Nodar Kumaritashvili told father, 'I'll win or die at the Olympics'

 THE father of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger who was tragically killed during a training run at the Winter Olympics on Friday, has revealed his son spoke of his fear for the Whistler course, just hours before his fatal crash.

FEARFUL: David Kumaritashvili, father of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger killed in Whistler on Friday, reveals his son was concerned about the Whistler course (Getty Images)

David Kumaritashvili, a former luger himself, admitted he advised his son to take the course slowly but that the advice fell on deaf ears with Nodar Kumaritashvili intent on victory.

"He told me: Dad, I really fear that curve, " David Kumaritashvili told the Associated Press.

"I'm a former athlete myself, and I told him: 'You just take a slower start'. But he responded: 'Dad, what kind of thing you are teaching me? I have come to the Olympics to try to win.

"He told me: I will either win or die. But that was youthful bravado, he couldn't be seriously talking about death."

Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, died on Friday after a high speed crash when he lost control of his sled coming out of corner 15 of the treacherous Whistler track, before crashing into a metal pole and the side of the track.

Modifications have since been made to the track with a temporary wall constructed and padding wrapped around the poles.

The International Olympic Committee, the International Luge Federation and Vancouver 2010 organisers have come in for widespread criticism for proceeding with the luge competition and blaming the accident on athlete error.

The course for the men's competition was reduced in length, ensuring the speeds reached by the competitors were less than during training, but Fil general secretary Svein Romstad revealed that was out of respect for the emotions of the athletes, rather than safety fears.

But concerns over safety had been raised for some time that only Canadian sliders were afforded enough training time on the track - the fastest and most demanding in the world.

"They tested that track on my son," added David Kumaritashvili.

"My son was training since he was 14, he ran tracks in France, Austria and Canada, and he never suffered an injury," he said.

"He has passed through all stages of the World Cup and made it to the Olympics, he couldn't have done that if he were an inexperienced athlete. Anyone can make mistake and break a leg or suffer some other injury. But to die!"

Nodar Kumaritashvili is to be buried in his hometown of Bukuriani, a small ski resort about 110 miles from Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day four from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver