There has been a lot of news coverage for the last couple of days over the recent start of the 2010 Winter Olympics, in particular, about the death of the 21 year old Georgian athlete who lost his life during a tragic accident during a trial run on the ice luge. I was sick to my stomach with sadness when I heard this story. This poor boy probably trained his entire life to make the Olympics, and then to die on a run right at the start, and at such a young age is terrible. I also think that it is awful that his tragic death was aired on national television, and is probably streaming across the internet on websites like youtube for all to see. I myself have not watched this video, nor do I want to. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Nodar Kumaritashvili.
I was pretty surprised they showed the video of his death too. I actually did see it (they showed multiple replays of it before the Opening Ceremonies), and didn’t really get the point of having shown it. I do understand they wanted to bring awareness to the dangers of the Luge course, but they could’ve accomplished the same thing just by talking about it.
I watched the video of the accident. It was very upsetting and a true trajedy. What I want to know is whether or not anything is going to be done about the safety of the ice luge. When I was watching the coverage, some of the other athlets did complain the track was too fast and sometimes felt unsaft riding down it.
I didn’t watch the video but I do think it is incredibly sad. The Olympics is supposed to be a time for athletes to be proud and show their talents to many fans and others. I don’t think anyone thought that a situation like this would occur.
You could talk more about the coverage of this event. Why did networks show the video? Should they have? Why do you refuse to watch it?
I think networks showed the video of the tragedy because they thought that it would increase viewership. However, it may have backfired in some instances because I know some people would refuse to watch such a morbid video.
On a side note, I saw an interview with Nodar’s father in Georgia, and during the interview he said he “had not seen the video and did not want to”. I feel as though it is best to respect the wishes of the family of the deceased.