Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was buried before thousands of mourners in his hometown Saturday.
The open coffin bearing the 21-year-old ((pictured, thanks Reuters/David Mdzinarishvili)), wrapped in the red-and-white Georgian flag, was walked down streets in the town of Bakuriani. He was buried in the grounds of the local church a
week after he lost control of his sled and slammed into a steel pillar at 90 miles per hour at the Whistler Sliding Centre.Mourners, including Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili wearing his white Georgian Olympic team jacket, were present for the procession.
"He died for Georgia, he died for this sport," Kumaritashvili's distraught father David, himself a former luger, told reporters.
The International Olympic Committee has offered to help with government plans to construct a luge track in Bakuriani in honor of Kumaritashvili.
"It's very difficult for such a small country as Georgia to overcome such a tragedy," Saakashvili's wife Sandra told reporters at the funeral.
Here's video of the procession, thanks to EuroNews and NoCommentTV
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