The Winter Olympics started under a dark cloud, as Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died after a luge accident hours before the Opening Ceremony Friday night. That led organizers to build a wall around the steel beams theat took his life. That change -- had it been done earlier -- probably would have saved Kumaritashvili’s life.
Slovenia’s Petra Majdic Medals After Another Freak Vancouver Accident
↵You would also expect that such a grave event would lead to greater attention being paid to athlete safety at all venues.
↵However, a slightly less serious, but still dangerous and worrisome event took place during the training for the women’s sprint cross-country event in Whistler earlier today.
↵Slovenia’s Petra Majdic, the highest-ranked woman in the event, slipped off the course on a downhill section and fell into a ravine. It was yet another freak accident that led to organizers putting up a barrier to prevent it from happening again.
↵After organizers rearranged the schedule to allow her to qualify and x-rays on her ribs turned out to be negative, Majdic advanced through the quarterfinals and semifinals, finally claiming a bronze medal behind Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk. She needed help to leave the finish area, however.
↵But after another scare, you can expect the health and safety folks at all sites in Vancouver and Whistler to be working overtime tonight.
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