WARNING: this video is disturbing and extremely gruesome. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was flung from the track during a practice run in Vancouver. Update: MSNBC reports that Kumaritashvili has died. Incredibly sad.
It was unclear how fast Kumaritashvili was going at the time of the crash, although many sliders have reached speed in excess of 145 kph (90 mph) on the track, which is considered to be the fastest in the world—and has had several Olympians questioning how safe it truly is in recent days. More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training.