Venezuelan athlete warned Canadian officials of Whistler track’s safety hazards
Months before Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a fatal training run at Whistler’s Sliding Centre, a fellow Olympic luger repeatedly complained about the track to Canadian and international luge officials. Venezuelan luger Werner Hoeger, who competed in the Turin and Salt Lake Games, lost consciousness and sustained a concussion during a training run crash in November, and attributed the fall to the unsafe design of the track. His complaint letters and emails raised many of the same issues now being discussed in the wake of Kumaritashvili’s, including international athletes’ lack of access to private runs. A spokesman for the Canadian Luge Association has declined to comment.