Hate to be cynical in the wake of this young man’s death, but dad may by setting the table for a lawsuit against the IOC.
And if he thought it was too dangerous, why is it he elected to race down the track?
You wrote:
“And if he thought it was too dangerous, why is it he elected to race down the track?”
He was representing his country and probably didn’t want to let down the people back home.
Those of us have played sports understand why he went down the track. When you are a member of a team, you grow to love your teammates, and you are willing to do your best for them. He had trained long and hard for his event, he was selected to for his country's team, so he did what he had to do. His commitment went from doing his personal best to doing his best for his teammates. Add to that he comes from a very small, very poor country. His country and his Olympic committee supported him with a number of costly resources, and so he wanted to do his best for the committee that selected him. Then add to that his commitment to doing his best for his country. It's not difficult to understand why he did what he did despite his fear. I honor that kind of man who makes that kind of commitment, then follows through.