Olympians react to luge race alterations
Summary? “Man, that stupid guy’s death ruined everything for us. Jerk.”
Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger, who won a race at Whistler last year, said the women’s event has turned into a kids race, a startlingly insensitive remark given the tragedy of Friday:
I’m not happy about the new start.
It’s not a woman’s start, it’s a kinder (German for children’s) start. The rest of the track is OK, but it’s not as fast as from the proper start. It’s the same for all the athletes, but I don’t like it. I felt very good, but now because of the new start it’s not fun.
Canadian Regan Lauscher complained that the lowered start means her nation’s home-track advantage is “basically gone.” Given that some have said Canada’s resistance to allow other countries to train at the Whistler track played a role in Kumaritashvili’s death, that comment beats out even Geisenberger’s for insensitivity. Maybe Lauscher is taking cues from her coach, Wolfgang Staudinger, who said that “exotic sliders” are the reasons luge accidents happen.
As for me, I’m not doing the Olympics, as I cleverly commented on twitter: Without the Soviets to hate on, I’ve lost all interest in the Olympic games. If Al Qaeda gets a hockey team, I’ll be back. #Olympics