At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

21 September 2012

Georgia at the 2010 Winter Olympics
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Flag of Georgia
IOC code GEO
NOC Georgian National Olympic Committee
Website www.geonoc.org.ge (Georgian) (English)

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
Competitors 8 in 3 sports
Flag bearer Iason Abramashvili (Opening) Elene Gedevanishvili (Closing)
Medals Gold
0 Silver
0 Bronze
0 Total
0
Olympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1996 • 2000 • 2004 • 2008 • 2012
Winter Games
1994 • 1998 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010
Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1952-1988)
Unified Team (1992)

Vancouver Olympic Games
Georgia participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a team of 8 athletes. On the day of the opening ceremony, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in an accident while practicing during for games.[1]

Iason Abramashvili Men's giant slalom 1:21.85 1:25.38 2:47.23 46
Men's slalom 51.89 DSQ
Jaba Gelashvili Men's giant slalom 1:23.61 1:26.71 2:50.32 50
Men's slalom DNF
Nino Tsiklauri Women's giant slalom DNF
Women's slalom 59.77 1:02.55 2:02.32 50

Figure skating
Elene Gedevanishvili Ladies' 61.92 9 93.32 17 155.24 14
Allison Reed / Otar Japaridze
Ice dancing 26.65 20 42.22 21 63.45 22 132.32 22

Luge
Levan Gureshidze Men's singles did not start
Nodar Kumaritashvili Men's singles died during training
Fatality
The Whistler Sliding Centre, which has recorded some of the fastest speeds in luge, has experienced several accidents occurred during training runs leading up to the start of the games. During a training session on February 12, the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died of injuries caused by a crash in the final turn of the course at speeds of 143 kilometres per hour (89 mph), crashing into the side of the turn, sending him into a steel support pillar. He died at a local hospital shortly after. The International Luge Federation immediately called an emergency meeting after the incident, and all other training runs were called off for the day.
Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died Friday in a horrific crash in an Olympic training run at Whistler, B.C., just hours before the Games opening ceremony. Kumaritashvili was coming around the final 270-degree turn, where speeds approach 140 kilometres an hour, when he flipped off his sled and flew into a metal pole. Medics administered CPR to the 21-year-old from Borjomi, Georgia, before he was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter arrived eight minutes after the crash.
Olympic officials have decided to make some changes to the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre following the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili.
Officials from the International Luge Federation and the Vancouver 2010 organizing committee say their investigation found "no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track."
They said the track would reopen Saturday morning with changes "to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again."
The wall will be raised at the exit of Curve 16, the last on the course and where Kumaritashvili lost control, went airborne and slammed into a steel pole. Other unspecified changes will be made to the ice.
-Canadian Press
Luge training was suspended temporarily and the B.C. Coroners Service, assisted by the RCMP, began conducting an investigation into the fatality at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
Members of the International Luge Federation were called for a briefing and team captains from each country were asked to attend a meeting.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge had difficulty keeping his composure at a brief, sombre media conference.
"This is a very sad day. The IOC is in deep mourning," he said. "Here you have a young athlete who lost his life in pursuing his passion. He had a dream to participate in the Olympic Games, he trained hard, and had this fatal accident.
"I have no words to say what we feel."
Rogge said the IOC had been in touch with Kumaritashvili's family, and that he had a conversation with Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of the Georgia, who is attending the Games.
John Furlong, the CEO of the organizing group VANOC, shared Rogge's sentiments.
"We are heartbroken beyond words to be sitting here," Furlong said. "It's not something that I had prepared for, or ever thought I would need to be prepared for."
Furlong expressed his condolences to the friends and family of Kumaritashvili, "who came to Vancouver to follow his Olympic dream." VANOC will conduct a complete investigation, he said. "The accident is tragic. It will be investigated, and when we know the substance of what happened, you will know it.
" Kumaritashvili's teammate, Levan Gureshidze, did not race. He was on the official start list for the first heat but withdrew, telling other racers he couldn't go on. The remaining six athletes representing Georgia stayed in Vancouver to compete in honor of Kumaritashvili, while Gureshidze flew back to Georgia to mourn his loss.