Nodar Kumaritashvilis Fatal Luge Accident in Whistler Canada

On the morning of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 (Winter) Olympic Games in Canada, Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili suffered a fatal crash during a training session for the men's luge. Kumaritashvili, 21, was nearing the finish line at the Whistler Sliding Center when he lost control of his sled, causing him to hit the inside wall of the track at the exit of the final corner. Shortly after being clocked at 144.3 km/h (approx. 89.7 mph), Kumaritashvili was catapulted from his sled and over the track's (raised) retaining wall, and was thrown head-first into one of a series of steel columns holding up the track's roof. Despite immediate arrival of medics and being airlifted to a nearby trauma center, Kumaritashvili was pronounced dead roughly an hour later. The coroner's report later concluded that Kumaritashvili died on impact.