Transcript-Luger Death
Emma Smith
February 25th/10
Smith Luger Dead
Time- 1:03
Out cue- I’m Emma Smith
Intro: The funeral for the Georgian luger, who died before the Olympics, was held on Saturday. Vancouver’s track has been under scrutiny since the accident. Even with changes made to the track, there is still controversy around the young man’s death. Emma Smith has more.
For seventeen days Canadians have an excuse to sit in front of the TV. But even with the Vancouver Olympics well under way- the tragedy that happened at the Whistler Sliding Center is still heavy on people’s hearts.
It happened just hours before Friday’s opening ceremonies. 21- year old, Nodar Kumaritashvil, hit a metal pole after crashing over the side of the track on his training run. He was going nearly 140 Kilometers an hour.
Even before the Olympics started, the president of the International Luge Federation called the track “too fast”. But now he’s saying that the track’s construction was not the cause of the accident. Officials say that the Georgian, who had competed in five world cups, was inexperienced.
Vancouver’s track has caused problems for other athletes. In total, twelve lugers had crashed during training.
The president of the Georgian Olympic Committee says that blame should not be on the young athlete. He says that although there is risk in a sport like the luge, there should not be death.
For STU Journalism, I’m Emma Smith.