Berchtesgaden, Germany (My Sportsbook) - The International Luge Federation (FIL) issued its final report in the death of Georgian Olympic luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili and called it an "unforeseeable fatal accident."
Kumaritashvili died the day of the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Games in February after a violent crash during a training run on the luge track. He lost control and crashed into a metal pole while going at a high rate of speed around the final turn.
"What happened to Nodar has been an unforeseeable fatal accident," summarized FIL Secretary General Svein Romstad. "After an in-depth analysis we concluded that there was no single reason, but a complex series of inter-related events which led to this tragedy."
The 20-page report included a tribute to Kumaritashvili, who was just 21 years old, the construction, approval and history of the Whistler Sliding Center track and details of the tragic accident.
According to the report, the FIL examined television footage available of the fatal run as well as reports from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a physical inspection of the track.
The report stated that Kumaritashvili made a few tactical errors, leading to the tragedy.
"The FIL, based on its investigation, believes the accident of Nodar Kumaritashvili to have been the result of him leaving the track due to the reaction of the sled as it hit the wall at the exit of curve 16 causing a 'catapult' effect. This bowing of the sled has not been seen before and was therefore not predictable by technical and safety experts. No athlete would have control in dealing with this type of 'catapult' effect."
An inspection of the sled was made to determine if it was structurally sound and the result found no deficiencies.
In addition, the FIL said the Whistler track was faster than originally calculated and said the track for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia will not be approved if speeds exceed 130-135 kilometers per hour. The original top speeds at Whistler were supposed to be around 136 km/h, but an actual top recorded speed was 153.98 km/h.
The safety wall, according to the report, was deemed to have been correctly calculated and constructed under normal crash situations. But the unknown and unpredictable dynamics of this crash did not prevent the tragedy.
"The FIL is determined to do what it can to avoid a tragedy like this from occurring again," the report concluded.