The event saw a book presented about the life of Kumaritashvili, who was killed during a training accident on the day of the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony.

In his opening address, Fendt said that February 12, 2010, the day when Kumaritashvili passed away, was the worst day of his 24 years in office.

The book, for which Fendt provided the foreword, describes Kumaritashvili's life through the eyes of his family.

As well as his parents Dodo and Davit and sister Mariam, the book presentation was also attended by Georgian National Olympic Committee (GNOC) President Leri Khabelov.

Fendt, who was accompanied by FIL executive director Christoph Schweiger, emphasised the importance of his close personal relationship with the family.

He received a gift to mark the occasion.

The family’s memories of Kumaritashvili are also accompanied by passages from Germany’s Felix Loch and Italy’s Armin Zöggeler.

The two lugers, both of whom are double Olympic singles champions, knew Kumaritashvili.

The book is also due to be presented at the 66th FIL Congress in Slovakia’s capital Bratislava next month.

Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled during the final turn on the Vancouver 2010 track at Whistler.

The track was described as too fast and too dangerous by some officials and competitors.

The GNOC had considered withdrawing from the Olympics following the tragedy but decided to carry on despite the incident, which had cast a shadow over the event itself.

The Opening Ceremony was dedicated to the 21-year-old who had described competing at the Olympics as his "dream".

Georgia did not send any lugers to Sochi 2014 as their team was made up of three Alpine skiers - Iason Abramashvili, Alex Beniaidze and Nino Tsiklauri - and figure skater Elene Gedevanishvili.

Abramashvili and Tsiklauri also represented Georgia at Pyeongchang 2018 along with figure skater Morisi Kvitelashvili and luger Giorgi Sogoiani.