The Winter Olympics have gone on without Nodar Kumaritashvili. Despite broadcasting foul-ups and transportation issues, among many flaws with these Vancouver Games, this Olympiad has been a celebration of the passion and perspiration that has gone into careers that culminate in brief moments of triumph or defeat, wrapped in the the pageantry of national pride. It has been, at most levels, the current version of the multinational festival of sport and culture that we imagine most editions of the Olympics to be.
A World Away From Vancouver, Nodar Kumaritashvili Is Laid to Rest
Today in Georgia, there was a grim reminder that this is not every other Olympiad, that Kumaritashvili’s family must also go on without him, that his Olympic moment was one of stunning tragedy. Kumaritashvili was mourned by thousands, including Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, at a traditional funeral feast in his hometown of Bakuriani. The Associated Press has much more on the sad story.
⇥His father, David Kumaritashvili, stared at the portrait somberly and said: “I wanted to throw a wedding feast for you. Instead, we have a funeral.“I couldn’t imagine that feeling.
(HT: Fang’s Bites.)
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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