Thousands of Georgians paid their last respects today to luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died during a training run in Vancouver just hours before the start of the games. But some in his hometown of Bakuriani now worry the horrifying accident will end the long luge tradition in this mountain resort, famous for raising generations of world-class winter athletes.
In the Georgian mountain town of Bakuriani, grim preparations are under way for the burial of 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Olympic luger killed in a horrifying training crash in Vancouver last week. Maia Ivelashvili of RFE/RL's Georgian Service traveled to Bakuriani to speak to friends and neighbors about Kumaritashvili's death and mounting concerns about the safety of the sport.