CNN) -- A luge slider from Georgia was killed Friday when he crashed during an Olympic training session hours before the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Georgian Embassy and the International Olympic Committee said.
Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, was on the final corner of the course during official training when he had a "serious crash" and was propelled off the track, according to the IOC. Doctors were unable to revive him, the IOC said.
"Our first thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of the athlete," IOC President Jacques Rogge said in a written statement. "The whole Olympic family is struck by this tragedy, which clearly casts a shadow over these Games."
Kumaritashvili was scheduled to compete in the men's singles luge event, which begins Saturday.
"This is a terrible accident," said Josef Fendt, president of the International Luge Federation. "This is the gravest thing that can happen in sport, and our thoughts and those of the luge family, are naturally with those touched by this event."
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