Olympic Athletes on Edge after Luge Death

(CBS)  The controversy surrounding Friday's fatal accident on the luge track at the Winter Olympics continues. And tonight more athletes set to compete on that track are asking questions, as CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports from Vancouver.

The luge runs on a refitted track that began Saturday continued Sunday - with a higher wall at turn 16 near the finish and a lower start point for everyone, following the opening-day death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during a training run.

Special Section: Vancouver Olympics

But the concern continues, not just for lugers but for all the athletes scheduled to compete at the Whistler Sliding Center - the fastest track in the world. After luge comes skeleton, then bobsled.

The Whistler track is super-fast due to its grade, said Noelle Pikus-Pace, a world-champion skeleton racer.

"From curve one down to curve three, we drop so quickly so suddenly," she said. "Any error can cause injury."

In her sport, Pikus-Pace can reach speeds of nearly 90 mph on the track. And she knows well the dangers of sliding sports. Her leg was badly broken in 2005 when a bobsled that failed to break crashed into her in Calgary.

Her intense rehab forced her to miss the Torino games four years ago. But she's now in Vancouver - with her two-year-old daughter Lacee - going for gold in a sport that his hardly safer.

"It's a lot faster than when I first started [10 years ago]," Pikus-Pace said. "Not just because of the tracks but because of equipment. Technology has taken us to a whole new level."

That means the sleds, the uniforms - anything that gives an edge. For better or worse following the Olympic motto: higher, faster, stronger.

"It's almost like we've gone back to ancient Rome - where we want to be entertained by dangerous events," said Olympic historian David Wallichensky.

There have been more crashes since Friday's tragedy, though nothing serious. With plenty of competition left, athletes remain on edge.

[gommakel]

What the heck is vesselspore rambling about? Any clues?

[AnnieDanny]

Maybe that course was an accident waiting to happen... if there were complaints about it before the competition maybe somebody should have listened? It bothers me that the young man was blamed for the accident. Seeing it on video, it could have happened to any of them IMO.

[lyndar2]

My heart goes out to this young man's family and countrymen. Time to rethink zooming down a hill on a little sled.

[rjames8]

There have been over 5000 runs down that luge course so it would seem the death was due to driver error.

[erasmus111]

Yes, that luge course has been there for a couple of years, I think, and there has been no mishaps. Until now.