blades, and people do get cut by them (sometimes seriously). If there were an accident in a tubular construction, it would be harder for the paramedics to access the athlete and help him or her.

Or padding them all? Especially near the finish line?

Thank you. What the hell happened to the padding

Those metal poles are big enough to kill at 10 mph.

There should be no poles that close to the track. This track should be close immediately and the builder/designer should face criminal charges

Accidents happen, especially with Olympic Sports. Seriously, with how fast these people go, you really think padding will help when it comes to hitting them? Not at all. Any athlete knows there is posing danger, ESPECIALLY with luge. That is what makes these athletes great.

Dragon, agreed. They should start taking them down now before letting anyone else down the track.

You cannot take down the poles they are for support..you can raise the walls to keep the riders on the track...

when I was a kid we used to make our own luge course. Then I grew up and realized this is WAY too dangerous for anyone to do. I feel 100 times safer in the ultralight aircraft that I designed and built myself and fly. VNE is 55-60 mph and I have at least some protection.

Schroedinger - with a name like that, you ought to be on the luge course AND in your ultralight at the same moment.

God Bless this family and the Georgian team. I say, after the games, whoever wins gold, give it to Georgia.

They all know the risks inherent in their sports. What the Olympic committee should be doing is looking for potential hazards in the environment, like metal poles too close to the end of a track. Even then, it's impossible to eliminate all risk.

I agree with your statement regarding slowing down the course. Lugging along with speed skating, bob-sledding and snow-boarding are my favorite winter Olympic sports so news of Kumaritashvilis' death really struck me hard. In any event, it is truly sad to hear of an athlete's death just hours before an Olympic opening ceremony.

I think the metal posts were placed there to kill them if they were to get off the sled.

they are stretching the limits of human athleticism and make it look so effortless! Champions do that. Amazing to watch them! God bless this poor kid and his family and protect the rest of you all!!

GO USA!!

I agree with your sentiment 100%.

Agreed. Disrespectful!!!

MSNBC always sucked. This photo has not crossed the line, we do not see a "Dead mangled corpse", rather we see the frailty of life and the concern of a paramedic trying to save a life.

Good grief, people, we show watered-down porn on network TV all the time, we abort fetuses and have roadkill on our streets...maybe if we see the sad reality of our mortality we'd give a @!$%# about danger, bad decisions and what is moral.

Absolutely agreed. Displaying that picture is tasteless, classless and is no better than tabloid level journalism.

Cut the crap people; if it bleeds, it leads.

Agreed, now that we know this poor man has died - take this photo down. Please. Let him have a shred of dignity.

maybe if we see the sad reality of our mortality we'd give a @!$%# about danger, bad decisions and what is moral.

Just the opposite. The preferred term is "desensitization."

I remember my father canceling his lifelong subscription to Time Magazine after they showed gory photos of the victim of Flight 103. Perhaps I will do the same with msnbc and stop visiting here if that's the kind of news site this has become. This photo goes too far. Either remove it or block it. Shame on you.

I must disagree... I am not a morbid soul by any means, and to me the photo shows the yin and yang of all of our lives. Death on one side, and how noble life can be on the other. Obviously we are all going to die, and this man faced death head on. A good way to go, doing something one loves.

To be fair, take the criticism to Fox (lead page with the image) and other major news sites. It's not just NBC running this picture.

Then don't look at the picture!!! And I'm sure that other news media ARE showing the picture also. AND I send my condolences to the family..that being said when you mix velocity,ice no body protection and solid immovable objects then death is sometimes the result. I know this was the luge event practice but as I have always said....ski and die...

I can't see anything in the picture that is offensive.

Different picture now.

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing. Not very respectful to this young man, or his family/friends/country! A little respect please!

Why is it that all of the people who insist on saying "MSNBC sucks" always seem to hang out on MSNBC? Is it becuase you are among the losers whose one goal in life to bit*h and mock and scorn in a pathetic attempt to make yourself feel superior?

"repect" died along time ago in America. What we have now is tabloid journalism.

I hope all of you yelling to take the picture down were opposed to pictures of our dead troops in Afghanistan or their coffins coming home.

I disagree with anyone yelling to take the picture down. I also disagree that it is similar to our troops pictures being published. Those men are national heroes. I want to see everyone of the pictures of their coffins because every single one of them should be memorialized. I get pissed off everytime someone dies or something and we lower the flags to half-staff. I propose we take the flags to half-staff permanently until our heroes (troops) come home. These people deserve to be honored and the American public should be reminded that these men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice.

I don't think we should politicize the death of a luger though. Take that dumb crap somewhere else. Act like you have a little bit of class.

I was a little disturbed by the picture. I think they should have just shown a regular picture of him. I didn't need to see the young man's dead body. The story is sad enough as it is.

Please-take down the picture. (And for the record- the anti-war crowd wanted to use the pictures of the military dead to build outrage to the war. IMHO They shouldn't have been published either.)

I agree that the politics of the war picutres was the main reason for getting them published, but did the right not conversely want to hide them to keep the outrage to a minimum? It's politics, sadly. I think they should all burn in hell for attempting to use our soldiers as pawns in their political games.

But, my heart and positive wishes go out to this particular young man. It is truly sad.

Bartman: Many of us are here because msnbc has to be checked and monitored--much more on political subjects than on sports coverage. Would you prefer that we be gagged and bound?

Kathy: I understand your feelings about the photos, but they do convey a message about just how dangerous this sport is. My condolences to his family and friends, to the people of Georgia, and also to those in Vancouver who worked so hard for the success of these games.

Comama

what are you waiting for?

and for the rest of you complainers about msnbc - why not head over to FOX and see their series of shots....then you can waste your time complaining about FOX as well - course that won't happen because it is FOX!

A real accident or fatality looks completely bland next to Hollywood special effects. If anyone is upset by the photo displayed in this article, I would advise them to never, ever, EVER watch any horror movie made after about 1980 since viewing same will probably cause them irreversible psychological trauma.

What I object to most is NBC showing the accident (complete with bloody aftermath) at 6:30pm when families are tuning in to watch the opening ceremonies. Young children certainly do not need to see it. If it must be shown, show it at 10:00 when kids are in bed.

Concerned - I agree that this should not be aired but not just because of young children. I don't understand why anyone would air someone's death. I can only wonder how those that made this decision would feel if they could turn on the TV at any time and watch their own 21 year old son die over and over again. The idea that this young man's death is now part contributing to their ratings share is disgusting. I don't much care that it would end up on Youtube anyway. NBC is the hosting network, a major network. Set some standards of decency, show some class.

During the opening ceremony coverage, NBC showed the footage of him being killed FOUR times in a row. Unbelievably inhumane, NBC. This was someone's son, brother, teammate, friend - a human being losing his life.

The NBC producer who made the decision to do this is a monster. I will never watch NBC again.

I believe NBC used poor judgement in showing this video. It made me sick and brought me to tears. I hope this was not for ratings. It should be removed. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Hopefully, you will make better decisions in the future about what should and shouldn't be aired.

The NBC producer who made the decision to do this is a monster. I will never watch NBC again.

Kmont - Unfortunately, NBC was not alone. ABC ran it too and I am sure others did as well. So you may not be watching any TV anymore. The problem is that once one does it, they all do it. I would imagine it started with NBC since they are covering the games. Had they showed some restraint and decency, the others might have taken a moment to show some humanity as well. But, once one of the majors make a move - right or wrong - they all follow like lemmings. Remember when you mother told you that just because so and so did it, it didn't make it right or okay for you to do it? Apparently broadcast journalists don't have mothers.

I agree with your sentiment 100%.

I don't think the management reads their own newsvine Kathy. Better use the contact information on their home page.

As someone already stated, I agree.

God Bless him and his family? sad.........

Did they change the picture? All I see is one showing a tiny bit of the top of his head, with a man with a mohawk blowing into a metal device.

This is awful news, I'm amazed lugers aren't killed more often.

Yea, they changed the picture. Now they have picture of actual accident..............tasteless.

I'm sure the whole grizzly episode will be on YouTube within hours, with about a million hits a day. It's just the nature of the society we live in.

Sad, but true.

you don't need to go to you tube - go straight to FOX it shows the slides in action....with the guy flying in mid air - but of course FOX does it with taste.

Yeah, I checked you tube and it had already been on there for over an hour but had been deleted because the IOC has a copyright on it. I guess that the IOC figures if any money's to be made from the video, they should get it.

All of you people crying to take this picture down..I disagree...showing this has brought to light how fragile life is..and how dangerous these sports CAN be. You bring in children...lol yet what kind of video games do your children play? What kind of movies do your children watch..puhlease..His death is a tradgedy but we don't need our eyes shielded from the truth..I didnt see anything undignified in that news article anymore than the 9/11 footage aired for weeks..or the Haiti Pictures aired for weeks...its life..and unfortunatly he lost his...you should be looking at why it happened...and how for it not to happen again...ie: metal beams...so close to a ramp...

Not to demean or ridicule your statement...But I find it a bit hard to understand. You are perfectly ok "reading" about this athletes death, but not seeing an image of a man trying to save his life?

Just curious if you watch T.V shows like CSI, etc. Or the nightly news for that matter. Did you turn the Television off on 9/11 ?

Absolutely. Very heartbreaking, and this picture adds nothing to this story. Show some dignity and take down these pictures.

Not to demean or ridicule your statement...But I find it a bit hard to understand. You are perfectly ok "reading" about this athletes death, but not seeing an image of a man trying to save his life?

Just curious if you watch T.V shows like CSI, etc. Or the nightly news for that matter. Did you turn the Television off on 9/11 ?

What if this was your family memeber? This isn't some TV show, it's real life

Correct real life. Death is a big part of all our lives. Did you not stay glued to your TV on 9/11...I do not want my news or any part of my life censored.

I understand your comments to my response however as some one who works in emergency services and sees tragedies on a daily basis there has to be some sense of respect and accountability with the media. There was no reason for that picture to be shown other than one news organziation trying to outdo another for the most sensational picture. This situation is just very sad and I think the media often forgets or doesn't care about the family member and friends who are left behind.

I have to agree with Gone6ft..you all didn't have to read the article or watch the footage..it gave plenty of time to turn it off...Do you not watch the news at nite? Blood and gore are everywhere..I also don't want my news "censored". I dated a guy in the 80's who was a Luge athelete and he was in the olympics...I know how dangerous it is and all of these atheletes know one slip and it could be all over..again..the real beef should be with the track and how dangerous it is..and I see they are fixing it so it hopefully doesn't happen again.

My thought exactly. Americans news are just unacceptable. We are the lowest of the low.

But yet you hang out on MSNBC?! What, just to bit*h?

I only hang around to read trash. This is like visiting the porn sites. MSNBC stops reporting real news long time ago. They only showcased dirty trash.

Low-classed don't know better.

Notice that the article just OMITS the fact that the family has not yet been notified!

I haven't seen any article that mentions whether they were or weren't. What makes you think they haven't been? The man's team members and coach were present. I'm sure his family were informed.

The article I read said that the person who confirmed he had died did so under the condition of anonymity, because the family had not yet been identified. There is a lot more to letting a family in Georgia know that their family member has been killed than just picking up a phone and dialing a number.

Positive thoughts and energy to all his family, his teammates, his country... And positive thoughts to the athletes who must now go and compete with this on their hearts.