All coaches must never forget one of the saddest moments in Olympic history, the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili in Vancouver. And we must do everything we can to prevent catastrophic sport injury in future.
David Kumaritashvili, 46, the father of Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was flung from the track during a practice run in Vancouver and died, hold the portrait of his son at funeral service in Bakuriani, Georgia. Photo by David Urbani/Itar-Tass/Cameleon/ABACAPRESS.COM
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… Tuesday’s ceremony was held 40 days after Kumaritashvili’s death, in line with the rites of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
An Orthodox priest read a prayer and local men sang traditional Georgian chants over Kumaritashvili’s grave in the cemetery of a tiny church in this mountain village, Georgia’s top winter sports resort.
The athlete’s father, David Kumaritashvili, said in a speech at the ceremony that his son’s death shouldn’t discourage young men from practising luge.
“The tragic death of my son mustn’t stop the development of that sport,” he said.
Georgian Olympic Committee chief Georgy Natsvlishvili said a luge track will be built in Bakuriani in the luger’s memory.
The International Olympic Committee has said it will help fund the track’s construction in the village that was formerly a winter sports training centre for Soviet athletes. …
Globe and Mail – Furlong, other sports dignitaries pay tribute to Georgian luger
Condolences to friends and family.
