Olympic Track Terrified Dead Luger

Nodar Kumaritashvili told his father he was scared of one of the turns

By Kate Seamons, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 14, 2010 2:10 PM CST

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Olympic Track Terrified Dead Luger — In this undated photo released by the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili the Georgia's athlete, right, who died after a crashing on Friday, just before the first men's singles luge competition run at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, is seen at an unknown location with an unidentified man at left. (AP Photo/Family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, HO)

The Georgian luger who died during a training run on Friday told his father he was fearful of the very track that killed him. "He called me before the Olympics, three days ago, and he said, 'Dad, I'm scared of one of the turns,'" said David Kumaritashvili of son Nodar, who had dreamed of being in the Olympics since childhood and started training in his teens. Himself a former luger, Kumaritashvili told his son to "put your legs down on the ice to slow down," reports the Wall Street Journal, "but he said if he started the course he would finish it. He was brave."

Though NBC, ABC, and CBS aired video of rescue workers trying to save Nodar after he slammed into a steel support, "I can't and I won't see the footage of my son's last minutes," his father added. "The course was bad. They shouldn't have built the track allowing such a speed. It was a serious mistake."

(More Olympic luger dead stories.)

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