It's a problem that appears to have no answer.I'm referring to the controversy that continues to swirl about the sliding track for luge, skeleton and bobsled at Whistler for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Everyone is well aware of the death of a Georgian luger, but it seems that death has left virtually no impression of the IOC or track officials.
Some say it so fast that safety is almost an afterthought. Speed dominates and that's all that matters...until another potentially horrifying moment happens.
Point here. A "barrier" was erected near the location where Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia was basically ejected from the track and crashed into unpadded poles located at that section of track. A wooden barrier. A lip on the top edge of that curve was also built to in some way ensure that specific event would not occur there again. I guess that's the lesser of two evils. Most, if not all, people would rather get splinters than metal shavings.
It should also be noted that driver error has been cited as the cause for the crash that resulted in Kumaritashvili's death. But one thing still reverberates in my mind. He told his father the night previous to his horrific crash that he would either win or die. Almost like he was having a premonition...
The crashes for the skeleton competition were not near as numerous. The opposite can be said about the bobsled. At least three more yesterday. With every run that's taken, there is always the potential of a crash regardless of which track you're on or where you're at on that track. But this track seems to bite back more than others. This track has taken on a life of its own.
So, when is it mandatory for either the body that oversees bobsledding and/or the IOC to step in and say, "Look. The danger has to be alleviated. Either slow the sleds or slow the track."?
It went past that point long ago. Before the Olympics even started, concerns were raised about the speed. American pilot Shauna Rohbock (right) was one of the earliest to voice that concern. I don't think her words were taken seriously. I'll let federation president Bob Storey tell you of Rohbock."She always has something to say."
