Has the danger level of the winter games been raised on purpose? Is death possibility built in?

[CK_John]

Seems to me every 4 yrs the games become closer to the slogan of death defining of the old carnival barker.

Team quits.

<http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/02/25/olympics.bobsled.driver.quits/index.html?hpt=C1>

[HeresyLives]

1. Dunno, certainly possible I suppose.

It's getting harder to score people because only fractions of seconds now separate gold medallists from forgotten 4th placers. So there is an argument for making the sports more difficult.

[stray cat]

2. Some sports are inherently more risky than others - you could make risky sports illegal

such as football, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain climbing, sky diving, kayaking over waterfalls for sure.

[paulsby]

12. thankfully, we don't have such a country

where risky sports are generally criminalized (there are a few exceptions in specific cases

otoh, there is a good argument that sports that are too risky should not be part of the OLMYPICS.

not saying i agree with that, but it's at least reasonable. and the olympics are international, so the concerns of other nations, even nanny states should matter

fwiw, i recently learned that from 1977 to 1989, the mere POSSESSION let alone use of a skateboard was forbidden across the entire country of norway.

i think that's a hilarious example of how far people and govt's will go to protect us from ourselves

[onenote]

3. no. the difficulty level has been raised on purpose

The bar keeps being raised because the athletes and equipment keep improving. There was as much or more danger in sports like bobsledding and ski jumping in the past when equipment and skill levels were lower than they are now.

PS - I think the slogan you were looking for is "death defying" not "death defining".

[Blue-Jay]

4. Newsflash: Some sports are dangerous.

If they weren't, all winter sports would be Curling and Ice Dancing.

(I actually like curling, btw...)

Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL9mlqbG5CU&feature=player_embedded

[CK_John]

5. I was wondering if we are becoming a Roman circus and when will we throw losers to the lions.

[onenote]

6. not even close.

I don't recall that those thrown to the lions had helmets, gloves, protective padding, doctors/medical teams on standby, etc.

Really bad comparison. Really.

[Zoeisright]

7. There's a big difference between dangerous and reckless.

The luge course, for instance, was recklessly designed and killed an athlete.

Athletes are always pushing the edge of safety. But when so many lugers complained that the course was too dangerous, the IOC should have listened.

[CK_John]

8. That's my question, did IOC do it on purpose?

[HeresyLives]

9. The sports federations as well as the IOC

inspect these things, and sign off on them. The luge has been in use for a couple of years, without problems.

There is no benefit to the IOC or the federations to maim or kill athletes.

[polly7]

14. That track had been in use two years already.

That turn with those steel posts right there was a horrible design and should have been completely redone beforehand. I've never seen such an obvious tragedy waiting to happen, but then, I'm not a luger and haven't seen one except on TV ..... period ......... but really, just so stupid. I've read it exceeded IOC standards because the walls were higher. Still, who in their right mind would put posts at such a fast turn? Baffling.

[Blue-Jay]

16. Yes. The IOC loves killing people.

[RZM]

10. Some of the more dangerous ones

Particularly aerials and moguls, are clearly designed to broaden the appeal of the games to the 'extreme sports' crowd. If people want to take the risk and participate in those sports, I see no problem with it.

[Quantess]

11. The death of the Georgian luger is what scared the bobsledders into quitting.

[Tesha]

13. What? You don't remember "The Agony of Defeat"???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinko_Bogataj

[PVnRT]

15. No