Dignitaries Head to Ceremony for Olympic Luger

(ATR) The president of the Vancouver Olympics, an Olympic champion and other dignitaries are on their way to Republic of Georgia for a ceremony in honor of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger who died at the Vancouver Olympics.

The March 23ceremonycomes 40 days after Kumaritashvili died when he fell from his sled during a training run, hours before opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics.

The 40 day-mark after a death is one set aside for a memorial in the rites of the Orthodox Church.

VANOC President John Furlong, luge gold medalist Felix Loch, International Luge Federation President Josef Fendt, European Olympic Committees President Patrick Hickey and Turkey NOC President Togay Bayathli are among the representatives of the Olympic Family who will be at the service in Bakuriani, Kumaritashvili’s hometown.

Furlong left Whistler by helicopter midway through the 2010 Paralympics closing ceremony Sunday night to begin a 24-hour journey to Georgia.

He’ll reach the Georgian capital Tblisi before dawn Tuesday, then travel onward by car for three hours to Bakuriani.

"I received an invitation from Nodar’s dad," said Furlong at a closing press conference Sunday in Whistler for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.

"I’m goingto go and meet the family. It’s the right thing to do.

"This is obviously was a very major thing that happened here and it’s important for us to be there to the end, to be seen, to support the family. So it’s not something I would have been prepared to set aside if it was humanly possible to get there," he said.

He will take a small case filled with condolences placed at a makeshift memorial along the track.

"We're taking all of that to Georgia to give to his parents," said VANOC vp for communications Renee Smith-Valade, who is also making the trip.

Furlong may also be carrying details of the insurance proceeds that VANOC’s insurer will pay due to Kumaritashvili’s accidental death. Amount of the insurance settlement has not been disclosed.

The luge federation has already donated 10,000 euros to Kumaritashvili’s family. The 21 year-old was the sole source of income for his family and was helping to rebuild the family home.

The IOC says it will help fund construction of a track in the name of Kumaritashvili in Bakuriani. The mountain village was formerly a training center for Soviet Union Winter Olympians and was part of the short-lived bid from the neighboring town of Borjomi for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Written by Ed Hula.