Sad news out of the Olympics. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has died following an accident on the track Friday.
CBC is reporting that Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili has died after launching from the track and hitting his head on a metal pole during a training run Friday at Whistler Olympic Park.
The track is closed. Coaches of the national teams are in meetings with FIL, the international luge federation. The training run has been cancelled.
Kumaritashvili was going close to 150 km/h, near the end of the course, when he launched off the track. Witnesses say his body hit a metal pole. Medical personnel performed CPR through a plastic tube and almost immediately an ambulance rushed Kumaritashvili from Whistler Olympic Park to the local hospital.
Kumaritashvili turned 21 in November. He had competed in luge for Georgia since 2008.
Geez.