Olympics Thread

The Opening Ceremony was AMAZING!!! :dancing: :dancing: I loved it!! :dancing: :dancing:

NBC is showing the opening ceremony!! i get to watch it again!! :dancing:

My God! They showed the video of that young man who died.. :shocked:

Stevie wrote:My God! They showed the video of that young man who died.. :shocked:

Yeech.

Morbid. :bleh:

bmwracer wrote:
Yeech.

Morbid. :bleh:

It was sick.I was really shocked that NBC showed it

Stevie wrote:


It was sick.I was really shocked that NBC showed it

I'm watching the replay too. Yea that was really sad :puppydog:

hypnosurf22 wrote:

I'm watching the replay too. Yea that was really sad :puppydog:

I was at work when i hear about the young man. :puppydog: Its really sad,He was only 21? 22?

^ Same here. Yea he was 21.

I've watched many luge comps but have never seen such a tragic accident. They should try to design safer luge tracks. He never had a chance at such fast speeds :pout:

hypnosurf22 wrote:

I'm watching the replay too. Yea that was really sad :puppydog:

Just saw the crash on TV and it left me speechless. The reporter wanted to show the crash to tell the whole story or something =/


Must have been tough for the Georgian athletes to come out during the ceremony. Kudos to them for doing so.

Wonder how many times they're going to replay that video... :bleh:

Hard to watch. :sweat:

hypnosurf22 wrote:^ Same here. Yea he was 21.

I've watched many luge comps but have never seen such a tragic accident. They should try to design safer luge tracks. He never had a chance at such fast speeds :pout:

I dont understand why they made the luge track so f**kIN difficult or to fast or to dangerous(Hope i didnt spelled it wrong)

Rev wrote:


Just saw the crash on TV and it left me speechless. The reporter wanted to show the crash to tell the whole story or something =/


Must have been tough for the Georgian athletes to come out during the ceremony. Kudos to them for doing so.

I feel really bad for the Georgian athletes

bmwracer wrote:Wonder how many times they're going to replay that video... :bleh:

Hard to watch. :sweat:

Its really hard to watch..I still cant believe that they showed it..

Stevie wrote:NBC is showing the opening ceremony!! i get to watch it again!! :dancing:

My God! They showed the video of that young man who died.. :shocked:

That was in bad taste to show his death! :shakehead: They news reporters said that is one of the most dangerous luge tracks in the world. Why would they build a track like that???? :shakehead:

I watched the Opening Ceremonies and yes they were visually beautiful, but something felt a bit cold about the ceremonies. I don't mean the snow! I felt like I was watching a sci-fi film at times. Even the man playing dueling fiddles in the canoe bothered me. I don't know why! :bonk: I did enjoy all of the Native Canadian Indian or Aboriginies costumes, drum playing and dancing and the opera singer who sang the Olympic anthem. :)

There is something about these 21st Winter Olympic games that I don't have a good vibe about. :sweat: I felt this way even before I heard of the Georgian luger's death. I really hope my feelings are wrong! :victory:

Luge competitors were not complaining about the track but they did say the ice was extra fast. The guy did a huge mistake the previous turn and mistakes at that high speed can be deadly. THe luge is a very dangerous sport at any time.
The only thing the athletes did complain about was that they didnt get enough practice time on it.
There are a lot of dangerous sports out there though.
A good friend of my husbands was paralyzed yesterday in a waterski crash. He is a ski jumper and hit the water wrong at 80 mph. He is a world ranked athlete.
Men have been doing highly dangerous sports since games began.
I feel terribly for the guy who got killed however. And he deserved the honor he was awarded.

Enna wrote:There is something about these 21st Winter Olympic games that I don't have a good vibe about. :sweat: I felt this way even before I heard of the Georgian luger's death. I really hope my feelings are wrong! :victory:

Any reason why you're getting that vibe?

bmwracer wrote:
Any reason why you're getting that vibe?

Just a gut feeling. Not logical at all. I really hope my feelings are off base this time.

I just heard on NBC that the Olympic luge track has been modified. The men will now start their race lower down at the women's starting point. They built a safety wall in one area and they scrapped ice off another area.

@Eve - I am so sorry to hear of your husband's good friend who was recently paralyzed in a waterski accident.

On a happier note:

Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann won the first gold medal winner of the Vancouver Olympics, earning his third Olympic title by winning the normal hill event Saturday.

Enna wrote:Just a gut feeling. Not logical at all. I really hope my feelings are off base this time.

I just heard on NBC that the Olympic luge track has been modified. The men will now start their race lower down at the women's starting point. They built a safety wall and they scrapped ice off another area.

Reportedly there have been over 5000 luge runs over that track with no problems until yesterday... Bad luck, among other things. :sweat:

Eve wrote:Luge competitors were not complaining about the track but they did say the ice was extra fast. The guy did a huge mistake the previous turn and mistakes at that high speed can be deadly. THe luge is a very dangerous sport at any time.
The only thing the athletes did complain about was that they didnt get enough practice time on it.

bmwracer wrote:
Reportedly there have been over 5000 luge runs over that track with no problems until yesterday... Bad luck, among other things. :sweat:

Here is what the designer of that luge track had to say:

Designer shocked by luge death

FRANKFURT - The man who designed the Olympic luge course on which a Georgian slider was killed says he is surprised by the death and track walls may have to be raised, an opinion shared by a three-time Olympic champion.

"We've already designed six Olympic courses," designer Udo Gurgel told Sport-Bild magazine's online edition. "No one has been thrown from the track before."

Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed at nearly 90 mph coming out of the final turn in training Friday at the Vancouver Games.

Gurgel said the usual speed at the finish is under 75 mph, and "normally every slide should be under control. He must have been shot out like a bullet.

"Now one should think how the course can be altered," he said, suggesting one possibility that the wall be raised about 15 to 20 inches.

Georg Hackl, Germany's former three-time luge champion, agreed.

"They have to put high wooden boards there, then the luger doesn't fly off but hits the plank, falls back to the track and slides down," Hackl told the online edition of the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Hackl said a small driving error and not the speed of the track was to blame.

"It's a track that's significantly faster than any other tracks that we know," Hackl told the newspaper. "At the beginning, it was a great challenge for the athletes. But it's their job to master these demands. And they have. They all have the track under control, including the Georgian. Such a tiny driving error, it can happen."

"He simply was too late coming into the final curve," he added. "What happened was something that no one in the luge world could have imagined for possible."

Hackl said luge specialists assume that the competitors who crash will remain on the track and not fly off.

"In luge accidents are part of our daily routine. In the run before, Armin Zoeggeler, the world's best luger, had a spectacular crash. That's normal. You stand up, shake yourself and ride again.

"We assume that those who crash will stay on the track and we don't pay too much attention to the structures outside the track."

Hackl said the decision to have the men begin from the women's start was made "to please those who don't know anything about the sport."

"Small driving error and not the speed of the track."

Hmph. :grumble:

You'd think they would design safeguards if the luger did make a "small driving error..." I mean, everyone's human. :shakehead:

Hackl said the decision to have the men begin from the women's start was made "to please those who don't know anything about the sport."

Hackl wanted the men to start at the top regardless of what happend yesterday? Yikes.


Short Track is on now. I always love watching short track because anything can happen during a race. The Australians look like robots with their outfits on :hehe:

Checking out the Ladies Freestyle. :D

America is doing fine. :victory:

Shame the weather there is not cooperating.

The short track races have been exciting. Ohno will have his hands full the in the final with the two very good South Koreans.