Father of Georgian luger who died at Olympics rejects report that says son lacked experience

Georgian luger’s father rejects coroner’s report

TBILISI, Georgia — The father of the Georgian luger killed during practice before the Vancouver Olympics angrily dismissed a coroner’s report saying lack of experience played a role in his son’s death.

Nodar Kumaritashvili died when he lost control of his sled at nearly 90 mph, flew off the course and slammed into a steel pole.

Coroner Tom Pawlowski said in a report released on Monday that Kumaritashvili’s “relative lack of experience” set a backdrop for the incident.

The luger’s father, David Kumaritashvili, reacted with dismay on Tuesday.

“I don’t accept the statement about Nodar’s lack of experience,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “He wouldn’t have won the right to take part in the Olympics if he lacked experience.”

He added that no athlete’s mistake should lead to death.

Georgia Sports Minister Georgy Natsvlishvili also rejected the coroner’s verdict and blamed the organizers, saying the track was unsafe.

Further investigations into the fatal crash are not scheduled, though the British Columbia Coroners Service recommended “a comprehensive safety audit of the Whistler track” and urged the worldwide governing bodies for luge, bobsled and skeleton to take a hard look at what goes into designing, building and certifying tracks.