Blame The Dead Guy

[Tunnelcat]

When I heard the Vancouver Olympic officials and the International Luge Federation essentially blame Kumaritashvili's error for his own death, it just didn't sit right with me for some reason.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancou ... &type=lgns

Sure, sports events can be dangerous, but a competitor doesn't normally expect death to result in normal competition. I personally think those organizations are butt covering for their lack of safety design in the luge track when they're sanctimoniously putting blame on the victim in this case. Having solid, exposed, unpadded steel posts with NO protective covering or wall RIGHT BESIDE the track and then having the expectation that an out of control luge rider that's going almost 90 miles an hour won't happen to HIT THEM in an accident is absolute STUPIDITY!

There seems to be an epidemic in this world now, don't take or admit responsibility for your own mistakes.

[Spidey]

Sure it was the competitor’s fault…why do you think they built that wall, and shortened the run.

But hey, on a lighter note…they got three of the four torches to rise, and three out of four ain’t bad.

[Isaac]

Blame Canada!!!!

[Insurrectionist]

Yes there is always some one to blame no one made the dead guy pick a dangerous sport to compete in so let's blame a third party for his death. Beside the 1964 death of Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski in a luge training accident for the Innsbruck Games, I wonder how many more die from the sport each year.

[Duper]

Safety is inherently absent within the sport due to it's nature. If there WAS protection, you have a one man bobsled. They already have that event.

Politics is always out of control in the Olympics.

Unless there was a major flaw in the track's design, it was indeed the competitor's \"fault\". But, accidents happen in these sports and people die from time to time. Again, I'll point to politics when a blamestorm starts brewing.

You hit anything going 90 mph, you are going to die... most likely ... unless you're in an Indy car with 6 straps and a titanium roll cage.

[Bet51987]

.

[Duper]

He's being blamed so the olympics can remain unblemished and I hope his parents file a lawsuit.

LOL! That's a riot! don't remember the salt lake games huh?

[Bet51987]

.

[Tunnelcat]

Sure it was the competitor’s fault…why do you think they built that wall, and shortened the run.

I just hear the officials now...."Let's blame the luge rider in public, he did wipe out after all, so that we don't look like complete idiots for leaving exposed metal posts near a high speed luge run. But just for looks, we'd better cover up those nasty, inconveniently located metal posts with a new plywood wall. Oh and we'd better start the men's luge at the womens point to slow down speeds so that no one else becomes so much hamburger, live on TV, on our watch."

But hey, on a lighter note…they got three of the four torches to rise, and three out of four ain’t bad.

Well, maybe they needed a little Viagra for that forth torch.

Duper, did you see that section of the track? They had absolutely NO barrier to anything or anyone that just happened to fly out of that curve at the wrong angle during an accident. Maybe they assumed that a rider going straight down the track wouldn't come out of the run and hit those posts. What they didn't factor in was the high speeds and the nearness of the curve exit to that straight section with the exposed posts. He would probably be alive today, maybe with broken bones, if he had just hit and bounced off a smooth wall. It was not designed properly.

Yes, the luge is dangerous. But I would expect with ALL that money that goes into these games, that half an ounce of brains would go into the luge track safety design. Why build in a death section(s) in a record high speed track? He could have just as easily killed some idiot bystander as well as himself if someone happened to be standing next to one of those lovely posts too. Now wouldn't THAT be a public relations nightmare for the IOC.

By the way, which opening ceremony did everyone think was better, the one at the last Beijing games or the Canadian one?

[Duper]

TC, that track was fine. He came out of the corner too high and over corrected. He slammed into the opposite side which threw him out of the run, up over the edge. That track is typical in design. They might have graduated the end of the corner a bit less aggressively, but over all, it wasn't unsafe (from what I could see)

I couldn't find any actual film, only a bunch of snapshot strung along with a bunch of goofy music. They had a couple accidents like this at Lake Placid iyrc.


**EDIT**

OK, I found it. He was at the TOP of the track at the end of the corner and collided with the top and bounced to the bottom and rebounded out of the track. The Only way to have \"prevented\" this would have been to cover the track. It was a genuine freak accident.

[Spidey]

I think you have to take some things into account…

If everyone was saying…”I didn’t see that coming” then you could make the case that it was a freak accident.

But since there were warnings before the race that the track was unsafe, you have to think a little more.

Anyone who hasn’t skimmed over my posts over the years, knows my feelings regarding self responsibility, and yes ultimately the responsibility lies with the competitor, who could have refused to compete….yea sure!

I haven’t read the stories regarding “blaming the dead guy” but it is “always” the responsibility of the sanctioning body to own up, and at least share the blame.

.....................

“By the way, which opening ceremony did everyone think was better, the one at the last Beijing games or the Canadian one?”

I think the one in Beijing was spectacular and was on a par that will be hard to beat…but the one in Vancouver had a lot of heart and soul, and was really fun to watch. And I especially liked the whales.

[Ferno]

That's racing for you and accidents happen.

[CDN_Merlin]

I was insulted with the openiong ceremonies. Putting French first is bad. I'm tired of all the French crap. Now, our heritage minister said there wasn't enough french in them so the ending ceremonies will have more.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Canuck]

Yup way too much French first... gives me a headache listening to those stupid announcers. If it was Quebec no problem, but this is the West and Vancouver. Many of my friends some of them Quebecois agree.

Oh and the dead guy made his choice to go down that track and screwed up, don't blame track designers for an accident. And no amount of padding is going to prevent death when you hit something at 90 mph.

[Duper]

LOL! That's a riot! don't remember the salt lake games huh?

I meant the Canadian games not the Olympics as a whole.

Bee

It doesn't matter Bee. The Olympics are horribly riddled with politics. It doesn't matter what year or who's hosting. "The Commity" is "owned" by a tight group of aristocrats that like to maintain an image.

[Spidey]

And no amount of padding is going to prevent death when you hit something at 90 mph.

The idea is not to “pad” it’s all about angle of deflection in this case. (avoiding coming to a sudden stop)

[woodchip]

I was insulted with the openiong ceremonies. Putting French first is bad. I'm tired of all the French crap. Now, our heritage minister said there wasn't enough french in them so the ending ceremonies will have more.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it was a heritage thing, shouldn't they have spoken in Cree first?

[CDN_Merlin]

Woodchip, maybe they should of grunted.

Seriously, it's retarded. Now they are discussing having a Quebec Olympic Team and a Canada one. Like WTF. Will they just seperate already and get eaten up by whoever and converted to English and sold as slaves or eaten. ARGHHHHHHHH

[Duper]

lol it's 1966 all over again.

[Spidey]

They speak French at every Olympic game, it’s the official Olympic language.

[Foil]

My 2 cents:

Was it a freak accident? Yes.
Did the rider choose a potentially dangerous sport? Yes.
Was the rider out of control? Yes.
Was the extent of the injury preventable? Yes.

Everyone seems to want to blame either the rider or the Canadian officals. Personally, I think the place to look is the safety standards implemented by the sport's governing body.

Some sports have top-notch standards, while others probably warrant some review. For example, the sport I'm most familiar with: Olympic fencing (saftety rules matching FIE standards), where the competitors are required to wear kevlar-type protection, even under the suit. As a result, severe fencing injuries in modern competition are virtually unheard-of, which is sort of surprising, given how often broken blades occur (something I can personally attest to).

My personal opinion is that whatever organization is setting standards for luge safety, they probably need to do some review. There's no way to prevent rider error, or prevent competitors from 'pushing the envelope' too far. But they may be able to help minimize the injuries that result from mistakes. As to whether that means a track change, or barriers, or something else, I have no idea. I'll leave that to the experts.

[Canuck]

I don't care how many angles of deflection, padding, or whatever you Monday Morning Quarterbacks propose would, \"Have prevented injury\". How many of you actually design luge tracks for a living? Apart from a completely sealed tunnel, (which really still does not prevent injury as you can still get tangled up with the sled) when you hit anything at 90 MPH you are going to pay dearly. Its tragic that this accident happened however laying blame and criticizing track design after the fact is all too easy for many. I say if you decide to lay on a fiberglass rack with sharpened steel runners and hurl yourself down an ice covered track, you made the decision to do so and any consequences of that decision is the responsibility of the person that decided to make the run. Its a dangerous sport and will continue to be so regardless of track design, rules, and regulations.

[Duper]

Canuck, you forgot Cylon battle armor.. that might work...

[Foil]

...when you hit anything at 90 MPH you are going to pay dearly.

Apparently this needs to be repeated:

The idea is not to “pad” it’s all about angle of deflection in this case. (avoiding coming to a sudden stop)

Spidey is quite correct here. There are ways to prevent a full-stop impact, particularly on a directional track like a luge. Perhaps not enough to prevent injury altogether, but certainly possible to reduce the injury extent.

I say if you decide to lay on a fiberglass rack with sharpened steel runners and hurl yourself down an ice covered track, you made the decision to do so and any consequences of that decision is the responsibility of the person that decided to make the run.

Absolutely. But when there are ways help minimize the risk, I'd prefer to see a sport's governing body take appropriate measures. [E.g. The NFL's recent move to ensure concussed players are medically cleared before they get back on the field.]