• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Olympic tragedy

I watched that earlier with my father. I've never seen anything like that in my entire life... I couldn't believe the quality of stillness after he hit... our thoughts are with him for sure...any word yet on his condition?
 
Well...that will teach me to not look at the link first. I thought it was the video, and I had no desire to see the video again...
 
RosieReal said:
I watched that earlier with my father. I've never seen anything like that in my entire life... I couldn't believe the quality of stillness after he hit... our thoughts are with him for sure...any word yet on his condition?
Click to expand...
I just read he passed away...Very, very sad..
 
It's not a very nice way to start off the Olympics. Athletes had been complaining this week about the speed of the luge course. Prayers go out to this young athletes family.
 
This is an awful thing to have happen!

When I was in Whistler years ago I tried the touristy-luge course. It was a very fun and helped me appreciate what an intense and difficult sport luge is.

My prayers are with the family.....:( :(
 
Nancy, I heard about this when I got to work today. Twenty-one years old. So sad and tragic. I feel for his family.
This reminds me of when that female athlete's (volleyball?) parents being attacked, and I think her dad killed in Beijing at some tourist attraction (the great wall?) by some random crazy guy.
 
This is the fifth death related to the winter Olympics. I was reading about other incidents in the past. Two were training related, one being a luge, and two were freak accidents involving snow making equipment. I think its deplorable that the IOC stated, "This is a time for sorrow, not a time to look for reasons" or something similar. What? Not a time to look into the accident? Are they stupid? No, they're just money grubbing.
 
I just watched a news report on it. They said he was going about 88 miles per hour when he hit that pole. They said that last year they hit 95 mph on this track. That is unbelievably fast. I can't believe how fast that is.
 
Come on guys.... Who thought over 80mph on a tea tray was safe....
If anyone could do it what would be the challenge....
OK it's very sad that someone died..... But if it was safe...... Would you watch it.....
Christ.... The first time I saw it I thought you would have to be mad to try it....
Bob sleigh is the same and down hill mountain bike.....
Come to think of it NASCAR doesn't appear to be a good idea....
We all like the edge.... Thats why we admire them......
Without a wipeout to prove it.... Whats the point...
 
dionythicus said:
This is the fifth death related to the winter Olympics. I was reading about other incidents in the past. Two were training related, one being a luge, and two were freak accidents involving snow making equipment. I think its deplorable that the IOC stated, "This is a time for sorrow, not a time to look for reasons" or something similar. What? Not a time to look into the accident? Are they stupid? No, they're just money grubbing.
Click to expand...

I heard they had shut down the rest of the practice runs and were looking into what could have possibly have caused the accident. I heard they were going to go over the film of the accident and also take a look at the track where the accident happened.
 
wade said:
I just watched a news report on it. They said he was going about 88 miles per hour when he hit that pole. They said that last year they hit 95 mph on this track. That is unbelievably fast. I can't believe how fast that is.
Click to expand...
Wow! I knew it was fast, but not how fast.
I'm not saying it should not be looked into, and I'm confident they are ((insurance and potential lawsuits and such, along with the dark pall it would/does cast over the sport (to me at least), and the olympics in general)). That said, I do not disagree with the point at all dionythicus alluded to about sports in general being a great beast of a machine driven by many things, not the least of which is money.
But I do think about the idea of 'occupational hazard'. I mean, on TV when racecars wreck and burst into flames and fly apart, and those superfast speedboats that graze over the top of the water and often flip or fly apart---the races and racers always carry on.
I lean toward the participant weighing all the pros and cons, and being responsible for the consequences that are always 'possible'.

BUT, a healthy ambitious sporting 21 year old tragically dying STILL breaks my heart. I know that that was not in his plan.
 
snakemom1961 said:
I heard they had shut down the rest of the practice runs and were looking into what could have possibly have caused the accident. I heard they were going to go over the film of the accident and also take a look at the track where the accident happened.
Click to expand...

I knew there would be an investigation into it, but I thought the statement was tactless.
 
Eric, you said it all well. I can't rep you right now, but I'll catch that one later.

I would just like to add that I was shocked when ABC news played the video at primetime without warning viewers that it showed a death. I personally don't like watching such videos, and I certainly don't want children seeing such things without giving parents a choice about it.
 
snakemom1961 said:
NBC showed it during their 6:30 news,but warned people that it could be hard to watch.
Click to expand...

That's good, but "hard to watch" isn't specific enough IMHO. When did showing actual death without telling people that's what they're about to see become socially acceptable? I personally contacted ABC to say how disconcerted I was with their decision to air the tragedy in this fashion.

Is it news? Of course. Does the public have the famous "right to know" about what/why/where/who/when in this case? Certainly. Does this require graphic footage aired without specific warning? No way.

My prayers go out for the family and friends of this athlete. I didn't need to see him die to be touched by his death.
 
I don't think they should have showed the video of his fatal accident. I mean, if it were live, there's nothing they could do about it. But it wasn't. I guess I just feel like it's disrespectful. His family doesn't need to see that, and you know they'll run across it eventually.

The whole thing is tragic. Maybe the track is dangerous. But luge itself is inherently dangerous. I don't know that you can really blame the Canadians for this.
 
Its the athletic edge... Its what they all train for... Its just sad to know the the young man won't go home in one piece.. Its scary fast, and its scary period.. I love speed, and I knowingly understand that it could kill or permantly injury me.. I'm and just to broke to get a racing vehicle, which is likely a good thing for my Wife and Kids at this point...

There is definantly going to be some changes made..
 
I watched the sixth and seventh practice runs on the luge track this morning and they have altered the course to slow it down. Changes at the crash site include a wall constructed of arena board to prevent sliders from leaving the track during a crash. Luge has always been a sport about speed, and it's sad that someone lost their life as a result of a very challenging course. I'm glad the changes were made and the course appears to be much safer now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top