Georgian Luger Flies Off Track, Into Steel Pole and Dies Before Olympics Start

Feb. 12, 2010 — -- An Olympic luger crashed and died just hours before the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics today after the sled he was riding flew off the track at nearly 90 mph and flung the athlete into a steel pole.

Nodar Kumaritashvili from the Republic of Georgia was training for the luge competition when the accident occured, just a few hours before the Vancouver Games were to begin, according to the International Olympic Committee.

The 21-year-old lost control of his sled near the finish of the track that is believed to be the fastest in the world.

A speed monitor on the track noted Kumaritashvili's speed as being 144.3 kilometers per hour, or 89.6 mph, at the time of the crash.

Ruben Gonzalez, a member of the Argentinian luge team who witnessed the crash, told ABC News Sports Radio, "Everybody gasped, a collective gasp, and I've been in the sport since '84, and I've never seen anybody fly out of a track before."

Gonzalez, who had trained with Kumaritashvili for the past two years, called Kumaritashvil "a solid guy," and said he was respected by his peers.

"He was having a good run and he just made a mistake at the last curve and just came out, hit a pole," he said.

"It was a pretty horrific accident," said ABC News' Michael Kriesel, who saw the video of the crash. The video has since been yanked from Internet sites like YouTube.

"He was sliding and it looked like it was a pretty good time into his practice session and he went flying over the wall into the air and then hit a post," said Kriesel. "When he hit the post he didn't really bounce off that much, he just stayed where he was and then officials came over and tended to him."

Rescue workers performed chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation less than a minute after the crash, and then quickly airlifted the luger to a trauma center in Whistler.

The head of Georgia's delegation, Irakly Japaridze, said in a press conference this afternoon that the country's team stay and compete in the Winter games despite the tragedy, according to ESPN.

"We are all in deep shock," Japaridze said. Kumaritashvili died just hours before the opening ceremony, which was dedicated to him and the seven remaining members of the Georgian delegation, who wore black armbands as they marched behind a black-trimmed flag. Most of the crowd rose to give respectful applause. There were also plans to lower the Olympic and Canadian flags to half staff.

More than 50,000 ticket-holders packed into the stadium for the evening extravaganza, the first Olympic opening or closing ceremony ever held indoors.