Word: luge
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Just spend a few minutes around Marty Lawthers, the mother of chipper U.S. Olympic luger Chris Mazder, and you'll discover the roots of Mazder's disposition. During Sunday afternoon's men's luge final at the Whistler Sliding Center, Lawthers enthusiastically shows off both her cowbells - one has a pink ribbon that Mazder's girlfriend gave him - and the "Go Chris!" face paint on her cheeks. But mention Friday's tragic luge accident, which claimed the life of Nodar Kumaritashvili, who hailed the former Soviet republic of Georgia, and Lawthers' sunny mood soon turns dark. "A death happened just...
...Lawthers doesn't regret letting her son luge; she trusts his skills, and talks about how he's received a rare chance to travel the globe pursuing his passion. But she's angry that the Olympic track designers have been pushing the limits in recent years, and did not install protective walls around the tricky final turn until after the tragedy. "This should not have happened," Lawthers says. "You know that a track can injure your son. You don't think it can kill him. I so feel for his mother. She thought she was sending...
...German Felix Loch, 20, became the youngest luge gold medalist in Olympic history on Sunday, as he compiled a time of 3 min. 13.085 sec. over four runs, 0.679 faster than his fellow countryman David Moeller. And while the event retained its festive feel - a giddy Loch hoofed it up and waved the flag like, well, a 20-year-old kid who was his luge-obsessed country's first men's gold medal in a dozen years - the awful memories of last week's accident still loomed. "It's always there," said Moeller after winning his silver medal. "Lots...
Unfortunately for Rogge, the athletes risking their lives on the luge track don't have time to wait for answers. Let the games begin...
Watch a video of how they train in luge...