Winter Olympics:Georgian luge slider Nodar Kumaritashvili has died after a high-speed crash during the final training run for the men's singles event at the Winter Olympics.
Kumaritashvili, 21, was thrown off his sled and collided with a support pole outside the track today near Whistler in British Columbia, hours before the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Games.
His death was confirmed by Georgian Olympic delegation head Irakly Japaridze.
"We are all in deep shock, we don't know what to do. We don't know whether to take part in (today's) opening ceremony or even the Olympic Games themselves," Japaridze said.
In a joint statement the IOC, the Vancouver Organising Committee (Vanoc) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) said: "It is with great regret that we confirm the death of the Georgian luge athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, during the final training session at the Whistler Sliding Centre, this morning."
IOC president Jacques Rogge added: “Our first thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of the athlete.
The whole Olympic Family is struck by this tragedy, which clearly casts a shadow over these Games."
John Furlong, chief executive of Vanoc said: “We are deeply struck by this tragedy and join the IOC in extending our condolences to the family, friends and teammates of this athlete, who came to Vancouver to follow his Olympic dream."
FIL president Josef Fendt described the incident as the "gravest thing that can happen in sport, and our thoughts and those of the ‘luge family’, are naturally with those touched by this event.”
The statement concluded by adding that an "investigation is underway into the circumstances of the accident.
In video replays of the crash, Kumaritashvili appeared to hit his head on the pole and lay motionless after contact. He was administered CPR on the scene and left in an ambulance.
The course, which includes 16 turns and a 498-foot drop, the longest of any track in the world, has prompted safety concerns from competitors during training runs.
Austria's Manuel Pfister reached a speed of 154 kilometers per hour (95 mph) yesterday, the fastest run ever recorded by a luger at the track.
Agencies