Flowers, stuffed animals, a photograph and two white candles, gently flickering in the chilled mountain air. All around the small, trackside memorial to Nodar Kumaritashvili, there was noise.
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German lugers triumph after tragedy
- February 14, 2010 11:14 PM |
- By Joe O'Connor
Story provided by
WHISTLER, B.C. -- Flowers, stuffed animals, a photograph and two white candles, gently flickering in the chilled mountain air. All around the small, trackside memorial to Nodar Kumaritashvili, there was noise.
Clapping hands. Ringing bells. Cheering voices. Yesterday was a day of celebration, not of mourning. The fans had come to watch a gold-medal run at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Felix Loch, a young German, would provide it for them, blasting down the mountain at 145 km/h to capture Germany's first gold medal in the luge since 1998. David Moeller, another German, took the silver while Armin Zoeggeler, the Italian legend, finished third.
"It is so great," said Loch, over and over. "It is so great. I don't know what to say. It is so great."
His face was engulfed by a smile. It had been an incredible ride, from a tragedy to the top step of the Olympic podium in three days flat.
"It was really hard," the young German said. "But we talked with the whole team about the crash. So it was good. It was not a problem to drive."
It was an altered track. A decision was made by the International Luge Federation to shorten the men's race by shifting their start down to the women's gate following Kumaritashvili's horrific death. A protective wall was also erected at the exit of Turn 16, the spot where the Georgian catapulted from his sled into a steel pole. The makeshift memorial was at the base of one of the poles, out of sight, though not far from a grandstand packed with boisterous fans.
"I think the energy that has been in this place has really kind of helped put a hold on what everyone was feeling in this luge community," Calgary's Sam Edney said. "The next couple days are probably when it will really set in. It is hard to think about something like that happened just three days ago."
Edney could not crack into the medals, but he did manage to slide his way to a seventh place, the best result ever in the men's luge by a Canadian. Veteran Jeff Christie finished 14th, while Ian Cockerline came 20th.
Moeller said the only way the ending could have been sweeter was with a clean German sweep. As it was, he was clutching a flower arrangement, while passing through a gauntlet of media. This was his moment. But he had not forgotten about Kumaritashvili.
"The last few days were very confusing," Moeller said. "Everybody, every athlete who competed in this competition today, it was very emotional for everybody. We tried to be focused. We tried to concentrate. We tried to make it down fast."
The sun appeared Sunday, beaming down on the mountains for the first time in days. Friday was receding into the past. This was a day of celebration, and Loch, the young German, was the happiest luger of all.
"It is unbelievable to win here," he said, wearing an irrepressible grin. "It is so great."
A short distance from where the Olympic champion stood two candles flickered as a perfect afternoon turned to night.
Photo: Germany's Felix Loch reacts on the podium after the men's luge singles at the Whistler Sliding Centre on February 14, 2010 during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
About the Author
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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