Gravitational force overpowered out-of-control Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and left him unable to avoid the crash that claimed his life hours before the opening ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics, the International Luge Federation concluded in a report Monday. FIL reaffirmed that the crash was an “unforeseeable fatal accident” caused by a number of factors. It added that Kumaritashvili's sled reacted in ways that computer simulations could not foresee or mimic, the high-speed impact throwing him surprisingly skyward. “No athlete would have control in dealing with this type of ‘catapult' effect,” the report said. Much of the report supports what FIL has said since the crash, that Kumaritashvili's mistakes primarily caused his death. The report said Kumaritashvili exited the 15th curve in the 16-turn course too late, causing him to take a less-than-favorable line into the final curve. FIL decided that Kumaritashvili tried to keep the sled low on the track, which raised the amount of G-force he would experience in the final seconds. With that, he lost control. Typically, when a sled hits the wall like Kumaritashvili's did, the runners will break or the slider will be thrown off the wall. Neither happened, and the energy threw Kumaritashvili over the opposite side of the track. FIL called it a final report, but in actuality, many more will be delivered in the coming weeks and months.
