If you haven't heard yet the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver have started out on a rather sour note. With the death of 21 year old Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili (the link below can give you more insight into his death) there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the decision to shorten the luge course. The men now start from the women's point and the women will now start from the junior's. (view the link below) Is this "safety" precaution necessary? The course is supposed to be the fastest ever built! Now that speed has been taken away from the competitors. Do you think that shortening the luge course was the right thing to do or just an unnecessary panicky reaction from the olympic committee?
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2449620
2 comments:
Although the course change my have frazzled the competitors leaving them a little less prepared, I feel like in the long run they will much prefer that option over the one that Kumaritashvili found. These athletes are the best of the best and they should be challenged when competing, but they should not be put in danger. There were too many that were struggling to ignore it, and I think that in the end it was the right choice to shorten the courses.
What I don't think is okay is all the coverage of Kumaritashvili's death. I think it is necessary to acknowledge his death and honor him, but I do not think it was appropriate for news crews to run the actual footage. Even in the newspaper, they had photos of it frame by frame. I think that was a little too far.
I would completely agree with both the above comment. These are indeed the best of the best and they should be challenged. However, to do nothing in the face of an athlete's death is simply irresponsible. I can see and support both sides of the argument whether or not to make changes to the track.
And yet again I'd have to agree with the above comment. The only thing that truly irks me about the entire incident is the coverage of the athlete's death. A man died. Lost his life trying to compete for his country. And you're going to try to gain more viewers by showing the coverage of his death in full detail on national television? i'm sorry but that is simply crossing the line.
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