# Olympic luger killed in training run **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780 "2010-02-12T21:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/41 "2010-02-13T16:30:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I was kinda wondering that myself. There’s all kinda of refrigerant pipes running under and along the track and blinds and shades hanging over it. They need to control the sunlight melting the ice or getting in the sliders eyes. I’m guessing that’s what the posts were for, which means they’d have to be next to the track. > > I’ve been to the luge tracks in Lake Placid and Salt Lake City. If a guy comes out of the track at 80 mph, he’s gonna hit something. If the posts weren’t there, he’d have hit a satellite truck, or the cooling apparatus, or a bunch of spectators, or just tumble a few hunderd feet over uneven ground, any of which would have been sufficient to mess him up pretty bad. I think the only way to keep the sliders safe is to make sure they don’t come out of the track in the first place. Build higher walls that are even with the sides of the track. Let them slide on something smooth until the come to a stop. Still no fun, but probably the best chance they’ve got. The Vancouver course seems the most extreme luge course, judging by what experienced lugers have to say, but as far as the post issue goes, it’s not really unique in that is it? I was looking through other luging videos, and pretty much all the tracks I’ve seen regularly feature posts along the track, mostly to hold up awning-type structures. I don’t know if the Vancouver posts were particularly in a bad place or if many luge tracks are just poorly designed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/42 "2010-02-13T16:47:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The Vancouver course seems the most extreme luge course, judging by what experienced lugers have to say, but as far as the post issue goes, it’s not really unique in that is it? I was looking through other luging videos, and pretty much all the tracks I’ve seen regularly feature posts along the track, mostly to hold up awning-type structures. I don’t know if the Vancouver posts were particularly in a bad place or if many luge tracks are just poorly designed. “This is the most extreme/dangerous luge track ever” is a common refrain at the Winter Olympics, because it’s usually true. They are, of course, always making the track harder, because the athletes are always getting better. Each luge track has been faster and harder than the last. The Torino luge track was universally regarded as being the most dangerous ever built at the time: [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/sliding/2006-02-16-treacherous-track\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/sliding/2006-02-16-treacherous-track_x.htm) Whether this in particular is a serious design errors, or the accident was a stone cold fluke, I don’t know - I don’t design luge tracks - but I can’t think of any good reason NOT to have made the walls higher. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/43 "2010-02-13T17:28:09Z")
I can’t see that the posts beside the track are an issue. If you come off the track at 150km/h, you’re going to hit something and it’s not going to end well. What needs to be looked at is wall height and such to prevent crashes from leaving the course. The track looks to me like every other one I’ve ever seen, but that may just mean that all tracks need to look at wall heights at corner exits. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/44 "2010-02-13T19:49:22Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’ve always thought the luge track should be a covered tube. Why not? With plexiglass, they can see into it and the lugers wouldn’t ever go flying out. It doesn’t make any sense I don’t know if that would help. He came off the wall early and hit the inside turn. If they put up a wall by the girders then he would have deflected off that and hit another turn. It’s no different than driving a race car and coming off a high bank incorrectly and hitting a wall. It all happened so fast it’s hard to tell but lt looked to me like he was free-falling after the first impact. And by that I mean he was not aware of what was going on and if there was a wall next to the girder he would have hit that like a limp rag doll and continued on down the track in the same manner. I question the safety of people standing along the track (photographers?) as they could be struck in similar situations and also present a visual distraction. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/45 "2010-02-13T22:10:54Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > NBC has a high-quality video of the whole run up at [noparse][http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=4d69df22-dc17-4356-8385-b075a080b00a.html#graphic+content+luge+crash+from+start[/noparse]](http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=4d69df22-dc17-4356-8385-b075a080b00a.html#graphic+content+luge+crash+from+start%5B/noparse%5D) (it might ask you to install Silverlight). It’s not especially graphic visually, but it’s a bit disturbing to hear the “clang” as his head hits the post. There is a slow motion button on the player. And did anyone have him in the 2010 death pool? ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/46 "2010-02-13T23:05:20Z")
> [@Hellestal](#): > > You win some, you luge some. > > Not original to me, but I had to pass it on. No, you really didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/47 "2010-02-14T03:03:59Z")
> [@](#): > > VANCOUVER — The president of Georgia appeared to reject today the conclusion that human error alone led to Friday’s death of a young Georgian luger, and that there was nothing wrong with the speedy luge track in Whistler where the crash occurred. > > **"One thing I know for sure is that no sports mistake is supposed to lead to a death. No sports mistake is supposed to be fatal,** ” President Mikheil Saakashvili told reporters Saturday. really? look, it sucks that someone died. but sometimes shit happens - you don’t need to go running your mouth and showcasing your stupidity; you just make Borat look like a more perfect characterization of your part of the world. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/48 "2010-02-14T03:52:07Z")
I’m having trouble spotting the stupidity in his statement. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/49 "2010-02-14T04:09:11Z")
Gary, he is intimating that something amiss is afoot just because someone died in a sports accident. That’s pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/50 "2010-02-14T04:17:38Z")
Is it possible that something was lost in translation? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/51 "2010-02-14T04:25:01Z")
I guess I’m as stupid as Borat too, because I agree with him. It was asinine for the Olympic officials to blame the athlete for dying. That was shitty incompetent design and totally foeseeable. Freak accidents are unavoidable in life, but that one wasn’t a freak accident. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/52 "2010-02-14T04:33:47Z")
I was looking at the “padding” added to the steel polls. Maybe that might make a difference if someone was leaning on the beam next to it and fell on the padding but come on. It wouldn’t help anybody moving faster than 2 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/53 "2010-02-14T04:36:34Z")
Hmmmm…unpadded concrete support posts right after a curve. Think that might be a problem on a 90+ mph course? It wasn’t Nodar’s fault. It was the design of the course. Saakashvili is right, and Rumor\_Watkins is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/54 "2010-02-14T04:38:37Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I guess I’m as stupid as Borat too, because I agree with him. It was asinine for the Olympic officials to blame the athlete for dying. That was shitty incompetent design and totally foeseeable. Freak accidents are unavoidable in life, but that one wasn’t a freak accident. Well, I suppose there should be no auto racing, bicycle racing, boxing, marathon running, sailing, baseball, horse racing, skiing, snowboarding or hockey. It was a freak accident by a racer who was pretty clearly in over his head. Certainly there could have been changes in the design of the course that would have prevented it, but to imply that this was obviously predicable is silly. ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/55 "2010-02-14T04:39:11Z")
no sports mistake should be fatal, but there **are** instances with certain sports. Even in ice hockey where the people are geared up with equipment there’s risk of death however small. there are instances of heart attacks too. Death is always there when life is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/56 "2010-02-14T04:42:34Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Well, I suppose there should be no auto racing, bicycle racing, boxing, marathon running, sailing, baseball, horse racing, skiing, snowboarding or hockey. > > It was a freak accident by a racer who was pretty clearly in over his head. Certainly there could have been changes in the design of the course that would have prevented it, but to imply that this was obviously predicable is silly. Uh, I don’t think anybody’s saying that the sport should be abolished. But yeah, I just watched the video of Nodar’s death again, and it was predictable. Completely. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/57 "2010-02-14T04:49:37Z")
> [@](#): > > It was a freak accident by a racer who was pretty clearly in over his head. The world champion and greatest luger in the world also crashed on that course in practice and went out of control. So apparently everybody not born on Krypton was over his head on that course. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/58 "2010-02-14T04:54:12Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Uh, I don’t think anybody’s saying that the sport should be abolished. But yeah, I just watched the video of Nodar’s death again, and it was predictable. Completely. :rolleyes: Yes, completely predictable. Death is a reality of sport. Has been since the dawn of time. Pretending it isn’t and pretending that accidents can always be prevented is ignorant. Luge is a sport where unprotected people throw themselves down a icy hill on top of razor blades at 90+ mph, it’s inherently dangerous and potentially fatal. The announcers remind of this fact during every broadcast and glorify it and tell harrowing stories of athletes bravery and praise those who crash and are injured and return to the sport. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/59 "2010-02-14T04:57:59Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > The world champion and greatest luger in the world also crashed on that course in practice and went out of control. So apparently everybody not born on Krypton was over his head on that course. This racer crashed 3 times in all of 15 runs. On the fatal crash he missed the turn particularly badly. There’s a difference between a F1 driver pushing too hard and losing grip in a turn and a driver steering into a bridge abutment. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780/60 "2010-02-14T04:59:37Z")
Look, I don’t know what the fuck your deal is with me and sports threads, but you can shove your rolleyes up your ass. Just look at the goddamn course, dude, pre-modification. There are a series of unpadded, square concrete support posts immediately after a sharp turn, and PRECISELY where anyone with a brain in their head would say, “Hmmmm…maybe there’s a chance somebody could jump this low wall at 90 mph and crack their fucking skull open.” It was utterly predictable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-luger-killed-in-training-run/528780.md?page=4)