Complaints about a dangerous luge track are nothing new. During the 2006 Games in Turin, sliding athletes also talked about the dangerous nature of that track.
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Turin's Olympic track also considered dangerous
- February 21, 2010 6:56 PM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
By Ron Nurwisah, National Post
The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has been one of the biggest stories at these Olympics.
Organizers have faced a significant amount of scrutiny surrounding the design of the Whistler track and numerous athletes have complained that the track was too fast and too dangerous.
But complaints about a dangerous luge track are nothing new. During the Winter Games in Turin, sliding athletes also talked about the dangerous nature of that track.
A USA Today article from 2006 is full of quotes that wouldn't be out of place at these Olympics.
From the article:
"It's not anymore about medals, everyone fights for life," said Italy's Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova. "It's not sport anymore."
Canadian luger Chris Moffat called it "the hardest track in the world right now."
"It's definitely challenging every athlete," Moffat said. "I would have to say you'd have to be a loony if you weren't scared."
The Turin track also saw a number of injuries including a serious one to Ukrainian Roman Yazinskyy that saw him put into a medically-induced coma. Two Canadians, Ian Cockerline and Meaghan Simister, also had accidents on the course.
Despite these mishaps Turin Games organizers also defended the safety of that track. "The track is not dangerous. It is the sport that is dangerous," Turin Games spokesperson Giuseppe Gattino said.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- 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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