Day 15 Winter Olympics: Today at the Games

Amy Williams is the Queen of speed. Well done. Really well done.

Lizzie Yarnold is the Olympic champion. Oh, my goodness.

Day 15 of the Winter Olympics. This is really awkward, but we

really need to talk about the trolley. I know it's only a trolley,

but seriously, it's got a life of its own.

It's going everywhere. This is my show.

Started off such a sweet trolley. You mean, you know, it's so

unprofessional. To the trolley. To the trolley!

BURP. The trolley? It's got that vague

smell of alcohol. I know. Out of control trolley? !

I nearly went off on the razz and the wheels have gone all wonky.

Trolley, we 're going to have to have a serious chat.

Oh, Trolley. And a teddy bear. Oh, Trolley, you're forgiven. Come on,

let's get back to work. It's been the star of these Games.

Every athlete who's come to visit us has just want add photo with the

Trolly. Fans have stopped, stared at it, rhyme TV companies have wanted

one, but even the Trolley knows it can't upstage the Winter Olympicses

or the athletes. This evening, we have some of the very best of them.

The stars of men's slalom have been weaving their way into the last

Alpine gold of these games. The snowboarding came to a close

with the men's parallel slalom. And, we have a Special Report on

whether the pressure of the Olympics is causing some to put their

well-being in danger. So we've got a lot to discuss and

reflect upon on this final Today at the Games and we were allowed to

share a memorable day with Great Britain's own rock stars.

It all comes down to this. The last chance to win an pluck

medal. Hold your nerve. Hold your breath.

There the's no chance to celebrate yet. The stone's going to get there.

-- win an Olympic medal. And this was the moment that all the

hard work they'd put into training, all the competitions that they'd

played in the past, came to fruition. The presentation of the

silver medals. David Murdoch beside himself there. Murdoch, Drummond,

Andrews, Goodfellow and Brewster. They held on to the very heavy

medals and can do that for ever. A few moments later, the Great Britain

women stepped up to receive their bronze and Sir Phillip createn,

chairman of the National Paralympic committee, making the presentation

to Sierra Leone, Adams, Hamilton and to Gray.

Huge smiles. And even huger medals. I mean these can do some damage. Oh,

my word. They can indeed. Do you know what, they have already broken

a cup tonight when it was flapping around Anna's neck. They weigh an

absolute tonne. Did you smash a cup, Anna? I didn't mean to. It was the

medal! What was it like out there? Do you

know what, it's a moment of a lifetime to get the chance to step

on to the Olympic podium and hard work pays off. To get that chance to

step up there, you have got to Cher usual it for as long as you can. It

was amazing, the medal plaza on a Saturday night was just

unbelievable. It's a great thing, the medals plaza having the huge

crowd and actually, the two of you have been back-to-back, I presume

you were backstage together? Yes, we have been held in green room and it

was exciting, the adrenaline was flowing and our hearts were pumping.

You could hardly speak because you have you haven't stopped grinning. I

can't help it. It's incredible. To finally realise our dream. It's

something I've thought about for a long, long time and really can't

believe I have the medal around my neck. You have put a picture up on

Twitter saying it's been a long time coming. You were biting it on the

picture. Have you marked it? Not yet. We are going to catch up on

some of the medals that were won today and we start with the men's

slalom. This is a really tough twisty Turney technical sport and

the course was particularly difficult today. Marcel Hersher of

Austria has been the foreman all season but had good Austrian

team-mates in with him as well. Matt Chiltern and Graham Bell in the

commentary box. After nine events, the Alpine comes

to a climax tonight with a slalom. The last chance for the ski nation

to claim a goal. It's the Austrian who skis into gold medal position.

Gold medal position for Norway. Fabulous Olympic record continues.

The technical events were won by incredible individual performances.

It's a gold double! It's been a demonstration of fabulous giant

slalom skiing for the USA. She wins the Olympic slalom title at

18. The stage is set for the final showdown in the Alpine Arena.

Whoever can hold their nerve and perform well in the first run will

put themselves in poll position for a shot at the med as under the

lights. In the first run, suitably older

more experienced racers were in the field. Sweden haven't claimed an

Olympic men's Alpine gold sinceth since 1980. But it's a strong

showing with positive runs from Meira and Hagan. Mixed fortunes for

the Austrians as slalom world champion Hersha only managed ninth

place. Matt did put down the fastest run of all to top the time sheets.

Has Matt Dunn enough to lead the way? The old man of the mountain

showing the way. Excellent run for Ryding of Britain.

A chance to lead the Olympic slalom if he gets this right. He's in the

back seat. Oh, and he's made it round, but last all his speed there.

Oh, dear. Just got jetted out on to the back of his skis. 145 hadn't 17.

Second at the moment a pretty good run. Look how much time he's made

up. If he hadn't have had that mistake...

He'll be massively disappointed with his first run performance and he's

going to absolutely let rip. Good. Six tenths in front. Solid

start Kristoffersen of Norway. He leads the way. Hirscher is out of

the game. Hirscher likes this course. No mistakes from him. Sets

about attacking the rest of the course. A little hard on the edges

though at the end of the turn. After the foreline, he's hammering on.

0.73. Added a couple of tenths. Means business here tonight. Didn't

score a medal in the giant slalom and he could raise the bar with a

good fast finish. That was really good. Carried a lot of speed through

there. Half a second in front still. Hirscher sets his sights on the line

and is in position for a gold. Fabulous ski!

Ready to race, the former world champion, ready to race.

Likes to ski a clean line close on the gates. He's messed it up. He's

messed it up completely. Hargin on his way. Unorthodox technique. Will

it work for him? So difficult to call this race, but Hirscher's lead

seems to be intact. Hargin failed to convert. 1. 48 seconds down. Gross

from Italy. The Italian won this title four years ago. Gross comes

out of the gate. Just clings on. And he's behind now. The top three

separated by six tenths of a second. There is room in amongst the medal

places for the Italian who comes into the final stretch and has a big

heavy edge jack sideways. Gross is third, into bronze medal position

and with just two to come, Hirscher is guaranteed a medal. Hyhrer. Out

of the gate on his way. A solid looking start for Myhrer. That means

Kristoffersen is also guaranteed a medal.

Last man on the hill. The double world champion, 34-year-old Mario

Matt. The youngest ever slalom winner last night. Here is the

oldest. Look at the lead he had over Hirscher. He needs to draw on all

his strength and his massive amount of experience and put one down here.

This is the turn. With more than a second and a

quarter in hand, he can afford a little mistake. Look how low he is.

Four tenths of a second. This part of the course is crucial. Rode it

through nicely. Didn't lose any speed on the flat. Mario Matt is

skiing beautifully. 0. 78 in front. Superb. Turns tight on the gates.

This could be it. This could be the gold for Mario Matt.

Final stages of the Olympic slalom. The 34-year-old skis for gold. He's

got it! Yes! 0. 28. Mario Matt is the Olympic slalom champion. The

oldest ever winner of the men's Olympic slalom crown. Hirscher takes

silver with Kristoffersen taking bronze.

Today was absolutely unbelievable, it wasn't really that nice to ski,

but we made it. That was the biggest course I have ever seen in my life

or ever skied in my life, I am pretty impressed that he has the

guts to do this in the Olympics. They did you a favour by setting her

really is tinker of a course. -- by setting a real stinker of a cause.

Yes, but we are not children. Yes, I tripped up on the last gate, and

well, that's life. Mixed reaction to that really tough second course, but

Austria came out on top of the Alpine medal table, the only country

to win three gold medals ahead of the USA who had a very good games

despite missing their big star, Lindsey Vonn. Let us go back to

Graham Bell, he has made his way down the mountains to the sliding

Centre, and Graham, firstly, that second course in the slalom, it

looked impossible, what was the reaction across the board from the

skiers? Well, it has been said it was out of the 1960s, head of the

Stone Age. In modern slalom, you tend to have open gates and Burt

goal gates, and what they did was set a lot of vertical gates at and

at -- an angle. A very unusual cause setting. There was a trap at the top

of the chorus. The one section you needed to be forward on, a lot of

the races were not getting forward and over the skis and a lot of them

came out there, Dave Riding in particular, he had one section of he

ground to a halt and could net -- not get going again. Yes, and Marcel

Hirscher Singh, this is not a children's game! Who were your stars

of the Alpine medals? When we came to Sochi, we were expecting Axel

Sunderland all to do something in the Super-G, but it was his

team-mate that really sets the games alight, he had a bronze medal in the

downhill, he pushed his team-mate into fourth position, but then it

was the Super-G, his Super-G performance as the nominal, and for

me, that was one of the races of the game. We had Bode Miller tying in

fourth place with Yann Hudak, and in the women's side, we had Tina Mara

Zini, she had a terrible time, but she managed to turn things around

and came away with two gold medals, saw her performance in the speed

events. In the technical events, Ted Ligety, in the slalom, he did what

he has been doing, completely destroying everyone in the first run

and skied in the second run, just 80 or 90%, just enough to take the gold

medal. And in the women's slalom, Michaela Shifrin, absolutely

unbelievable. Unbelievable that somebody so young can cope with this

pressure, and she said in between the runs, she does word searches

with her mother, she's still very young, but she is now world champion

and Olympic champion. I watch are getting the gold medal earlier and

just the look on her face as if to say, I know now, from now on, my

life has changed completely, but all of these events on snow had been

sensational and for the first time since Alain Baxter won a bronze in

the slalom which was taken away from him, Great Britain can celebrate a

medallist on snow courtesy of Jenny Jones, the snowboarder.

Jenny Jones has just taken Britain's first ever Olympic medal

on snow! And Jenny Jones is now back in Great Britain, and she has been

appearing on chat shows and she is going to have a fantastic time and

enjoying what comes, sort of tours the end of her career. She has not

officially retired, but she is one of the senior snowboarders on the

circuit, and sensational to win a medal. Today, it was the giant

Parallel Slalom in the snowboarding, and this is what

happens. The Italian is behind. Slowing

write-down on that turn. Boccacini is up. She has gone loose! She has

gone. She has thrown it away! Dumavitz advances into the big

final. And all German semifinal. She has gone really wide. Disappointment

there, Amelie Kober has taken one and a quarter second penalty.

Carlson may have taken her foot of the gas a little bit too much.

Amelie Kober has two hold onto this. Heartbreaking for Amelie Kober. She

came so close. That was phenomenal. Amelie Kober, Corinna Boccacini, the

bronze medal. Corinna Boccacini, barging brigades in comparison.

Amelie Kober with one hand on the bronze medal, can Corinna Boccacini?

She is up there straightaway. Corinna Boccacini is shouting at

herself! She wants this so badly! I do not know but that was to put off

Amelie Kober or not. They are neck and neck. Corinna Boccacini must

know it is now, but great style from Amelie Kober. What a fantastic race!

That was absolutely beautiful, and Amelie Kober, absolutely made up,

and this is it. Run one for the ladies, and the final. They look

across from Dumavitz knowing that Carlson is out in front. Looking

stronger and stronger with every gate. That is a big deficit. Three

quarters of the second, almost. A big final, the ladies Parallel

Slalom, one of these women will be going home with a gold medal.

Incidentally on the first run, they could see each other, at their

back-to-back, but they will feel each other's presence. Dumavitz!

Using the board speed with a bit of a wash. Oh, no! Dumavitz has held

on, somehow. It is not actually over. How did she do that? I think

Carlson is taken to easy! O! Dumavitz, after a huge mistake!

Julia Dujmovits has taken the gold medal. Amelie Kober, she goes to the

podium with bronze. The final for the men, he'd won, run one.

-- heat amber one, run number one. He has gone, wild has gone. Benny

Carl has done the unthinkable and finally put enough pressure on Vic

Wild to make crack. Look at the board speed. He has got him already.

Neck and neck into the bottom section. He cannot believe it.

Starting to get away, busy in his work. All three quarters of the

second content. -- can count. You need to find the speed from summer.

He has seen him early. The Italians, reeling through the gates. Landed on

his face on the wrong side of the run. The Slovenian is through to the

final, he will meet Vic Wild, his training partner. Benny Carl versus

Aaron March for the bronze medal. The Italian is looking good in this

top section. Benny Carl is just got theirs, I think. Benny Carl, over a

quarter of a second up. That lead is almost nonexistent now. March has

gone! Benny Carl, he will glide down to claim his bronze medal. Run one

in the men's parallel slalom final underway. They have wanted to go toe

to toe and Vic Wild goes up against the Slovenian, some costlier. --

Samuel Coster. The job is done. There was nothing between them. So,

wild on the blue gates. The crowd volume has gone up, they are willing

them down, and he is starting to pull away. They are trying hard,

looking very fluid through the turns. A mistake! Whilst losing to

the front! He has done enough! He has done enough! Years going to do

it! It is so close! It wasn't enough. The Russians are in raptures

here at extreme park. A fantastic performance from Vic Wild to earn

the gold medal, in the silver medal position, it is his training

partner, Zan Kosir, and then Benny Carl of Austria rounds out the

medals. Vic Wild takes his second gold, and

he is the first snowboarder ever to do that at the Winter Olympics, and

Ed is with Graham now, what makes Graham Wilders so good? -- Vic Wild

so good? You can see, he is shorter than Benny Carl and Zan Kosir, he

has a very low centre of gravity, so that technique means he is very,

very low and very, very fast. Also, he had been studying the finish

line, and in that semifinal, where he was racing against Benny Carl, he

knew what height the laser was at, and when he reached forward for the

finish line, he got his hands through the photosensitive cells

first ahead of Benny Carl, so not just a fantastic technique, also a

great tactician. Well, that is real, proper homework. Who has been your

towers of the snowboarding competition? The real success of the

snowboarding has been the way that it has been projecting itself. It

started on the first day of the games with the snowboard Slopestyle

and Sage Kotsenburg was a real popular winner, not just with the

main stream, but within the snowboard community. He pulled off

some huge tricks that were so, so difficult. This one, the 1620 holy

Grail, and if you look online, some of his acceptance speeches, they

were just beautiful. Then you had this moment, this was just

phenomenal, and Graeme and I spoke about this a lot, the fact that a

lot of people were not afraid to fail. They went out there and

committed themselves and sometimes it didn't happen. Igor Krakow, the

Russian, diving to get across. The best ambassador for all of the

freestyle sports has been Torah Bright. She came here the defending

gold medallist from Vancouver, and the attitude to the whole sport,

towards the Slopestyle, the Boardercross and the halfpipe, she

entered all three at a time when people are specialising and she went

out and had fun, and that really resonated with lots of people at

home that someone at the top of their game could be so relaxed and

enjoy their sport like that. Graham, you competed at five Olympic

Games were very few of these events were included, how do you see the

new order? Are you enjoying the mixture and the variety that we

have? Certainly, in my moments of the games, ski cross, one of the

biggest performances of the Winter Olympics, Slopestyle, I called it

the juvenile delinquent teenager, that was kicking down the door of

the Olympic Games, and you have the grand daddy of downhill and slalom,

and it really did have, it's launched itself onto the Olympic

programme, but the skiing and the snowboard Slopestyle, it is quite

phenomenal. And I think that that was a really good way to start of

the Olympic Games, and we have had some classic Alpine racing, Ted

Ligety particularly brilliant, Michaela Shifrin in the slalom, and

of course, obviously the Mensah pipe snowboarding was amazing. -- the

men's halfpipe still boarding. Thank you so much for your commentary, for

being experts and for the long hours that you put in. We have had a great

team covering the event, but Ed and Graham know only too well, because

they snowboard and ski all the time, that weathering competition or

recreation, these every dangerous things to do. Michael Schumacher

remains in an induced coma eight weeks after his ski accident,

although Felipe Massa visited him and reported a positive set of

signs, and have really is recovering. And at the halfpipe,

they had a minutes silence for Sarah Berkery died in the training

accident in 2012, so how do you train for sports that have had such

risks, Ed Leigh has been looking at that question.

Oh, look at that. This is enormous. Freestyle skiing and still boarding

providers with some of the most visually spectacular moments.

But for every medallist, we have seen a crash or a slam that has

ended an Olympic dream. The question this raises is whether the pressure

of competing on the world's biggest sporting stage is pushing some of

these athletes beyond their abilities. There is a lot of

pressure and media, that is the Olympics, that is what it is all

about the top of your sport. I have got to do it, I am at the Olympics,

I have got to do it. They push harder than they normally would go,

because they want to prove they are the best. With the stakes so high

and courses so challenging, the stakes are always high, and there

are huge tariffs associated with this sport. Stevenson, the comeback

kid out of that horrific injury. His appearance at this snow across final

is a miracle. I was in a coma for five days, I broke my collar bone,

my ribs, my neck, my back, my hip, by tail bone. I had compressed

lungs. I had a big head injury. I had to learn to walk again. I

remember getting to the top of the cause. I remember pulling out of the

gate. My goodness. Then I remember coming down in a sled. Concussion is

a brain injury, the majority will recover within seven to ten days,

but a small minority will have symptoms that go on that bit longer.

We have witnessed very different attitudes to concussion. Oh, my

goodness. It has split into macro. That is why you wear a helmet. Three

days later, she rode in the women's halfpipe battery concussion. In

contrast, Britain's Rowan Cheshire was pulled out of the halfpipe four

days before the event after sustaining a concussion in training.

You have to be really cautious that athletes are not rushed through

recovery. If they are not 100%, there is a risk of a further injury.

If the doctors had said, she will be fine in a few days, I would disagree

with them. She would be back here in a shot if she had half the chance.

She would not be focused, she was still be dizzy, it is not worth the

risk. We want them to have a long career and there are safety comes

first. Being relatively young, freestyle snowboarding is evolving

at a jaw-dropping speed. You need to develop and have progression and

safety, but that is not easy. Any sport with speed and big air on snow

will be dangerous. You need to make it as safe as possible. You do not

want to make the arena less exciting, you want all the safety

arenas in place, and Alpine has taken longer to learn that in some

of the freestyle events, and it is because a lot of hard knocks along

the way. Consulting athletes ahead of competitions is commonplace.

We have worked as a group of riders to make sure that when a course is

inappropriate, that we put our foot down. I was one of the first riders

on the course and we went and said, you have to change this, it's too

dangerous. We had two days of training here. That's usually what

we do when we get into a course, you don't have to hit the whole thing

right away. You have got a group of adrenaline junkies, for want of a

better word, who're looking for a challenge. If you remove the

challenge, then you remove the element of the sport, there's no

reason for doing it if it's not exciting.

I enjoy surfing. I'm not into the knitting sweaters. Couldn't see

myself swimming laps in a swimming pool. It's where we thrive. It's

fun. So fun. Every person assumes the risk of

doing day-to-day things. The snow's slushy, you know, you could twist

your ankle. You have to make decisions based on that and sport is

like an amplified version of that. You can calculate decisions about

how you are going to push the sport to get the maximum.

Such an interesting piece and it's an almost impossible balance to

achieve and the most serious accident here was to the Russian

Olympic ski cross racer r who underwent six-and-a-half hours of

spinal surgery on Saturday after breaking her back in a training

crash. She's 23 years of age. She was transferred to a hospital in

Munich where she'll receive additional treatment. The latest

statement says the patient's condition is stable and

satisfactory. Let's catch up with today's other

news. Russia took gold in the men's

bi-Agent London replay which didn't produce a 14th Olympic medal for the

Norwegian team who could only finish fourth. There was success in Norway

for the cross-country. BJoergen claiming her tenth medal overall.

Both medals equalling the record for a female athlete. Dutch domination

with men and women setting new Olympic records as they won the team

pursuit titles. The Dutch took home eight of 12 golds. In the men's ice

hockey, Finland thrashed the USA 5-0 to claim the bronze medal for the

second successive Games. Lizzie Yarnold goes for gold for

Great Britain. She's down, she's in control.

Still in the lead by a comfortable margin.

She's going to win the gold, surely. Lizzie jar nod is the -- Yarnold is

the Olympic champion. It was way back on day seven that

Lizzie Yarnold became the tenth British Olympic champion. How much

did her medal and the bronze for Jon Sopely Jones filter through the rest

of the team and, were you all suddenly feeling this could be

special? Definitely. We were lucky enough to get the chance to go to

her medal presentation and it Spurs you on. You know up to be up there

on the podium as well. We couldn't see hers because we were competing

but it was a fantastic Olympics for Team GB. Dave, it's a split camp

because you are down here in the coastal Olympic village so who've

you got with you? We have the figure skaters and the short track guys and

you knew from day one there was great buzz within Team GB and credit

to all the support staff, they really made us feel really at home.

And news travels fast in a modern world and John Jackson and the guys

had been preparing in Germany so they arrived late into the Winter

Olympics with success already guarantee and success on the board

and here we come into the final weekend as they get their chance in

the four man bob. John Jackson piloting Team GB 1. It's the four

man bob tonight. What prospect of a British victory?

This giant of a man on the back. Are we going to see something special

here? 479. He's flying. Arrow head.

Beautiful. It's a new track record. 54.82.

Absolutely spot on, equal with the Russians. No mistake so far. Great

Britain won their game well. 136.3, sand it's in tenth place.

This is GB 2. They got it right. One, two, three, four, in they go.

18th position. This man, Zubkov is in the lead.

Here we go with heat 2. 4.80, maybe even better. 10. 0.10,

the fastest man in bobsleigh right now. 481. World class starting for

the GB crew. They are going to be pushing for medals tomorrow. One of

the fastest we have seen. That's good. 55. 27.

This is Canada 3. They were one of the fastest starters.

That is terrible. They have crashed. They have got stuck into the corner

and flipped. Canada 3. You know what the news is here, I take no delight

in their crash, but it's damaging the track heavily. Massive pressure.

Old school, old school. The four men are up and walking. The Latvians go

now. And they're ten ahead already.

This is a magnificent effort by Latvia.

This is a real chance to get the Germans back on the map as far as

the bobsleigh is concerned. The Latvians have to pull something out

the bag here. 55.47. They are in second place.

Club cover. Desperate to win gold for Russia.

Zubkov. Even the Russians are faltering

here. A tenth of a second in it. 136.2. They are still in the lead.

Wow, it's game on. The Latvians have just pulled themselves up into

silver medal position behind the Russians by only 400ths of a second.

Canada 3 are all fine. They crossed the line so they will get to do

their third run. The top 20 will go through to the final round. 89. 30

am tomorrow. Olly Williams has joined the merry band. Olly is

across the whole of the worldwide web-month-old forking social

interaction. Who's been the big hits of the Games, who has been the most

talked about? First of all, I got followed on Twitter by Anna Sierra

Leone's eyes, they have air own account which is a little odd

admittedly. The biggest hit literally is Johnny Quinn. He's

performing tonight. He is 11th overnight in the US four man

bobsleigh. He broke through his bathroom door and caused possibly

the biggest stir the world has ever seen so early on in the Games. They

don't really have anything to do until the last couple of days, so he

tears through his bathroom door on every network you can remember. Gus

Kenworthy. He stayed behind afterwards to adopt these puppies

and he's stayed behind longer than he had to to get all the puppies

back to the United States with their mother and is taking care of all of

them and finding them new homes. John Jackson is after a puppy named

after him called JJ and eve and JJ have puppies named after them,

there's a rescue husky called Sochi. And Aimee Fuller's commentary for

the BBC. Here she is performing up side down, doing it inside a

commentary box for the BBC earlier on in the Games. She's gained

something like 15,000 followers. But the record is held by Jen you Jones

who won bronze, up to 70,000 Twitter followers, more than Lizzie Yarnold

at the end of the Games. We caused a stir with the men of curling

calendar in which David Murdoch was a star and that got a lot of hits!

The medals table with three more golds to be awarded tomorrow, who is

out in front? Canada finished top of the table four years ago with a

record 14 golds, but it's Russia who're narrowly in front of Norway

now. The first time during the Winter Olympics that Russia have led

largely, well certainly today, thanks to Wild and the Ben's

bi-Agent London team. Britain are 19th with one gold, one silver and

two bronze. Tomorrow, after the Great Britain

medals podium, it will be a wonderful sight. Tomorrow, the final

three gold golds ice hockey and the closing ceremony. We'll have the

cross-country 50 kilometres. Andrew Musgrave involved in that. Oh, my

word. It's been I think an intriguing Games for people to. Wa.

David, I would like you to sum up now, as the lead senior athlete in

our group, what it's been like to compete in? It's simply been

incredible. Definitely the best Games I've ever been a part of. The

Olympic Park and the whole atmosphere's been incredible. The.

The following we have had back home has been incredible. The best

result. We couldn't have imagined the best ever winter Olympic Games,

the chance possibly - I'm getting rid of my iPad there because I have

to do one more thing - the chance of making it better. I have a job to do

which is take this back to the supermarket because we need toe get

back our 50 roubles. We are going to leave you with a wonderful array of

pop music in, now that's what I call winter wonders, these are the best

of them. Bye-bye. # Like the legend of the Phoenix

# All ends with new beginnings We've come so far

# To give up who we are #... #

# We 're up all night to get lucky... #