OTTAWA, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A curve in the luge track's ice caused a Georgian athlete to become airborne, hit a post and die at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, a U.S. researcher says.
"Very large vertical forces" launched Nodar Kumaritashvili over the wall and into a support post, said Mont Hubbard, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California at Davis, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.