Sadness Mars Olympic Start

It may be part of your dream to finally find a sport you love. Then you spend several hours in training to improve your performance and technique. Your efforts finally paid off because you finally are finally in the same level of an Olympic athlete. However, your dreams are cut short. Just hours before you are able to take the limelight, a terrible accident happens and it ends your life and your Olympic dream.

This was the horrible fate of NodarKumaritashvili, a 21 year old Bosnian who early waited to compete in the winter games luge event.

Luge is popularly known to be a dangerous sport where riders could reach speeds in over 95 miles per hour and speed thru twists and turns. Though it is truly exciting to watch and even participate in all that speed, it is also true that there is little room for error due to the speeds involved. The rider should control his body, keeping it aligned with feet and legs unmoving if possible. You have to keep your profile low and heavy on the sled because it helps remove wind resistance.

Vancouver’s luge course is extraordinarily fast. The run was 20 kph faster than what the designers expected. Modifications were made due to the horrible accident last Friday. The men’s competition was transferred to the women’s track because it was slower. Padding was placed on the support beams as an added protection against another accident.

The risks involved in several of the winter games are quite enough but hopefully in this Olympics, we will not be seeing anymore life or career ending accidents.