Risks

As with many extreme sports, luging has risks. Though most injuries involve bumps, bruises, broken bones and concussions, fatalities do occasionally occur. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili suffered a fatal crash during his final practice run for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.9 Hours later, the International Luge Federation concluded that the accident was caused by a steering error and not a track error; nevertheless, changes to the track were made before the re opening.10 Kumaritashvili was the fourth athlete to die while in preparation for a Winter Olympics competition, following speed skier Nicolas Bochatay, 27, who died while preparing for the Albertville 1992 games, British luger Kazimierz Kay Skrzypeski and skier Ross Milne, 19, who both died in the run up to the Innsbruck 1964 games.