Ian Cockerline had never experienced anything like it. Nobody had. This was new territory. A man died.
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Search for answers continues in tragic luge death
- February 13, 2010 8:03 PM |
- By Joe O'Connor
Story provided by
WHISTLER -- Ian Cockerline had never experienced anything like it. Nobody had. This was new territory. A man died. Instantly, and horrifically, doing something every competitor at the Whistler Sliding Centre loved to do: go fast.
And in a blink, or so it seemed, the lugers were back on the track where less than 24 hours before, Nodar Kumaritashvili had been catapulted to his death.
"I feel like I am losing my mind a little bit," Cockerline, a Canadian, said after his second practice run. "One second you have tears welling up in your eyes because you are thinking about Nodar, and then the next minute you are psyching yourself up and grabbing the handles and pulling off.
"Honestly, I don't know whether that's good or bad. I think everyone is dealing with it. The luge community is a small community. Everyone knows Nodar. He was a nice guy."
He was only 21-years-old.
Talk during the morning session focused on the International Luge Federation's decision to have the men run the women's course, shortening their trip down the mountain by 176 metres. The move trimmed 5-8 kilometres per hour off the blistering, 150 km/h speeds competitors were reaching in previous training sessions.
"It takes a lot of the excitement out of it," Cockerline says. "It is a little bit tougher to get yourself psyched up to go when you know you are racing from the women's start. It is not a whole lot slower in the bottom section, but it is a lot slower in the top section and that is definitely a lot of fun, a lot of excitement, when you are going from the top."
Several other questions were raised. Was the track safe enough? Was it too fast before? Did international competitors have enough practice time on it prior to the Olympics? Should the home track advantage in luge, a staple in international events, be examined in light of the Georgian slider's tragic death? Should less experienced competitors be barred from competing at the Games?
"Luge is a tough spot and it takes a long time to master," American Tony Benshoof said. "That's the bottom line. We could hash over this for hours, but at the end of the day, we're going 95, 98 miles per hour, we're six inches off the ice and we go a mile down the track in 45 seconds. There's an inherent risk."
Every question, every answer, was rooted in what happened the day before. Somebody died here. He was only 21-years-old. But then, this is the Winter Olympics, a show that only pulls into town once every four years. And the Games must go on.
"I think [Kumaritashvili] probably would have wanted this," Canadian Sam Edney said. "It's a tough call. I think every guy out there was sliding with him in their thoughts, and in their hearts."
Down in the resort's bustling village, just a short gondola ride way from the WSC, it seemed as though Friday never happened. Some left flowers at a small, improvised memorial to the fallen athlete, though most people bustled past. Whatever grieving there was appeared more directed at the cancellation of the men's downhill -- or at an interminable line-up at the Starbucks -- than with the tragic death of Kumaristashvili.
And some time, late Sunday afternoon, it will be over. A luger from among the men's field will fly down the course at the WSC to clinch the gold medal. There will be a medal ceremony at the Whistler Medals Plaza nearby. A national anthem will be played. A proud athlete will stand on the top step of the podium thinking, perhaps, about all he has done to get where he is and all the people who helped him along the way.
Maybe Kumaritashvili will be in his thoughts.
He was only 21 years old.
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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