Died today on practise run at Whistler.

[mountain_climber4567]

I just saw a press conference and although over 5,000 runs have been made on the course in the last 2 years, and even though the athletes think the course is fine, the luge organizers are shortening and slowing the course because they are concerned about the mental aspect of the athletes following the tragedy. Erring on the side of caution because of what happened.

[Type_O]

Erring on the side of caution is not a bad thing. I've heard time and time again about athletes giving it "all" as it is their one shot. Where speed and safety is concerned, Nodar Kumaritashvili's death is a wake up call - safety should be the importance, beyond skill.

[steven lloyd]

Canadian luge coach Wolfgang Staudinger says driver error, not the lightning-fast Whistler course, led to the death of a 21-year-old slider from Georgia in a training run crash at the Vancouver Olympics. "It was not a track issue. It was a driver error — 100 per cent," the coach told The Canadian Press on Saturday, referring to the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili. "There must have been a huge driving error."

*bleep*? He never mentioned corporate greed or Olympic underspending.

:137: Why would Canadian luge coach Wolfgang Staudinger mention anything about corporate greed or Olympic overspending ? I just don't see where he's making any reference to that at all.