13 February 2010

Don't blame the dead!

I just read that the Olympic officials are blaming the death of Olympic athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili from the country of Georgia on "human error". Why do the "officials" of anything always seem to blame the dead? Whenever there is a plane crash where everyone dies you can almost bet that even before a proper investigation is even launched the "officials" will blame the crash on "human error". In the case of this recent Olympic tragedy involving the event known as the "luge" you can clearly see that the luge track runs right alongside a row of steel columns that in reality leave no room for even the slightest human miscalculation or a defect in the surface of the ice or in the sled itself. In addition to that there is something wrong with the physics involved in the design of this track for there have been many serious crashes. Some of the curves are no doubt beyond the physical limits of safe sledding. It looks pretty obvious to me that the blame lies with those same Olympic officials who approved the substandard design of the luge track. This is a sad day for the people of Canada, the people of Georgia, the family and friends of the athlete, and sports fans everywhere. May the Lord have mercy on the soul of of Nodar Kumaritashvili and, may the Lord forgive the Olympic officials who are responsible for what happened if they would only own up to it. Nodar Kumaritashvili is a hero on my list of heroes and a true athlete through and through. May he rest in peace.




6 comments:

Calypso said...

Bob - A very sad situation indeed - It looked as if the guy was sledding in an underground parking lot. Those beams should have been padded - or not there at all.

YayaOrchid said...

Very well said, Bob. Very well said.

Anonymous said...

The concensus (by many athletes and coaches) is the design of the track is too dangerous. The people responsible
in their zeal to have world record speeds have given safety a back seat. They should not be allowed to ever do this again.
I agree that officials usually scream human error, but my feeling is they do that for insurance reasons and to dodge responsibility.
Saludos,
Francisco

Anonymous said...

P.S. If possible please see front page story in todays(Sunday) New York Times.
Saludos,
Francisco

Bob Mrotek said...

Calypso, Yaya, and Francisco,

Thanks for your comments. The blink of an eye lasts approximately .33 seconds. At the speed of 95 mph, a blink of .33 seconds duration equates to about 46 feet. Nodar Kumaritashvili may have lost his life just because he blinked. That is too fast for something that is supposed to be a "sport" on a poorly designed track. Francisco, thanks for letting me know about the NYT article. Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/sports/olympics/14track.html

Unknown said...

Solo Dios les puede dar la fortaleza necesaria a la familia del atleta de Georgia. Que desgracia tan grande para la familia del atleta y para el mundo del deporte.

Saludos,

Alfredo.

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.