PUBLISHED: 02-22-10

Dangers of games outweigh competition

Jazz'd Up

The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on Feb. 12, just before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, truly makes me believe the Winter Games are too dangerous.

Kumaritashvili, 21, slammed into a steel pole at nearly 90 mph while training just a few hours before the games began. He had reportedly expressed concern about the safety of the luge track just one day before his fatal crash. However, this is not the first time a competitor has died at the Winter Games. A total of five athletes have died while competing or practicing in the Winter Games, compared to two that have died during the Summer Games.

The safety of winter sports should really be reexamined. Luge, speed skating, ski jumping and bobsledding are simply not safe. These events take place on ice and put the athletes at an increased risk for accidents. Sure, an athlete’s ability to compete on ice and succeed is what makes them great, but it is just too dangerous. The powers that be are pushing Winter Olympic Games too hard because of their desire to entertain people and to make money.

Let’s face it, it’s a business, but these Winter Olympics are not in the best interest of the athletes. The luge track that resulted in Kumaritashvili’s death is the fastest course in the world, and there had reportedly been more than 12 crashes on that very course days prior to the fatal crash.

Just before Kumaritashvili’s death, Australian luger Hannah Campbell-Pegg expressed her own concerns to reporters:“To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we’re crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives.”

Surely danger is what gets some people off, but at some point we must consider the lives of these athletes and their families. The probability of a fatal accident during the Summer Games is substantially lower. Rarely do you hear of someone getting injured on a balance beam or during a floor exercise routine. How about on the basketball court, or perhaps in the swimming pool?

The Winter Olympic Games are at a much higher risk for accidents and combined with the heartless media that has repeatedly replayed video footage of Kumaritashvili’s death is sure to result in anger.

In my opinion, the Winter Olympic Games should be banned. When compared to the Summer Games, consistent viewer interest just does not compare—at least not in my household.

Popularity: 4% [?]