Quote:
Originally Posted by Coys1882
Canceling the event and moving it to Calgary just seems so knee jerkish until an investigation is complete.
I've said like four times already - I don't know ANYTHING about luge - but is it beyond the realm of possibility that this poor soul from Georgia is a weekend Olympian? Someone who fixes plumbing during the week and luges on the weekend? Is it possible that he was 100% completely out of his realm on a track that has been dubbed the fastest in the world? Between the Jamaican bobsled team and Eddie the Eagle - it's not uncommon to have people who aren't exactly elite athletes competing.
I've seen several comments from other people in the sport that had said they were worried about the guys from 'smaller' countries racing on this track. Maybe they recognize the danger and take the appropriate measures where as someone not as qualified can't make that adjustment.
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After the Eddie the Eagle episode the IOC changed its rules and has an Olympic qualifying standard. These folks have needed to participate in the events leading up to this and amass a certain number of points in order to simply qualify (certain sports have different criteria).
Edit: These may be out of date but it should give you an idea of what is required.
Luge: There is a total quota of 110 athletes -- 40 men, 30 women, and 20 doubles -- and a per-country quota of 10 (three men, three women, two doubles). Countries can fill their slots from the pool of qualified athletes; to qualify, athletes must either participate in five World Cup events and receive at least five points by the end of December, or score a certain number of points in a World Cup competition -- 10 for men, 20 for women, and 25 points for doubles.
http://www.mcwetboy.net/dfl/2006/02/...-skeleton.html