Highlights Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships

Welcome to the beautiful Salzburg in Germany for the Bobsleigh and

Skeleton World Championships. We were supposed to be in Sochi but

exactly what went on in the Winter Olympics there in 2014 has sent

reverberations throughout world sport. Just before Christmas, the

championships were taken away from Russia and awarded to the track here

in Konigssee and with just a year to go until the next Winter Olympics in

South Korea there's a lot to be decided for the British team are

both off and on the ice. People say it's like a roller-coaster. It's

not. Such a massive challenge. You love speed. You're going faster than

an Olympic sprinter. There is no plan B. You've got to get together

make something happen. At first, it's horrific and terrifying. There

was no escape. I love the people they work with. Eye and minute

because they want to win. I am in it because I want to win. I want to be

the best. Totally dedicated and committed. That's what it takes.

Joining me for analysis this weekend is Amy Williams. Talking about

changes, there's no hiding the change you have had since your

career has ended. I am only four weeks away before first child, so we

are keeping it locked inside. If anyone is listening, all in good

time. Having made the right decision by moving the championships from

Russia? I think they have. A lot of the athletes, it was playing on

their minds and until this whole drugs issue is sorted out, however

many months to come, it needed to be changed, and the fact it's come to

Germany, Konigssee, it's brilliant. It's a track everybody's experienced

at, everybody knows, it's part of the regular circuit, so for Great

Britain, we spend a lot of time here. They know how to put on a good

event. They've been able to do it really quickly. Germany as a

professional at doing that so it's a good choice. You mention the British

team. When you look at the athletes beating in skeleton and bobsleigh,

what are our chances? All eyes will be on Lizzy Yarnold. She's had time

off and now it's the end of the season. Everyone will be looking to

see how well she does. We've had highs and lows in results, maybe not

quite as good last season from the athletes, but it's always the year

before the Olympics, people are testing out equipment. You are doing

things you know you won't do in the Olympic season. The bobsleigh guys,

the four-man have been playing around with different crews,

different formations with the four guys in each bobsleigh, so I'm

looking forward to seeing how they actually do compete and who they

choose to go in which 1's. A lots of racing coming up for the British in

the next couple of hours. As we've heard, Lizzy Yarnold is back. A year

away from the ice, how will she get on in the Women's Skeleton? I didn't

realise how much of a toll was taking. Ilott this board but I and

minute because I want to win the. So close to 12 months ago, Britain's

men get on the podium. -- you can be in position and drop back. We've

come down from the mountain is down to track-side. The last few training

runs for the skeleton is taking place. Gary Anderson, performance

director of British bobsleigh, what has this move been like for you? It

came as a shock that we moved to Konigssee, but I think it's the

right decision. With all the problems with the doping issues in

Sochi, I think the IBSF made the right decision to come to Konigssee.

You have athletes waiting on all sorts of positions now and looking

back on that Winter Olympics, did you have any hint at the time that

so much was going so wrong? Not at the time, no. There was always a

suspicion but at the time we thought it would blow over and we are

obviously now looking for the IBSF and the IOC to do the right thing.

You have athletes waiting on that decision so could we have a bronze

medal for the 4-Man Bob? We are supporting their process, and we

just want it done as quickly as possible. What hopes for Great

Britain this weekend? Last year we came fourth in the 2-Man Bob. Bruce

and Joel again hoping to do well for Great Britain. And in the 4-Man Bob,

we have two strong crews. How does the ranking work? We want to work

out what is going to be the best in training, so straight after, we have

the Olympic test event and we will test more things they're. You have

two quite different pilots in the 4-Man Bob. We have the seasoned

pilot and the former Olympian, looking at moving up the rankings

and also we have Bradley Hall who and 40 missed the start of the

season by having an operation on his hand but he showing people what you

can do. How important is it with a year to go before the Winter

Olympics to put a marker down? It certainly is. We have waited for a

while to have two good pilots. Bradley has come on the scene now

and they will push each other right to the final line before we get

chosen. We will start with the Women's Skeleton, an event rate

button has a proud history of the World Championships and of course

the Olympic Games. After a year away, Lizzy Yarnold is back and

preparing to defend her Olympic title next February. Nick Hope has

been catching up with her. Three years ago, I'd probably just arrived

in Sochi. You couldn't ask for anything more from Lizzy Yarnold. I

put down another track record on my third run so I had my sled in front

of me and I'd put my forehead against it and look down and

thought, I think I've almost got this. One more run the. Lizzy

Yarnold goes for gold for Great Britain. She is down, in control of.

She could crash now. She is going to do it! Lizzy Yarnold is the Olympic

champion. Oh my goodness expiration Mark one I saw everyone, that

moment, it had to be what I had achieved. It's a brilliant.

Unbelievable. Pretty quickly I set myself the goal of trying to become

world champion, trying to become European champion which I'd never

done before, but, in the same breath, I was really pushing myself

and expecting a lot of myself and it drove me to a point of physical and

mental exhaustion. Lizzy Yarnold! She saves the best till last. Trying

to get the best out of every training run with the process and

determination to win, I can't even explain how exhausting it is, but I

didn't realise how much of a toll it was taking. I mean, I love this

sport, but I and minute because they want to win, so there is no kind of

plan B. Lizzy Yarnold is the Olympic and world champion expiration Mark

you decided to take a year off and it is a risk taking a break from

training and things but you felt you needed it? I've felt at the time

after the World Championships I needed to have a choice as to

whether I was going to take a break or not but in the end I'd took a

season off competing in travelling around and unpacking and packing,

that life. Slowly but surely I came back to the gym by myself and

writing my own sessions, sometimes easy, sometimes very hard, and

enjoying it. I knew I wanted to get to Pyeongchang. It is the question

of how to get that in the best possible way to retain my title. So

nice to lift about. Even though my results this season have not been as

good as they should have been, haven't been as good as I'd hoped

they would comment this season has actually been very successful. I am

talking to my coach and remembering how I can communicate with a look of

my eyes all the movement of my hands, the things which are the

foundation of what will mean everything when you look at the

Olympic track in a year's time. How much was the reason for coming back

wanting to make more history? Trying to be the first British Olympian to

defend my title is a huge juicy goal that does get me out of bed every

day. But that is still quite a far way off goal. I have you set myself

smaller goals every day, going to the gym, horrible session to get

through, so it's all about the detail every day. How important are

these World Championships in the context of next year's Winter

Olympics? It's inevitably going to be a really important standpoint.

I'm going to be honest and set my expectations high, and I would love

to get a medal. I'm going to try to win but it's a year off so as long

as I'm learning and getting better, I'm going to be pleased with my

performance. I think you can tell from my expression as soon as they

crossed the finish line, you will know. So, we have heard from Lizzy

Yarnold, a mixed season to put it mildly. Yes, she's had some highs

and lows this season. Working things out with her sled, injuries, not

quite the performance she wanted however we are here at the World

Championships and she always increases the mark when it comes to

the World Championships and performs well and thrives off that. The last

day of training yesterday, we didn't have the Germans training but then

she was there with the fastest two runs and looked comfortable and

relaxed. I really think that's going to come out today. Two more British

beside her. We have Laura and Donna. Laura came seventh in last year's

World Championships so she is going to want to get at least within the

top six. A good strong push and we have a lot of experience on this

track. Donna has been one of the most experienced sliders in the

field, a lot of years under her belt, and has wanted to put in a

good performance in these championships. A German chat, you

don't look far past the other Germans in the field. We have some

strong is German girls who took the last day of training off, very

confident Fulston I would be surprised if we didn't have two

Germans and the Canadian in the top mix but let's hope Lizzy Yarnold can

do well as well. World Cup leader Jacqueline Loelling is that the

early pace on her own course. Local favourite wasn't the cricket out of

the start gate but looked impressive all the way down. Tina Hermann came

close but was not to be, just 61 hundredths separating them after run

one of. Canadian Elisabeth Vathje was 14th in the World Cup but for

weeks on, looked much more at home. Quick out of the starting blocks,

she moved into third. Jeanine flock had struggled to get the challenge

middle section of this course and it caused her problems again. First of

the British was Laura Dees, who has been consistently inside the top ten

on the World Cup circuit this season but she has struggled as conditions

worsened. Then it was time for Lizzy Yarnold to make a comeback. Here she

goes. Yet to claim a gold medal, but this is what we are looking at, she

might get away before the snow really returns. She has got the

knowledge, the experience. She looks so comfortable. The last day of

training yesterday she put down one of the acrid to fastest runs. She

really thrives in these World Championships. She is cool, calm and

looking good on her sled. In great form. Let's see if she can come back

up into form. She hasn't had the best season on and off, working her

way back, but she is still going to want a medal here.

This is going to be close. Tina Hermann and Jacqueline Loelling, she

will be third. No, fourth. Well done. She will be very happy with

that. What a good solid run. The third of the British riders was way

off the pace and finished the first session down in 22nd.

The second run started under cold but clear skies. Laura Dees took

first to spot early on. After Jane Channel from Canada took the lead in

the next run, a blizzard descended and flipped the competition on its

head. The leaders struggled with a worsening conditions. If you are at

the start now, you know you're going to lose positions and that's not a

fair race. The Julie now need to decide if they will allow this

heated to continue any longer. Lizzy Yarnold, who was in fourth place,

found more mistakes cost her dearly, slipping to 12th. Heat one leader

Jacqueline Loelling dealt with us know best, only slipping from first

down to third but after protests by the German, about the worsening

state of the track, racing for the day was cancelled. All the result

being scrapped. A blow for Laura, but better news for Lizzy Yarnold,

who maintains her fourth position. You never know what's going to

happen, that's why it's such a good sport. Now my mind is reset. I'm 27

one hundredths behind the leader, Jacqueline Loelling. So, yeah, I

need to go back tonight and review everything. It's a really short

track so it's important to find the speed and then be as aerodynamic to

not lose the speed. Run two has come to an end, perhaps

the run that never was, in the bin now. Yes, half the field did their

run. Unpredictability. It was clear for the top runners, and then when

the very fastest girls went, thick snow started. Get to that point,

what are the jury going to do? They decided with a few people putting in

protests, if the leader is over one second behind her own time, German

on a German track, it clearly is the weather. Bitter disappointment

because Laura was therein second. I've been in races, within one hour

you've had snow, you've had rain, you've had son and it hasn't been

cancelled. But maybe this is the new thing. That's it, second run

scrapped, first one stands and you have to go in tomorrow with a fresh

and clear mind, not let it worry them and come out fighting to move

up spaces. COMMENTATOR: Jacqueline Loelling is the overnight leader by

six hundredths of a second. The woman who set a new track record

last Saturday evening, can she do it again? Let's see what her start time

was. 5:20 one. She doesn't have the fastest start, Jacqueline. But she

knows how to drive a sled. She knows where to get the speed from every

single one of these corners. Coming down this slightly wonky straight,

they just have two absolutely nailed it. Able to make it through that

bottom half of the straight. This is the big 360. Getting out of here is

crucial for speed to the bottom of the track, and she nailed that. We

can hear scraping, Helmut on the ice with the pressure and GeForce is

some of athletes come through. 51:74. Half a second away from a

track record. Maybe it is just a little frosty still in this first

heat. In the next heat she may have the chance to go quicker. The world

champion, Tina Hermann claimed the title last year in Innsbruck.

Shortest track. Despite having one of the poorest start in the field.

Hermann is a real threat. She is tied for the lead as she lies down.

Yeah, the start is so important in skeleton. You spend your whole

summer becoming powerful, training, and then you have to put it onto the

circuit, pushing the sled. But you've got to be able to drive and

these Germans will know exactly where the speed is in each corner.

Hermann still in the lead, Goodspeed, 68.5. Herman is behind.

She had a great season last time. Hasn't quite managed to get the same

results this year. She may have been testing some different things. This

is where Loelling is so awesome because Tina has just dropped down

behind her team-mates. Six hundredths after one heat becomes 15

hundredths of a second deficit. Elisabeth Vathje. She is a quarter

of a second behind the German duo, but to hundredths behind her is

reigning Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold. Already got two gold medals

this season. She's got an incredibly fast start, so her start will be

faster than the Germans. This is definitely where she can move. 5/15,

not quite as fast as her start times yesterday. If she can keep her head

together she is really chomping on the bit to get in front of one of

those German girls. She has had a strong season. Last year, off her

rookie season it all went wrong, this year started with a win in

Whistler and her season has been on a real up. She's in the red, behind

the leader. 1900 sat the start, very Goodspeed. Quite high on the second

oscillation but controlled it well to miss out on the hips. She got a

bronze medal last year in the championships, so for her... Two

years ago, I'm sorry. For her to be able to get a medal this year is

really important. For these girls, and their personal fundings, it is a

big deal. 52:15 is the slide. She's got from 2700th overnight from one

run to 66 hundredths behind. That is how good the Germans are, that is

how good local knowledge is. The right setup and then the girls know

how to slide this track superbly as well. Lizzy Yarnold of Great

Britain. Here is the Olympic champion after one year away. Can

she put herself back in the medals at this year 's World Championships?

That's another strong start from Lizzie. Fastest in the field so far.

Yes, Lizzie always steps up to these big events, so let's see how she

comes out of these S-bends. She's got her little fan club at the

bottom. You can just see that perfect body position. The head is

not moving, the toes are not moving, almost nothing happening and that

means the steers are so right. She is definitely chasing down Elisabeth

Vathje here. On the looks of it definitely going to move up in the

third if not one better. She has blown by Elizabeth Thatcher. --

Elizabeth that. Wow! Blown by Elisabeth Vathje by

four tenths of a second and she is nine hundredths behind Tina Hermann,

quarter of a second from winning this. In the final heat there will

still be everything to play. Yellow that isn't awesome run by Lizzie,

that time was 51:71, actually beating Jacqueline Loelling. Things

can change around in skeleton. Can Laura Dees do the same?

She is just seven hundredths behind chain after the first heat, another

excellent getaway. Doesn't that the disappointment of yesterday get to

her, she knows she needs a good run this morning. Laura here was very

disappointed with how yesterday went. She's really going to want to

move on up. She's got an awesome start. She looks good on the sled.

Head a little bit high. Using her feet to steer. A little thing on the

wall, 12th position. Don't forget she was 13th, behind Jane Channel

and Kendall Westonbirt after the first heat. Helmut dragging on the

ice. She is up to 11th place. Going to move up two spots at the moment.

She does move up two spots and she is two tenths away. One more run in

the women's skeleton to decide the medals, too soon to be excited for

Lizzie? I mean she is 24 hundredths behind Jacqueline Loelling. She had

the fastest run of the day so far. I was expecting more from Jacqueline.

Yes she is still in first place with Tina Hermann squashed into second.

If Lizzie puts down another really solid, fast run, she could easily

move up into that silver position. COMMENTATOR: Laura Deas lying in

11th position after our first three heats, 25 hundredths ahead of Jane

Channell of Canada. Targeting Alina Nikitina of Russia, lying in tenth

position. She has a great start time. That's the fastest she has so

far pushed. She had a better run down. She has been improving in

every single run she has done. If she really wants to get into that

top ten and move on up a fume oppositions. Let's hope the nerves

will not to her. Tenth fastest run in the third heat. Her family and

friends down at the bottom of the track waiting to welcome her.

Fastest speed we've seen here. Gets a decent enough exit. 43 hundredths

up. Could this move her into a top ten finish in the World

Championships? Helmut dragging on the ice, she's not steering hard.

She's got Goodspeed. Second fastest across the line. Kim Meylemans of

Belgium. She went to school here with Tina Hermann. When she grew to

be a senior she started sliding for Belgium. And the little Belgian, as

she calls herself, is an absolute flyer on this track. She knows all

the German secret. You can see her sliding. She's had her fastest push

of this competition. She almost looks like a German on the slope.

You can see she knows the little secrets. Can she do it? She's got

really decent speed, there. Will she come out well? Yeah, really good

exit. Carrying it through. She has doubled their advantage. Matching

the fastest speed, she's going to roar away from the Latvian girl,

what a run, 52:07. That is the fifth fastest slide of the day. Only the

top four in the first heat have gone below 52:07. Elizabeth actually of

Canada, fifth into the final heat now, any chance she could move up

into fourth place ahead of Germany's Anna Fernstaedt? She needs the run

of her week next. Yeah, there you are. Good push from her, fastest so

far in this competition. She didn't have the best third slide earlier

today, so she really needs to move on up. Third fastest overnight. As

we say, only sixth quickest of the first round. Long skid off this

corner, taking speed out of the sled. She's really going to have to

find her speed out of here and have the perfect exit if she wants to

move up any places. Equal fastest in that section but all undone as she

drills the wall on exit. Yes, not what she wanted. She'll be kicking

herself because of that. She's gone into the bend and she hasn't got the

speed. Unfortunately I think we will see her drop and I think Kim will

stay on the first spot. Vathje second, with one to go. For sleds,

three Germans left in the women's World Championships. Three weeks ago

Germany swept the podium, Anna Fernstaedt took the bronze. She will

have to fight her way past Lizzy Yarnold, Olympic champion, to get a

medal to date. She must have had those first heat nerves, that just

didn't allow her to have the best run. This is her first World

Championships so it is understandable that you might have

extra nerves. But you've got to get rid of them, forget about it, treat

it like any other race. She was born and bred in Prague but grew up and

went to winter school here, where she now lives, so this is her home

track. She and Kim Meylemans, the currently do, who also went to

school here. Beautiful exit. She had third place here a few weeks ago in

the World Cup and that was her first World Cup podium. Into the lead,

sneaks past at the bottom of the track. She is in the lead with three

to go. Delighted with that from Anna Fernstaedt, her coach. But she has

not yet got her hand on a medal. Three to go in the women's skeleton

World Championships. Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold is lying in

third spot. 24 hundredths cover the top three. The medals are all up for

grabs. Here we go. I think Lizzie will give it all here. She has the

best start out of these top four girls, a lot quicker than the

Germans. Let's see what she can do. 20 hundredths quicker than Anna

Fernstaedt who she was ahead of by 65 hundredths anyway. Lizzie's

focuses all about the top step of the podium. She's got to stay calm,

remain still on the sled, which is a massive strength of Lizzie. Perfect

straight, there. So far she has always nailed this exit. Hasn't got

quite as high a speed but she's got a lot of time to play with. 68

hundreds in hand over Anna Fernstaedt. She will take a medal

here. She is one mile per hour than the top speed at the bottom. She may

not win this race but she will take a World Championship medal. 52:08,

four hundredths of a second quicker. The cumulative time takes her onto

the podium. Germany's Tina Hermann where's the red vest of the

defending world champion. Can she overhaul her team-mate and archrival

Jacqueline Loelling to take gold? Can she hold off the charging Lizzy

Yarnold to hold silver? We've got 52 seconds to find out.

She needs to hold it together. It is a crazy place, being up there,

knowing that you are one of the last people at the top of the track and

you have to hold your nerves together. It's a psychological game.

Last years World Cup champion with a four wins and two Silvers. This year

she has only been in the medals in the World Cup. One winner. Top

speed, 10.4. She is a little bit behind, still got a slender

advantage over Lizzy Yarnold, and that will help her ad eight tenths

to her advantage. She will stay in front of the British yes, she had a

big speed, the fastest so far. Stunning speed. She goes 40 81

hundredths into the lead, 51.69. That is the fastest run down the

track in this World Championships. That is her bid to retain her World

Championship. Jacqueline Loelling, can she focus and held off the world

champion to take her first World Championship gold medal? She needs

to hold it together. She is the World Cup leader. She won gold here

a few weeks ago. It is the mental game for her. Has she ever been in

that position being last of knowing she is now doing the run to get that

gold medal? She is exactly like one of the ex-German sliders. She

doesn't have the best start, quite a bad start and yet she can drive, but

she just made a tiny mistake. She needs to have a high-speed here. She

does. 111, the best so far going in. Can she held it together on this

bottom corner? She has been a youth Olympic gold medallist, a junior

world champion, nine hundredths in front. Is nearly got the same speed

and the gap opens up. Jacqueline Loelling from Germany is the 2017

skeleton world champion! She held her nerve, she holds her line and

she extends her lead over team-mate Tina Hermann. Took a tenth out of

her in that run, to confirm that she is the golden girl of women's

skeleton in Germany. Lizzy Yarnold take the bronze medal. Great

Britain. It's what the whole two years has been about, coming back,

and it's a major stepping stone towards Pyeongchang and I'm feeling

really strange at the moment, on the verge of crying, but it means more

than eye can ever explain. Your results since Christmas have been up

and down, to put it like that. Yes, I've had a few head issues and back

issues. Three weeks ago today I could not walk, so just to be back

on the track, I'd physically would not be here without my physio, and

then we have a whole team, amazing coaches and my family, everyone is

giving you that but extra but this is exactly where I need to be.

A fantastic result, medal performance gain from Lizzy.

Unbelievable. She just loves these big World Championships. You can see

her with the crowd, she is really, really enjoying it and it shows how

she lies on the sled and she is relaxed, confident and has had great

starts. Look at her. She comes down in third place, medal position, and

well done to her. With one year before the Olympics, including

Laura's performance, are you happy with what you seek from the skeleton

women? I think Laura Deas will be disappointed, she has crept into the

top ten, that we were expecting more from that and I'm sure she was

expecting more herself, but she seems mentally in that good kind of

state to go one through for the next summer, and Lizzy I think is very

happy. She has got her Mojo back, confidence, and is buzzing now, and

wants to go into this last World Cup in Pyeongchang and learn the track

and go into a great summer training, hopefully completely injury free to

come back fighting for the Olympic season. Now last weekend was the

turn of both the women's and the men's 2-Man Bob. 12 months ago it

was a case of so near that so far for the men's team, Joel and Bruce.

Great Britain had not won a medal in this event for nearly 50 years, and

that almost changed. Almost. Pay attention back home in Great

Britain. The Brits are in fifth position, two hundredths away from

fourth. This could be the best British outings since 1965.

The biggest surprise of the competition, no doubt. Bruce Tasker.

The fastest in the competition so far. What a round. 51.62! He knows

that was a good one. The fourth fastest sled.

So it was nearly but not quite for Bruce and jailed 12 months ago as

they had to settle for a fourth place finish. Can they go one better

today? -- Joel. Bradley Hall and Sam Blanchette, a former professional

rugby player are in number to. Unsurprisingly, Germany were the

clear favourites going into these championships. All three of their

crew looking for medals. First up, Germany, and there pilot Francesco

Friedrich going for his fourth world title, and seventh in the overall

World Cup standings, Germany were impressive on their home track

having won the World Cup here last month. But the real surprise was the

Canadian pairing of Jesse and Justin, starting in 11th after their

high standards. They set the second quickest time in the first session.

Olympic champions Steve Holcomb is second overall this year but a

disappointing start for the American duo who were off the pace. Joel and

Bruce looked solid in the opening round. Nice. Getting a handle on the

driving. Sam Blanchette and Bradley Hall were off the pace in the early

stages in GB two, after starting way down the field. There was a big

improvement in run two. A much better slide further down the

course, outperforming their poor start and moving them slowly up the

field. He's slower in his second run than first-run. They were looking

good on the second run also moving up one place to eights overnight.

Johannes Lochner lay down another consistent effort to leave Germany

in a strong position. The Canadians continued to impress. All three

Canadians in the top dozen in a field of 36. But another quick run

left them over half a second clear of the field coming into the two.

The stands were followed for the penultimate run as the local crowd

gathered to see which of their home crews would win the title. Latvians,

who had struggled on day one, looked like a good nights sleep and goat,

an impressive third run and they moved into a potential podium

position. But, at the top, it was a tight battle between the Germans.

Which crew would it be and could the fast improving Canadians ruin the

party? Over to our commentators. COMMENTATOR: What about the Brits?

He raced the John Jackson to fourth in the World Championships, Sam. He

drove himself to fourth last year in the two-man. Joel had the fastest

ever 200 metres last summer, just too late to go to Rio in the 100

metres squad. There's only a couple of hundreds separating Bruce Tasker

and Rudy Rinaldi coming down the track here. Joel is a speed monster.

Now Bruce Tasker, a rookie driver, going from the back seat to the

front seat after a couple of years. Fourth place last year for Bruce

Tasker. It's the best British finish in 50 years. Seven hundredths of a

second, the gap has come down. It is going to be unbelievably tight. A

little tap there. Who's going to go behind? Rudy Rinaldi will move up

the leaderboard again. 100th of a second. After three minutes. And 19

seconds. The thrill of victory and defeat of this sport, we will see a

few more of these hundreds of seconds and ties in the next eight

races. The top three, top four, brother, covered by eight hundredths

of a second. Two fantastic athletes. Look at him jump in there. Joel

Fearon. I like that technique, jumping into the sled. It worked.

Going down for Steve Holcomb. Here's out driving his starter all season

long. He is getting back to fitness. With Carlo Valdes behind him, he

will hopefully move up a couple of spots and into the medal zone. 31st

best start, 32nd best start in the second heat. 18th best start in the

third heat. That is the best start they have had for Carlos Valdes, the

field athlete from UCLA. He has got a quad issue and spent three weeks

in the UK last year mending and then went for some specialist therapy and

they say he still not 100%, that he can still use his eyes and his

hands. He has the best ability of anybody. Losing ground now. Three

heats, he is 17 hundredths back. He need superhuman speed from the BMW

sled. It's not enough. Look at this. What a comeback. 17 down. Look at

Steve Holcomb comeback like that. The start was not bad. If he had

that start for weeks ago, he would be challenging for a medal. Stevie,

watch what he does here. The people love him. There is a long high-5

line for him. A different amount of metres here. Look, this is what he

does. That is a long line, look. They have to stop the race for that.

Oskars Kibermanis was sixth overnight and jumped two to go forth

and how far away as he from a shock result? The answer is 16 hundredths

of a second out of the medals. Is it possible? Second place in the third

run? He had the best start, 479. He may be going for that again. 479,

best start, both runs. But, of course, Francesco Friedrich might

have something to say about that coming up. He has stepped out of the

shadows here. Two bronze medals in the 2-Man Bob. Versus good. That

might have sealed his place. He has got better speed than that. That was

going into the curve. Only nine hundredths in hand. The Latvians

have had trouble maintaining speed. Oh no. Just enough. Oskars Melbardis

on the left punching the air for his team-mate. He's never won a medal

before this year. A gold-medal in 4-Man Bob. 100th of a second. 33

centimetres at the speed they are doing on the final clock. That is a

foot. Those skids almost cost him his place, but he finished no worse

than fourth. Look at that. So meticulous down there. You have to

do the right to the itch. Into the medals, then, overnight, in the

bronze, he solidified that position. His third heat. Joshua Bloom and the

Bavarian hope, third, fourth and fifth. Listen to the crowd.

CROWD CHEERS His father and his uncle Rudy, world

champion inbox late for Germany still live. The tenth best start.

It's been his nemesis. He has a respiratory problem and won this

event two weeks ago with a much better start time and has not had a

chance to train, and I've think he will be very happy with that.

Going away by half a second three weeks ago. He has struggled here.

His father in the crowd watching. Nine hundredths, the gap growing,

this is going to be a medal for Johannesburg Lock. The Bavarian will

take a medal. Watched the crowd at the finish. Like a football stadium

down here. The physical trainer, there. They have the first medal.

The Bavarians are in at least gold medal position. Considering what he

has been through with his health issues, not training on Thursday,

family, friends, he lives half a mile down the street. Look at all

the Bavarian hats, blue and white checks. His mum is down there with a

banner, with a red coat on. The start wasn't that good. Couple of

hits may be in the bend around. Had the best speed we've seen yet.

Needed it, with the tenth best start. Two to go. Canadians in the

top three, Canadian and a German sled still to go. Justin Kripps has

been second from the moment he sat down in the first of our four heats.

Can he take the silver medal here? Really good team. Likes to get in,

great technique. Third-best velocity, fifth best start, so

that's positive. Now the guy because the international man of mystery

comedy hasn't done anything all season, hasn't sniffed a podium. He

won this event two years ago, had a bronze medal last season. The

Canadians have always liked this track. 16 hundred in the bank. The

gap is coming down, is it going to be enough? Seven fastest speed up

the line. 49:36, his team-mates go off to congratulate. Two Canadians

that will finish in the top half-dozen. What a performance from

Kripps and Jesse Lumsden. Didn't have enough. Look at the slide, not

a perfect entry. Silver medal for Justin Kripps and Jesse Lumsden. At

least. And so we get one step closer to all-time greatness. Francesco

Friedrich and Thorsten Margis. They have eight gold medals at World

Championship, Junior, senior. 4:77, tying the start record, I think.

Yes. Enlisted by a hundredth yesterday. Straight World

Championships in the late 50s and 60s. Francesco Friedrich on target

for his fourth. Unbelievable, he is blowing the field away like this.

This athlete started winning his world temping chips when he was 22

years old. We are looking at greatness, here. 125 kilometres an

hour. It's ridiculous. 1.1 seconds going away, and Thorsten Margis...

Ridiculous! Yesterday it was three hundredths. Standing up in

jubilation before the sled even gets stopped. You think they like their

bobsledding here? The only sub 49 second run in the competition. He

saved the very best to last. Unbelievable, Francesco Friedrich

and Thorsten Margis. And tears of joy from the family and friends.

What the team they are together. Four straight seasons. These guys,

Whistler 2019 World Championships, that's the chance to tie the record.

And he won the Whistler event in December. We saw greatness today.

And on a short track he wins by over one second. There's the rest of the

field and then there's Francesco Friedrich. I brought my book of

superlatives but we've used them all already on him. He's in a different

orbit here to anybody else, and Germany go 1-3. Canada, silver

medal. We are about to get showered with

ice but we are going to look back on the men's, what did you make of the

performance? On paper it looks like a disappointing result, last year

they were forth, and this year they have come ninth, hit by the ice,

there. It is different circumstances. It was a massive

pushes track, which we are strong at. Joel has been suffering with his

back. Here we are in Germany, the German groups are so, so strong. I

think they will be happy with ninth place even though it doesn't quite

look as good. We will still see them having a go in the four-man as well.

In the meantime let's see how the women got on in their bobsledding.

In the first run both American crews set the early standard. And the USA,

finished second, closely followed by the Canadian Olympic gold medallist

Kaylee Humphreys and break woman Melissa get also. It was USA one

with the 2015 world champion Alana Mae as Taylor in the championship

that took an early lead after making the fastest start. The defending

world champion or so looked like challenging for a medal. And Great

Britain's Moore an Neil made an excellent start. Not everybody made

down safely. Russia to crashed out in dramatic fashion.

Sliding in reverse order for the second run, American crews went

head-to-head, USA 2 coming out on top. Jamie Greubel Poser enjoying

the technical track. The Canadians put in another consistent effort.

Began covering the top three was only five hundredths comment we now

have three hundredths first to second. Some mistakes by the German

home favourite saw their chance of a medal fade away. The reigning world

junior champion is, it was an afternoon to forget after their

impressive start. A mistake on the technical exit seeing them drop down

the field. Big disappointment, only the 12th fastest time. The junior

world champion knows she needs to relax and the speed is there.

Another messy effort by the Brits, well off the pace after a promising

start and it looked like being a straight shoot out between the three

North American crews for the title, but who would come out on top? Will

it be a case of what might have been for Great Britain's junior world

champion, Mica McNeill? She is the reigning junior bobsled world

champion but she has got to just relaxing to this final run and let

the speed,. She needs to forget what has happened. Nice. Like every

sport, it is all happening between the years. She goes straight around

here, did she give down? This is the same problem she had in the previous

heat. Could be in trouble here. Watch out! How did she do that? Not

quite as dramatic as the first run today. How that sled stayed up...

She's going to lose a couple of spots here. Mica McNeill will have

to go away and rebuild from this. The junior world champion, what a

horror story the last two days have been. Are a few more people coming

down have had the same issue. Watch her dip down, come way down, and go

way back up. She did the same thing the previous heat and then the

corner dictates where you come off. It's early and goes to the other

side, comes back to this site, now she is too late. Now she's at the

mercy of what the track to do with her. This isn't as bad as it was in

the first run. I'm sure it felt as bad in the back-seat, I'm sure she

feared they were going over again. A weekend to forget I am afraid.

Four slips to go in the women's bobsled world champions. The last

shot Germany has at a medal rests with our defending champion Annika

Drazek and her new driver Mariama Jamanka. The 11th placed second run

took her out of medal contention perhaps. They would need the perfect

start time and drive to have any chance. As it, the world champion

brakeman, she is some female specimen on the back of the sled.

She can run. Now they need the driver to have a perfect drive down

here. 16 hundredths. Now watched the speed. Speed is not that good. The

fastest sled there was 70.3 mph. Still has the lead by 13 hundredths,

Mariama Jamanka. Maybe not enough for a medal but she will hold her

position. Think she will have enough. She should just have it at

the line, and she does. 100 quicker than Christina hangs that.

There's no victory laps coming up either on this track. Three sled is

coming up. Second year in the top flight for Annika Drazek, she will

only continue to improve, especially with this team and break woman

behind her. Here out of the games, these girls have got to be medal

contenders. Sneaking down the left of our screen, gets away with it.

The back end gets away coming in here a little bit. Now things get

tight. Two horse race for the gold, surely. Jamie Greubel Poser remains

in third place. Parents flew in unexpectedly. Her husband is a

member of the German bobsled team. He said he was so nervous last night

he could not sleep. More nervous than when he is competing himself.

He is right behind us in the grandstands watching his wife

hopefully do what she did in the Olympic Games three years ago and

take a bronze medal with Aja Evans. That's pretty good speed. Excellent.

One more albatross at the exit. Took a lot of ice, there. Three tenths

up, heading for the medals. Aja Evans, Olympic bronze medallist with

Aja Evans, will also be a medallist in the World Championships. I think

that extinguished the slight hope of Jamanka. She took too much of this

cross right to left. Nice transition all the way in. There's your top

three, two to go. Three hundredths of a second covered the top two sled

in the women's World Championships after three of four runs. Kaylee

Humphreys reeling in Meyers Taylor as she did in Saatchi.

They are the 2015, and 2013 world champion. She was second in the

first run, second in the second run, second in the third round and she is

in position now to throw a great run down.

This is only about World Championship gold for Kelly

Humphries. Good speed. We've not seen this kind of speed since the

Japanese sled. 20 to 100th the gap is coming down. Don't forget, she's

in the same BMW sled as Alana Miles Taylor. She guarantees herself at

least a silver medal. This is such deja vu from the Olympic Games. Does

she cross over here? I mean, this is the most experienced and successful

pilot in the sport. They lead with one sled to go. Guaranteed at least

a silver. Can they take a World Championship gold? The woman who is

finally on the track has just won the last four World Cup races,

including here three weeks ago, and also won the last two races on this

track. Last year and this year. Her husband Nick Taylor waiting at the

bottom of the track for her. Alana Miles Taylor, the shortest woman in

the competition. Terry Jones behind her. A new record. She knows it's

important. What a pocket rocket. Let's stop looking for tall women

and go for women around the five foot Mark. The speed into the run.

She doesn't have the speed. 70 miles an hour. Don't forget, they were

three hundredths apart after three runs and the gap is down to 12

hundredths. They need to get it down a bit more. It's going to be close.

A hundredth of a second. But in the World Championship. She matches

Kelly Humphries to the one hundredths of a second on that run

and wins by three hundredths. Her husband and team-mates congratulate

her. A new record and a second World Championship victory for Alana Miles

Taylor. This time, her break woman, Kerry Jones. She has now won five

straight races since Christmas. Three on this track with Kerry

Jones. Look at this pocket rocket, five foot one. What speed that girl

develops. Unbelievable. What an athlete she is. By three hundredths

from Humphries. She poses her first medal with the bronze.

Amy, what did you think of the Women's Bobsleigh performance? I

think 16th in the World Championship was good. They were junior champions

last year and I'd just think it goes to show that you can't come into the

big stage here and expect exactly the same results. Some of the

drivers here have been driving for 15 or 20 years, so I've think when

they change it around, different combinations, there's more to come

from these girls. OK, let's turn our attention to the Men's Skeleton.

Alexander Tretiakov only finished off the podium once this season and

he made the fastest start to give them an early lead in very

changeable conditions. He was followed down by Alexander Gassner

who comes from nearby Winter Berg, another famous German sliding track.

Looks like he enjoys life just as well, going quickest overall.

Dominic Edward Parsons racing for Great Britain. Mainly top ten

finishes and he laid down a solid run to leave him in ninth. But all

eyes were on the Latvian, Martins Dukurs. He has dominated the podium

all season. And he flew down the track to put him well clear of the

field. After winning here last month, he looked good in the early

stages, the Russian, are Alexander Tretiakov. Jack Thompson made their

debut, 17th after his opening attempt with Thomas, finishing back

in 20th. They will both be hoping to improve through the competition. And

he may have been rock bottom of the pack, but the competitor from Dana

was enjoying the ice if not quite the journey to the bottom. Positions

were reversed in the second run. Early start for the two British

competitors after their first outing. Jeremy who are still to race

at world level, slipped down to 18th overall with Jack Thomas also moving

down to 21st. Dom Parsons, consistent game, maintaining his

ninth spot and, despite being one of the slow starters, found some speed

at the bottom of the course. Axel Jungk is third overall this season

and after a disappointing first run which saw him down the field, he

improved significantly second time-out. His start was not the

quickest but he looked impressive as he flew down the track looking up

some serious speed to leave him in third. The Russians also went faster

in their second attempt, Alexander Tretiakov maintaining a second base

overall with Alexander Kasjanov quickest yet to gain. Both sliders

looking likely to be amongst the medals after Sunday's fourth and

final run. But it was that man Martins Dukurs who extended his lead

to over seven tenths with 24 hours off within a second run and the

final two efforts on Sunday. The Latvian really is the man to beat.

So halfway through the Men's Skeleton and to be honest as anyone

name on everyone's lifts. Yes, other leader, Martins Dukurs, almost two

seconds in front, incredible. He still found more speed and increase

the distance so phenomenal, and then we've got the young Germans snapping

at his heels and a young Russian, who has been the Russian all-time

favourite. Dominic Parsons, our number one in ninth place will be

disappointed with that. He had a good solid run but maybe is he

trying a bit too hard? Too much tension? He will want to be in the

top six but it's a big difference in time and then a la bookies are Jerry

Rice in 18th place and Jack Thomas in 21st. Jack will want to get into

the top 20 and Jerry is a bit more tense. His head and shoulders were

coming up but it's a major championships, and the first one for

them, so they are doing well but will want to move on that. They have

got a night to go home and have a day off tomorrow and then come out

fresh. We've not had the best competition today but the snow and

ice this morning would have affected the quality of the ice, so let's

hope the second day of racing they will come out and just moved up that

little bit more. Martins Dukurs, the red vest, here's

the champion. He gets the final day of action underway in the Men's

Skeleton World Championships. A great start from him there. You can

just see how beautiful the ice is today. It is -0.5 with the air at 2

degrees. Everyone has taken the temperatures. Look at him coming

down the straight through the S-bend. Bulleting his way through.

Barely using his feet to steer. You want a really clean exit here. Just

clip fits but then he is getting through without any other problems.

Carrying the speed into these bottom corners. 115.7, that's incredibly

fast. 72 miles an hour headfirst and accelerating up towards the line, a

50.60 slide. Six tenths of a second away from a track record set last

weekend in the team competition. That should be enough, three tenths

quicker than even he managed to go in Friday's race. Can Nikita

Tregybov stay within a second of the leader? A man who finished in sixth

place in the Winter games three years ago in Sochi. His home track.

21 years old. The triple junior world champion. And an electrifying

powerhouse at the start. He starts quite short and drops away fast so

it might not give him all the benefit of those superhuman speeds.

He has got to try to hang onto the silver medal at least. Yes, 466, it

matches one of his speeds yesterday. You only have a little tiny bit

before you have to get on the sled as fast as possible and get into

position and stay calm, take a deep breath and get right into those

S-bends. Almost copying the exact line of Martins Dukurs before him.

You need the video of your slide and a video of Justin Olsen and then you

can compare and contrast. He had a better exit because the speed was a

bit lower going in. This is like a big race between the two Russians.

Is he going to take top spot? He closes onto the course. He is now 57

hundredths behind. Martins Dukurs says he will test equipment at every

race all year long with next year's Olympic Games in his sights. Now,

has he set his runners and his sled for what conditions they expect a

little later in the day for the final run? Or is he testing

something different? Axel Jungk, bronze overnight, was livid with

himself after his first heat. Less cross after the second. Only one

tenth behind Nikita Tregybov. He tied his speed in the third heat of

the second heat, rather, so let's see if he can move closer to the

leader, as well. Yes, he's only for hundreds in front of Alexander

Tretiakov so it's very close between third and fourth from yesterday

standings. Really beautiful lines. These Germans know exactly where to

get the speed from these tracks. We saw that in the girls race and the

first lot of the bobsleigh. A little scared. Again, throwing his leg out

to correct the slide down the straight. 11.86. The highest speed

we have seen into the band. Beautiful line coming out there.

Easy steering. You can oversteer, but this German knows that tracks

so, so well. Got to avoid the walls. Is quite steep uphill now to the

finish line. Across the line, 50.50. He takes a tenth of a second out of

Martins Dukurs but loses nine hundredths to Nikita Tregybov. The

first manned and did not get the best run so far. The danger perhaps

is this man. The Olympic champion. Alexander Tretiakov, owner of the

fastest start on the planet, four hundredths of a second behind after

two heats. Canny move into the medals? 456, quicker than even he

went yesterday -- can he move into the medals? Yes, here's definitely

dubbed the Russian rocket. We know how quickly is on that start. A tall

guy, long legs. He separate court here in Germany which he won. That

gap is coming down to Nikita Tregybov as well. He's controlling

that as well. Three oscillations, so those athletes have two steer those

in exactly the right moment. Even quicker, he was nine tenths behind

and is now eight tenths behind. He could move up into the medals.

Here's ahead of Axel Jungk on the line and he is in a better position.

Five hundredths in front of the German. Each slide that now seems to

be going quicker. 50.41 exactly to the time set by his team-mate. The

door could be open to overhaul the Latvian. A great looking new helmet

design. Martins Dukurs started well. Dominic will give away a few

hundredths of a second to him. That more comfortable than anything he

produced yesterday. He could easily move up a spot. Versus his fourth

World Championships. Tenth in the Cup rankings which I've think you

would expect him to be a bit higher. One of our most experienced sliders.

Looking very comfortable here. 111.1. Decent speed. 69.6. He needs

to get the line right, not bad at all. Are a lot of heights, having to

work quite hard coming out. Here's ahead of Martins Dukurs. He moves up

to eighth position. How close will he get to Martins Dukurs? A good

move from Don Parsons. They are happy with that. He should be as

well, 51.15. Great Jack Thomas gets the form in the

fourth one and get underway in the World Championships. 14th fastest in

the 30 and he needed to drag himself into the top ten. 468 getaway, his

family are watching at the finish and that is comfortable in its best

run of the weekend. He had a little bit of nerves, was really, really

desperate to get into the top 20 and has done that and hopefully that

will relax him. in position now to throw a great run

down. He is looking chilled on the sled

and he will want to maintain that position. This is a really good,

solid run from Jack. He made his first ever World Cup start a year

ago today, they tied in the first heat. He comes across the line with

a 51:20 six. He is really pumped with that as he comes passed his

family. Lets see how he can do here. He's

come down in ninth, seventh and ninth in the heats, very consistent.

He will still want to move on up. His fourth World Championships, very

experienced at this two different days of racing but he will need to

keep the speed. Looking good so far. Seven tenths in front for the first

heat. Not quite as quick as the Italians. He has added to his

advantage. Good, clean exit, allowing the sled to run. Fastest

speed at the bottom. Parsons will stay in the lead and challenge,

maybe, to move up further. 51:18. Finally someone goes quicker than

Jack Thomas. His team-mate now has the second fastest trip in this

heat. Germany next up, we will have a German leader, will we, can we

have a German medallist hearing can exceed? A lot of noise beside our

commentary position. Alex Jonker lives in Dresden. Third in the World

Cup rankings. First heat has let him down, he's

been second and third quickest in the others, what can he do now?

Matches his best start of the competition. He knows it's now or

never for medal. Sometimes when the tension leaves your body you relax a

bit more. You can get a little more out of your start. Great run. That's

exactly how would you want to do this straight. Half a mile an hour

quicker than anybody. Bumps the wall, still a good run through the

labyrinth. Half a second up on Gassner. This is about challenging

for the medals. The Germans will want a medal from this championship,

and he does come he's in first place. 50:54, fastest so far. Not as

quick as his first heat, a 55:0. Is it enough? Is it starting to slow?

Is it starting to sag? Will he get a medal? We will find out in two

minutes. The Olympic champion from 2014, Alexander Tretiakov. Three

weeks ago he took the gold medal here. He is in third place after

moving up overnight. His team-mate lies 17 under in front. The gold

medal is over seven tenths away. This is a battle between two

Russians for who will be the best of the rest. These two Russian athletes

now fighting had exactly the same time in their third run. How will

his fourth and final run go? Can tricky both keep it together? Seen

some mistakes. A lot of pressure knowing his younger team-mate is in

front of him. His speed is not as good. He's going back, behind Axel

Jungk by three hundredths of a second. Does he know how to find

speed at the bottom the way the Germans do? He's not going to take a

medal, the Olympic champion, the 2013 world champion is out, and look

who is in the medals. The Germans get a medal. How happy is he? How

the domain of Axel Jungk has changed from the first heat when he could

barely contain his rage at himself. Now he is in the medals, and chatty

occult, win here three weeks ago, may not get a medal at all -- and

Tretiakov. The 21-year-old Russian, his best World Championship result

has been fourth place two years ago. Both starts that really favour a

quick get away. He is the fastest starter in the field, can he take a

medal? Tretiakov has been the top Russian for six years. Can this

young lad come on through and change the guard? Can he be top ranked

Russian? Again Tretiakov has Alp started him. Tregybov has a lead

over Axel Jungk. It's only 12 hundredths. Out to 18 because of the

start and it's coming down. A much better straight than his team-mate.

Controlled that better. One mile an hour slower than Axel Jungk. He's

got to be perfect now. Has he got the speed in the sled? Axel Jungk

could move up. He is going to move out. Tregybov, will he take a medal

or drop behind Tretiakov? He's going to take a medal but Axel Jungk can't

believe it, cannot believe it, he's going to take at least a silver

medal. One the slider to go, surely the thinkable cannot happen. Four

times already a world champion, Martins Dukurs won the last two

years. He's now going for a historic third straight men's gold medal. Can

he keep it together? Didn't have the best exit from his third run. He's

going to want to absolutely perfect that if he wants to keep his gold

medal position. His advantage over Axel Jungk was three quarters of a

second. Makes three hits on the bend away. Nine tenths in front. 67.9.

Axel Jungk had 69 and a half. The gap is still 68 hundredths but he

avoids drama where he has crashed out before. He is going to win a

third straight World Championship gold medal. The gap has come down.

He will not have the fastest run but he is our new world champion. 50.93

run is enough. Wasn't great but it was good enough. And again,

Superman, the greatest skeleton slider this sport has ever seen, set

another new record. Triple consecutive world champion. Yeah,

phenomenal. That is Martins Dukurs for you. Absolutely phenomenal

skeleton slider. One of the best people to watch. And you know, he

kept it together. Did get a better exit, and he had such a big lead.

Something quite drastic had to happen for him to have lost.

How do you look back on that one? A little bit disappointed with how I

performed, but I guess I got a little lucky that Thomas messed up

the last two runs. I can take the positive, but disappointed with my

performance. First World Championships for both of you, how

was that overall? It was awesome and I loved every minute. A bit

disappointed at the end but still a great experience. So much fun with

Jack. Talk us through it, Jack, did it feel as good as it looked?

Obviously yesterday I had a bit of a nightmare, struggling to make it

into the top 20. My voice is going from the shouting. Today we got a

bit more of a grip. The last run, I don't know where that has been

hiding. I've been pushing terribly in these World Championships and all

of a sudden I pulled it out the back. What is realistic for you both

in one year's time? I think we are both capable of challenging the top

ten. And then anything can happen at the Olympic Games. Doing it with one

of my best mates. So, all done for the men's skeleton, that was quite

exciting for those young Brits. It was very exciting. I literally had

butterflies in my stomach. Jack Thomas coming down, 20th after that

third run, put down a phenomenal run. You could just see the tension

had left him, he was enjoying it, and he put down the seventh fastest

run and he finished off in 16th place. Dominic Parsons finished in

eighth place, moving up a little bit. He probably will have mixed

feelings, great result but he probably wanted to move up. The

Latvian, my goodness, Martins Dukurs, brilliant. Three straight

championship golds. Bit of a battle between the Russians, the new

Russian came through, and axle, the German, they got the medal and were

absolutely thrilled. We will finish today that the noisiest and most

dramatic event at the World Championships, the four-man

bobsleigh. For the two Team GB line-ups it has been a topsy-turvy

season. Lots of changes of personnel as the coaches try to work out their

best line-up for next year 's Winter Olympics in South Korea. To top it

all the 2014 crew could yet win an Olympic medal if the Russian results

are invalidated. It's testing times. Talk to me about Sochi as an

experience, first major games. Obviously my first games, amazing

experience to be there. As the runs progressed, realised we were not

just there to take part, we were there to be competitive, lifelong

dream for me. That is remarkable, absolutely brilliant. We finished

fifth and you could see that we were ecstatic. When the dust settled

afterwards we thought we were that close to a medal, so it did think in

a little bit, slightly disappointing. The worst doping

scandal in history. Laid bare how Russia cheated. Russian Secret

Service agent. We knew it was how bad, we found out how bad. Russian

track and field athletes banned. Been cheating from 2011 to 2015. Now

we know Sochi 2015 was a sham. Obviously the results have been

looked at again, do you feel like you are the bronze medallists? I

suppose I kind of do. We know that we competed clean. We don't have the

medal but we will have a wait and see. Would have been a great thing

for my mum, wife and children to see me on the podium. Whatever truth

comes out of it will be more important than receiving the medal

itself. Last year World Championships, going incredibly well

for the first two runs, showed just how much potential, then said didn't

quite happen, talk me through it. Going into the third heat we were on

target, definitely minimum of going second. It was never my strongest

point, I would always lose 100th here or there. I tried something

different, tried to let it fly and it literally did. Just one fraction

too much and rolls it. Lamin Deen trying to let it fly. It was a

mistake trying to go faster. Good to see all the boys are out uninjured.

This season the form has been up and down, changing the squad and Cruz,

what has been the theory behind that? You have to discover a crew.

We have so much talent in the squad at the moment, everybody is of such

a standard it is simply a case of finding a combination that works

well together. You've got butterfingers, come on. Three

crewmembers, having that cohesion is so important. We have got so much

depth at the moment it is unreal. Once upon a time we didn't have many

to choose from, we had what we had and we would make it work. Now we

have so many guys, real elite athletes. We've got a fantastic team

now. We could pick ranked from number one all the way to 17 and you

would still have a world-class team. Leading the guys at the moment is no

problem. There's a really good feeling about being part of the team

and knowing, when you are in a crew, three other guys completely having

your back, it is a different sort of reward, definitely. When you have a

real bond with the team, you are all doing it for each other, everybody

trying to make the other guide proud, nobody wants to let anybody

down. We have definitely got people capable of winning a medal in this

team, no doubt about it. So, two Team GB crews, first piloted by

Lamin Deen, and the second by the newcomer Bradley Hall, who looked

impressive in training. But this is where the German bobsled is meant

two spent most of the year, expect quick times from them. After

finishing third last weekend on his home track in the two-man event,

Janice Lochner had a point to prove, and wow, did he do that. Raking the

course record in his first run. A very definite marker laid down for

the rest of the field. His German team-mate rose to the challenge,

Nicole water, and was super quick at the start, but a mistake cost him

and he ended up two tenths behind. Francesco Friedrich, already a world

champion having won the two-man event, he and his crew had the

fastest start ever on this track but they couldn't keep it up.

One tenth of Johannes Lochner after Heat 1. The surprise was the Latvian

crew. Oskars Melbardis missed the start of the season with an injury.

He broke the track record set earlier in the session by Francesco

Friedrich to go third. It was mixed fortunes for the British. Lamin Deen

who have struggled badly struggling with a track all week was ranked

11th coming into the championships and only managed 21st spot. But for

newcomer Bradley Hall and his crew, it was a very different story. They

moved from the start position of 28 into 13th place with a super quick

start and a solid run down the track. So no surprise for the

four-man bobsleigh that the stands are absolutely packed. This is on

the German crowd love to see. They absolutely love it. 4-Man Bob is a

spectacle and of course the Germans are so, so strong here having

already smashed the start record at the track record. And what about the

British? What did you make of the first run? Bradley Hall has done

phenomenally, from 28th moved up into 13th place. Their posh time was

two tenths of the original start record, so I've think he will be

very happy and thrilled and if he can just edge on up, they are not

the same as Lamin Deen who has not quite got the same results but it's

very very close between the whole group and I've think calm your

nerves and come out looking definitely to move on up a couple of

spaces. Hopes were high for the British led piloted by Bradley Hall

after that impressive first outing. Click at the top, they look to

challenge the top ten. But he overcooked it and a skid led to the

first crash of the Men's Bobsleigh event. He's in trouble! You could

see when he came out, too late! Bruised and battered, there was

clear disappointment for the young crew after such a good start. Is

everyone OK? We are all OK physically. Nothing wrong with us.

It's not the result we wanted in the end. What went wrong? What went

wrong. Well, it was going well. I thought we might have been on the

wrong line, I've pulled down a bit too early, had a tap and you can't

resave those things. Once you are in trouble, it's hard to fix. Bruce, as

one of the taller members of the crew, when it's beginning to unravel

like that, there's not much you can do but to duck down even further.

That's right, there's no place to hide relief. I've got to take it and

just count down the seconds until it is over. Some horrendous pictures of

crash helmet on ice all the way down and then back as well. Not present

for anybody. Not at all and that's why we wear them. Going backwards is

far worse, when you are trapped tightly and it's difficult to

breathe and its claustrophobic. How good was the championships open to

that point? Really good, really positive. The team got together. We

were excited about racing. It's a shame what happened but definitely

shows there's big things to come so I'm really excited about the future.

Let's throw Brad a bit of a life ring. How good could he be? Mates,

the potential is massive. In that sort of situation, in this

environment, he showed some really, really, really great things to come,

so I'm excited about the future. How important is for you to pull

together as a team a year before Pyeongchang next weekend, and a lot

of work to do. Definitely but as soon as we finished the crash, we

were all around him together, and it's natural for us to be together.

We are friends outside anyway and I've think it shows we are a brand

new crew. It's bittersweet because it's a shame we've gone out so early

but, at the same time, like, the bits we could smash we smashed, so

we are pretty happy and we can't wait to go to 2018. For the

Americans, piloted by Steve Holcomb, they moved into fourth and looking

good to challenge for a potential podium place. Nico Walther could not

build on his early efforts. That mistake clearly still playing on his

mind. His crew drop down to fifth. The Latvian pilot Oskars Melbardis

has found real speed in Konigssee and was quicker at the start taking

another one hundredths off his record time from Heat 1. The two

German crews who battled it out in the 2-Man Bob work looking like the

ones to beat. Francesco Friedrich was quick at the top and set the

quickest time of the second run that, despite MSc second effort on

his home track from Johannes Lochner, he a leader going into heat

three and heat for. And for Lamin Deen and the Brits, having watched

their team mate crash out, there was an improvement, moving up two places

from 23rd. Halfway through the 4-Man Bob come petition and that was not

pleasant viewing if you work British. It wasn't. Oh my word, my

heart went out to Bradley Hall. He was so excited after having a really

good solid first run but you know what, he's so inexperienced, and

that was his first ever crash. To do it on a world stage like that, you

know, bruised ego, pride, but it's very, very hard. They pushed grade,

speeds will be different, but nerves, the environment in which you

are in, and where he actually crashed is a very narrow but. If

you're going to crash on this track, it's probably going to be exactly

there, so you go out and it's not what they wanted but actually it's a

huge learning experience having only just driven for under 12 months. And

Lamin Deen loitering around the cut-off, third run absolutely vital

for them to move up a bit. Yes, he will be disappointed. Is just

outside the top 20 and they were hoping to be those that towards the

top ten. But hopefully tomorrow he will come out and push a bit harder.

Three hundredths of a second out of the top 20 and they are definitely

going to want to move on up a few more places.

Germany get the second day of competition underway in 4-Man Bob

World Championships. Three hundredths of a second lead and

spent yesterday studying video to try to find out where that time is

escaping him. He lost a lot of time in the second run. It's amazing he

is able to do that and still have the lead. Versus his home track

where he learned to drive. His father lives down the street. Speed

72.1 miles an hour. It will be vital he nails it. A little bump on the

exit. Versus the graveyard of time, the uphill section of the track. We

saw Steve Holcomb lose lots of time day yesterday. 48.64, slower than he

was yesterday. The track was very quick this morning. Very hard. But

maybe not so quick this afternoon. He's done enough to take the lead

into the third-rate, we will find out in two minutes. Francesco

Friedrich took the gold for the fourth straight time a week ago. A

year ago, he nearly doubled up with a 4-Man Bob. They can't

underestimate how much of a threat they are. They had a track record at

the start. Before they broke the track record again, Oskars

Melbardis. Slower than yesterday. They matched it both times, 475.

Three hundredths behind in the first heat leading by 500 courtesy of

their fastest start. This looks pretty clean but he should have more

time than that. Luck how clean through here. Remember, 117, four

kilometres better than Johannes Lochner.

I think here's going to get it. 125.7 is what Johannes Lochner had.

Not the best speed. 100. These guys are going to go head to head. Oskars

Melbardis could say something about that coming up but these are Germans

are separated by 100th of a second. The World Championships. The world

champion, Oskars Melbardis from Latvia. A huge man, trying to get

476-7. Two hundredths better than Francesco Friedrich. 57.8. Huge

velocity at the start. Seven hundredths behind Francesco

Friedrich after the first two runs. The gap is down to 51 hundredths.

Canny move into the lead? Bad skid. That will not out a chance for

medals -- can he move into the lead. A good run from the reigning world

champion. He will fall way back. Nico Walther will probably slipped

ahead of him into the bronze medal position. This is the danger in the

4-Man Bob. One loose run can cost you everything. He is third. He

knows that that huge skid all the way down the straight is going to

cost him dearly. And that opens up a medal opportunity for this manner.

The redoubtable Steve Holcomb. Carlo Valdes gave hope of a great start.

Low 80s. Lacayo gently they get in. If the velocity. They have matched

it. They get in in the slow motion and carry that momentum. Steve

Holcomb with his start time is lethal and this is what he does. He

made a big mistake yesterday. This is good speed. 169, not great speed,

though. Two tenths of a mile an hour after fastest, Johannes Lochner.

Good run through the labyrinth and this is exactly what he needed. This

is where he did the mistake. This time he is perfect, bringing it

back. He is ahead of Oskars Melbardis. This is what he does on

the bottom part of the track. The Germans went 48 point 60, 48.64, and

he is learning this sled fast. So Nico Walther, what does the slip by

Oskars Melbardis offer this man? The giant behind him. They were two

hundredths behind Steve Holcomb and could shoot for a medal. Spectacular

start time yesterday. The leader of the pack there. But the driver, Nico

Walther, he had a terrible exit. That's a good start for him. Here's

a great pilot. He just did not deliver the goods yesterday,

especially in the exit coming up right here. Not perfect. Gets away

with it. He was two tenths behind after two trips. Speed, way off.

72.3. Half a mile an hour down. The gap is opening up. Steve Holcomb was

only 21 hundredths behind at the line. This is the latest as they had

tested. Good speed. He is close to third place. Very close indeed.

Second-best time! He has moved into the medals. Oh my Lord! He did that

yesterday. He would then be up there sniffing the gold medal. It's now go

fast all go home. Lamin Deen knows the pressure. He's had a lot to

think about. He's alongside Andy Matthews. After the first two heat

they were 15 one hundredths behind the Germans but a random drive from

the world champion leaves a cracker daylight. Lamin Deen has got to get

in it. 46, 47 yesterday. These four great athlete and have got to get 45

at least. 489. I keep saying it, but you know was good as I'd do, these

are four great athletes. They have not come together as a team yet.

Right now it is down to Lamin Deen. Yesterday Brad Hogg crashed out of

what might have been a top ten run. Right now Lamin Deen is not on

target, 20 First Place on the split times. Better lines than the

Germans. They had some drift in the graveyard section. It is going to be

very, very close at the line, is he in or out? Needs to be 20th, he is

not. So Lamin Deen doesn't make the final run. No British sleds in the

top 20. Disappointing not to make the last

run? Disappointing, and unfamiliar territory for us as a squad, this is

the Olympic squad. However we have been trying a lot of different

things this year. This is the year to try different sleds, runners,

cruise, mixing it up. We have found out some certain things. Hopefully

we can take that into the Olympic track that we are going to next week

and to next year. So guys, how much more can we expect from you next

weekend and beyond? Yeah, I think things are going to improve. We are

going to jail more. There has been a lot of moving around this year,

different crews and equipment. I think it's time to actually get

together and worked as a team and start improving and moving up the

ranks, as simple as that. Back to the drawing board. Cooler, calm,

focused, look at Lascelles Brown on the backline. Jesse Lumsden on his

left, Alexander Kopacz on his right, Justin Kripps the driver. Got quite

a team here. Kopacz, they put him in to replace Kirkpatrick. Look at the

ranking. Start times, 4:79 the last time, fourth best start. I bet you

they try and bust at least a 4:79 out here again. Speed though, great

velocity. Again, those four huge man load like they are featherlight into

the sled. This is the first weekend these four guys have been working

together. 300s of a second in hand over Benjamin Maier. Great lines!

Got through there without tapping everything. Great straight. Not too

many sleds get through the straightaway without tapping. What

about here. Down to four hundredths of a second. Maybe he steered too

much. Going to be very tight. Only six fastest. Benjamin Maier was

fastest of all. How close will it be? My goodness, he does it, same

time, identical run in time to Benjamin Maier. 300th in his back

pocket and that is enough for top six after claiming a two-man medal

last weekend. Five sleds remain in the 2017 BMW IBS F World

Championships. In these next five sleds will come our medals. Oskars

Melbardis is the world champion. He and Daumants Dreiskens coming back

from injury, you wouldn't know it after three fastest start including

a new record yesterday. 4:73 again! They matched it. He had a disastrous

third run, his sled was sideways all the way down the straightaway. He

went from medal contention to just a slight chance of a medal only if

someone else falters. Had a huge slide all the way down. Second

fastest sled we've seen in the Chrysler. He's got a huge lead, this

is what you expected out of him. Is it enough to get into medal

contention? He is the reigning world champion. Good run. This has got to

be the best. That's huge. In a sport where we are dealing with hundreds

of second coming he is half a second ahead. His first run today was a

48.90 one. What a catastrophe that was. 100th of a second out of the

medals for Team USA. Brand-new sled that they never raced before this

week. They've had some good success with their starts. Six best start in

the third run. Steven Holcomb had his best art in the past years.

Fastest they've managed all weekend. Second-best speed of anybody. They

know it's important, every hundredth could win a medal. This is the first

time he's driven a non-American made sled. Made a big mistake, there,

that might cost them. The speed is great, though. And he's so fast at

the bottom. He is two hundredths behind comic is going to have to

turn it on, here. Only one hundredth out of a medal. Got the best speed,

though. Top speed, is it enough out of the final corner? Not enough.

Oskars Melbardis is leading with three to go. He can't believe what

is going on. Steven Holcomb made a mistake, he'll know it. Two great

runs, two average runs. Three sleds to go, all German. Will we have a

German world champion? Seems highly likely, but who? Will it be 26 old

Nico Walther, will it be 26-year-old Francesco Friedrich, will it be

26-year-old Johan Goosen lock mirror.

Kevin Kuske on the left side of our screen. And they need the start. He

needs everything. 4:70 nine. Speed on the left, fifth best speed.

Walter had a disastrous first run, he was on the wrong side of the

straightaway. Let's see if that costs him on the exit. A little bit.

Second quickest in the field. Goodspeed. This is the brand-new

sled, every bell and whistle they can empty into it. He's got about

eight trips with it. This is the bronze. Nico Walther will do it.

He's had a very subpar season but today he gets at least bronze medal.

Two sleds, three runs, one hundredth of a second

separating them. Here is the local hero Johannes Lochner. His uncle

Rudy was a world champion in Bob sled. He is one hundredth away from

winning this. Disqualified in the last race at Eagles. This is the

biggest heat of his young competitive life. Eighth best

velocity. He also drifted to the right of our screen. Lead of 17

hundredths on his team-mate, Nico Walther. Lead at the end of the

first run. One hit, two, three. Speed is below 116. Walther had

better speed. Is he straight? Right here through the graveyard, yes.

This is going to be the leader, at least silver medal. So the hometown

boy delivers. Whether that is going to be good

enough, now they've got to sit and wait, their destiny not in their

hands. Francesco Friedrich lead into the final run of last year 's

four-man World Championships at Innsbruck only to lose in the last

heat. He is a four-time two-man world champion, four-time

consecutive two-man world champion. And he could be 48 seconds from a

Gold double weekend. 4:75, matches their best time when they broke the

track record in the first heat. He also drifts to the right. Exit here,

can he get out clean? Not really. Big skid. Double tapped, three hits.

Goodspeed, though. It now comes down to the labyrinth. This could be in

single digits. And high, there. Still with the lead. He was 100th in

front at the start. Double gold! Double gold medal. And that,

perhaps, is the fairest result in the four-man World Championship.

Everybody wins here in Germany. That's unbelievable. Gold, gold,

bronze, for Germany. And hard to imagine a fairer result than an

absolute dead heat between Francesco Friedrich and Johannes Lochner.

We had to step away from the track-side at the end of that

competition. Germany, Germany, Germany, demonstration in how to win

the competition. Yes, three strong teams. Plus they are here on their

home track, home advantage. But how amazing, I have never known in a

World Championships over four runs to get down in the exact same time.

Absolutely phenomenal performance. Even more German gold medallists in

this championship. Yes, first, second and third, two firsts, one

third, I've never known it. Slightly less happy news for the Brits. Yeah,

it's disappointing in one sense for Lamin Deen, not quite getting the

forefront, just out of the top 20. They've been playing around with

different crews, not quite settled, didn't quite get on with this track

and has struggled the whole time. Doesn't really matter because they

need to nail it for next year. They've got the whole summer

together training hard and going into the next winter season. We've

obviously got our young one coming up behind you unfortunately did

crash but he was in 13th place up until then. So he's really got to

take the positives from that and realise he's got a bright future.

When you cast your mind back over the whole Championships, what do you

make of the British performance? They aimed to get a medal and we got

one. Lizzy Yarnold got her medal in the skeleton and I think that's

brilliant. We knew she could do it, we knew she'd stepped up and she

always thrives on these big championships. So that's really

positive. Dominic Parsons and Laura Deas, yes, they just got into the

top ten. They are going to be a bit disappointed, they want to creep up.

There are lessons to learn and it is a long year ahead. They are all

going to Korea now, where they will get excited and learn about the

track and go into a really good summer of training and comeback

signing. From all our winter sports there is quite a bit of expectation

on sliding, Bobsleigh and skeleton in Korea, is it too much to expect

them to produce more than one medal? I think we will vividly get a medal,

particularly in skeleton, Lizzy has every chance. There are just the top

few girls that are really strong at the moment. Laura will be wanting to

fight her hardest. When things click into place I think it could happen

for her. Don't miss the same. Is it going to happen? He really needs to

shift up. Sochi needs to sort out the team, they need to go away and

focus on who works well -- Lamin Deen needs to sort out the team.

They need to practice and build up a really strong bond. They've got a

lot less years experience than four example this Germany 1-2- three. Our

boys have been going a lot less, so a long way to go. I think the future

is still positive. Brilliant, been great working with you this weekend.

So thank you, that's it for the World Championships from skeleton

and Bobsleigh, so until next time, from the thick of us, it's goodbye.