Just saw this on the news and watched the video. Guy was the same age as me.
RIP

Uh in this case you do blame the designers for the following reasons.

1. Why would you place the steel columns after the fastest and hardest turn.
2. Why wouldn't you have the walls to be twice the height.
2. Why wouldn't you put some sort of safety net, safety pad the the steel columns or put up some fiberglass to help mitigate and at least absorb the athelete's crash.

I know its all in retrospect but a little bit more diligence would have saved a life today.

MAJOR FAIL right there!

if you hit a pad at 140km/h I doubt it'll help much.

wow thats horrible

im not sure if it was those pillars that killed him or when he initially wiped out because if u watch the video the moment the luge leaves him his head looks like its crushed into the ice sheet before flipping into the pillars

The designers may have done tonnes of calculations; but in the end the experts failed here, as the end result shows...

this would have been bonus points for the snowboard half pipe.

Fucking fail design. Thinking only about speed. Guess they didn't take into consideration situations like these.

Durrrrrr, come to to Vancouver Olympics. Only the strong, or lucky, will survive. :thumbsup:

rip

They keep it low for the cameras/media etc.

rip

thats what helmets are for, its obvious the beam killed him, he went from 140k/hr to 0k/hr in less than 2 seconds

video of the accident here;

http://www.twitvid.com/34A88

damn he was going fast

Really hope there's a momemt of silence or some sort of tribute from the committee and all countries. Otherwise it'll just show that the olympics are really just a toy for the rich.
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rip

damn vtec just kicked in

If it means anything, teams have been practicing since last year. i.e. Canada. The thing is that you bring inexperienced Lugers' on the fastest track in the world, with little or no training on the course itself. It's a recipe for disaster like today. :( RIP

I hope they install some netting, and boards there to prevent further injuries.

your a fag, you have no soul... the 21yo guy just died, not cool.

Dude, i get that you are trying to do a shock joke here but the joke itself isnt even that fucking funny.... FAIL

RIP.

Agreed that they should've increased the side wall or at least placed the beams somewhere else. Don't they do accident simulations here? Impact forces, etc??

Luge Events Suspended

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2...453/story.html

lots of info, about the course and the practice runs
turns out canada got 300 practice runs and other countries 40 only

the spokesman who built the track says they'll put in speed limits for the next olympic track (2014)

Obviously they missed a few precise calculations here.

Ex-fucking-actly.

this will probably piss off a few people but this is what I think, its going to sound harsh and too early, but the underlying truth about this is here...

before all that, YES I am absolutely shocked and disgusted that there was no safety net or anything, and its HEARTBREAKING that this had to happen.

here it is

Designers have calculated the concerns of this track, but why is it so fast?
Technology is to blame

Example would be hockey gear, technology has allowed athletes to becomes better, faster, stronger than say 15+ years ago. Gear is lighter and have more "tech options" than ever before such as how much flex and how the shaft is made in a hockey stick

Luge is no exception. The tracks are faster with technology, the sleds are probably lighter and more durable for speed and those body suits they wear are made of some crazy aerodynamic shit.

As much as safety is a concern, the designers of these elements aim for speed. It was bound to happen may it be the past, now or in the future.

Technology will now take over and limit the speed while staying competitive in the sport.

its a sad day, and i too feel the pain. Vancouver is now open to the world and the world today is in mourning

RIP

R.I.P

Can't belive the speed he was going at