Georgia, Feb 20, 2010 (AFP) - Mourners gathered in the Georgian ski resort of Bakuriani Saturday for the funeral of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, with unanswered questions about his death hanging heavy over the ceremony.
Grief over the 21-year-old's tragic death during a training accident at the Winter Olympics mingled with anger over claims that Kumaritashvili, and not the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre, was to blame for the accident.
Kumaritashvili died during a training run after he lost control of his sled and was flung off the Olympic luge track before smashing into a metal pillar.
Organisers said the accident was a result of human error and there was no indication of track deficiencies, but the track was nonetheless altered after Kumaritashvili's death to slow it down and raise the borders around it.
Georgian officials, the luger's family and some other athletes have raised concerns about the track, with the head of the Georgian Olympic Committee saying this week that safety measures were inadequate.
Standing outside the family home in Bakuriani, Kumaritashvili's coach and uncle, Felix, said he had no doubt the track was responsible.
"What I can say for sure, and the whole luge community around the globe is saying the same thing, is that if the track's fence had been higher, Nodar would be with us today," he said.
"I hope the investigation that is under way will say the truth about what happened."
Kumaritashvili's family and his home town, a mountainous winter sporting centre about 180 kilometres (112 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi, were devastated by the young athlete's death, which also cast a pall over the opening ceremonies of the Games.
Hundreds of mourners gathered under sunny skies outside the family home ahead of the funeral ceremony, due to begin at the local Georgian Orthodox Christian church at 2:00 pm local time (1000 GMT).
Inside the home, Kumaritashvili's 44-year-old mother Dodo Kharazishvili wept inconsolably over her son's body, displayed in an open casket, as friends and relatives streamed past his coffin.
Kumaritashvili's boyhood friend, Tengo Kharauli, said the community was furious not only over safety problems with the track, but also that organisers had tried to pin the blame on the Georgian luger.
"It's the opinion here in Bakuriani, and I think in all of Georgia, that we lost Nodar because safety norms at the track were not adequate," he said.
"The organisers are to blame, they did not guarantee the safety of the athletes.... We can't not be angry."
