RELATED: BBC Winter Olympics Promotional Spot
NEW YORK TIMES: A luge athlete from Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in a crash in training on the Olympic track at the Whistler Sliding Center on Friday, an Olympic luge official at the track confirmed, the worst-case scenario developing on a track that many competitors have said is too fast.Kumaritashvili, 21, lost control of his sled 48 seconds into his run, near the end of the track. According to the speed clock on the broadcast, he was going 143.3 kph — 88 mph — and was propelled over the track wall. He slammed into a steel pole near the finish line. The death cast a pall over the Games as they had barely begun, hours before the opening ceremony was to begin, with American luger Mark Grimmette set to carry the United States flag. MORE