Georgian luger killed *Updated*

Not much to say, except that the Vancouver 2010 Games have started on a terrible note. According to news reports, the Georgian luger who crashed earlier today has died. These are early reports, so one hopes in this case that they’re inaccurate but here’s the story. (At the moment, CTV is still showing the footage and has yet to confirm the news of Kumaritashvili’s death.)

UPDATE: Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death has been confirmed. Footage of the crash has been pulled from the air. For those who haven’t seen it, basically Kumaritashvili’s sled hit a side wall – on his right – and he was propelled up and out of the track and he hit the metal pole. The tape showed that emergency services were on hand immediately.

From the Toronto Sun:

Amid safety concerns over the speed lugers have been reaching at the Whistler sliding centre, Nodar Kumaritashvili, of Georgia, was approaching a final 270-degree turn — at speeds estimated to be 140 kilometres an hour — when he lost control.

He flipped off his sled and flew into a metal pole.

Emergency crews performed CPR on the 21-year-old athlete, a native of Borjomi, Georgia, but were unable to save his life.

The Vancouver Sun is reporting the same:

Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili has died after launching from the track and hitting his head on a metal pole during a training run Friday at Whistler Olympic Park.

The track is closed. Coaches of the national teams are in meetings with FIL, the international luge federation. The training run has been cancelled.

A press conference is due to be held at 1:30pm PT.