<P> Nodar Kumaritashvili ( Georgian : ნოდარ ქუმარიტაშვილი ; pronounced ( nɔdar khumaritʼaʃvili ) ; 25 November 1988 -- 12 February 2010 ) was a Georgian one - man luger who suffered a fatal crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics competition in Whistler , British Columbia , Canada , on the day of the opening ceremony . He became the fourth athlete to die during preparations for a Winter Olympics , and the seventh athlete to die in either a Summer or Winter Olympic Games . </P>
who died doing the luge in the olympics
Nodar Kumaritashvili