A day that was supposed to mark celebration and the start of the2010 Olympic Games turned tragic on Friday morning with the death ofGeorgian luge athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili. 8 `4 O' r. `) [; i( R6 V, E7 \The21-year-old was pronounced dead at the Poly Clinic in Whistler aftera horrific crash during his final pre-Olympic training run at theWhistler Sliding Centre. - z. X }3 j2 }$ QIOC president Jacques Rogge made anemotional statement at an early afternoon news conference at thewaterfront media centre. "This is a very sad day," he said after takingoff his glasses and wiping his eyes. "I have no words to say what wefeel." U1 G1 V) w" j! V/ U1 X" T! LTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。"We are heart broken beyond words," VANOC CEO JohnFurlong added, fighting tears. "I'm told by members of his federationthat he was an incredibly spirited young person and he came here to beable to feel what it's like to be able to call yourself an Olympian."+ u) \4 |* j8 E$ M
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Rogge had spoken with the president of Georgiaand with the Georgian team and said they are considering withdrawingfrom the Games. Friday night marks the Opening Ceremony, where skierIason Abramashvili was supposed to be Georgia's flagbearer. There areseven other Georgian athletes at the Winter Games. h" H4 J) F& u# f. ~; L+ F2 L公仔箱論壇5.39.217.76) A* I& `6 t8 f6 Q9 G
Kumaritashvili is from Borjomi, a resort town of15,000 on the Georgian south. The area was an early candidate for the2014 Winter Games that eventually went to Sochi, Russia. 0 p" Y* B o, ~5.39.217.76 5 t; j4 E2 Y x" e* |0 z' E5.39.217.76Coaches and team captains have been told toexpect an announcement from the IOC and luge federation by 6 p.m. ETtonight. Meanwhile, the RCMP had begun investigating the crash site,virtually locking down the facility to accredited media. 5.39.217.76+ ]4 G" T) l' E3 x2 {
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This is the third known competition or trainingdeath at a Winter Olympics. Both previous deaths occurred at the 1964Winter Games in Innsbruck and one of them came in luge. ; H7 d& I7 E* H# ^8 P/ G* V& ^% l9 S7 G
Australian alpine skier Ross Milne, who was only17, was killed when he careened off the course and crashed into a treeduring a downhill practice run. * B9 B0 U4 x) H' F
: [, {" e- l0 G- Y+ ^$ B `Luge made its Olympic debut in 1964 and twoweeks before during a training run Polish-born British luger KazimierzKay-Skrzypeski careened off the course in Igls Austria and was killed. - l3 L& K; Y/ D# X7 \' m7 @
H+ H$ B* `# b- j, c7 Itvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThere has been some concern about the safety ofthe lightning-fast Whistler Sliding Centre track, known as the fastestin the world 8 F' i3 A* z2 I% y5.39.217.76 4 D1 [ x2 I# `" k4 Y/ xKumaritashvili was clocked at 144.3 km/h headinginto the final 270-degree turn of a training run at Whistler when hehit one side of the wall, crashed into the other, and was hurled offthe track and into a metal support pole. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb( ?. @; Q6 {3 Q" L, K% b) _9 M; {) C) f7 J
+ _2 V7 t) ~; T9 v$ C* `3 T5.39.217.76The crash occurred at 10:46am on the outrun of a turn named Thunderbird near the end of the track. 4 b' o8 e# k3 Z- gTrackmedical staff immediately rushed to the scene and administered CPRbefore rushing Kumaritashvili to the local hospital. Training wasdelayed after the accident, and race officials say there will be a holdon the track until further notice. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 S/ d, A7 y7 i/ \2 W1 ]
Kumaritashvili was rankedNo. 44 in the world. He earned 17 points on the World Cup circuit thisseason, and finished 28th at a race in Cesana.
