Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

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North Shore
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by North Shore »

I'm sorta with Doc on this. The first news report that I heard this morning was that VANOC/IOC and the Luge Governing body had an inquiry, and the verdict was 'Pilot error' which I thought a little convenient, seeing as he isn't here to defend himself. Apparently, it was the most difficult corner on the track (and therefore, presumably, the one most likely to have an accident) and yet no safeguards for an obvious safety hazard at the end...

Somebody suggested plexiglas. How about altering the ice temperature? NHL guys are always complaining about slow ice - why not just make some?

I also wonder about the legacy of the games. One of the reasons given for hosting and building was that there would be a legacy for young up-and-coming athletes. How much of a legacy is there if the young'uns are not experienced enough to use the facilities left over?
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by B-rad »

found a link that hasn't been taken down yet for those who are wanting to see the accident.

If you don't want to -don't click it! and don't bitch

http://www.mahalo.com/olympic-luge-accident
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by . ._ »

What brainchild of an engineer designed that course? And what Olympic genius safety committee approved fuckin' BARE STRUCTURAL STEEL two feet away from where you're going a hundred miles an hour?

Someone should be charged with involuntary manslaughter on this one- just to set an example for future course designers and safety committee members.

-istp :?
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by Carrier »

Interesting article here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 026014.ece

Quote from it: "Clearly, the interview given to Canadian television two months ago by Laurenz Kosichek, the architect of the Whistler Sliding Centre, will not help to ease the situation. “I knew as much about bobsled, luge, as probably any average person does, which was next to nothing,” he said."

Are Canadians really so dumb as to have a major sports facility designed by somebody who knows next to nothing about the sports it is designed for? Why was it not designed by a competent European or American if there are no Canadians up to it?

It is known that competitors in such sports sometimes come off the track if they make a mistake. It is obvious to anyone who is not even an architect or engineer that such wayward competitors are likely to go off on the outside of bends. Therefore any supports should be on the inside of bends. The supports should also be connected by polycarbonate or protective netting to prevent competitors from hitting them. There should be no obstructions placed on the outside of bends and the track design should have containment features to reduce the chance of out of control competitors and sleds exiting the track. The worst a competitor should suffer from a crash is abrasions and bruises and perhaps a broken limb as they slide down the track out of control, perhaps being hit by their sled. The track design should limit speeds and gravitational forces, as motor racing tracks do by building chicanes or esses, etc. This is all just plain common sense; one does not need a degree in architecture or engineering to see that such features should be part of the design.

Are there no minimum standards in Canada for people to become professional engineers/architects?

Canada has made the situation worse by deliberately reducing the practice time for non-Canadians and thereby raising the danger for them!
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by Jastapilot »

+1 for Carrier
-1 for B-rad.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by Jastapilot »

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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BoostedNihilist »

The track can be faster than the athletes. If you are not comfortable with the speed, slow down. It is tragic for sure, but anyone who takes part in luge, bobsled or skeleton knows the risks before they take their first run down the hill. I doubt HIGHLY that 20k would have made a huge difference for this poor guy.

The IOC had plenty of time to inspect the course, the checks and balances are in place it is not fair to hold the engineer accountable for an error that should have been caught by many other people.. that just shows how low of a perceived risk the structural steel feet away from the track was thought of.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by Jastapilot »

I think once again, the point was missed. An athlete should be able to push their skills to the limit, and hell, even expect to wipe-out without having to be concerned with more than bruises or even a broken limb(worst case). But to blow off the real possibility of dying on a race as accepting the risks goes way beyond what the games are about. While we're at it, how about we place bricks on the track at 100' intervals on the sides so that if a racer doesn't drive the line properly, he hits the brick! Should make for better ratings!
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by JakeYYZ »

Why not put large sharp spikes on the top of the wall to stop bouncing olympians? Ya know.. so they just stick?
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by Jastapilot »

Great idea. If they're too scared to bounce, they won't come off the track and hit those pesky support beams.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BoostedNihilist »

I think once again, the point was missed. An athlete should be able to push their skills to the limit, and hell, even expect to wipe-out without having to be concerned with more than bruises or even a broken limb(worst case). But to blow off the real possibility of dying on a race as accepting the risks goes way beyond what the games are about. While we're at it, how about we place bricks on the track at 100' intervals on the sides so that if a racer doesn't drive the line properly, he hits the brick! Should make for better ratings!
I think you missed the point.. even on tracks which haven't been criticized for safety deaths have occurred because sledding down a hill at over 80 mph is just dangerous period. Also, even the ski jumpers have to deal with this.. Many of them could easily jump much farther than the transition of the hill, but if you land on the flats it is like jumping out of a building.. so they modulate their jump to get the most efficient combination of jump length and safety, in fact, that is the entire 'game' of it. Every speed related game is the same. You push to YOUR limit.. if you push too far there are consequences. The best strike the balance between speed which is possible and speed which is dangerous.

Also, spare me your hyperbole.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BibleMonkey »

Exploding bricks would be better.

And some man-eating alligators -in case the contestant made it past the steel pillars and exploding bricks.

I'm getting silly now, though......





Cold blooded Alligators wouldn't be good for a winter sport off-the-track-death hazard-we'd have to use timber wolves or some other fur bearing fanged mammal.


============

Whose stamp is on the drawings for this structure?
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BoostedNihilist »

Cold blooded Alligators wouldn't be good for a winter sport off-the-track-death hazard-we'd have to use timber wolves or some other fur bearing fanged mammal
Or better yet, we could, at the end of the track, have avcanadians torture each one to death with wit.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BibleMonkey »

:lol:


arrrrgghhhh!

That's like -subtle , and right through the heart. You Bastard.
Good one.

=========
http://www.6717000.com/newsArticle-1905.html
Five major construction projects are being pushed ahead this year to provide Canadian athletes with two years training without pressure from their competitors
Jeff Lee
Sun
Friday, February, 17, 2006 ...

...Building a winding concrete chute that can safely carry the world's top sledders down a steep mountain slope requires a huge amount of technical skill. ..


.....Vanoc hired one of those, German engineer Udo Guergel, who designed all of the tracks for the 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake and 2006 Turin Olympic Games.....

I think this Udo Guergel won't be designing anything that humans use in the future...
under the "new bridge falls down, blame the engineer " philosophy.

If mass is travelling faster ( 20km ) than design speed-seems ( seems at this early stage ) then it's either a design flaw, or stantec didn't follow the drawings
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BoostedNihilist

Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BoostedNihilist »

Could it be the athletes performance making the difference in speed? How about sled technology? Maybe the suits are more aerodynamic.. maybe the track is a bit out..
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BigB »

+1 for Boosted.
-1 for Jasta.

It was an accident, and only that.

Tragic nonetheless.
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by bandaid »

Total deaths in olympics:
•Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, Georgia – Luge – 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver
•Nicholas Bochatay, 27, Switzerland – Speed Skiing – 1992 Winter Olympic Games, Albertville
•Jorg Oberhammer, 47, Austrian Team Doctor – Ski Collision – 1988 Winter Olympic Games, Calgary
•Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki, Britian – Luge – 1964 Winter Olympic Games, Innsbruck
•Ross Milne, 19, Australia – Downhill Skiing – 1964 Winter Olympic Games, Innsbruck
•Knut Jensen, Denmark – Cyclist – 1960 Summer Olympic Games, Rome
•Francisco Lazaro, 21, Portugal – . – 1912 Summer Olympic Games, Stockholm

Not that this makes what happened any more right, these are extreme sports where athletes are pushed and are pushing themselves to the very limits. You would hope that in any such tragedy something is learned to further the safety of any sport.
The death of a young man is tragic for sure but many people are to blame including the athletes themselves, they could have all refused to run the track as many of them had previously stated it was unsafe.
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BigB
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Re: Georgian luger dies during Olympic training run

Post by BigB »

I've had a few since our "first gold on home soil", but will post enough to say that I will only put blame on the driver, as he was the only judge of his abilities..........period. As we have often seen on our meticulously kept highways over our Canadian winter months :roll: , it more often than not comes down to our driver-ablility (experience?) than track conditions.

I do however agree with your moral stance, Bandaid. Learn from our mistakes, however please....please do not hang the well intentioned (and non-culpable) engineer. I can name many an ill-placed cautionary sign on our highways' that will someday be the cause of a death.
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