Saba Kumaritashvili shook his head in frustration as he buckled through the finish line on Wednesday night after the second of two runs in the opening practice session at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre, the sparkling new venue nestled in the tree-lined southern foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain.
Even after barreling down the sharp turns of an icy track at frightening speeds exceeding 120kph, the Georgian luger came in dead last in his group among those who completed both attempts, each time finishing more than three seconds behind the pacesetter, Wolfgang Kindl of Austria. He could not hide his disappointment as he marched past a cluster of reporters in the mixed zone, paused for a beat to consider speaking, before hurrying off toward the dressing room to look toward Saturday, when the men’s singles competition begins in earnest.
