First death of the 2010 games in high def...

[CanadianIron]

Pretty rediculous that they dont have a safety wall.

Video:

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=3350f67a-7694-4f9b-830f-09d957013d41

[CanadianIron]

*nm

[gicantor]

yeah saw it on TV. Brutal crash.

[GYMBRAT]

that sucks, poor kid!! .and fam/friends

[AlladdinSane]

What event?

[GYMBRAT]

luge...is that how ya spell it ha

[CanadianIron]

Heres the vid... the sound of the guy hitting the pole is chilling.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=3350f67a-7694-4f9b-830f-09d957013d41

[AlladdinSane]

N/M. I'm a putz for not watching the vid before asking. Thanks for the replies, though.

[GYMBRAT]

^^I never watched it niether, just cought the tail end on the news, I'm out on our farm with dial-up only......what a culture shock LOL

[tex]

rip

[tiramisu]

The lack of hay bales or a padded wall after that curve really is a surprise. It's not really a stretch that a rider would blow out of that curve and hit one of those posts.

[guest]

after watching that i am surprised it doesnt happen more often. condolences to his family. and some governing bodies are compelled to ban the likes of MMA.

[pseclint]

that is awful, you think with safety being the priority when it comes to everything they would've thought of that scenario.... tsk tsk

[MMASTAR]

that guy was flying... holy fak...

[GYMBRAT]

after watching that i am surprised it doesnt happen more often. condolences to his family. and some governing bodies are compelled to ban the likes of MMA.

GREAT point Bana!!

[CanadianIron]

My question is, how does one prepare for such an event? Its not like they can take some slow speed runs and work their way up to speed, they're like free falling down the track, how nerve racking for everyone else competing. I assume they'll fix this portion of track but coasting past the spot where the guy turfed it would be uneasy.

[natenator]

My question is, how does one prepare for such an event? Its not like they can take some slow speed runs and work their way up to speed, they're like free falling down the track, how nerve racking for everyone else competing. I assume they'll fix this portion of track but coasting past the spot where the guy turfed it would be uneasy.
Not really. These are athletes in what is technically an extreme sport. They are wired and trained to not let past crashes affect future performance.

I have a few friends who are speed skiers - super G and those types who routinely have cashes. I asked them about their crashes or others and if that has an impact on their future runs,. They all say no that it has no impact on their other runs.

Crashing is part of the sport and they've expect it to happen just as those who ride motorcycles expect to lay their bikes down.

Me on the other hand would have an issue lol

[steve_d]

My question is, how does one prepare for such an event? Its not like they can take some slow speed runs and work their way up to speed...

yeah really...the sport shouldn't exist. I always said it, and now more reason why it shouldn't be a sport. Get this...they were interviewing someone about this incident, and the dangers of this event. Here is what he says:

"I am not worried about the top 12 guys, they're experienced, they can handle tracks like this. I am worried about the 13th place on, they won't have the experience and are in high risk"

So what kind of sport exists where if you are 13 best in the WORLD, you don't have the necessary experience to avoid disasters like this.

Its comparable to saying from now on, gymnastics events like uneven bars or balance beam will take place 3 stories up. If you fall, you could very well die.

[_Z_]

that was brutal, caught it on the news also.
little surprised at the unpadded poles following a curve like that

[waderow]

its a design flaw no doubt and the engineers need a peepee smack.

there should be a barrier to prevent riders from wrecking on those posts. my guess is they will have something up soon

[tiramisu]

... all that said a head first crash at 150 KMH is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Luge and bobsled don't leave much room for error. The same can be said for the ski jump though. These guys get busted up pretty bad. Back when the canadians dominated the downhil in Podborski's era they were getting smashed on almost a daily basis.

[Bojangles31]

I hate to say it guys but at 144km/hr you could hit a wall of jello and the impact would be enough to kill you. These guys have 4 and 5Gs of force on them in some of these corners. One of the commentators was saying that is was like having a body weight of 1200lbs, so any sudden move would be exaggerated big time. This particular track is supposed to be the fastest and most dangerous on the circuit now but the same was said for the track in Torino before the 2006 games.

Dont get me wrong here guys i am not trying to down play this at all, just some info that i have come across.

RIP

[gixxman]

Just a sad situation all around...i wouldn't ban it...people know what they are getting into.
RIP

[waderow]

i would think though, that it should be designed to contain the competitors. not to spit them out into steel columns.

[natenator]

i would think though, that it should be designed to contain the competitors. not to spit them out into steel columns.
I can't recall but did other tracks from previous Olympics have netting and such to contain the athletes?

[pseclint]

I can't recall but did other tracks from previous Olympics have netting and such to contain the athletes?

i dont believe so, the only covering is on the large turns not the straightaways

[Shaun]

yeah really...the sport shouldn't exist. I always said it, and now more reason why it shouldn't be a sport. Get this...they were interviewing someone about this incident, and the dangers of this event. Here is what he says:

"I am not worried about the top 12 guys, they're experienced, they can handle tracks like this. I am worried about the 13th place on, they won't have the experience and are in high risk"

So what kind of sport exists where if you are 13 best in the WORLD, you don't have the necessary experience to avoid disasters like this.

Its comparable to saying from now on, gymnastics events like uneven bars or balance beam will take place 3 stories up. If you fall, you could very well die.

Who are you to judge what someone enjoys doing for fun? These athletes in these sports do it because they love it. They know the risk. That is why they do it.

Lets ban weightlifting because some dude 10 years ago prolapsed his butthole.

Your logic is flawed and one dimensional.

My condolences to the poor mans family for sure! But something tells me that this guy went out doing something that he is most passionate about in a setting most people can only dream about. If i was so go, id want this to be the case for me.

[steve_d]

Who are you to judge what someone enjoys doing for fun? These athletes in these sports do it because they love it. They know the risk. That is why they do it.

Lets ban weightlifting because some dude 10 years ago prolapsed his butthole.

Your logic is flawed and one dimensional.

My condolences to the poor mans family for sure! But something tells me that this guy went out doing something that he is most passionate about in a setting most people can only dream about. If i was so go, id want this to be the case for me.

My logic isn't flawed. And what do you mean by 1 dimensional? Of course its one dimensional...Its my point of view. Some people enjoy being serial killers for fun, and that is "banned". Yes, a very stupid analogy, but an analogy nonetheless. Point being, just because people enjoy something, doesn't mean we should promote it.

They could invent new sports that I am sure people would "love" but would still be too dangerous.

Don't get me wrong, I know NOTHING about this sport. And the reality is that I don't think its as dangerous as perhaps my post suggested...I am sure there have been more fatalities in cycling races (although more people compete, so...) Luge just seems to me its just an "X-games" type of event. I just thought it was really weird for a guy to state that it is the type of sport that if you are not top 12 in the world, you are walking on thin ice.

Same could be set for arial skiing. At least in platform diving when they screw things up, they can land in water (unless the rare time they hit there head on the board).

[Bojangles31]

Same could be set for arial skiing. At least in platform diving when they screw things up, they can land in water (unless the rare time they hit there head on the board).


I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with what u said here. "(unless the RARE time they hit their head on the board)" I think thats exactly what happened here. It was one of those rare occasions.

[#8]

^^ regardless of rarities, this track should have been constructed / engineered for this type of accident. its like when there used to be no netting above the glass at nhl games. everyone always knew someone was gonna take a puck in the head and die eventually, and a little girl had to die before the nhl woke up and put nets there. granted she wasnt actively involved in the sport, but the idea is the same.

the more dangerous the sport, the more precautions should be taken WHEN POSSIBLE. there could easily have been a wall built there that would have contained this guy within the luge track. would it have saved his life? who knows. at least it would have given him a better chance at living than slamming into those support beams.

ENGINEERING / CONSTRUCTION FAIL. Way to go Canada, way to embarrass ourselves on the world stage yet again....pathetic.

[natenator]

^^ regardless of rarities, this track should have been constructed / engineered for this type of accident. its like when there used to be no netting above the glass at nhl games. everyone always knew someone was gonna take a puck in the head and die eventually, and a little girl had to die before the nhl woke up and put nets there. granted she wasnt actively involved in the sport, but the idea is the same.

the more dangerous the sport, the more precautions should be taken WHEN POSSIBLE. there could easily have been a wall built there that would have contained this guy within the luge track. would it have saved his life? who knows. at least it would have given him a better chance at living than slamming into those support beams.

ENGINEERING / CONSTRUCTION FAIL. Way to go Canada, way to embarrass ourselves on the world stage yet again....pathetic.
do the other tracks around the world have netting setup? Did previous Olympics luge tracks have netting?

[#8]

^^ i have no idea. regardless of what other tracks have set up this accident should have been foreseen as a possibility given the velocity of these guys moving through this narrow track.

its a risky sport for sure, but risk shouldnt added by shitty construction and piss poor planning. if MY JOB or CAREER was designing these tracks like whatever asshole designed this one had, i probably would have put more thought into the safety of the riders especially when they are within inches of steel weight bearing beams. its utterly ridiculous that nobody had the foresight to think this kind of accident was even possible and take appropriate precautions. i feel terrible for this mans family and friends to deal with his death being broadcast worldwide like this, especially when it might have been avoidable.

[steve_d]

I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with what u said here. "(unless the RARE time they hit their head on the board)" I think thats exactly what happened here. It was one of those rare occasions.

I hope you're right. Like I said, I don't know anything about the sport, I've read that there is a crash ratio of between 1-2% which is comparable to any track. My guess is the majority of crashes are not too bad, maybe the odd concussion here and there, nothing more crazy than say football.

I guess the news guy seemed a little dramatic saying that only the top 12 guys in the world were capable of handling this track. In any case, I hope you're right, and that this is likely just a freak accident.

another comment I found (This posted the day before the death):

"My goals are to stay alive, not break and bones and catch some good Whistler feeling," Rekis told reporters. "We are very close to the ceiling of how fast you can go on a sledge now," he told Reuters. "We are going faster and faster and it's going to get to a point where it's just a little too much...it's getting pretty crazy."

[BDH]

Any ****ing sport where a dude is going 150km/h without brakes should have net around the whole thing... period...

And, to the dude that said "he died doing something he loved"... while that may be true, Im sure if you told him that morning that he was going to die on the track that day, he would have come up with a cough rather quickly...

Any athlete or even someone who has a high risk job knows theres a possibility of injury, but you dont eliminate all preventative measures... no one is looking to smash into a steel pole at breakneck speeds...

[#8]

^^ exactly.

[steve_d]

Any ****ing sport where a dude is going 150km/h without brakes should have net around the whole thing... period...

And, to the dude that said "he died doing something he loved"... while that may be true, Im sure if you told him that morning that he was going to die on the track that day, he would have come up with a cough rather quickly...

Any athlete or even someone who has a high risk job knows theres a possibility of injury, but you dont eliminate all preventative measures... no one is looking to smash into a steel pole at breakneck speeds...

I was actually coming back to say the same thing...Yeah, he died doing what he loved, the best way to go....I bet if he knew, he would take it all back, every medal, every trophy, every run down the mountain he's ever done, and took up ping pong instead. "died doing what he loved" is one of those cliche remarks you hear to ease the pain of meaningless deaths.

[BDH]

I was actually coming back to say the same thing...Yeah, he died doing what he loved, the best way to go....I bet if he knew, he would take it all back, every medal, every trophy, every run down the mountain he's ever done, and took up ping pong instead. "died doing what he loved" is one of those cliche remarks you hear to ease the pain of meaningless deaths.Exactly... its something you tell the widow to make her feel better, not a logical reason for his death...

[tex]

do the other tracks around the world have netting setup? Did previous Olympics luge tracks have netting?
they built a track that is 20km Faster than any other track......they should have engineered more safety when they engineered such a drastic increase in speed......the competitors have been complaining since this track opened that it was straddling the line of safety.....they should have listened to the athletes

[BDH]

they built a track that is 20km Faster than any other track......they should have engineered more safety when they engineered such a drastic increase in speed......the competitors have been complaining since this track opened that it was straddling the line of safety.....they should have listened to the athletesYou can have as many pencil-necked engineers design something as you want, but its the dudes on the luge that people should be listening to, like you said...

[JacktheThriller]

The athlete is at fault here not some engineer. How many other competitors have died or injured themselves on this run.... how bout none! We dont blame the highway for a someone dying on a major highway. If you think this track wasnt built to standards you are ****ed in the head. Yea I'm sure they got some nobody engineer with no experience in making a luge to make the run. NOT LIKELY! Why can't the rider have just lost control or made a large error. ITS A DANGEROUS SPORT! I mean isnt the danger of it part of the fun. If there were no dangers to the sport everyone would try it.

[#8]

^^ fail. with or without a legitimate wall to prevent DEATH this sport would still be extremely dangerous.

all we are talking about is making it as safe as possible. whoever designed this track to "specs" is obviously a dumbass. the rider also made an error, but it shouldnt have resulted in his death as it was probably preventable had there been a wall in place there.

[BDH]

Why can't the rider have just lost control or made a large error.
The rider lost control? Of what? The steering wheel slipped out of his hands? His brakes failed? Please. This track isnt reported to be the fastest in the world because the athletes have more straightaways in which to hit the throttle. And the luge is probably a sport where the athlete is the least in control of his speed and/or destiny. Any sport in which youre flying at 150 km/h with only a ****ing toboggan underneath you is pretty dangerous, IMO. Maybe tossing up a mattress or two might have made everyone feel better.

Also, these guys ARE TRYING TO WIN... by going fast... faster than everyone else...

Athlete error or not, if you try to tell me there is no need for padded walls or netting around that corner, it will be obvious to me that your uncle designed this course and you are simply tired of getting hate mail.

EDIT: What I think Im trying to get across is that, no matter how much the dude ****ed up, without a seat belt, airbag or other protective means in place, a few hundred feet of padding might have made a huge difference... that is all...

[Bojangles31]

^^^^At 150km/hr i dont know if all the padding in the world would have helped guys. Imagine riding a motorcycle at 150km and loosing control on a corner and smashing into a padded wall. Anyway you look at it you are going to be f*#ked.

[BDH]

^^^^At 150km/hr i dont know if all the padding in the world would have helped guys. Imagine riding a motorcycle at 150km and loosing control on a corner and smashing into a padded wall. Anyway you look at it you are going to be f*#ked.Oh, I know... but the effort would have been nice... and netting might be a better alternative... Im no expert or anything, I just know that hitting a steel pole at 150K cant feel good at all...

[gregdoucette]

sport should not even exist. costs several million dollars to make the track for a sport where only a few hundred can even use it. Just makes no sense from a financial aspect as well as a danger aspect. As far as the danger it seems like the risk of jumping off the track is there so ud think the walls would be higher. AS far as danger probably not all that much greater then riding in the tour de france down all those mountains. But for me its stupid to have this in the olympics as u need to be rich to compete and hardly anyone does it. Probably several million people out there train the bench press and thats not in the olympics and it hardly costs anything to set up vs luge where hardly anyone does it and costs millions just makes no sence. Why not chage it into a crazzy carpet race and go down a ski hill that way everyone can afford it and it be more fun to watch and safer.

[BDH]

Why not chage it into a crazzy carpet race and go down a ski hill that way everyone can afford it and it be more fun to watch and safer.All your points make sense, but this one is probably the most logical. Sad, isnt it? I know I would much rather watch some doofus bail off a crazy carpet than some poor bastard impale himself.

[Bojangles31]

I was watching TSN this morning and apparently according to his father he told him "i'm going to win the gold medal or die trying"

Regardless of all the arguments as to who was or wasn't at fault this was a tragedy.

[CanadianIron]

Correct me if im wrong, but the impression I get from the other athletes is total disappointment at how they have modified the track to slow it down... I think its expected that every olympic event is going to become more and more elite as the years go on.... slowing down the event takes away from the skill level and a lot of the elite/advanced competitors are sayings its too slow now.

If you did 1000 runs at 150kmh, 135km/h is going to feel like something is wrong.

[Bojangles31]

^^^^^ I was watching the women's luge yesterday and they had them starting almost on a corner. They were bitching about that and that it was too slow.