Nodar Davidovich Kumaritashvili ( Georgian ნოდარ დავითის ძე ქუმარიტაშვილი , November 25, 1988 , Borjomi , Georgian SSR , USSR - February 12, 2010 , Whistler , British Columbia , Canada ) - Georgian athlete - toboggan . He died during a training race at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver before the official opening ceremony of the Games. Kumaritashvili’s death was the athlete’s first death at the Winter Olympics since 1992 , when Swiss Nicolas Boschate died in Albertville during a training descent in speed competitions (speed skiing).
 Nodar Kumaritashvili | |
|---|---|
| general information | |
| Full name | Nodar Davidovich Kumaritashvili |
| Original name | |
| Citizenship | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | Borjomi , GSSR , USSR |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | Whistler British Columbia Canada |
| Growth | |
| Weight | |
| Specialization | |
| world Cup | |
| Debut | 2008 year |
Content
Kumaritashvili Sports Dynasty
Nodar Kumaritashvili is a representative of the dynasty of Georgian athletes, sleigh riders, the son of David Kumaritashvili and a relative of the athlete and trainer Aleko Kumaritashvili , the founder of luge in Georgia [2] .
Cousin Uncle Nodara Kumaritashvili, luge Felix Kumaritashvili , in the 1970s and 1980s was a multiple champion of Georgia, winner and winner of various All-Union and international tournaments, since 2001 he is the head coach of the Georgian luge team [3] .
Sports career
Twice participated in world cups . In the 2008/2009 season, he divided 55th place, the next year became 44th. Based on the results of these competitions, he was selected to the Georgian national luge team to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
At the last stage of the World Cup before the 2010 Olympics, he showed his best result - 28th place, taking 30th position after the first attempt.
Doom
February 12, 2010 at the Whistler’s Luge Center during a training run at the Vancouver Olympics in the last bend, which athletes enter at an angle of 270 degrees [4] , flew off the track at a speed of about 145 km / h and hit a supporting concrete column [5 ] . Doctors who were in place a few seconds later began to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation right at the scene of the accident, after which the athlete was taken to Whistler’s hospital by helicopter. An hour later with a little, without regaining consciousness, Nodar died of his injuries.
According to the head coach of the Russian national team Valery Silakov , one of the reasons for the tragedy could be that the organizers of the competition decided to cover the tracks with an awning in order to protect it from the sun (the weather around Vancouver was very warm). Silakov said that the track is life-threatening [6] .
On February 13, 2010, the organizers of the Games reported that the cause of the tragedy was a mistake made by the athlete, namely, that he got out of the 15th turn too late and did not have time to group to enter the next turn [7] . In the same message, it was noted that the design features of the route could not provoke the incident [7] . However, in other sources it is noted that the death of Nodar contributed to the specifics of the route in Whistler [8] .
On April 19, 2010, the International Luge Federation (FIL) published a report on the investigation into the death of the Georgian sleigh. According to the FIL, the cause of the accident and death were “pilot errors”, and there is no other, unambiguous reason. A report signed by FIL Secretary General Svein Romstad will be sent to the IOC . Thus, according to the FIL, the speed characteristics of the Olympic bobsleigh track in Whistler did not cause the death of Kumaritashvili [9] .
Reaction and Consequences
The Georgian delegation at the Olympics in Vancouver considered the option of removing all athletes from the competition [10] . However, a few hours later it was decided to stay [11] . Georgian athletes participated in the opening ceremony with black armbands. The audience present at the opening ceremony of the Olympics honored the memory of the athlete with a minute of silence [12] .
IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “All our thoughts are now with the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased athlete. The whole Olympic family is shocked by this tragedy that overshadowed the first day of the Games ” [13] .
On February 13, 2010, the Minister of Culture, Monument Protection and Sports of Georgia, Nikoloz Rurua, announced that the ski resort of Bakuriani would be named after the dead Nodar Kumaritashvili [14] .
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili visited the Olympic village and expressed condolences to Georgian athletes in connection with the death of their friend:
“Georgia has lost a worthy young man and athlete” [15] .
Estonian President Toomas Ilves [16] and former Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachev also expressed their condolences.
Memory
- A street was named after Nodar Kumaritashvili in the village of Bakuriani .
- In June 2010 (according to other sources, August 3, 2010), the Georgian Post issued a postage stamp in memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili [17] [18] .
See also
- Luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics - Singles (Men)
- Shalibashvili, Sergey Tergizovich
Notes
- ↑ http://www.torontosun.com/sports/vancouver2010/news/2010/02/12/12857041-qmi.html
- ↑ Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died in Vancouver, was from a family of famous Georgian sleigh riders
- ↑ The father of a crashed sleigh can’t see the footage of his son’s death
- ↑ Georgian sledger died after an accident on the Olympic track
- ↑ Georgian sleigh dies in hospital - Sport-Express, February 12, 2010
- ↑ Valery Silakov: “The track in Whistler is life-threatening” Archive copy of February 15, 2010 on Wayback Machine - “Sport-Express”
- ↑ 1 2 The reason for the death of the Georgian sleigh rider named - Lenta.ru, February 13, 2010
- ↑ The creators of the track forced Komsomolskaya Pravda, February 13, 2010 to make a deadly mistake
- ↑ The reason for the death of Kumaritashvili was “mistakes in piloting” - “Sport-Express”, April 19, 2010
- ↑ Luge Athlete Killed in Training Crash at Olympics - New York Times
- ↑ Georgian team will perform at the Olympics, despite the death of Kumaritashvili
- ↑ The opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver was overshadowed by a terrible tragedy - “Echo of Moscow”
- ↑ IOC President Rogge calls the death of a Georgian sledger a tragedy - RIA Novosti, February 13, 2010
- ↑ The track will be named after the dead Georgian luge - Correspondent, February 13, 2010
- ↑ Mikheil Saakashvili: Georgia has lost a worthy young man and athlete
- ↑ Estonian President expressed his condolences over the death of a Georgian athlete
- ↑ Georgia issued a stamp about the fallen Olympian . View (June 4, 2010). Date of treatment June 4, 2010. Archived April 17, 2012.
- ↑ Commemorative Postage Stamp of Georgia (image of the stamp) (inaccessible link - history ) . Date of treatment October 21, 2010.
Links
- Georgian luger killed in training - Toronto Sun
- Luge Athlete Killed in Training Crash at Olympics - New York Times
- Georgian sleigh dies in hospital - Sport-Express, February 12, 2010