Nodar Kumaritashvili's Fatal Crash at the Olympics and a Controversy Over Fault

Nodar Kumaritashvili's fatal crash at the Olympics and a controversy over fault are in the center of discussion. 21 year old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was navigating the last turn before careening through the finish line when something happened to cause him to fly through the air and crash into an unpadded pole. He died shortly after impact at a trauma center.

There have been many discussions over what caused the incident. The Whistler luge track has been widely discussed as almost too dangerous for competitors. Many lugers spoke out about the track, saying that only the host country would have enough training to learn the track well enough to navigate it safely.

Officials say that the crash was caused by a "human error" when Kumaritashvili came out of the second to last turn late, and failed to compensate when entering the final turn. This caused him to lose control of his sled and the end result was that he catapulted through the air. Officials also say that his speed of almost 90 miles per hour and the gravitational forces were too much for the 21 year old's 176 pound frame.

The luge competitions will go on. There will be extra training time allotted to competitors to ensure that they have adequate time to get ready to safely navigate the trail. Everyone is hopeful that this will be the last accident of the Olympics. You can see a video of the crash HERE.

The tragedy put a damper on the mood of the opening ceremony. Although many are still very excited about the Vancouver Winter games, losing someone before the competition begins is a scary reminder of how dangerous some of these sports could be.

Do you think that Nodar Kumaritashvili's fatal crash was caused by human error, or do you think that some way or another the crash was caused by the Whistler track? While it's completely possible that Kumaritashvili did something while navigating the track that caused the accident, I find it very peculiar that there aren't more safety features on this type of track. For instance - why wasn't the pole that he struck padded? Shouldn't there be some sort of padding surrounding the track so that if someone careens off the path their fall is at least partially absorbed?

We can argue all day long over what is at fault over the Nodar Kumaritashvili fatal crash at the Olympics. Such arguments are in vain because they cannot bring Nodar back to life. What could have been one of the defining moments in his career as a luger turned into the biggest tragedy of the 2010 Winter Olympic games.

Source:

CNM News Network: Olympic Luge Tragedy Caused by Human Error and Not Track