2010 Vancouver Olympics

Olympic athletes are known to be the best in the world. They are always ready for a challenge and accept it. But how hard is too hard? When is risking your life for a sport logical? In the 2010 Vancouver Olympics one athlete was faced with a challenge he couldn’t conquer. The 2010 Olympics were said to be one of the best and there was spark about all the upcoming events. The courses were beautiful along with the scenery. When it came to the bobsledding and luge events the men’s course was said to be mind blowing. It was one of the most fast and dangerous track that had ever been built. At top speeds and athlete could reach 100mph. it was also filled with sharp turns and dips that even the most advanced person had to be careful one. It sparked controversy from the moment people laid eyes on it. Many coaches from all over the world began to question the safety of the course but Olympic officials just shook their heads. When it came time to practice many of the luge members were excited. Hitting the course was exciting and the thrill of being in the Olympics was overwhelming. Luger Nodar Kumaitashvili from Georgia was the victim of this incredibly hard run. During his practice run he hit curve 16 at almost 90mph and lost control. His body was thrown into a steel pole. The Olympics international governing body issued a statement saying an investigation “concluded there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.” But how safe is it when the next day they made adjustments because of his death? Other competitors spoke up and Australian luger Hannah Campbell-Pegg said,” I think they are pushing it a little too much, to what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we’re crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives.” Others felt the same way. What was the reasoning behind this run? To say that it is the fastest in history would be a great thing, but to also say someone died on it is never productive. Further into the Olympics more issues arose about the track. It was always said to not be an error in the track but in the driver. It was said that some “exotic” racers were not fit to be here. The course was serious and they took it as a joke. But how could a luger ranked 44th in the world in his first Olympics take the course as a joke? During the earlier practice runs his time was ranked 12th. He was not there for comedy. When the U.S bobsledder, Steve Holcomb spoke about the issue he said, “The speeds are higher than anywhere in the world, and there’s nowhere to train for that. We had three world champions in a row crash in training week earlier this year, so it’s not like the little guys are crashing. It’s the big dogs … Now we have (smoother) Olympic ice, which is going to be faster than ever. It makes it harder. Little mistakes become big mistakes, and big mistakes end in tragedy.” The tragedy at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was a big eye opener to show that maybe the “hardest” and “fastest” is maybe a little too challenging for even the most experienced of athletes.565