Video: Two luge crashes occur Friday during Olympic training runs; one dead

Nodar Kumaritashvili, men’s Olympic luge slider crashed his sled during a luge ride Friday morning and crashed into a pole. Nodar Kumaritashvili was practicing at the Whistler location of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled and it flew over the wall of the track and into a pole. He was rushed to hospital via an air rescue helicopter and his condition was life threatening. People at the scene said that CPR was being performed on Kumaritashvili.

UPDATE ADDED AFTER THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN: Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, died after being rushed to the hospital Friday morning.  He was from the Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Violeta Stramaturaru from Romania was also injured during a Friday morning training session at the Whistler training location. She hit several walls before being knocked unconscious. Stramaturaru was taken to an onsite medical facility and her injuries were not thought to be serious. After the accident, Stramaturaru was able to get up and walk with a slight limp to get her sled.

The Whistler Sliding Center track in the Vancouver Olympic Games is considered to be the world’s most challenging courses.  Luge crashes are dangerous because of how fast the sled moves on the track.  See the YouTube video below that shows several luge runs gone wrong (you may want to turn down the volume).  The video is here to show how dangerous luge runs are.

To see graphic video of Kumaritashvili's deadly crash, click here.

Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Games begin Friday in Vancouver. 17,000 people are expected a day in Vancouver and the games will last seventeen days. Whistler’s construction was completed for Olympic Games two years ago and the athletes have had those two years to get ready for the games.

The 2002 Olympic Games were held in Salt Lake City, Utah. People came from around the world to see the games and it was the single largest event that Salt Lake City has ever hosted.

For a complete schedule of the 2010 Olympic Games that will be shown on NBC, click here.

If you enjoyed this article, please click on the subscribe button above to receive an email when new articles are published by this examiner.

Source: The Associated Press

Other articles from this examiner:
Video: John Mayer apologizes for Playboy Interview comments
DA uses Jaycee Dugard journal entries in court to keep Phillip Garrido from contacting her
Video: Glenn Beck asks Debra Medina about 9/11 conspiracies
Look inside the Olympic Village and an overview of the 2010 Olympic Games
Video: Record snow fall totals on the east coast shut down cities
Video: Jamie Grubbs asks Tiger Woods for an apology
Judge orders 10 Americans held in Haiti jail to be released; prosecutors have 5 days to appeal
Michelle Obama kicks off campaign to eliminate childhood obesity