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Download Flash Player to view this content. Death at the Olympics
It was a moment few Canadians will ever forget. The world watched in horror as Nodar Kumaritashvili from the Republic of Georgia died on the luge track the morning of the opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. Concerns were immediately raised about the track and whether safety was taking a back seat to spectacle. Officials were quick to reject such suggestions. An overnight investigation found no "deficiencies" at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Officials instead concluded that driver error was to blame for the deadly crash on the final turn. But now, one year to the day that Kumaritashvili died, the fifth estate's investigation has raised new questions about that official version and sparked allegations that Canadian officials went too far in their attempt to own the podium. In Death at the Olympics, the fifth estate's Bob McKeown brings to light new facts, new fears and disturbing new revelations about that fatal crash at Curve 16. Exclusive interviews with fellow luge athletes from the Vancouver Olympics and other past games, along with comment from senior Olympic officials, including John Furlong, shed new light on Nodar Kumaritashvili's tragic death, and tell a story that some clearly didn't want Canadians to see. |
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It looks like our Ministry of Truth has been at it again: the link to the pdf containing the VANOC emails is mysteriously broken.
What do we need to do now - file another Freedom of Information Request and wait a decade or two?
No doubt the original electronic record has already been deleted or redacted - or would be by the time the request was actioned.
As to VANOC following a prescribed process in order to arrive at the final track implementation, well THAT IS THE POINT. The process was presumably followed, and it resulted in an approved track configuration which allowed an athlete to be killed on an obviously difficult corner with safety barriers which were, by definition, inadequate. Also by definition, the final design, however arrived at, was flawed.
The implication is that the PROCESS WAS FLAWED, as it allowed the track to be used for international training despite known design deficiencies which left it out of compliance with international requirements.
Moreover, if the track designer expressed concerns and suggested modifications to address them then he is in effect admitting design errors. If his recommendations to correct these errors were rejected by "the process" then the designer can not be held liable - but each and every person with knowledge of the designer's concerns who signed off on the track can, and should be.
Furlong's protestation that 'we are not track designers' is simply a declaration that there are blustering incompetents in positions which demand technical skills, engaged in a process which gives them final sign-off on matters beyond their ken.
Unfortunately, few processes exist which successfully protected against the errors of blustering incompetents in positions of authority.
(Hey, the face of George W. Bush just appeared in my coffee cup! Weird.)
Also, you can hardly plead that you were just following orders if you are actually one of the people giving the orders, John. It just doesn't fly.
An apology might.
The only reason we even get a chance to blame the athlete is because he is from Georgia. If Nodar had been American for example we would all still be paying off the lawsuit through our tax dollars.
This has been an overly one-sided story. Shame on CBC for putting it's own spin on the story intend of presenting the truth. Next time try drilling the luge federation, the ones that make the decisions, the people involved inVANOC and Whistler still break into tears when the subject is broached, don't see that with the federation. Wow, didn't think CBC was so unbelievably biased.
I've just seen the re-broadcast.
Many athletes come to the Olympics elated at the chance to represent their country and surely feeling a sence of accomplishment just to even be there. A lot of them definitively feel immense pressure to compete and to win. A lot of them know that their country's sports federation bent over backwards just to send them there.
No athlete however expects that they will come to a first- world advanced country like Canada with high safety standards for everything under the sun and get killed. We have safety barriers, laws, regulations, belts, straps, air bags, impact absorbers, helmets, pads, warning signs coming out of our yang. To have an unprotected solid barrier at the exit of the fastest most dangerous corner is idiotic and whomever designed it should have been put on trial a long time ago.
I am saddened and disgusted every time I think of what happened to Nodar, the way his life ended needlesly and the way people are trying to pass the buck for the blame back to him. He must have been scared and he must have felt immense pressure to go down that hill. There is no way he should have died. Vanoc makes me sick to the stomach.
I have watched winter olympics and have never seen a luging accident resulting in death. Kudos to the CBC for finally telling the story like it should have been told.
The course was tweaked to favour Canadian athletes who had the most time to practice, just like the slalom run was.
Imagine if a Canadian died in some third world country that had tweaked the course cause of a program called "Own the podium"?? We would have been all over them.
My heart goes out to Nodar and his family. There is no way he should have died.
What needs to be done in future to provent any and all blame gaming is to have former athletes putting together the design of the tracks. As for the report done by CBC i think a bit more cander could have gone into the report but you did and are keeping and issue that need to be addressed alive. which is the athlete Nadar had lack of training due to one big thing MONEY. There should be a level playing feild for athletes to train this includes expenses. If a athlete makes it to a point where they can go to the olympics then the olympic committee should ensure that that athlete has the porper funding and if not help look for endorcements, for is it not the meaning of the olympics for world freedly competion, and joining?
What planet do some of these people come from? "A mistake shouldn't cost you your life." A mistake crossing the street, cycling down a busy highway, driving a car at 70+ MPH, riding a motorcycle at high speed. I can think of many instances in daily life where even a little mistake can cost you your life. How many people would even watch luge if there were no danger?
This is one of the worst documentaries I've ever seen. Blaming the builder who simply follows the blueprints he's given? Let's be a little more realistic!
DITTO....
While I understand the need for investigations into the accident and safety, etc, showing the actual crash was horrifying to witness and was completely unnecessary. Shame on your for including this.
What a travesty of so called journalism. I thought that stories were supposed to be unbiased and show both (or all) sides of a story. This was a snow job trying to pin the blame on Vanoc.
Obviously sad that someone died here, but try looking at the three racing federations before Vanoc. And trying to blame the Canadian federation for 'limiting' training time. First of all every host nation does that, and secondly Canada provided more time then any other host country in recent times, so how do you try to place blame there?
I can't believe that my tax dollars go to keep this joke of a network alive. Needless to say that I won't be tuning in anymore...
Slider.. the NHL already blamed the design of the Bell Center. they indicated that 3 other rinks also have the same design and are the only rinks in the NHL that have the center area as a danger point for stantion contact for player.
Here is one for discussion: If Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacriotty had been worse, and heaven forbid that Max had suffered more serious injury or even death from the poll that he hit, would the world have cried fowl that The Bell Centre was designed improperly?
Nodar* nice try champ
Thank you Fifth Estate. Journalism is the highest calling without which we are dead in the water. So much gloss around the Olympics and someone needs to peel this onion in more ways than one. Thankyou
Absolutely disgusting. Using an innocent athlete once again is part of a feudal system of error. There is no responsibility taken for the fact that the first death in 35 years of luging. What a bunch of liars. I can honestly say that this did make my Olympic experience a different one. It's again - a play on the pauper to make the princes rich. SICK. I'm sorry, Nadar....Bless you in the afterlife.
Ynonne: I tried to watch the film of "Death at the Olympics". too. It is now March 9th and it is not available to view tonight either.
I often wondered how the Olympic Committee explained why her son had to die... "You see, there was this solid post..."
I am tired with persons who are responsible i.e. designing for example, and when a fatality occurs are unable to admit to themselves the design was wrong.The situation would be quickly resolved.The Mothercompensated properly with the reassurance her son was a true athlete and he met his death not through his fault but due a design fault on that corner and a post being near the corner. In compensation for the humility she underwent I think her children and grandchildren (if any) should be given 2 week paid holidays annually of their choice. This way the memory her Son (brother, uncle) will give the family back their pride that was taken from them on his death.
My statement will be short. Why would a post be put by a Luge run?
Old untrue science explains ice skating as friction melting ice bla, bla, bla when really it's as simple as AURA of ice repelling AURA of Metal limiting friction.
I use pure bees wax and always wax up. When I first started experimenting I would just wax one skate and would notice slightly more smoothness on that waxed skate.
quote
New brooms sweeping the nation -
Technological advancements in curling are about as rare as an eight-ender.
But thanks to some research done ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics, a new brush head is causing a stir at both the elite and grassroots level of the game. While it’s proved exceptionally effective,
“Our first discovery was that no one is actually melting the ice when they sweep,” he said. “That sort of changed all our thinking.”
For decades, perhaps centuries, curlers believed when they swept, they melted the ice ever so slightly and that allowed the rocks to travel farther and curl less.
----------------------------------------
Not much to show for 22 million, wondering if this death had anything to do with their scrimpy science disclosure.
cbc.ca bruce voigt
note quote -- Skeleton racer accuses Germans of cheating
Pain's teammate, Jon Montgomery, the world's fifth-ranked male, pointed out that when the Germans skid, their sleds don't make noise. When the other teams skid, the sound of the runners is unmistakable.
Just to touch on your last point. This is a completely different matter from say, deaths in football or hockey. Why? Because deaths in sports are generally unforeseen accidents - where the sport is played, and unfortunately a death is cause inadvertently. There really is no prevention factor - these sports are violent in nature and in rare cases, disaster can strike.
The key difference with Nomar's case, is the fact that many red flags were being raised about the extreme speed and overall danger of the track prior to the games, but Mr. Furlong decided, for whatever reason, that it wasn't worth making the changes. It was a decision that led to a preventable death.
In other words - you can't play football or hockey without violent collisions - but you CAN hold an Olympics without an insanely dangerous sliding track.
The issue at hand is one of human rights, more than it is an issue of the sport of luge. Therefore anyone with basic understanding of logic is qualified to comment, not just sliding athletes.
It is completely unreasonable to blame Nomar for making the choice to compete at the Olympics, as it is unreasonable to blame any person for making the choice to drive an automobile, or board a flight, for example. There is always a risk of disaster in many everyday choices that ordinary people make on a daily basis. If a passenger boards a plane, and dies due to the plane crashing... should the person be blamed for their own death? Absolutely not! The blame lies with either the pilot, co-pilot, or the people who designed/built/maintain the plane, or a combination thereof. The only way a person can truly eliminate all risks from their lives is to simply stop living... is that what we all ought to do??
If the rest of the world followed your string of logic, then there would be no speed limits on our roads, no stop signs, no alcohol blood limits. After all, it was the victim's own choice to get on the road. People better start boarding up their homes with sheets of plywood and replacing all their windows with bulletproof glass, else it is their own faults for getting robbed.
Toning down the sarcasm... the truth is, measures have to be taken to allow people to live their lives, while being kept within a reasonable realm of safety, without having to sacrifice being able to carry out the activities in which they choose to participate. This brings us to Nomar. What exactly is a "reasonable realm of safety" with respect to the sport of luge at the Olympic games? The answer will vary depending on your point of view. But it all depends on what you believe.
Do you believe that the track used in Turin was unreasonably dangerous? I certainly do, given the number of crashes on that track; some leading to serious injuries.
Do you believe that the track in Whistler was more dangerous than the one used in Turin? I also believe this to be true, when you consider that the attained speeds were consistently faster than what was recorded in Turin (or on any track on the planet, for that matter), and as the American luger stated, the course was very technically demanding, even by his standards.
Was it reasonable to believe that even more serious crashes would result in Whistler, than what was seen in Turin? I believe so.
Should an athlete, who has been deemed skillful enough to qualify for the Olympic Games, be forced into a situation where he has to choose between either, not chasing his dream, or putting his life in danger just to do the very thing every athlete at the history of the Olympic Games has been urged to do - compete to the best of his/her ability?
Is it reasonable to blame Nomar's death on his apparent "lack of experience", when he was deemed skillful and experienced enough to qualify for the Olympic Games?
Was it the right thing to do for John Furlong and his staff, to ignore the recommendations made by the designer himself, and then cite "lack of expertise" as the reason why those changes to the track were never made? Does his excuse of, "We do what the sports tell us to do," really cut it?
You be the judge, but I know where I stand.
I agree.
His death has nothing to do with the outdated practice facilities, or those who designed the track on which he died. It was simply driver error. Unfortanately when your traveling 175 km/h and make a mistake this is what can happen. Its annoying when something happens like this we need to put the blame on somebody. I blame the communists
Il y avais aussi le curling comme compétition , ont fait le choix que l'on veut
Dennis said: "Those of you who are blaming Nomar or Georgia for the death, are completely off base. He made a choice to chase his dream... how can he possibly be blamed for that? To argue that he made the choice to go down the track, is like saying if a person chooses to get in their car and drive to work, and gets struck and killed by an inattentive driver... it is the person's own fault for causing his own death, simply because he chose to drive to work. Completely illogical."
What is completely illogical is what you just said. Everytime a person gets in their car, they choose the risk of driving or riding in an automobile. Associated in that risk is the possibility of being killed by someone else on the road. Still - the choice is made by every individual. Nodar made the choice to get on his sled in a high-risk sport, aware of the consequences. Chasing a dream plays no relevance in risk factor.
Dennis said: "The Bottom line - no lack of experience or driver error whatsoever should have lead to a fatality, on that or any other track."
What basis and experience do you have to make this judgement Dennis? If you have done competitive sliding - then please defend your position. If you haven't, then you have no right to make that call by being an arm-chair expert of Sliding Sports.
Also - for every death that has occured in sport since the history of tie because of incident other than natural causes (heart attack, etc..), would you also say this to be the case? Please explain.
Those of you who are blaming Nomar or Georgia for the death, are completely off base. He made a choice to chase his dream... how can he possibly be blamed for that? To argue that he made the choice to go down the track, is like saying if a person chooses to get in their car and drive to work, and gets struck and killed by an inattentive driver... it is the person's own fault for causing his own death, simply because he chose to drive to work. Completely illogical. The bottom line here is, Nomar, along with all the athletes, were let down by the IOC, VANOC, as well as by the Bobsled and Skeleton committees. Shame on John Furlong for his refusal to break away from "standard procedures" and do the right thing, thereby not putting the safety of the athletes first. Bottom line - no lack of experience or driver error whatsoever should have lead to a fatality, on that or any other track.
Thank you Bob and Fifth Estate for shedding light on this blatant negligence.
HS... if it were a Canadian or an American who lost their life here at the oly's, there would be truck loads of lawyers jostling to take on this fatality case, not just CBC trying to get to the truth of it.
But because it is a small country...no one cares, instantly it falls away from the importance of an athletes life, and into a subject of should it have been aired or not?
Not much use commenting on your programs, as I did immediately after the Luge story aired, as I do not see it included with all the others!
The beauty of this tragic story is that he died doing what he loved doing, catapulted into the after life, his passion lives through his passing.
I have to wonder if this piece would have been done in this manner if the CBC had the rights to the Olympics. I wish they would have really compared apples to apples and shown us how many runs foreign lugers were allowed in Torino, Salt Lake etc. Reading between the lines I think the sliding organizations are the ones responsible for the design and changes to the track, not the organizing committee or IOC. Athletes wouldn't want any organizing committee to be in charge of the individual venues because they don't have the expertise, the individual sports bodies do.
Exactly Len...
Only thing I didn't like in this video (that I didn't know before) was the FIL head saying they only made changes to the track after the fact because of the emotional impact it would have on the other riders. Which is a crock, because something happens like this you sure as hell better react to make sure it doesn't happen again.
That said there was NOTHING VANOC (IOC didn't really play a part it seems) didn't do that they were asked to. Changes were requested and made.
VANOC doesn't have the expertise so they defered to those that did. They asked questions and got answers. To me that is responsible.
And yes the track was dangerous and fast... they knew that, but it should not have been fataly dangerous. Thing is... this is the Olympics... best athletes in the world. The course should be difficult.
Sadly a mistake was made by a competetor and it was one that no one had forseen before...
I wonder what the general outcome and the comments of all Olympic officals would have been, were the athlete who sacrificed his life on this track had been a Canadian...
HS
I wish that we'd be more like Egypt. Too many of us collapse into an obedient role. What would have happened if several of those who tried out the track a) spoke to the media, b) refused to participate as a result of their concerns, c) wrote letters of complaint? If they had done so, changes might have been made from the ground.
The 'ordinary citizen' really must do more, say more, and think more. For example, when I was told I had a cancer tumor and would need major surgery overnight, I asked for a second opinion. Good thing. Better I exercised all of my own personal options rather than argue with a self protective organization later!
Richard those are the facts which no one disputes.
Len Chaston wrote about Richard: "For you to state that no modifications were made until after the tragic death shows a lack of understanding of the most basic elements of this incident."
I couldn't agree more with you Len, and the facts you listed were exactly what I know of as well. Unfortunatley Richard appears to be yet another case of "arm-chair expert", or in more defined terms - someone completely un-educated as to all the details and with little in-depth knowledge of sliding sports, and someone whom formed an opinion based on what has been passed onto him by media. That - I openly admit - is my opinion.
S said: "Making a lame excuse such as 'accidents happen' is not a valid excuse in this case.....Accidents happen yes, and death does not result from it!"
S, since you have claimed to be a past downhill ski racer, then you surely know that numerous deaths have occured in ski racing and even in leisure skiing on ski hills.
Now, answer me this: Can you 100% positively tell me that every single ski death has occured because of design flaw and un-safe conditions and that not a single one has been because of skier-error or an accident?
Think about that and I encourage you to respond. If you choose not to respond, I will know what your answer is.
Making a lame excuse such as 'accidents happen' is not a valid excuse in this case.
Now take some responsibility for once. Someone died as the track was unsafe, and someone, Furlong and any other officials responsible, ought to be held rightly responsible.
Accidents happen yes, and death does not result from it!
On the contrary I disagree with you Slider, and having raced in winter sports myself yes I do know what I am talking about.
Now how about taking your own advice and sticking your own head in the toilet. Get off your high ego as Canadians are not the best and neither is Canada.
My rightful opinion stands, and it is with the majority, yours is a narrow minded minority - Canadians that are up their own As*es
It seems that everyone is complaining about the track design and the fact that someone lost their life. Every year sports of every kind get more dangerous, faster, bigger, better(?). The advertising industry along with big business is the one to blame. If sports endorsements were not so high, then athletes would not be taking as many risks. Sure, they say that the safety of the athlete is the most important. But, if the athlete is willing to take the big risk then the payoff is even bigger. The sport in question is pretty much a death trap to begin with. If safety is such a big issue to the participants then why are they not wearing protective gear, like football or hockey players?
Anyone who blames this particular accident on just one thing, like the 5th Estate did, is just as bad as the track and olympic commission they blamed it on. I used to think that this show was a little (a lot) more fair and balanced, but it seems that would not be as news worthy. This show is no better than the celebrity rag shows that chase after and abuse the one they are trying to get some dirt on (or what they call a story).
VANOC was run as a corporation, as such VANOC did what unfortunately corporations do i.e. 1) they assessed the probability of this risk to materialize – please note there is no record of tragic accident happening on a luge track prior to this one, 2) they asked for corporate legal advice, and 3) they disregarded human factor, which in this case is: someone’s child a human being may die; working for a corporation I’ve recently come across another example when warnings had been disregarded i.e. 1) it’s highly unlikely to happen to us, 2) our legal team says it’s OK, and 3) some people may lose jobs so what; sadly no social responsibility
"On the contrary I disagree with you, and am disgusted at the cover up of the Canadian officials responsible for the accident when quite clearly it was not due to human error"
Oh "S". If you knew a SINGLE THING about the sliding sports, you would stick your head in the toilet and flush it after reading this comment you just wrote. As someone whom has done 200+ plus runs from the track without a single scratch, I can ASSURE you that Nomar's piloting skills were what caused his dreadful exit from corner 16. But, you don't know anything about that, so I guess I have no choice but to let you be an armchair-expert.
"if he was not competent to race it should have been picked up, as I was years ago for a downhill ski race I was not yet ready to do."
Don't blame Canada for this, blame the IOC for doing everything in there power to shove small nations into the Olympics!
"Canadians covering up on this lose my vote, disgusting"
No problem, you will be of the minority.
CBC was spot on! but a year late!
I scoff at blaming an earnest luger of a smaller, not wealthy country for one's own inadquate preparation, preparation that was full of pre-warnings, warnings that were read and thought about, digested and commented on! with words of possible embarressment and fear by the very top of the organisers!
...We are people and make mistakes too! just ADMIT it!
If it were an American athlete, it would not have taken a year of grace, to give time and say how wonderful the Canadian oly's were and how wonderful we are to have held such a fault free show, to eventually show this footage! To compare F1 racings financing and the oly's is just pathetic, to blame his own federation for him not being good enough is not what the oly's are supposed to be about! The games are for all people to be treated equally, no matter if they are a bobsled team from Jamaica or Eddy Eagle from the UK. A man was killed by shoddy perusal, and his family and country should be compensated, at least by the truth!
Richard, you are the one that seems to trouble understanding the communication that has taken place about this incident.
Here are the facts, which no disputes:
1. The track was designed by "experts" (from Germany), who had designed previous Olympic tracks.
2. Every track is unique, so the 3 federations overseeing the luge, skeleton, and bobsled, test the track. They tested it for well over a year before the games
3. They all make recommendations. If their recommendations conflict then a compromise is worked out.
4. ALL of the modifications that were asked to be made to the track were made. There were dozens, if not hundreds of modifications made prior to the Olympics.
5. Before the Olympics, all of these experts agreed that the track was safe.
Richard those are the facts which no one disputes.
For you to state that no modifications were made until after the tragic death shows a lack of understanding of the most basic elements of this incident.
And for you to characterize John Furlongs statement of these facts as "ghoulish evasion" shows your prejudice to this situation
After watching CBC's Fifth Estate, we have lost all respect,.... no award winning investigative reporting here to be proud of, looks like Bob McKeowan and CBC's Fifth Estate have come to their own conclusions, resulting in a really rude, pushy, one sided attempt at gotcha' journalism! What's happening to the News Media? They are becoming their OWN scandal! Do us all a favour and keep the NEWS reporting, truthful, honest and ethical!
Tragic accidents happen, they aren't planned, that's why they're called accidents,....this was clearly one of them, stop sensationalizing this tragedy by finger pointing and trying to find someone to blame, enough already, out of respect for this young man and his Family.... Nodar Kumaritashvili was simply participating and enjoying a sport of his own choosing, obviously a risky, dangerous one,.... there are no guarantees, accidents being what they are! Sad but true!
Death at the Olympics: while it was interesting to watch the treatment of the human element in this story, the simple fact is that there should never have been any exposed posts near that track,padded or not. Your footage from Italy showed a solid pine-clad wall. All these sliders want to go fast and they have to be confined on that track even when they travel without benefit of runners. Similar to Princess Diane in Paris, the Georgean died from impact with a pillar that schould have been behind a deflecting barrier.
The track is safe, exciting, make it a tube
that releases injured but live bodies at the bottom. great shows: gg
Perhaps you could look up some photos of other Olympic luge tracks on the internet and look at the location of supporting girders. They look exactly the same. It isn't relevant.
I expect better from the CBC than this very unbalanced piece of pseudojournalism. Did you sell it to FOX?
Such slanted journalism is unworthy of fifth estate. Shame on you Bob McKeown for this very unfair piece. How many times did you need to repeat the pointless phrase 'unpadded girder' as if padding on a girder at that speed has any effect. Perhaps you might have looked at girders at other tracks and point out that they are also 'unpadded' but of course then you would lose your one sided sensationalist presentation. Your badgering of Furlong was disgusting enough that I turned off the TV. You can do better and if you cannot.. step aside.
What a poor job of reporting. I always thought reporting was the gathering of information to expose the truth. This kind of reporting focused on how to prove an existing point of view. Any facts that might go against the point of view were ignored.
Unfortunately CBC's credibility has dropped in my mind. I will now watch other channels for my news in the future.
John Furlong said in the interview that he was in his office in Vancouver when he heard about the deathand the first thing he thought about..." It's only obvious from the earlier emails he exchanged expressing possible litigation in the event of a death that what he thought about first and only was "How do we cover all of our asses and blame this on Nodar". And they did! They blamed the athlete who should by FIL and IOC "law" never have come out of the track. VANOC / Furlong, the FIL and IOC are all responsible for the death of an innocent. That is pretty telling sir!
Agreed! 100% And let the world know it!
As always cbc news fifth estate gets my vote, thank you for highlighting the mistakes that those at fault, Canadian officials would evidently like to keep covered up.
Canada loses my vote, if they admitted their mistakes they'd get far more respect, but as a result.. good luck to them.
On the contrary I disagree with you, and am disgusted at the cover up of the Canadian officials responsible for the accident when quite clearly it was not due to human error, and why would it be? The track was unsafe and if he was not competent to race it should have been picked up, as I was years ago for a downhill ski race I was not yet ready to do.
Canadians covering up on this lose my vote, disgusting.
I just watched the program tonight and I agree with all of the comments that this was an aweful piece of journalism. In addition, McCeown stated that no one ran on the track after the death. The entire Olympics were run after the death. I totally disagreed with his entire approach.
Accidents happen....they will never stop happening...it was a tough course...yes....but to blame John Furlong and his committee.....come on...the fifth again as Canadians tend to do are taking something that was a huge success for we as Canadians and trying to poke holes in it..for once can we not stay proud of something we've done!!!
I would like to reiterate myself yet again by categorically pointing out to a stark fact in this case of the Georgian Luger's un-timely demise that this whole incident points directly to the "Georgian Luger's total lack of skill"therefore we should "Stop the Sadiron Approach laced with malice towards our venues and our officials and all those who with their sincere efforts made Vancouver 2010 such a spectacular success ! and by the way the erstwhile Soviet Block states such as Georgia should "think twice" before setting out on the path of extreme sport of Luging !!
Agreed! Somebody should have taken responsibility. One can only wonder, what would have happened if the athlete had been American, British, German...and not an "unexperienced" Georgian luger?!
I have always been a big fan and believer of the programming and detailed journalism exhibited on the Fifth Estate. However, with regards to the tragedy at the Olympic Luge I believe Bob McKeown was unfair,and disrespectful to John Furlong and what his role was in the whole sad story. Bob refused to listen to what John said with regards to his responsibility . It was clear to me and many others that his job is not to regulate the Luge or any other event, but to support the event committee for any needs they have. He did that and cannot be faulted for the tragedy. It was very disappointing to see Bob go after John in such an aggressive manner. It is obvious Bob Furlong is distrought over the accident and in the old proverbial hind site would not have done things any differnently. It was not his place and this is clear. Imagine people without any expertise in an area offering suggestions to governing bodies in sport. This would be tragic or could lead to tragic circumstances. I really think Bob McKeown was going for sensationalism journalism not unlike a cheap news show. Not the quality we have all come to expect with the Fifth Estate.
Great comment about the facility Richard. "Multi-million dollar killing machine". Yes, you are quite correct, the Whistler Sliding centre is like a killing factory, in fact I've lost count of how many deaths have occured there. Anyone out there know the exact number? I should count my blessings... I've slid from the top over 200 times without a scratch.
If you think the Whistler Sliding Centre is a "killing machine", I'm curious to know what you'd call the numerious ski-hills in the world that have produced more than a single death? Do tell!
You wonder why nobody has gone from Men's Luge Start? Because they are no longer allowed. I'd love to interview 20 random senior level luge athletes and ask how many think the rule is ridiculous.
I am not sure which is more disgusting/disturbing... Furlong's ghoulish evasion; the cavalier attitude demonstrated by some of the preceding comments; or the accusations directed at CBC for attempting to make sense of an unnecessary death. For all of the poor humans who seem to have impotent communication skills, several points were well made: 1) Over a period of years prior to the Olympics, concerns regarding track safety were documented. 2) Furlong was clearly aware of the safety issues and alluded to injury or “worse” in his own email. 3) Furlong (the VanOC CEO; ie, the guy in charge!) made no attempt to mitigate the danger. 4) Track modifications were not authorized until AFTER Nodar died. 5) Nodar was blamed for killing himself which further victimized his family and friends. 6) Despite the fact that the IOC, VanOC and all of the sliding sports contributed to the development of the track, none have yet to formally accept ANY responsibility. 7) Ultimately, Furlong is the creator of an environment that killed an athlete. 8) And we, the citizens of Vancouver, paid for this multimillion dollar killing machine.
The body language of John Furlong expresses compassion. And regret. He has stated that not a day goes by that he does not think of Nodar's death. But not out of guilt, because made sure his organization did everything they were supposed to do to prevent just such a thing from happening. Listen to his answers to the questions. He has to correct the moderator at every turn. The moderator is trying to suggest a false set of facts and John Furlong assertively corrects him every time. This is a man who is sure he has done everything he was supposed to do to prevent what happened. We all mourned this tragedy. There is still a shrine at Whistler for Nodar. This was an unforseeable accident, and tragic for that reason.
I'm sorry Connie but you're choosing to completely ignore all the signs of negligence even the documented 'attitude' of the Lugers themselves. If the Fifth Estate didn't investigate and actually pointed all this out and shown the accident itself, we the public would believe the stories we were fed. Honestly, you should all be thankful to the Fifth Estate as it helps to uncover what some would prefer never came to light. If people have a clear conscience then there is nothing to worry about, is there?
The shade did not affect the sight of any athlete when they entered corner 16. Another thing that must be pointed out is that the double lugers had no problems and there were. You have to remember that they started from the top as well. Everyone fails to remember that during the practises if this track was so dangerous why were there no severe injuries then. Many countries were practising a week prior to the Olympics on that track from the skeleton, bobsled and luge yet this was hardly covered in the report. The fifth estate only reported that they were not getting enough practise time this does not mean that there were not given any practise time at all. And I will reiterate this countries were practising at the sliding center from the very top with no serious injuries.
This whole espisode left out some pertinent facts. One why weren't the National Olympic Committee and the International Olympic committee members interviewed, such as Jaque Rogue? They are the ones that were in charge of Vanoc. Why only ...one luger and coach interviewed? Why not more? Why did the fifth estate not state that most countries practise in a secretive way so not to give away secrets, and this goes for any sport. If this course was so dangerous why weren't the coaches speaking out? Even the Latvian coach did not say that he feared for the safety of his athletes. Plus why didn't the fifth estate report the date of the emails which were 11 months before the Olympics. And from the date of the the emails to the Olympics the luge track was being used with no serous injuries.
I was there working the Olympics and had met Nodar so this is a personal thing for me. I find that the reporting on the tragic luge event was done extremely shoddy and felt like a witch hunt. I found it absolutely insulting.See More
There appears to be a lot of dancing around the issues on all parties as they do not want to be involved in a major litigation! The fatal flaw in the track is the fact that the steel framing was inches from the edge. In years past, F-1 racing had fatalities and they solved the risk by increasing the size of the area, removing obstacles and creating graval arresting zones on the corners. I'm not suggesting using graval as a solution but the design of any track should ensure that there are no obstacle in the path of a racer and that a non-lethal arresting system be in place in the event a racer is ejected. If we can put men and women into space, build bridges, high-rise building, sports venues to mention a few, engineers should be able to design something that would work!
The CBC wants to know who signed off on the track...I want to know who at the CBC signed off of this report. Fire them!
Worst piece of journalism by any Canadian Broadcaster I've ever seen.
I could not agree more with Rob Russell's comments. I was totally disgusted with Bob McKeown's tone thru-out the whole programme.
The Fifth Estate should not be proud of itself for this.
Where are you from? How many runs did your team get in Nagano?, Park City?, Torino? and in Whistler before the games? Seriously, you should let us all know...
absolutly right on, this peice was not anything but an attempt by cbc to make vanoc look like the only party to have any responsibility in this accident, when in fact they were not the main player in this. very poor work
I am disgusted with this witch hunt from a canadian tv show towards VANOC and the federation, this is truley tradjic that a life was lost, however finding blame and pointing fingers at the track is non-sense. If so why is it that all riders look for more speed? why is it that all riders look for an edge? why is it that some riders have an advantage to buy this advancments and others who cant afford it dont? If the usa slider is so concerned about having all countries involved then why not cap all sliders so they use the same equipment, no advantage just cause your country has money? doesnt Nascar do this? for all the questions that some ask how come they dont ask my questions? i watch this programm alot but today im ashamed of you, your not asking questions you are screaming coverup, shame on you. Again a tradjic loss and one i was sick over, however this is a sport of speed and the elemnet of danger is always there
Read the coronors report available online. How can any of the organizations deny culpability when the Vanoc had to erect the wood barrier to stop lugers from exiting the run after curve 16. They knew this could happen because it happened before and their corrective action was insufficient. Also how can the design of the run allow steel posts so close? Incredible!
This report was a total farce. If you beleive what came from this "report" than you are one of the people that will think what you are told to think. All the facts were not put forth in this report. It was a witch hunt to try and make VANOC look bad. The fifth estate did less than half there home work on this story and are trying to sell Canadians a load of crap. At no time in the report do they tell you that the heads of VANOC went to this poor young mans home to talk with his parents. At no time during this report do they go and talk to the head of the bobsled federation (a group that ok the track and did not want changes made to it). Time to do your own home work and stop letting the media tell you what to thing. As for the fifth estate shame on you!! Tell the whole story or don't tell it at all! Sad to say that a great station such as CBC has become FOX news north. It may be time for CBC to go.
Sounds and looks like the CBC is still pouting over not getting the broadcast rights to the 2010 games. There is one difference between this "reporting", and that of the National Enquirer and other sensationalist tabloids: our tax dollars support the garbage that is CBC.
Anilla, More training was offered at the 2010 games for Luge athletes than any other Olympics. Your hurtful uneducated comments are not helpful.
I think that the most damage done by this awful, one sided documentary was not to VANOC or Mr. Furlong but to the poor family of Nodar! Put yourself in his fathers shoes. He was fed a load of half truths and speculation to conjure up emotion and hatred toward VANOC. What he was not told was the full set of facts. This poor man now wrestles with the thought that someone let his son die! That is a crying shame and I hope this haunts the conscience of the involved in this show for a long long time, knowing the pain they have caused this family. Let him rest in peace, please!
To those crying "sensationalism",
Too easy way to dismiss such a tragedy. How come most of you don't comment on the tragedy itself ? Isn't that what is important ? If mister Furlong and the luge federation executive have nothing to be regretful about, their body language sure didn't convey that. They looked quite uncomfortable for people with clear consciences. If you were the young luger's father, would you be satisfied with the answers they gave ? Bottom line is, a young man is dead and it is dismissed as a freak accident. No, something is not right here.
Well said....I hope they not only read what was said, but I hope they hear what you had to say.
While watching this episode I had to remind myself that this was being reported by the Fifth Estate and not CNN, Fox News or some other American news agency. I was sickened by the graphic pictures, finger pointing and the alleged public disception. Are your viewer ratings lacking that much that you have resorted to sensationalism journalism?
Great investigation! Finally someone dares to uncover the truth. They should take responsability for what happened.
Excellent investigative report by the Fifth Estate. I watched with horror and disbelief the lack of safety provided for the lugers i.e. the UNPADDED! post where Nodar crashed, the terrific speed, low wall through which he was thrown out, the trechearous last curves, the warnings ... Honestly, I couldn't breath I was so shocked by the lack of humanity in Swen R.'s and the CEO's comments.I'm sure they're scared now out of their wits and so they should be. Hearing of the attitude of Canadian lugers towards CBC was as pathetic and shameful as was their secrecy in training and lack of empathy for the weaker countries/competitors. This is NOT what Olympics are about. For all of you involved in the Olympics in any way, who have lost your humanity and became a wound up robots greedy for fame, pack it up and stop setting a horrible example for our children. It is of utmost importance that you ARE held accountable for your crime. No athlete should pay with their life for your negligence!
Paul,
Perhaps after viewing the program you now know all of the other countries had a chance to practise on the track.
It would hardly be a conservative agenda to be involved in sport. A conservative wants a minimum of government involvement in anything outside providing the basic services of a society - ie. protection of the person, health care, education
You did not watch (or listen) to the program very carefully. John Furlong clearly stated that Canada gave other athletes more access to the track than they were required to. And if I am not mistaken, did not turn down any requests be countries to use the track
I am ashamed that Canada's media has stooped so low as to call this "reporting". I have always enjoyed CBC and Fifth Estate, but if this is the kind of programming that they are going to show I will choose another channel.
Sure this is an issue that should be dicussed, however I believe our media is capable of producing a less biased, less sensationized documentary. Specifically their reporting on the topic of VANOC has been a continuous barrage of negativity, not only has this become tiresome but seems entirely unprofessional.
I have always been extremely proud of our Canadian media, but we deserve better than this...please don't let the Canadian public down.
Sour grapes. CBC is pissed off for being shut out of the Olympic coverage, so they revert to sensational journalism to
Try to gain audience. It's time for taxpayers to rethink the gobs of money we hand over to CBC, especially when most of their shows suck in the ratings and have no hope of making any money.
I bet a pony that the people that are downplaying this show are either in Canadian luging or with a luging federation trying to keep their hands over their eyes.
This piece did nothing to change my opinion of the events that occured. It did make me question why so much energy was put into rehashing the tragic turn of events. Good on the Canadian team for shutting the CBC down. It's getting easier and easier to turn the CBC off.
Silly comment! Bob McKeowan is one of our very best investigative journalists! Sometimes the truth is hard to take, but it is necessary to protect the athletes in future races. Awesome job, Fifth Estate! Keep up the good work! I try never to miss your show!
What a sad reflection on how low the Fifth Estate has fallen to go after a man that sacrificed so much for this Province. The lack of substantial evidentiary support for their claims is indicative that the Fifth Estate is right up there with Current Affair and other yellow journalistic shows.. Very sad indeed.
I agree with JR Runnells comment about shock journalism and no balance! Does anyone honestly believe that the organizing groups involved in the 2010 Olympics would ever have wanted a tragic event like this to happen?? That this track was designed to cause spectacular crashes for the excitement of the fans??
The spin on the Canadian officials not allowing the foreign competitors enough training time was also laughable. When John Furlong said they researched what other countries , hosting the Olympics, allowed foreign athlete's training time, that we were well ahead of their standards. To which Bob Mckeown replied, in a very subtle tone, " Maybe so" before he carried on with his shamefully deceptive bend on this tragedy.
The unfortunate death of Nodar Kumaritashvili was a very sad way to start the 2010 Winter Olympics. You can just imagine how difficult it must have been, for all those involved, to get this world class event up and running after that and still try to cover all the bases on those directly and indirectly affected in this tragedy.
I think they did an incredible job and this type of sensational journalism is a disgrace. I am sure the governing bodies will learn from this , just as they will learn from what went well with these games. It is a question of balance.
I thought I was watching Nancy Grace, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. brutal report Nancy
In regards to the death at the Olympics story, I thought that as reporter you where supposed to be impartial but Bob Mckeown had his mind made before these interviews, on who he thought blame should fall on. I'm very disappointed with the 5th estate for allowing there reporters to be that bias.
I feel that this report was extremely one sided. There were moments when the interviewer did not allow his questions to be answered and then accused that person of not answering the questions! Really?? Very poor journalism. Not to mention your sensationalism of this tragic event only prolongs the suffering for those who cared for this courageous athlete. Honor his memory, learn from mistakes and allow the healing. I was present at this tragedy and although all of us would like to know why, blame is not what will help those who loved him. Forget the sensationalistic journalism. Remember the man, his teammates, and his family. Shame on you Fifth Estate!!!
There was a whole lot of finger pointing going on with this show and the fingers were not pointed in the right place. It was said repeatedly that VANOC did not have a whole lot to do with the track other than the build and funding. It is said in the show (more than once) the luge, bobsled and skeleton federations were the ones in charge of the design of the track. It is said in the show that the luge federation had a problem with the track and bobsled and skeleton would not sign off on any changes to the track. Why is it that the heads of the bobsled and skeleton federations were not asked any questions about this on the show. Instead the show attacked VANOC. For what reason? Is it because there are some hard feelings over the broadcast rights for the Olympics? I am disgusted with how this show was done and will never watch it again. All it was, was a witch hunt after the wrong people and an chance to show footage that has no need to be shown again. Shame on you!!!!
I agree,cbc you out done the rag mags of the world.let's think about the next Olympics,don't think they will keep their training under wraps.do you think the hockey teams invite each other to practice to show them what there power play and penaltykill are all about.cbc you definitely know how to try to make your own country look like the enemy.it was tragic accident.did you read that ACCIDENT.nothing like stirring the tragedy and reminding his family of their grief.make sure when your your journalism is looking for some more unneeded controversy you do another special next year.maybe with all the money you make from this broadcast you could donate to help countries that can't afford it to build there own tracks.then you would be making a difference for once.
My biggest concern with this whole event still revolves around the proximity of the poles that Nodar crashed into. No professional engineer acting without outside pressure to sign off on the design, would have allowed an obstruction like those poles anywhere near an object moving at 150 km/hr. All the padding that could realistically have been placed in that small a space would not have helped Nodar when going from 150 km/hr to 0 km/hr in a span of inches or centimeters.
The images showed that Nodar had massive head trauma which is consistent with the huge forces that he would have encountered when slowing down at such a dramatic rate.
The real question still remains unanswered. Who made the decision to not fix the track when the designer had warned them that it was unsafe. The CBC indicates that there was pressure to reduce the cost of the facility. If the final decision to not fix was for financial reasons than we must re-think who has the ultimate say in these matters. Is it a learned professional, i.e. professional engineer in this case, who is capable of understanding the physics and therefore the risks or is it the guy who is concerned about the bottom line?
Keep digging CBC. This story is a lot bigger in the overall scheme of things than just the Vancouver Olympics. It really relates to who do we listen to or is the final judge when it comes to life and death matters. Is it an accountant or is it a learned professional, such as an engineer, doctor or lawyer?
I think that the try issue is getting muddled underneath a lot of immaterial details. The true issue, as I see it, is that numerous people had concerns regarding the track. Athletes, coaches, FIL officials, VANOC, were all party, in some way, to conversations regarding perceived significant safety issues with the track. When comments like "..serious injury, or worse,...." are made there is no doubt, regardless of how sensational one may, or may not, think the story is, of what the concern was.
They were worried that someone might die on the track, because of the concerns they had. Now, instead of saying "This is what we felt was wrong and this is what was, or wasn't, done in regard to those concerns" a white wash is happening.
Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else, nobody is giving a straight answer, and when someone dies that type of response is completely, uttterly, absolutley unacceptable.
I work in healthcare, a business where people live and die all the time. If I gave the same tye of evasive non-answers that are being provided in regard to this tragedy, I would never work another day in my career.
Having the Olympics in Canada was wonderful, not being able to get a straight answer is shameful at best.
Just watched the show, very interesting, however, I would have to agree that the Luger lost his ife due to his own choice to run the course. "Professional athletes" take many risks and luging is one of the more dangerous sports. Course design was meant to be challenging. If the course was slowed and less of a challenge there would have been critisizm of that as well. The better experienced athletes would not have been impressed. If the Althletes had complaints about the course being too dangerous, then they should have made them known, and if they fell on deaf ears then they should have pulled out and publically stated the reason was the dangerous course.
The designers put the course together to be a challenge and given the way our world is today the faster you go the better. The Luger that died even told his father that he was scared but was going for it anyway...
It is always interesting to see human behaviour trying to put blame on everything but ourselves. Very sad that the man died, but he should have pulled out of the competition.
Giving Fox news a run for it money, why did you not leave with the fathers comment about telling his son he could simply slow down... NASCAR drivers have to do on every corner if they wish to finish the race.
Certainly not an easy report to make as it chalenges the honesty and decision abtlity of our much loved institutions that is the olympics. But ultimately the truth has to come out at no matter what, otherwise we are domed as a spici. And "The fifth estate" did just what it is supposed to do.
We can all argue and fight over this, but at the end of the day it's life. Things are going to happen and unfortunately a helpless man died. To everyone saying that graphic images shouldnt be shown i don't agree. God finds many ways to take peoples lives and Nodar's was on a Luge course, i feel that their were many factors that were not completed at task and that is/was the reason Nodar died.
It was his choice to go on the track. And can you please stop with all the trying to fit in all your buzz words, you say you tell the "whole" story and I have to say there is only one point of view that your trying to sell. Why not actually go into the history of the racer and show his runs in other competitions why didn't you show his ranking, the guy was not good enough to be competitive. I PVR'd the story to skip through the CBC sensationalism. Its like as an organization the CBC is bitter it didn't get to be the broadcaster so it will do what it can to crap all over the event. BUT IT COMES DOWN TO - HE MADE THE CHOICE TO GO DOWN THE RUN.
Perhaps if the Canadian Olympic committee had allowed other athletes access to the track before the beginning of the Olympics this type of tragedy would not have happened. But in our short sightedness and desire to "Own the Podium" we used all tactics available to us. The result being the death of this inexperienced luger
I can't agree more. I have consistently agreed with what 5th Estate has broadcast and researched but this time I am disgusted with the timing and lack of respect for the Luge Federation's comments and Furlong's stance on what has been on record since the Olympics. Back off!
To spend an hour discussing the issues with the track but not once converse with the actual designer is a joke. I'm a fan of the 5th Estate but this may have been their worst episode. Vague facts with little evidence to back up their claims...come on...this would have been thrown out of court.
What if the athlete who died was a US athlete?
The response from the US public would have been significant enough to force our government to conduct a proper investigation not a contrived and embarrassing communication strategy exercise.
The deceit should be transparent enough for even to dimmest viewer. The CBC's Fifth Estate was masterful at peeling away the layers of deceit and showing where negligence lies.
From comments already written here it indicates to me that many in this country have little empathy and for some reason seem compelled to justify deception or have done little to understand the facts in this situation.
For those who are quick to judge the abilities of Nodar Kumaritashvili,Nodar met all of the requirements set by the International Luge Federation and was qualified to participate in the luge event at the 2010 Games. Little did he and others know that the track was unsafe.
I thought it imperative to point out that no one has run down the track from the originally designed men's starting position since Nodar's death. One has to wonder why.
Thanks CBC Fifth Estate for bringing this to light to the rest of Canada. Many of us here in BC questioned the quick assumptions made by officials and did our own gathering of the so called "facts".
When you build a completely fabricated and artificial sliding structure the engineering and design priority is safety. Yes there are risks in participating in some sports but never, as one athlete mentioned on the program, should it cause your life.
As the program well illustrates, the speed of the track was well known and was beyond the limits of track safety as was the case at the Turin track prior to the 2006 Games.
The luge speed record of 139.4km/hr set in 2001 remained unbroken at both the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games. In 2009 it was smashed at the Whistler track one year before the 2010 Games.
The "inexperienced" athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was travelling faster than the 2001 luge speed record that athletes up until 2009 failed to break. That alone would have qualified him as an athlete capable of competing. If turn 16 had been smoothed out to allow a more modest approach to the finish straight section Nodar's death would not have happened.
The way the Luge Federation spokesperson gulped at each question put to him by the Fifth Estate and how John Furlong slouched further and further into his chair and almost broke out into his characteristic temper tantrum while McKeown calmly asked questions makes me think there is something more revealing yet to be exposed.
Furlong's attempt to wiggle out of responsibility for VANOC's lack of due diligence was contemptible. He was the boss and was paid accordingly. The buck stops there. But the IOC is accountable. The IOC was made aware that nothing had been resolved over what needed to be done to the track prior to the training runs and the Games themselves. It's their Games.
The Games are corrupted by interests other than sport. These were not Canada's Games and making excuses for negligence just brings more shame on us from the rest of the world.
My heart felt sympathy to Nodar's family and friends.
It is interesting that the coroner's report suggested four factors that contributed to Nordar's fatal accident. Only one of them was his responsiblility--lack of sufficient training and experience on a track so tragically fast. If the designer and luge athletes made strong recommendations then why weren't modifications made so as to ensure more safety for the competitors. Why weren't the pillars at dangerous corners padded prior to the competition? I am wondering what the final outcome of this situation will be-- a huge sue perhaps. John Furlong certainly doesn't want to accept any blame then why then he shouldn't take any credit either.
\it is my hope that The Fifth Estate will show integrity by following up some issues that were identified in this program. Such as; If so many "Elite" competitive athletes were concerned about the track why wait until now to discuss. Why not band together before hand and bring the matter to the appropriate committees in charge of their sport. Investigate previous Olympic training schedules from other Countries hosting the games and see if the rebuttal from John Furlong has merit. Could it be that the Canadians were being sheilded for other reasons perhaps recommended by Sports \psychologists. Death of an athlete is always a tragedy but we would do more honour to their memory by reporting an extensive view from all sides rather than repeatedly completing the same kind of questioning that got the same answer.
Typical CBC. Conspiracy at every turn. Always blame the Canadian authorities and not the IOC and luge federation that approved the track. All you people that support this sensational, National Enquirer style journalism stop living in your mom's basement, get a job and see what it's like in the real world.
Absolutely disgusted and shameful. And now what? nothing... it was ignored then and will continued to be ignored. One thing i'd like to add that was never brought up was the fact during these training runs and everybody knowing that the track was fast, what and how would the 'shade' pulled down affect thier sight when entering fatal turn 16 ??? In short, Vanoc was an example of greed at its worst and that was the price paid - a life.
I have no doubt that you will be critized beyond belief for reporting on the circumstances surrounding Mr. Kumaritashvili's death however I for one applaud you for your courage! We wanted the faster track ever built in the history of the sport in the hopes that it would contribute to the legacy of the Vancouver Olympics as being the "greatest games ever"! The end result was the death of Nodar for which he was blamed entirely which was utterly disgraceful on our part! Our vanity on the world stage seemed to be more important and therefore we deflected any and all responsibility for his death! When will the track be sanctioned for another world event? Millions of dollars spent and for what I wonder! Unfortunately we are all to blame!
That was one of the most biased, slanted pieces of reporting I've ever seen. If you try to avoid to the speculation and blame for lack of answers, it seems like it's bobsled and skeleton who are to blame for the lack of changes, not VANOC. They did their duty to make changes based on the agreed upon recommendations of the three federations. As Furlong kept saying, VANOC had no expertise in this field, and had to rely on the sports involved.
It was only shortened for any Luge events. As ladies start always has to be below the men in this sport, the men started at the ladies and the ladies and doubles started at the junior which was an embarrassment. Skeleton and Bobsleigh continued from the top of the track and did not have problems.
If you check out the amount of runs that other nations were given on Whistler, it was more than other nations (ie Italy and USA) have provided previously. Do some research before you randomly regurgitate crap you have heard from the media or other sources.
Learn the facts - Canada gave other nations THE MOST TRACK TIME IN OLYMPIC HISTORY. As this episode clearly demonstrates, the facts are irrelevant to some media outlets. Don't let the "objective" media reports about not enough track time convince you that's an accurate fact - as with politicians, facts have become irrelevant to far, far too many media outlets.
Track was only shortened for luge, bob and skel went from the top.
You, are a bigoted arse. May it have been one of your family sent down that death trap instead.
Then who would you blame?
Nodar Kumaritashvili had EVERY right to be at the Olympics REGARDLESS of where he was from and those racist comments from people about where Nodar was from, GEORGIA, have no place in this supposedly civilised 21st Century.
Wherever Nodar may have been from, and wherever his death occurred, should not detract from the fact that the track WAS dangerous, warnings HAD been ignored and Nodar's death COULD have been avoided if safety had been put ahead of monetary gain.
Exposed steel girders on one of the fastest and hardest bends of a luge track?? Seriously, it doesn't take a 5 year old to work out that that is blatant stupidity.
I am NOT racist but for those that are, ask yourself what kind of stink would still be raging if Nodar had been from Canada, America etc. Nodar earned his place, possibly more than any other luger there given his lack of training facilities - he had to work 10 times as hard as everyone else to get access to training facilities, yet he still qualified. Why?
Because he was truly talented. And now he is dead, and his blood is on someone's hands.
Menatrebi Nodar ♥
It sickens me to know the that our canadain team (COACHES)knew of the dangers of the track but instead taking a proactive stand and encouraging the practice to countries that really needed it they choose to limit the practice use to other countries and hog the practice time for themselves.
So far in this affair a year on and counting the only one who has paid for all mistakes -including his own-, is the luger...
There is enough blame for every side of this story
The promotion of this episode stated "new revelations" into the tragedy at the Vancouver Olympics. I expected some degree of perspective. This sport (Luge) has a person traveling at 140 kilometers per hour, on ice, with the body completely vulnerable. Most of us would not survive an impact, at this speed, in our automobiles (with seat belts and airbags). Coached by his father, this young man was participating in an extremely dangerous sport at an age where most of our children are still in elementary school. The question is not how or why a death occurred, but at what point is the element of risk too high? This was a tragedy, but not by any means unforeseeable. The implications of hidden negligence, cover-up conspiracies and experts with 20/20 hindsight was really quite distasteful. The only "revelation" I gathered was The Fifth Estate's decline in quality, informative programming. This was a "tabloid investigation" to sensationalize a horrible event.
We have been watching, and enjoying, this program for many years and are normally entertained and appreciate the Journalistic quality of the opinions expressed. Although the death of the Georgian bobsleding athlete is very tragic, the tone of the show was far too one sided in their opinion towards casting blame, particularily while interviewing a bitter American athlete. The Anti Canadian tone was unappreciated from an employee of our Country's news station. The President of the Vancover Organizing Committee was trying to say that the track is decided upon and designed by the IOC not Canada, but this message was lost in the piece. Why attempt to cast blame now for this tradegdy? If the Jamacian team had this type of accident would the world have noticed this sport as much? Stop this stone throwing towards our beautiful Country, not allowing other coutries practice time on the track, where does Bob think this normal practice comes from? Instead investigate first if other countries also limit time! We sit back and complain that our athletes do not win enough, then we allow our Journalists the forum to blame our athletes and olympic teams for not granting practice time to other coutries. Who was the villan in this article, we will judge you Bob. Uncalled for, UnCanadian, and unfair. The IOC is to blame here.I hope in the future we could expect more truthful journalism. The games were otherwise flawless and have showcased us Canadians as a sporting force. Bob not once until the very last minute did you mention that no bobsledder has started from the very top since the tradgedy. Why keep this information out of the piece until the end? Too opinion based for us!!
I cant see the film, its all black, it wont play
I think you got it right Paul.
It is a flaw in your 'system' that The Fifth Estate airs on a Friday night, yet you do not get around to 'screening' (and posting) comments until several days later ("next business day").
This then discourages and, in effect, thwarts the possibility of progressive discussion of the subject via your website, as well as calms interest in the subject.
These days of delay - especially on subjects like this which provoke passionate feelings and responses - only serve to extinguish the fire which you've seemingly - and rightly, in my opinion - deliberately set.
Who among us would voluntarily lie on our backs on a two-bladed sled and launch ourselves down a severely inclined ice track at speeds exceeding 130 km/h?
Likely none of us would even contemplate such a thing.
I consider Luge and Skeleton to be inherently crazy activities. I would not qualify them as sports. Indeed, the only element that render them 'sports' is the aspect of competition.
Nonetheless... to build a track where there are completely exposed, immovable metal posts mere feet from an icy track whose walls can very easily and obviously act as a launching pad into these exposed posts is the height of irresponsibility.
We will never know the entire, absolute truth of this tragic event - because, quite simply, those who are in possession of this truth are not honest enough to express it.
Whatever the truth is, however, you can bet your behind that the bottom line is the almighty dollar.
Shame on the Olympic Games...
Shame on Canada.
And RIP, Nodar.
Clearly having a vertical post next to a potential exit point is dangerous....
Nodar Kumaritashvili death was a terrible and tragic event, but how can you hold anyone single responsible for this, the track was built to very specific specification’s. If you watched the show the luger comment that they do every that they can to allow them to go faster, by using different metals etc. The track was build for a specific speed as where each corner. It would be very difficult if not impossible to build one that could handle every speed as they need different entry and exit point for each speeds, at what point is it the responsibility of the athlete, it’s almost like taking drug’s they enhance one ability and that exactly what they are doing to there sleds. Maybe his sled was faster then his ability. If they want to stop anything like this from happening they should have a standard shed, then it would truly be accredited to an athletes skill not there sled that would win.
DISBAND the CBC. Bob, stories like this should be reserved for FOX in the US. A total disgrace! I'm withholding my taxes for my contribution to the CBC. Disgusting. Try someone other than a winter athlete from Bermuda to support your pre concluded story. You are lame.
Very poor taste IMO. Like someone else mentioned there was no Viewer Adivsory. Absolutely no need to show the footage of the accident. Fifth Estate has been one of my favorite shows but I think you dropped the ball on this one.
I have never seen such a "one-sided" story in my entire life! The only "Luger" you guys could interview was someone no one has ever heard of! Then, you attack a fellow Canadian hero in the process! I am sick to my stomach for watching such a program! and believe me, it is the last time I will ever watch "The Fifth Estate!" It was an accident people! Way to dredge up the past and hurt the family and friends involved in such a tragic accident! You should be ashamed of yourselves! I can't believe the CBC would air such filth! I am very disappointed!
The bare minimum - which was demonstrably more access than any other sliding facility in any other Winter Olympics ever, but don't let facts spoil a good meme. The Georgian luger's death is tragic, and I too would hope that competing in a sporting event didn't mean risking one's life. Yet sports of all stripes have inherent risks - anyone else remember that 10-metre diver bashing his head on the platform and dying at an event in Canada? This piece was amongst the most self-serving hit jobs masquerading as journalism I can recall. Melodramatic delivery and a determination to arrive at a preordained conclusion that defies any notion of objective inquiry.
I found "Death at the Olympics" to be biased, especially the edited clips of John Furlong's interview. Why didn't you let him speak, to finish his thoughts? It was clear you weren't going for the full story that might reveal all the complex factors, some tragic in hindsight, some preventable, some unpreventable, but rather to prove a preconceived bias that VanOc was unethically at fault. Out to show them in the wrong - with that approach, no wonder you were not welcome at Calgary luge, not because there was implied something to hide but rather because your approach is hostile. Very poor journalism, and sadly, the truth of the whole story and what it might teach us for future games is still obscured by stooping to innuendo and blame. In the end, Nodar and his family were victimized by the tasteless unfeeling coverage of his tragic death. How many times did your report show it? How dare you. CBC Fifth Estate, you disappoint.
Wow I think this topped Fox News as the most slandered and sensationalized news cast episode ever! How tasteless to show the footage of his death there was absolutely no need for that. I worked as a traffic controller at the Olympics and Whistler and John Furlong personally went out of his way to shake my hand and acknowledge me for helping make every aspect of the games a success! Bob Mckeown should go join the new Sun News station cause he is so far off base with everything that happened rant over!
Seems pretty clear responsibility lies with the meetings between the 3 sports on what to do about the concerns raised over the track.
Yet no effort out of the reporting to focus there, means they probably couldn't get facts on who and where. So instead the decision is made to find a person to hang (in this case Furlong) out because he was concerned.>
No need to let facts stand in the way of a good story, perhaps you should approach Fox and see if they'll start picking up the 5th.
Enough blame-seeking about this. Nobody wanted anyone to get hurt, but everyone wanted to see these daredevils go fast.
I'm no engineer, but if the technology exists to send submarines to great depths (Bathyscape Trieste...over 10 000 m), why can't a sliding track have corners enclosed in Lexan or other see-through material? There could be cameras located to broadcast the image onto large screens and actually enhance viewing. 105 million dollars...it could have been done...and it should be done.
Pete
I can't believe the CBC showed the death without warning viewers that there would be a graphic display of a horrific and tragic death, not only once, but twice, and then in slow motion?
And the determination to try and find fault with VANOC when the e-mail to me clearly shows that VANOC would have complied with any design changes requested by the luge, bobsled and skeleton was malicious in nature.
CBC, and particularly the 5th Estate, has descended into a world best left for the viewers of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.
When Ron Maclean stated last year he was a journalist I chuckled because obviously he is not. Tonight I believe all the journalists employed by this network may be less qualified by Mr Maclean, I think we can all agree on that!
Enough already is right! Sport and risk do coexist. It is not black and white the way it is painted. And then to use over zealous American sledders who are obviously biased and you have the sensationalism that you are digging for! The American says "I don't want to speculate... but..." WELL DON'T SPECULATE Shut Up! The Fifth Estate was irresponsible when you publish his statement "It is like they design the corners to crash us" Come On!
An hour program, but never got to the key of the story. The key is track design. And hour of asking questions, but never a word on the design company. Why? Probably because the CBC folks were to lazy to really look into the story. Poor reporting people.
Actually Pietro, for the most part it HAS NOT been shortened for subsequent events after. I can count 9 international races that have gone from the top of that track since the Olympics, without a single incident.
Hey Cement. You seem to be all-knowledgeable in knowing that Canada kept other sliders off of the track. Did you know that there was a minimum of 3 International Training Weeks + a World Cup race held at that venew BEFORE the Olympics? Nope! Betcha you didn't! Instead you are just speaking like you know it all! LOL. As a former athlete whom was involved in the sport for the coming and passing of 2 Olympics, I 100% ASSURE you that the Torino Luge/Bob/Skel facility took the exact same measures to prevent others from sliding on their facility. And while I'm on this topic - let's address this episodes statement of Canada purposely keeping the shades on the track closed so that other nations couldn't see anything. Well let me tell you, we requested over and over every single day for the shades to be opened up so that we could video tape our athletes to help them improve...and they wouldn't even let us, not becasue of home-field advantage - but because of the sunshine heat melting the ice. If you go to any sliding facility in the world, the majority of shades are kept drawn for this EXACT reason. The only time they are completely opened are for race-day, of which Whistler was the exact same.
I find it ironic that this little investigation was put on with a couple of miniscule interviewed puppets claiming "shame on" on VANOC (and believe me, I know one of those people interviewed very well, and that person has done nothing but whine and complain about every little thing in life since the day I met him), yet aside from John Furlong, whom I thought handled himself very well, they didn't talk to a single athlete whom would defend the track, of which I have met dozens and dozens and dozens, being a former athlete myself.
Well said, I couldn't agree more.
Yes Laura, he did qualify. But do some research and see how easy it actually is for "small nations" athletes TO qualify. FAR TO EASY. The IOC tries to cram in as many nations as possible, and in doing this, they allow literal juniors to compete against seasoned veterans. I wonder when the IOC is actually going to start taking some of the blame for this?
It's called the Olympics! Where elite come, if you are scared on a track that you can't handle, then you are not the elite, go home! The Georgian loser, ops, loser shouldn't have been there, plain and simply. I watched all events run on that track because its exciting. If they make the track slower, i won't watch.
Expecting balanced reporting from the 5th Estate. I was disappointed. Your US luger had a different opinion on Jan 20th, 2010. To try to blame John Furlong with this biased report was unfair. See interview with US luger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InlUN0N3gZo The Int'l luger federation will no doubt stand at attention in future olympics,and be wary of track design and balanced training for the relative inexperienced athletes. Then perhaps tragic accidents like this will be a thing of the past.
No one will deny this is an unfortunate tragedy of the highest degree. What I find most disturbing in this obviously biased story, is that Bob McKeown is not willing to listen to anything that defends VANOC or any of the pertinent federations. The Fifth Estate obviously planned an attack with the full intention of discrediting the Canadian Olympics and in particular anyone associated with the Luge venue, unfortunately possibly injuring our country in the fallout. Why not listen as impartial Journalists. I do believe you reported the facts, but i now think you are closer in stature to a sleazy tabloid than a serious news program. I have never wrote a response to any program or article, but i feel strongly on this matter. Sports are a great source of national pride in our nation and I fear you weaken our station in the world.
At the end of the day, the decision to enter the start gate and proceed down the track was the athlete's own.
As an aside, I'm wondering if this premature judgment from The Fifth Estate would have taken place if the CBC still had Olympic broadcast rights.
You are 100% correct, some athletes received NO training runs, thats right the first time they were on the track was the 2 days of training before the Olympics .... own the podium drove this.
Contrary to an earlier comment, "yes you can engineer safety for all potential dangers". Furthermore, you have a moral and legal obligation to engineer safety into obvious and known dangers. Their design engineers told them it was hazardous: their test athletes told them it was dangerous. That's two out of two: just who else were they listening to. Blaming the athlete was a cowardly, irresponsible act.
I completely agree with Patrick. The 5th Estate has become the Fox News of Canada and McCeown shows no understanding that proper journalism needs to show both sides of a story. Let's go to the lowest common denominator and produce sensationalistic stories to make us feel bad about ourselves. Great work CBC for allowing this. Nomar will always be in my thoughts when I think about the Olympics but it was what it was...a terrible accident. I don't blame him and I don't blame Canadian officials. As a people we need to stop looking down at ourselves when the world thinks bad of us. The facts are the Vancouver Olympics gave everyone in the world more access to the venues then any other Olympics prior. We went beyond what was required. Every host country will always have an advantage of more training runs in every sport. McCeown's argument in this area was ignorant and unnecessary.
Here we go again, a few greedy people at the top of Vanoc, FIL, IOC, etc. got rich off this and got away scot free and are not even feeling any guilt. Ok, so it was too late and too expensive to change the corners. I'm not a track designer or olympic organiser, but even I know that it would have been so easy to raise the wall at turn 16 or even add some padding to the posts .... I mean, isn't it OBVIOUS !! The tightest turns and fastest track ever and plenty of warnings ? They couldn't even bother to add protection from the posts? It's OBVIOUS ! What's wrong with these people? Commenters : Stop repeating the drivel you've been fed and THINK ! The so called experts we payed to build a safe track failed to do a proper job and are living quite comfortably and smugly. Next time it could be YOU !
Sounds as though Mr. Mckeown was not getting the answers he was looking for and has turned his "journalism" in to a witch hunt. Maybe discuss the qualification required for the competition. Not coincidence Bermuda, Venezuela, brazil raising issue?
I have to wonder if this would've been shown if the CBC were the olympic network for 2010. Tragic accident, and horrible result. Conspiracy.... I think not.
The boy was untrained, Laura, and did not participate in the training runs. He was inexperienced and the Georgian Olympic Luge organization is as responsible for his death as any other !
Hear Hear Patrick ! well said !!!
No !
Yes, the death was very tragic...something I am sure no one anticipated, however, pointing fingers isn't going to bring him back or change the results. When you become an athlete, you are bound to face danger in one form or another. This is no secret and they are all aware of it. I do feel that his crash was a result of driver error, and I also feel that the olympic committee did what was necessary to make sure that this did not occur again.
Before the Olympics, I seen several interviews and not once, did I hear any athlete say that they are looking forward to their runs, but fear the track. It was an accident, it was tragic, but we all need to move forward and stop blaming people for it. There are deaths in several sports as well as other serious accicents. In formula one racing, a spring breaks off someone's car and hits another driver in the face. Who do we blame for that? The spring manufacturer?? Nope. It was an accicent! Dale Earnhardt dies while racing. Do they blame anyone for that, or claim lack of experience, or driver error? Nope, I was an accident. His son still races today. Look how many skiers fall and seriously injury themselves. Its not something that happens every once in a while, it happens all the time! There is a guy right now in a coma due to a skiing accident, but it was an accident and that is a risk they take everytime they stand in the gate and take the plunge...just as the luger did. My deepest sympathy to all of his family and friends. But when you are an extreme athlete, there are extreme risks, and this is a sad result of that.
I too think that the Fifth Estate is often too shallow and sensational in their approach. I much prefer intelligent, in=depth, reasonable analysis of key issues. Topics chosen are worthy, I hope FE will stop the 'dumb down' productions.
I couldn't agree more. A disappointing and embarrassing piece of 'journalism'.
The track was extreme! The track was FAST! Near the bottom few turns it was extra dangerous! How could posts be exposed? Could a few more sheets of plywood be used to make SURE the lugers stayed on the track? He may still have died but the impact could have be avoided. So sad!
Does the full episode become available to view as soon as it's aired?
I am sad to see that the CBC is going down the road of American news channels. Showing the people completley one sided reports to try and get us to believe their view. VANOC did all they could, they were not the ones who designed the track, they just paid for it! Lets try and get some good, investigative TWO-SIDED reports
It now seems as if Nodars father has been manipulated by the fifth estate. Initially he reports Nodar says "im gonna risk it"....then after hearing from your reports believes somebody murdered his son...You should be ashamed of yourselves....and using 2 nobody luge losers to backup any ridiculous claim you make...poor & pathetic
Enough already! Sport and risk coexist and you can't engineer safety for all potential dangers. More immportantly, I'm saddened by the route the 5th Estate continues down - shallow, sensationalist journalism presuming guilt and public deception. Instead, how about investigating deeper issues and their consequences (such as where do we draw the line in the reasonable management of risk and safety in all sport)
No athlete expects to die from participating in an event, be it this innocent luger, a downhill skiers, hockey players, etc. At the speeds that Lugers reach there are certainly high risks but that does not negate the fact that the 'Federations' who are the "foremen" of the contruction and organization of such tracks and events have a legal obligation to ensure that the rules are not being stretched, and that if decisions have been made in the process which decrease the safety of the course then each participant/athlete should be made fully aware of these details & of ALL OF THE RISKS ON THAT SPECIFIC TRACK based on the decisions of the FEDERATION. Was the luger advised that he could exceed G-force 5? People keep blaming the luger for not having appropriate training.......well I'm pretty sure he had enough training.....he made it to the Olympics, so he must have passed the criteria for qualifying.
I agree with Connie's comment. At times, journalism uses provocative tactics to illustrate a point without regard to the people involved. The graphic imagery is not necessary. Why stoop to CCN or 'Eye-Witness-News' coverage?
What happened to the emails? Link does not work.
Bad taste sensationalistic advertising showing moments of Nodar's death. Those images have been known worldwide since the first day of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the press had sensitivity enough to not show them again. A lovely memorial photo would serve your report. I am boycotting your show as I hope others will.
it wasn't so much the speed alone, but speed in conjunction with the fact that canada purposely kept other nations off the track (giving opponents the bare minumum training runs) made for the georgian's problem.
It should be illegal to discrace the dead. Showing the final impact and essentially the moment of his death is a shamful tactic to draw more viewers. It is sad that it probably works too. I wish they would stop showing the impact!
Many sports are high risk. From Base Jumping to Alpine downhill Skiing. Formula 1 to Snowmobiling.
The comment that if an athlete makes or experiences a mistake he shouldn't have to pay with his life (paraphrasing) is such bollocks. Tell that to F1's Senna or Shane McKonkey.
If the track was so safe, why was it shortened for subsequent events after the tragedy?
I cannot believe they still show the death of this young man so freely! Would it not be enough to show the crash up to a split second before he impacts? I will most likely not watch the actual show now, in fear of having to see that horrible graphic scene again!
I totally agree with Ram Gakar in that this athlete was ill prepared to the challenge of the Whistler track. He did not participate in any training weeks leading up to the Olympics to my knowledge. The CBC seems to be very bent on pointing the finger at any one other than the athlete.
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I don't agree, Robert and Bethany, a boy was killed and every complacent sofa-rider should know about it before giving and opinion.
Nice shock journalism, no balance. This is an editorial not journalism. The National Enquirer has better balance than the CBC.
The erstwhile Soviet Block states like that of Georgia is in a dire need to put its act together before participating in extreme sport of Luging and as I had said before "the fault is that of the Luger as a direct result of the primitive training approach and facilities in the state of Georgia".Hence we should "Stop blaming" our venues and our officials and all those who participated in creating as well achieving an extremely successful Vancouver 2010
Is it not possible that the conservative agenda to Own the Podium resulted in the track being deliberately too fast so that the canadians would have an unfair advantage as they were the only ones to practice on it before hand?
I totally agree, those shots should not have been included in the preview, but rather, shown explicitly during the episode after repeated warnings of sensitive and possibly disturbing imagery.
What this athlete did is akin to getting your G1 and then joining the F1 circut. His own federation should be ashamed to have allowed him to compete at such a level with so little experience.
It is such a tradegy when you see any one falling from chasing their dream and doesn't get up to see another.In this athletes mind he was gonna come close to winning a medal at the speed he was going. It cost him his life. I betcha any money, at the speed he was going, he go that speed again but approach his turns the way a champion would. He lived his dream and cost him his life. I wonder if he had a chance, just one more chance at the speed he was going If he take the speed and a different approach to turn 15 and 16? would he do it again? In my heart, I beleif this ahtlete wouldn't think twice about it.
Lest should we forget that the art of "Luging is an extreme sport which comes with its very own risks". It is without any doubt that the un-timely death of the Georgian Luger at Whistler 2010 was rather un-fortunate but the question arises who is responsible ? the best answer is embedded in the "primitive training facilities" for such extreme sports in the erstwhile iron curtain ; Soviet block state of Georgia. In my opinion such states should "think twice" before participating in such a high grade competition and we should Stop blaming our venues and our officials as I would like to reiterate once again that "the fault is that of the Luger and Georgia"
An Olympic athlete dies and sled dogs were murdered...all for a 2 week event. I hope it was worth it Vancouver!
Very good talk about it because it was a promising life that was lost because of the irresponsibility of "some". But one thing that annoys me is that he had a name: for the unwary that his name was Nodar Kumaritashvili and not the luger Georgian who died at Winter Olympics.
When you ran this on television tonight as a preview for next week, there was NO Viewer advisory from what I saw - and the very disturbing imagery from the luger's death came very fast even if there was one that I missed. That imagery SHOULD NOT be a part of your preview.
I cant see the film, its all black, it wont play.