Bermuda's three-time Winter Olympian, Patrick Singleton, hit out at Olympic and luge officials last night on Bloomberg TV over the controversial luge track on which Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed on Friday during a training run shortly before the Opening Ceremony.

Singleton, who competed in the luge in Nagano Olympics in 1998, the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 and in the skeleton in Turin Olympics in 2006, said it was wrong for the officials to place the blame solely on Kumaritashvili.

He said: "The International Luge Federation (FIL) initially said the athlete was responsible for his own death.

"And yes he did make a driver error but these tracks are designed to keep athletes safe – and inside of the course," said Singleton who failed to qualify for the skeleton for the Vancouver Games.

"But this athlete managed to exit the track due to an error and that's unacceptable.

"A lot of athletes are saying that yes he did make an error but this was a combined failure. The barrier was not high enough and since then (the accident) they have increased the height of the barrier so it will not happen again. But for the FIL to say that this is purely the athlete's fault is nonsense."

Singleton said he visited and walked the track at Whistler a year ago and realised even then that it could be dangerous.

"This track was designed with too much speed. The Canadians wanted to have the fastest track in the world – it was an ego thing. The federations should look at these tracks and say 'listen guys we are going to slow them down'.

"I think that in the future we will slow them down and make sure the exits and curves are safe. Obviously there is something wrong because he has gone out of the track.

"People are saying they should have padded the poles on that curve but I think that he should never have come out of the track in the first place and that is where the problem lies.

"I am not suggesting the organisers or designers knew this would happen. A year ago I inspected that track and there was not a crash barrier there and I and other athletes from other nations thought that this particular exit was dangerous. And sure enough this past November a crash barrier was put up but he has gone over it.

"They knew this exit was potentially dangerous. I am not saying they are guilty of anything but they must make sure that the track is safe."

And Singleton, who used to work for Bloomberg, said that contrary to many beliefs the sports of luge, skeleton and bobsleigh are safe sports.

"Many think that (because) it is high speed sport that is dangerous – but it is not," he said adding that he did not voice his opinions to track officials a year ago when he inspected the track but did discuss the danger with other luge and skeleton sliders.

"It is a very unfortunate thing to happen – it was a tragedy and I hope that luge and the skeleton will not suffer as a result.

"He (Kumaritashvili) was competing for his country and he was a brave individual."

Yesterday it was revealed that the Georgian luger called home before his deadly accident and said he was afraid of the brand-new, lightning-quick track in Whistler. "He told me, 'Dad, I really fear that curve'," David Kumaritashvili, a former luger himself, told The Associated Press at his home in the snow-covered slopes of Georgia's top ski resort.