If I built a luge track that was not as safe as other ones, restricted the training runs, then had the design changed (more protection for the athletes), and had the starting point lowered lowered, which would reduce the speed and difficulty, then I would stay away from blaming an athlete that died.
Seems more like a disgusting attempt to blamecast and protect the team and designers. I do not know much about the history, but the questions I would are are: How was training access to the track given to the Canadian tram and to other teams, by date and total duration? Who designed the track? Why were the safety elements that were put in after this death not put in before? Did they know they could add these elements and did not do them? Or were they ignorant of this design flaw? Did they know there was a flaw and wanted to avoid the work due to economics or for ascetics?
If I were a Canadian I would be shamed by this coaches remarks and vow to investigate what happened. Will any journalists look into this?
Finger pointing by Canadian coach
The International Luge Federation and organisers made alterations to the 16th corner where Kumaritashvili crashed and lowered the start for the men’s competition which begins on Saturday.
The start switch means competitors no longer have to negotiate two corners and the steepest part. The start section is also flatter and sliders will build up speed more gradually.
Update: A hint of Canadian bias, James Lawton: Vancouver’s quick descent from high ground. into the investigation and reports of how dangerous the track was. Blaming an athlete that had about nine times less training, when other Canadian athletes had issues with the same corner seems to border on callousness.That curve where some half safety measures had already been tried with the wall height, but that some posts were left uncovered. A very good piece by James Lawton from "The Independent."
There is also the problem that while the investigating British Columbia Coroners Service, the Royal Mounted Police and officials of the International Luge Federation agreed that the cause of the tragedy was not the dangers of the track but the errors and inexperience of its victim, it was still swiftly decided to change utterly the conditions of the competition. This included the building up of the wall, and the changing of the "ice profile" at the fatal curve and moving the start line to the women's mark, nearly 200 yards down the track.
The inconsistency of the ruling screamed at the mourners of the luger who had just 26 practice runs down the course – as opposed to the 200 enjoyed by the Canadians.
and
Adding to the force of Rossi's complaints is his belief that a member of his team, Meg Sweeney, could so easily have shared Kumaritashvili's fate. The day before the Georgian died, Sweeney had a near identical crash after "double-looping" the 16th curve. "It was almost the exact same crash," said Rossi, "but she didn't go so high."
Update: Georgian luger told dad `I will either win or die'
"They tested that track on my son," the elder Kumaritashvili, 46, said bitterly.
"My son was training since he was 14. He ran tracks in France, Austria and Canada, and he never suffered an injury," he said. "He has passed through all stages of the World Cup and made it to the Olympics. He couldn't have done that if he were an inexperienced athlete. Anyone can make mistake and break a leg or suffer some other injury. But to die!"
Update: Luge death track backlash shows how low the wall was and the start of fixing the design issues on the fatal part of the track
