Feature: 12 years on, luger of Kumaritashvili family reappears on Winter Olympics stage

YANQING, Beijing, Feb 4 (Xinhua) -- When luger Saba Kumaritashvili finished his all six runs of pre-game official training here and left for Beijing for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony on Friday, his family's sadness at the major event has abated temporarily.

In the training session of the 2010 edition Olympic Winter Games, Saba's cousin Nodar, died in a training accident. Every four years, the Olympics remind the Kumaritashvili family of the tragedy.

"My family supports me when they heard that I will participate in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. I am very happy to be here," Saba told Xinhua in a post-training interview.

"Every generation of our family had at least one luge sportsman, and now my father and I are continuing this tradition and following Nodar's footsteps. Thinking about him is painful but gives me strength as well," the 21-year-old said.

In the early 1970s, Saba's great grandfather Aleko Kumaritashvili oversaw the construction of Georgia's first luge training track. And then a more complete track a few years later. Aleko then served as the country's head coach. David Kumaritashvili, the father of Nodar, was a seasoned luger who won the USSR youth championship when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union.

Saba's father runs the national luge federation, a job his relatives have held for decades. In Georgia, Kumaritashvili almost stands for luge.

In Nodar's funeral on February 20, 2010, David Kumaritashvili told Xinhua that Nodar phoned home on the day before his crash and in his opinion, the track in whistler was the toughest track. "I told him to decelerate by touching the surface of the ice with feet -- but he was angry: 'Don't tell me that. You are a luger, lugers do not tell each other to slow down!'" said David.

Then the accident shocked the world. "I would say the worst day was when the Georgian luge athlete (Nodar Kumaritashvili) died in Vancouver. This is the worst moment in my Olympic life," said Jacques Rogge, the former IOC president.

The accident changed the sport. After the accident, the starting point of the luge was moved down to reduce speed and a wooden wall was erected atop the curve where Nodar lost his life.

The designers of the tracks adjusted their styles, making it harder for athletes to reach the speed around 150kph. In the training session of Beijing 2022, even the legendary athlete Felix Loch can only have the highest speed around 130kph.

The Kumaritashvili family didn't stop their dreams chasing progress although suffering heavily from the accident, when in Yanqing, Saba is going to slide for his country, his family, and for Nodar.

"After a very hard season, my mission of getting into the Olympics had been completed. And think it is a new starting point for me," Saba said.

"My family supports me, they are proud of me," the new hope of the family added.