Sunday, March 7, 2010

Is it Realy Safe?

Before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games started, tragedy struck at the Luge track. Athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili of the Republic of Georgia lost control of his sled near the end of the training run while traveling near 90 miles per hour. Kumaritashvili was thrown off his sled over the short ice-covered concrete wall and slammed into a vertical support beam that holds a canopy. Medics arrived instantly and Kumaritashvili was pronounced dead at a hospital nearby. The accident raised many questions about the safety of the track. Officials have said the track was perfectly safe and that Kumaritashvili is to blame for the accident, not the track. If the track was safe then why did official move the starting line closer to the finish line? The gaps, between the beams where Kumaritashvili was thrown through, where covered up with plywood. By moving the starting line closer and closing the gaps contradicts the statement that the track was safe. It seems like the Olympic officials are passing the blame to Kumaritasvili. The Olympic officials should admit the track wasn’t safe and face the music.

Magdaleno Ponce
KIN 3221 Sec. 2

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