Officials delay reopening of sliding track following luger’s death; men’s start will be moved

Luge officials delay training

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Luge officials delayed the reopening of the Whistler Sliding Center track Saturday, one day after a luger died during a training run.

The sixth men’s training session had been scheduled to resume at 8 a.m. after being canceled Friday but was pushed back. And the men will start their two extra practice runs from the women’s start, which is farther down the track. By adjusting the start, men’s sliders will not be able to reach their top speeds, which have topped 95 mph this week.

Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old slider from the republic of Georgia, died Friday after he crashed in the final curve. He was traveling at nearly 90 mph when he slammed into an unpadded steel support pole.

Officials also have modified the final curve where he crashed, erecting a wooden wall over the steel beams.

Concerns about the lightning-fast course had been raised for months. There were worries that the $100 million-plus venue was too technically difficult, and a lack of significant practice time by everyone but the host nation’s sliders would result in a rash of accidents.

The International Luge Federation and Vancouver Olympic officials said Friday night their investigation showed that the crash was the result of human error and there was “no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.”

In a joint statement they said Kumaritashvili was late coming out of the next-to-last turn and failed to compensate.

“This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16 and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident,” the statement said