Almost 12 years after his cousin died in luge crash, Georgian slider completes first two runs

Almost 12 years ago to the day, Saba Kumaritashvili’s cousin died in a luge crash before the start of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
Nodarย Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled during a training run just hours before the 2010 Winter Games’ opening ceremony.
Saba says he thinks about Nodar all the time, adding that his cousin’s death provided extra motivation to participate in the Winter Olympics.
โI wasnโt afraid. I wanted to be in the Olympics to race,โ said Saba.ย “Everyone in my family is in luge. After Nodar, I didnโt want luge to die in Georgia. I wanted to keep it going.โย
Kumaritashvili completed his first two runs in menโs singles at the National Sliding Centre on Saturday, ahead of the final two runs to come on Sunday, though he’s not a medal contender.
The man who won gold in the men’s singles at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Felix Loch, paid tribute to Nodar at the time, melting his medal into two disks, then etched the Georgian’s portrait and the years of his birth and death on one before presenting it to the Kumaritashvili family.ย
Chasing what would be his third gold medal in the men’s singles event, Loch says he’s “happy” Saba has made it to Beijing.
โItโs emotional. I walked there in Georgia and I felt really welcome there,” Loch said. “I think it was the right thing to do, to go there. It takes a lot of courage for Saba to be here. He likes the sport, like his cousin. Itโs great to see him sliding for the whole luge family.ย
โItโs a great sign for the sport. It shows you what sport can do.โ
The Kumaritashvili family has been a driving force for the sport of luge since the 1970s. Sabaโs great-grandfather Aleko helped build Georgiaโs first luge track, also serving as the countryโs coach and running the national luge federation.ย
โMy parents didnโt object to me going into luge. I think they wanted it more than me,โ Saba said with a smile.ย
โNodar is one of the reasons Iโm in luge. We have 10 yearsโ age difference, so I donโt remember much of him, only moments.โ