Georgia to remain at Games despite luger's death

[PorkChop]

Georgia's Olympic athletes received a standing ovation Friday night at BC Place as they marched in the Olympic Opening Ceremony following one of the most tragic days in the country's sporting history.

The somber Georgian team walked in wearing black arm bands to honour teammate and luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died earlier Friday after a horrific crash at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

The seven-person Georgian team did one lap of BC Place and then immediately exited.

Hours before the start of the opening Gala, the Georgian sports minister told a news conference that the country's athletes will remain in British Columbia and compete in the Winter Olympics despite the "devastating" death of their teammate.

Nikolos Rurua said athletes will dedicate their performance to Kumaritashvili, whom he described as "a young promising athlete."

The 21-year-old died after a crash during his final pre-Olympic training run at the Whistler track.

Rurua noted the invasion of Georgia by Russia around the time of the 2008 olympics in Beijing did not deter Georgia's participation then.

"Our sportsmen and athletes decided to be loyal to the spirit of the Olympic Games," he said, but noted they were to wear black stripes on their costumes at the Opening Ceremony to express their grief.

Earlier Friday, just hours after the fatal crash, IOC president Jacques Rogge made an emotional statement at a news conference at the waterfront media centre. "This is a very sad day," he said after taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes. "I have no words to say what we feel."

"We are heart broken beyond words," said VANOC CEO John Furlong, fighting tears. "I'm told by members of his federation that he was an incredibly spirited young person and he came here to be able to feel what it's like to be able to call yourself an Olympian."

Kumaritashvili is from Borjomi, a resort town of 15,000 on the Georgian south. The area was an early candidate for the 2014 Winter Games that eventually went to Sochi, Russia.

The Coroners Service of British Columbia and the RCMP are currently reviewing the accident. A second investigation is being conducted by the Federation International de Luge. VANOC and the IOC will provide an update on the tragedy on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT.

This is the third known competition or training death at a Winter Olympics. Both previous deaths occurred at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and one of them came in luge.

Australian alpine skier Ross Milne, who was only 17, was killed when he careened off the course and crashed into a tree during a downhill practice run.

Luge made its Olympic debut in 1964 and two weeks before during a training run Polish-born British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski careened off the course in Igls Austria and was killed.

There has been some concern about the safety of the lightning-fast Whistler Sliding Centre track, known as the fastest in the world

Kumaritashvili was clocked at 144.3 km/h heading into the final 270-degree turn of his training run when he hit one side of the wall, crashed into the other, and was hurled off the track and into a metal support pole.

The crash occurred at 10:46am on the outrun of a turn named Thunderbird near the end of the track.

Track medical staff immediately rushed to the scene and administered CPR before rushing Kumaritashvili to Poly Clinic, where he was later pronounced dead. Training was delayed after the accident, and race officials say there will be a hold on the track until further notice.

Kumaritashvili was ranked No. 44 in the world, having earned 17 points on the World Cup circuit this season and turning in a 28th-place finish at Cesana.

Appearing alone before the world's media less than two hours before the start of the Opening Ceremony, Rurua took issue with media reports that Kumaritashvili was inexperienced.

He said the luger worked hard in his field, and was raised in a region of Georgia where winter sports are a passion.

"Insinuations and speculation about his experience seem unfair and misleading" he said.

He noted Kumaritashvili's cousin was a coach on the luge team.

Rurua said he would not speculate on whether Georgians had the opportunity for sufficient practice on the course, and that he looks forward to the results of a promised investigation.

The RCMP had begun investigating the crash site early Friday afternoon, virtually locking down the facility to accredited media.

"In order to prevent (other) devastating events in future, (the course) must be thoroughly studied," Rurua said.

Kumaritashvili's death came as a shock in the Olympic cities of Vancouver and Whistler, which were otherwise festive as athletes, officials and spectators prepared for Friday's gala opening at BC Place.

The fatal crash was one of several on the day.

Earlier Friday, reigning Olympic luge gold medallist Armin Zöggeler of Italy managed to walk away after crashing in his first run, but came back to complete a clean second run.

There have been more than a dozen crashes during Olympic training this week.

FOOTAGE OF CRASH CAN BE SEEN HERE:

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=3350f67a-7694-4f9b-830f-09d957013d41&videoId=39433&PbContext=2