VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee and the International Luge Federation appear to have reached a stalemate in determining where the final responsibility lies for the construction of the luge track that witnessed the death of a Georgian athlete last week.
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Associated Press
The Whistler Sliding Centre
Tim Gayda, the organizing committee's vice president of sport, said Saturday that Vanoc, his organization, followed the FIL's orders in construction of the Whistler Sliding Centre. Nodar Kumaritashvili died there Feb. 12 during a practice run.
Pressed repeatedly on when Vanoc first heard concerns that the track might be too fast, Mr. Gayda gave no specifics, saying only that athlete feedback goes to the federation first: "We hear about it, but they really act on it," he said.
"We hear positive comments, but we hear other comments as well," he said of athlete feedback that may have warned Vanoc of dangerous conditions. "The comments that we really listen to are the ones from the international federation that say … this is the track that we wanted, and if there is a safety issue on a particular area, largely we will make the adjustments on their recommendation. We don't necessarily listen to chatter that's out there."
Meanwhile, FIL spokesman Wolfgang Harder said the organization does not carry the final responsibility for ensuring safety as Whistler Sliding Centre. "The owner has final responsibility," Mr. Harder said.
Mr. Gayda also fielded questions about concerns surrounding cross-country, Alpine and freestyle skiing venues.
Slovenian cross country skier Petra Majdic broke four ribs Wednesday when she slipped off a corner of the course and into a creekbed during a practice at Whistler Olympic Park. Before knowing the extent of her injury she remained in that day's event, winning a bronze medal before going to the hospital.
Slovenian Olympic officials filed a protest over the course to the International Olympic Committee, Vanoc and International Ski Federation (FIS). IOC executive director Gilbert Felli said Saturday that the protest has been rejected.
Mr. Gayda said of Ms. Majdic's injury, "No one felt there could possibly be a crash on that site. It's something that we have looked at. We've made adjustments to that corner to try to protect it. The protest was rejected by the jury and they still believe it is a safe and fair track to compete on."
Cypress Mountain, home to the freestyle skiing events, has had to refund over 20,000 tickets over safety concerns for the slushy slope in North Vancouver. Mr. Gayda said Vanoc has directed venue officials to mix snow brought in from nearby areas with older snow and water to try to create a harder surface for remaining athletes to compete on.
"It sounds like a baking exercise," he said.
—David Crawford contributed to this report.
Write to Adam Thompson at adam.thompson@wsj.com
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