Abby Brammell

By Malcolm Folley

Accident waiting to happen: Georgian luge hopeful Nodar Kumaritashvili crashes during the men's Luge practise


Olympic officials were forced into an embarrassing climbdown over the controversial track which claimed the life of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.
But British medal hope Shelley Rudman has pledged to race on the course in the bob skeleton event this week as long as she is convinced it is safe.

Games authorities ordered changes to the course for yesterday's delayed practice runs despite their earlier claim that a mistake by the Georgian had been the sole cause of his accident.

Extra banking and protective sheeting were added to the bend where the 21-year-old Georgian left the track and struck a metal pillar at 90mph on Friday. The men's start was moved 30 metres down the course to the women's start, which was itself relocated further down.

Other modifications were made in a bid to lower speeds. 'Hopefully, this will be a psychological help to athletes who are dealing with the loss of a friend,' said Svein Romstad, secretary general of the International Luge Federation (FIL).

But the changes were authorised only after an investigation blamed the crash solely on Kumaritashvili. Tim Gayda, from the Vancouver Organising Committee, insisted: 'We did everything in our power to make the track as safe we can.'


Crash scene: Workers re-shape the ice along turn 16 of the luge course, where Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed yesterday


However, warning voices had been raised earlier in the week over both the safety of the track and the Canadian authorities' denial of equal training opportunities to other nations' competitors. Andi Schmid, Britain's skeleton performance director, had warned: 'You need to have more access to tracks and whoever organises the Olympics needs to offer that, not only so that everyone has a fair chance but also because of the danger involved. We need to be careful so that these sports stay great action sports and don't become dangerous killer sports.'

There had been other incidents on the track before the death of Kumaritashvili. Italy's Armin Zoeggeler, favourite for gold in the women's luge, was among several athletes to crash during training runs on Wednesday.

Safety fears also caused the postponement of the Games' blue riband event, the men's downhill skiiing, yesterday, while the women's supercombined competition, due to be held today, has been delayed because of dangerous conditions.

Britain's No 1 skier, Chemmy Alcott, said of the Kumaritashvili tragedy: 'His death puts a cloud over the whole of these Olympics.'


source: dailymail