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Nodar Kumaritashvili (AP)
Georgian luge slider Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed today after crashing into a metal girder during a training run at the Winter Olympics.
The 21 year old was toward the end of his run and was traveling at a speed greater than 90 miles per hour when his sled went off track. Rescue reliefs were unsuccessful.
Pictures and videos immediately hit the net and while the pictures remain, the videos quickly began disappearing. While it is believed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) worked at locating and removing them, there is also speculation they were pulled because of copyright infringement.
Google (which originally had a couple of the videos up) stated, "We approach each video individually, and we do not prescreen content. Instead, we count on our community members to know the Guidelines and to flag videos they think violate them. We review all flagged videos quickly, and if we find that a video does break the rules, we remove it, usually in under an hour,"
Then the Nodar Kumaritashvili luge accidentt began appearing again on the net and then through CBS news ~
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Comments
May he RIP - such a sad tragety
that was a brutal accident. let's just hope that it was quick and he didn't feel anything. RIP nodar
thats so sad, i cant believe what i have seen. certainly this could of been prevented
crazy
omg.... that's just not right... really sad..
", the videos quickly began disappearing"
ahhhaaaaa...............
What the hell? WHy on earth is there all those nets in a hard curve but no nets coming out of the turns? And why the hell isn't there any padding? Any idiot can see that if there was proper netting and padding he could have survived...IOC...F***ing retards... A national hero and athlete lost for no error of his...but an error from the track.
THAT IS TERRIBLE! AND WHY ARE THOSE POLES THERE?! IF ANYTHING THERE SHOULD BE A NET THERE! THAT TRACK IS OF A POOR DESIGN! THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER! THE TRACK SHOULD NOT BE USED!
Only 21? Unbelieveable .. May he R.I.P
MY GOD!! SUCH A TRAGEDY, R.I.P. YOU POOR GUY.:(
I cannot believe what I just saw! They say it was human error, maybe he did make a mistake. But that track should have been better prepared in safty. The track is not safe at all and if I was luge slider I would say "To hell with this I'm going home"
Looks like he must have broke his neck and died instantly, fortunately. RIP.
A tragic loss of ridiculous proportions due to the designers and health and safety workers at Whistler. In future send down track designers and safety officials as crash test dummies, then we'll see if they "feel" its safe enough.
I cannot believe what I just saw! They say it was human error, maybe he did make a mistake. But that track should have been better prepared in safty. The track is not safe at all and if I was luge slider I would say "To hell with this I'm going home"
What the hell were the designers of this track thinking? Steel poles around the track? They should have been padded, at best. . .and Canada should be ashamed of themselves for this tragedy.
how can they say that the track was safe when, at a turn in the track, there are numerous unpadded, unprotected poles? after watching this horrific accident it seems like it would be at least possible - and therefore expected - for a sled to flip at this point in the track. so WHERE are the protections?
i hope he didnt feel anything and his last conscious thought was that he was an elite athlete living his dream. RIP
How can Kristy MISSPELL copyright? She wrote it as "copy write"!!!
May Nodar rest in peace...such a sad way to end a life! The IOC better start looking into the tragedy and do something to ensure the safety of the athletes!!!
At first I was wondereing what happened to his helmet when I heard he died, but I noticed that right before he hit his head against the pole, his helmet flew off. RIP
They should put the desinger of this track on the sled, all the years i've been watching the Winter Olympics I have never seen poles near the track - bales of hay yes, poles no
as far as I heard, he didn't die instantly, he died at the hospital later of the damage on his body
My GOD, I pray he felt no pain. I am Canadian and I feel so ashamed. This poor young man dedicated his life to this sport and now he's gone. Rest In Peace Nodar Kumaritashvili.
I'm not sure how much control these athletes can have during their drop but it can't be much at such high speeds. This accident could not have been his fault. That is the saddest part of all this. Canada needs to step up and make sure that this event is made safe, it obviously isn't yet. I pray for his family . Lord, please watch over them and send them comfort.
God Bless him and his family. I hope he went unconscious instantly to feel no pain. What a horrible way to have your life ended. At least he died doing what he loved and had a real passion for. There is danger with any sport but the outlay of this track is inexscusable and ridiculous. Its sad that someones life had to be lost in order for them to realize the track needs to have more saftety equiptment.
The sport is dangerous.
And if they are not going to take the time to make it safe!
the SPORT SHOULD BE BANNED!
Geez.
21 years old and he runs into a metal pole - wth? The designers didn't imagine this happening? Maybe not the death but they did know they sometimes fly off track and should have padded the area!!
Hope he RIP, the Officials for this track should be sent down together and I hope they never forget the co^k up they made and lost such an amazing talent! A4seholes!!!!!
Event up next, downhill ski guillotine.
they are probably trying to get rid of the video because it shows incompetence with reguards to safety.
Thanks for sharing. Internet is fantastic. So bad the olympics opened with his decease.
damn tose metal poles f u canada
Unpadded steel beams within feet of the track. No wonder they want the video removed. God bless this Olympian, he didn't have to die.
at 0:05 you can see he raises his right arm
sorry his left arm
Padding the beam wouldn't have helped at 90mph. It was the speed and sudden stop, which would have been the same with any amount of padding. What a stupid "sport". It's idiotic. They should toss it out. He was dead on impact, as evidenced by the fact they were doing CPR immediately. CPR immediately after a traumatic event = death. He broke his neck or had a massive skull fracture, or both. They pronounced him dead at the hospital, but he was long gone. Poor guy. Ban the "sport".
THE VERY FACT that there were so many crashes on this track this past week alone, along with the fact that other lugers stated this track was a "bit too fast", officials should have made alterations in the event AND padded every exposed metal part surrounding the entire course. WHY NOTHING IS PADDED IN THIS SPORT IS BEYOND ME!!!
First off, I'm sure he died instantly as soon as he hit the pole. He probably never had time to realize he was doomed. Just because he wasnt PRONOUNCED dead until later doesnt mean he didnt die right away. Its clear in some of the photos of them trying to resuccitate him that he was already gone. You could see it in his eyes. Second, if you honestly think padding the poles would have saved his life, you are being naieve. The speed and the sudden impact would have been enough, even if it was padded.
Oh yeah I forgot to add, this just seems to me like an extremely dangerous and in my opinion pointless sport. His death could have and should have been prevented by having this sport removed from the olympics.
combine speed, metal, then toss the unprotected human body into the mix, and the answer is quite clear on what the final outcome will be. careful study of the video and sound depicts a direct, and instant life-ending crash that was suffured here. the massive internal injuries suffered were way to great. as for CPR being rendered, sounds great but, seriously...it was fruitless.
Geez..is it me or was this kinda funny? LOL!
todd tavern you are a sick f***. how can you laugh at watching someone die. you are twisted. sort yourself out you disgusting little person.
in my opinion.. the sport is legit, however lackin many rules n regulations... why werent both sides completely blocked with a highrise, break resistant glass or plastic to PREVENT him from leaving the track??..... signed - one angry black man-
I cannot believe what I just saw! They say it was human error, maybe he did make a mistake. But that track should have been better prepared in safty. The track is not safe at all and if I was luge slider I would say "To hell with this I'm going home"
they should have had a padding where the metal is! geez you can hear the pound of the metal!!! may he rest in peace.
Wow, my prayers go out to his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.
Forget the padding... if you fly out of a car at 90 mph and hit a padded beam, you're still gonna have broken bones if not, a fatality.
They should have made the sides of the track go all the way up or around, like a tube.
Not that it will bring Nodar back, but his family ought to sue them for being so irresponsible with their safety regulations.
Bless his family. May he RIP. They are both in my prayers.
Accidents can always be prevented. But then again life is full of risks. I ride a bike. My that's a big risk with all those maniacs out there. Should I wrap my body in 3 feet of padding? Or just stay in bed all day dreaming about what I like to do best? I think I will get out of bed. What happen this weekend was tragic and I'm sure something will be done about it. I fell name calling is very imature. Grow up.
Todd.Shame on you. You are a very selfish person. You are pathetic and useless. I pray the lord shines his light on you and you see it. You have no Idea how precious life is. Obviously you don't have any children and I hope you never do. Because I think you will turn out to be a dead beat dad.
I'm glad i was able to see this. This needs to be seen. Rest in Peace Brotha.
Rest In Peace. He was such a brave man and was unfortunately killed at a young age. My heart and prayers lie with him and his family.
This is a horrible accedent that I think could have been prevented. There should not be anything exposed particularly not coming out of a curve where they could loose control like this.
To address Todd, it is only proper to laugh or find humor in accidents where the individual gets up and walks away. During someone's tragedy you need to be respectful to their family's greving period.
Padding wouldn't have helped him. At the speed he was traveling even hitting the padding would have been fatel. Having the sides go up further most likely would have just produced more hang time and further injury. Todd needs to re-evaluate his thinking. I've spent twelve years working on an ambulance. THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT DEATH
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