By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: The president of the Russian Luge Federation, Leonid Gart, has died in an accident in Croatia, federation spokesman Mikhail Potapov said Monday.
Gart, 39, had been head of the federation since June 2010.
“An accident happened but we don’t know yet what exactly occurred,” Potapov said.
It is thought that Gart died at a luge track.
“It’s an awful tragedy and very sad, all the more so because the man would have celebrated his 40th birthday in December.”
“He was a very active man, helped us greatly. With his support we started so many promising projects,” said Potapov.
German athletes have historically dominated luge, winning 27 of the 40 Olympic gold medals awarded to date, although Soviet and Russian sliders have challenged their dominance on occasion.
Albert Demchenko, 40, won Russia’s only Olympic luge medal with silver in Turin in 2006 and is a three-time European champion who has competed in six Olympic Games.