The Coroners Service of British Columbia and the International Luge Federation have issued a joint statement about the death of luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who suffered a fatal crash during a training session for the 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday. After inspecting the track where the fatal crash occurred and reviewing tapes, officials say they’ve reached the following conclusion: "It appears after a routine run, the athlete came late out of curve 15 and did not compensate properly to make correct entrance into curve 16. This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16 and although the athlete worked to correct the problem he eventually lost control of the sled resulting in the tragic accident. "The technical officials of the FIL were able to retrace the path of the athlete and concluded there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track. "Based on these findings the race director, in consultation with the FIL, made the decision to reopen the track following a raising of the walls at the exit of curve 16 and a change in the ice profile. This was done as a preventative measure, in order to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again."

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Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old athlete who died in a high-speed luge crash on Friday, was remembered last night during the 2010 Winter Games' opening ceremony in Vancouver, and "The Insider" has details on the ensuing death investigation. The deadly crash occurred during a training session at the Whistler Sliding Centre yesterday morning. Kumaritashvili was taking a curve in the track and traveling close to 90 mph when he collided with an unpadded steel support pole, says the Associated Press. Luge officials have delayed the reopening of the track. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games tells "The Insider" the investigation on Kumaritashvili’s cause of death is being led by the Coroners Service of British Columbia and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A second investigation is underway by the Federation International de Luge. Meanwhile, the Olympics paid tribute to the late slider from the republic of Georgia last night during the Winter Games' opening ceremony, with flags lowered to half mast and Kumaritashvili's teammates wearing black armbands and scarves in memory of him. "May you carry his Olympic dream on your shoulders and compete with his spirit in your heart," Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong told the athletes on hand, says the AP. Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, skiing great Nancy Greene and NBA all-star Steve Nash also took part in the opening ceremony.

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