Georgian athletes will wear black arm bands at Olympic opening ceremony

by Charlie Smith on February 12th, 2010 at 5:58 PM

The Georgian national Olympic committee and its athletes have announced that they will wear black arm bands in tonight's opening ceremony for the 2010 Games.

A black patch will fly on the Georgian flag, and the Canadian and Olympic flags will be flown at half-mast.

This comes after Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a training accident at the Whistler Sliding Centre shortly before the Olympics began. Vanoc CEO John Furlong will honor the deceased athlete during the opening cermony, according to a statement issued by the organizing committee.

The B.C. Coroners Service and the RCMP are leading the investigation into Kumaritashvili's death.

The International Luge Federation is conducting a second investigation.

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