February 12, 2010 (Vancouver, BC) – It is with great regret that we confirm the death of the Georgian luge athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, during the final training session at the Whistler Sliding Centre, this morning. Mr Kumaritashvili died after crashing on the last corner of the course during training. Doctors were unable to revive the athlete, who died in hospital.

“Our first thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of the athlete. The whole Olympic Family is struck by this tragedy, which clearly casts a shadow over these Games”, said the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge.

“We are deeply struck by this tragedy and join the IOC in extending our condolences to the family, friends and teammates of this athlete, who came to Vancouver to follow his Olympic dream”, said John Furlong, the CEO of VANOC, the Games Organising Committee.

For the International Luge Federation, President Josef Fendt said: “This is a terrible accident. This is the gravest thing that can happen in sport, and our thoughts and those of the ‘luge family’, are naturally with those touched by this event.” An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the accident. Training was suspended and technical officials are now trying to establish the causes.

VANOC confirms next steps with regards to investigation of death of Georgian luge athlete

VANOC confirms the following next steps with regards to the death of the Georgian luge athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, during the final training session at the Whistler Sliding Centre this morning. The investigation on the cause of death of Mr. Kumaritashvili is led by the Coroners Service of British Columbia and the RCMP.

The Coroners Service of British Columbia is responsible for the investigation of all unnatural, sudden and unexpected, unexplained or unattended deaths. No other details are available at this time. A second investigation is underway by the Federation International de Luge (FIL).

The next update from VANOC and the IOC on this tragic accident will be Saturday, February 13th at 11:00am at the Main Media Centre when the IOC and VANOC begin their regularly scheduled daily briefings.

There will be several measures taken on Friday evening at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games to honor the 21 year old luge athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili.

The President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge and the VANOC Chief Executive Officer, John Furlong, will honor the memory of Mr. Nodar Kumaritashvili during the Ceremony. The Olympic and Canadian Flags will be lowered to half mast, and the audience will also have the opportunity to participate in honoring him.

The Georgian National Olympic Committee (NOC) and its athletes announced this afternoon that they will wear black stripes as they march in the Opening Ceremonies to recognize their teammate’s untimely death. They will also place a black patch on the Georgian flag that will be raised immediately following the parade of athletes.