Does the Luge continue in Van? How about Bobsled

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by valo403

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/L...024/story.html

Again this person was ranked 28th out of 34 in World Cup standings last year (31st out of 35 in 2009/10). So what this is saying to me is if you aren't a top athlete you shouldn't be going down this course or pushing 100% down it.

Who would have thought the Olympics would want to push the top athletes in the world?

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by valo403

That's just plain false

I answered the rest of your points in the other thread

Well the experts, coaches and athletes should stop saying that if it is false. Why is the first thing out of peoples mouths. "In all my time I have never seen or heard that happen before".

[GGG]

Downhill Skiing is more dangerous.

Does Kitzbühel have a back eye. WC downhills have had several fatalties and paraysis over the past 10 years and people keep pushing. These are extreme sports and injuries happen. Yes it is a sad event but is it "a black eye" on the olympics? Of course not.

[Brick]

The show must go on. The athletes know the risks going in.

[Weaseltease]

An article from the Globe and Mail a week ago, talking about how unusually fast the track is, and also how much g-force it pulls:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1458556/

[CokeMachineGlow]

I heard on the fan 960 that the men will start at the womens start of the track. Basically the track was a screw up, and was never supposed to get up to 150+ KM... and this is an admission of that mistake

[valo403]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Again this person was ranked 28th out of 34 in World Cup standings last year (31st out of 35 in 2009/10). So what this is saying to me is if you aren't a top athlete you shouldn't be going down this course or pushing 100% down it.

Who would have thought the Olympics would want to push the top athletes in the world?

So only 10-12 athletes should compete in the Olympics. What a full on asinine statement.

[cheevers]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Again this person was ranked 28th out of 34 in World Cup standings last year (31st out of 35 in 2009/10). So what this is saying to me is if you aren't a top athlete you shouldn't be going down this course or pushing 100% down it.

Who would have thought the Olympics would want to push the top athletes in the world?

It seems kinda harsh for the you to be criticising the guy. I mean he was able to make it to the olympics so its not just so joe off the street. He was also only 21, when it seems like alot of the top luger's are older, so who knows of his potential.

Im not a track expert so I can not say if it was poorly designed but the changing of the starting position and trying to increase the safety of the one turn does seem to be an admission that not all is right.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by CokeMachineGlow

I heard on the fan 960 that the men will start at the womens start of the track. Basically the track was a screw up, and was never supposed to get up to 150+ KM... and this is an admission of that mistake

No it's not.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by valo403

So only 10-12 athletes should compete in the Olympics. What a full on asinine statement.

Where did I say that?

Putting words into my mouth won't prove your point.

[d_phaneuf]

on NBC they asked one of the American Lugers about the changes

he said that the course is "kind of boring now, but I guess its for safety"

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Again this person was ranked 28th out of 34 in World Cup standings last year (31st out of 35 in 2009/10). So what this is saying to me is if you aren't a top athlete you shouldn't be going down this course or pushing 100% down it.

Who would have thought the Olympics would want to push the top athletes in the world?

I don't understand how you are quoting his world ranking as proof that he somehow wasn't qualified for this track. IMO, if someone is world ranked at anything, they're probably pretty damn good and considered a "top athlete" at their sport. It seems a little silly to be arguing that his world ranking is "too low" to be competing all out at the Olympics. Just my opinion.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I don't understand how you are quoting his world ranking as proof that he somehow wasn't qualified for this track. IMO, if someone is world ranked at anything, they're probably pretty damn good and considered a "top athlete" at their sport. It seems a little silly to be arguing that his world ranking is "too low" to be competing all out at the Olympics. Just my opinion, of course.

This person I am talking about is a female luger who was complaining about being crash test dummies and it is likely she feels that way because she doesn't have the same skill even being ranked in the world. This is the the most demanding course ever in luge, it shouldn't be a surprise that some of the lesser or higher ranked lugers are having difficulties. Wouldn't that be the same for every course in every sport in the world?

I just don't think lugers themselves would be complaining about not going off the mens start if they honestly felt like they were in danger and this wasn't more than just a once in 50 years type crash that happened. The track was dangerous, the luger was inexperience and that's recipe for disaster. Not one person warning about this track being fast or dangerous ever mentions turn 16 or the entrance into the finish for being dangerous. It is no one fault, it is just a sequents of unimaginable events.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by HOOT

it shouldn't be a surprise that some of the lesser or higher ranked lugers are having difficulties.

Originally Posted by HOOT

It is no one fault, it is just a sequents of unimaginable events.

Is it that unimaginable though?
Fastest track ever, fastest sleds ever, most dedicated and fearless athletes ever...140km/hr around a tight corner followed by steel pillars...at what point is it no longer unimaginable?

At some point it can't be the athletes that have invested between five and twenty years of their lives preparing for a single chance at a gold medal that should be expected to establish the boundaries.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by HOOT

This person I am talking about is a female luger who was complaining about being crash test dummies and it is likely she feels that way because she doesn't have the same skill even being ranked in the world. This is the the most demanding course ever in luge, it shouldn't be a surprise that some of the lesser or higher ranked lugers are having difficulties. Wouldn't that be the same for every course in every sport in the world?

Okay, so change "him" to "her" in my post. The point still stands... if you're a world ranked luger, you're skilled enough for the Olympic track.

[Johnny Canuck]

The Canadian luge coach is quoted as saying;

"It was not a track issue. It was a driver error. 100 per cent,"

I would think if anyone, The coach of our team would know about the track, and its supposed unsafe conditions.

Its a sad story, it really is; but I'll take the coach's word for it.

[Peanut]

Huh. So one (small?) "driver error" mistake means life or death in luge? If that's the case, I guess I don't really want to be watching the luge. I have no desire to see that type of accident again if I can avoid it.

[Johnny Canuck]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Huh. So one (small?) "driver error" mistake means life or death in luge? If that's the case, I guess I don't really want to be watching the luge. I have no desire to see that type of accident again if I can avoid it.

Yea, Unfortunately thats all it takes in luge. Imo its one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and easily the most dangerous in the Olympics. I was watching the luge today with one eye open.

Heres another excerpt from the Canadian Luge Coach




"Romstad said analysis showed that the run was routine until Kumaritashvili took the wrong driving line into Thunderbird.
"Although he attempted to correct the situation, he shot up into the roof of Curve 16. The angle in which he did so resulted in him experiencing a G-force that literally collapsed his body, rendering it difficult to control the sled.
"Once this happened, he was literally at the mercy of the path of the sled."

When youre in a sport that catapults you to speeds of 140-150 km with nothing but a helmet, youre asking for trouble. Combine that with the G force your body experiences, and I'm just thankful deaths haven't happened more often. Knock on wood.

http://vancouver2010.sympatico.ca/Ho...e&pagenumber=1

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Johnny Canuck

Yea, Unfortunately thats all it takes in luge. Imo its one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and easily the most dangerous in the Olympics. I was watching the luge today with one eye open.

Heres another excerpt from the Canadian Luge Coach




"Romstad said analysis showed that the run was routine until Kumaritashvili took the wrong driving line into Thunderbird.
"Although he attempted to correct the situation, he shot up into the roof of Curve 16. The angle in which he did so resulted in him experiencing a G-force that literally collapsed his body, rendering it difficult to control the sled.
"Once this happened, he was literally at the mercy of the path of the sled."

When youre in a sport that catapults you to speeds of 140-150 km with nothing but a helmet, youre asking for trouble. Combine that with the G force your body experiences, and I'm just thankful deaths haven't happened more often. Knock on wood.

http://vancouver2010.sympatico.ca/Ho...e&pagenumber=1

That doesn't make a lick of sense. Luge is inherently dangerous, but small mistakes should never equal death. If that was the case a death in the sport wouldn't be so rare.

[Johnny Canuck]

Originally Posted by valo403

That doesn't make a lick of sense. Luge is inherently dangerous, but small mistakes should never equal death. If that was the case a death in the sport wouldn't be so rare.

A Small Error at the wrong time can certainly lead to death, I'm thankful that it is so rare.

"When you are going that fast it just takes one slip and you can have that big mistake,” U.S. doubles luger Christian Niccum said Thursday, when asked about track safety. “All of us are very calm going down, but if you start jerking at 90 mph or making quick reactions, that sled will steer. That’s the difference between luge and bobsled and skeleton, we’re riding on a very sharp edge and that sled will go exactly where we tell it to so you better be telling it the right things on the way down"

Now, When you think of how dangerous Luge really is. They go down a track Reaching speeds up to 140-150 kph they also need to maintain a strictly aerodynamic form while at thse speeds all while facing up to 5 g's of force. "At 5 Gs, the Athlete would experience a force equal to five times his weight. For instance, during a 5-G turn, there are 60 to 70 pounds of force pulling his head to the side"

Honestly for the level of danger these athletes face on each run, the amount of protective gear they wear is shockingly sparse. One wrong move at precisely the wrong time, and the results are horrifying. I agree 100 percent that a small error shouldn't lead to death, but it seems it is the case, when it comes to luge. Again, I'm shocked/Glad to hear it doesnt happen on a more regular basis, especially when you take a moment to think the level of danger that is involved with this sport.