Tag Archives: luge accident

Olympic officials hide truth in luge death

Cover-up is ongoing as CBC discovered through secret emails

Nodar Kumaritashvili, died on dangerous luge track in Vancouver officials ignored warning

The death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Muaritashvili may have been preventable according to secret emails uncovered by the CBC.

Vancouver Olympic organizers (VANOC) were warned long in advance that the track was too dangerous and too fast.

In March 2009, VANOC head John Furlong wrote “Embedded in this note (cryptic as it may be) is a warning that the track is in their view too fast and someone could get badly hurt. An athlete gets badly injured or worse, and I think the case could be made we were warned and did nothing.” CBC Continue reading →

IOC orders blogger to remove video Compass

The International Olympic Committee has ordered a P.E.I. blogger to remove a video of the death of a Georgian luger from his website.

Stephen Pate on CBC Compass

CBC – Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21 of Georgia, died during a training run Feb. 12, just hours before the Olympic opening ceremonies. Stephen Pate, publisher of the online site NJN Network, published the video along with commentary about the death, and the IOC has since ordered him in an email to take it down.

The email states the IOC owns the rights to all images of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and only licensed broadcasters can use them. Pate said he won’t remove the video, because Canada’s Copyright Act allows the use of copyrighted material as part of a news story.

Continue reading →

At the Winter Olympics, Blood on the Tracks

The Nation article points to the cover-up of Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death

People carry the coffin of Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili during a funeral in Bakuriani, some 160 km (100 miles) west of Tbilisi, Feb. 20, 2010. Kumaritashvili was killed in a horrific training crash during the final luge session for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on Feb. 12, 2010. (Xinhua/Liu Lihang)

The Nation – The charter of the International Olympic Committee states that one of the Committee’s primary objectives is to “encourage and support the promotion of ethics in sports.” The circumstances surrounding the death of Georgian luge slider Nodar Kumaritashvili expose the charter as an absolute lie. On the cusp of last week’s opening ceremonies, Kumaritashvili died practicing on a track many believed to be dangerous.

Shortly before his death, the 21-year-old Kumaritashvili spoke to his father, David, who said to the AP, “He told me: ‘Dad, I really fear that curve.’ I’m a former athlete myself, and I told him: ‘You just take a slower start.’ But he responded: ‘Dad, what kind of thing you are teaching me? I have come to the Olympics to try to win.’… He told me: ‘I will either win or die.’ ” Continue reading →

Copyright Copywrong IOC Bans Luge Video on YouTube

The International Olympics Committee has been using copyright infringement claims to suppress videos of the event on YouTube

Nodar Kumaritashvili making the fatal run

digitivity.org As you might have heard, Georgian luge slider Nodar Kumaritashvili died in luge training at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on February 12.

If you look at the result for the top YouTube hit on on Google video search for “luge death“, that video has been deleted by YouTube due to a copyright claim by the IOC.

That’s the same story for a lot of the results for the videos you get if you search for “luge death” on YouTube.

The IOC has also been trying to remove a video put up by blogger Steve Pate at Not Just the News Network. However, the videos were still up at the time of this post.

Continue reading →

CBC: IOC orders blogger to remove video

International Olympic Committee ordered PEI blogger to remove a luger death video from his website

Stephen Pate of NJN Network received take down order from IOC

CBC News – Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21 of Georgia, died during a training run Feb. 12, just hours before the Olympic opening ceremonies. Stephen Pate, publisher of the online site NJN Network, published the video along with commentary about the death, and the IOC has since ordered him in an email to take it down.

“One of the rights is for news organizations to report the news, so it’s a news story,” said Pate.

Continue reading →

US Female Bobsledder calls Vancouver track “stupid fast”

The consensus is building for culpability in the death of Georgian luger

CBS is reporting a US athlete calls the course “stupid fast.” Bobsledder Shauna Rohbock said “It’s just so fast. I think they went a little overboard on this track.” “It’s so fast, Rohbock said, that women’s sleds will “be breaking the men’s track record by race time. It’s ridiculous.” Rohbock said speeds in the final turns of the 16-curve track were pushing the boundaries of what she thought she could handle. “I wish everybody knew what we saw at the bottom,” Rohbock said. “Your brain almost can’t catch up with what your hands need to do. I think at some point it’s going to exceed that and that’s when problems will happen.” For the rest of the story check out CBS

CBC covers David and Goliath battle with IOC

Monday on CBC’s Island Morning

What’s on Next Monday February 22nd 2010 on Island Morning

Freedom of the press… A PEI blogger says he won’t remove video of the death of the Georgian luger, despite the threat of a lawsuit by the Olympic Committee.

IOC orders blogger to remove video