Day 7, Part 1 - 6.45am to 10.00am Winter Olympics


Day 7, Part 1 - 6.45am to 10.00am

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Day 7, Part 1 - 6.45am to 10.00am. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

It is downhill date at the Winter Olympic Games, the blue riband and

:00:50.:01:01.

event. Not it expected of this young man. It is the Austrian, Matthias

:01:02.:01:07.

Mayer, who had skied into gold medal position. Bode Miller, with his

:01:08.:01:16.

final Olympic downhill. It is too much for bodhi, no medals today.

:01:17.:01:23.

To break Austrian hearts! Silver, Christof Innerhofer.

:01:24.:01:40.

The new Olympic downhill champion from Austria. Matthias Mayer.

:01:41.:01:50.

Good morning. When Matthias Mayer won the men's

:01:51.:01:56.

downhill on Saturday, it was something of a surprise. He'd never

:01:57.:01:59.

been better than fifth in any major downhill before. The Austrians

:02:00.:02:08.

weren't complaining. They were, he said, freaking out back in Austria.

:02:09.:02:11.

He's joined legends like Franz Klammer in their alpine hall of

:02:12.:02:15.

fame. He'll be in the start gate again today. But it could be

:02:16.:02:19.

America's turn to celebrate. We're racing again this morning, this time

:02:20.:02:25.

in men's super combined. This title rewards both downhill

:02:26.:02:32.

speed and slalom technique. Utah's Ted Ligety won it eight years ago,

:02:33.:02:37.

and says he doesn't want to be a one-hit Olympic wonder.

:02:38.:02:41.

Bode Miller won gold in this, four years ago in Vancouver. In his

:02:42.:02:46.

farewell Games, could he become the first to successfully defend it?

:02:47.:02:50.

Relief all round for Eve, Anna, Claire and Vicki. A much needed win

:02:51.:02:54.

over China and, hopefully, some momentum, as they take on Japan

:02:55.:02:56.

today. The men's ice hockey event is well

:02:57.:03:00.

under way. The Russian fans have been piling into the Bolshoy Dome.

:03:01.:03:04.

And there'll be another big crowd to watch the Czechs take on the

:03:05.:03:07.

Latvians. And Lizzy Yarnold has an advantage

:03:08.:03:12.

of four tenths of a second. Doesn't sound much, but that's huge in bob

:03:13.:03:15.

skeleton, as we look ahead to the two deciding runs this afternoon

:03:16.:03:19.

that could bring Britain yet more gold in this event.

:03:20.:03:25.

If you are wondering about the tinkling of Ravel's Valero, we are

:03:26.:03:34.

celebrating the anniversary of and the gold medal. I wonder if Lizzy

:03:35.:03:41.

Yarnold can write another golden chapter in Bob skeleton.

:03:42.:03:50.

Emma Carrick-Anderson has come down off the mountain to join us here in

:03:51.:03:55.

the Costa del Sochi. It's warm. Disconcertingly warm for a Winter

:03:56.:03:59.

Olympics. We are used to wrapping up and

:04:00.:04:05.

racing at -10, but it is plus ten on the slopes.

:04:06.:04:08.

They were competing in vest tops at the cross country yesterday.

:04:09.:04:15.

It has been crazy. Beautiful as a spectator, but as a racer, with the

:04:16.:04:22.

boots getting soft, it is not ideal. The problem for Alpine

:04:23.:04:29.

events, they have had to bring forward the downhill section of this

:04:30.:04:34.

combined even. That is why we are here a little

:04:35.:04:39.

earlier. To try to make the most of the cooler conditions. One run of

:04:40.:04:44.

downhill, followed by one run of slalom. We're starting a full hour

:04:45.:04:49.

earlier. Graham has been on course expects --

:04:50.:04:52.

inspection. The men's downhill of the super

:04:53.:05:02.

combined. It is 8:40am, the sun is rising. All of these slopes that

:05:03.:05:08.

face to the West will hit that Sun and get that radiation from an early

:05:09.:05:12.

stage in the day. That is why they have moved the start time forward by

:05:13.:05:16.

one hour, because they are worried snow conditions will soften up. This

:05:17.:05:23.

is part of the course, they have used the water injection bar. There

:05:24.:05:29.

is a lot of humidity underneath the snow. That has frozen quite hard.

:05:30.:05:34.

The top layer of the snow will soften up. It means the early start

:05:35.:05:39.

numbers have a definite advantage in the downhill section of the

:05:40.:05:44.

combined. It comes down to laying down a good run in the downhill and

:05:45.:05:49.

carrying that Ford to the slalom. As we saw in the women's race. It can

:05:50.:05:54.

make all the difference. The favourites, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety

:05:55.:06:04.

as well. If it all goes to plan, fair enough,

:06:05.:06:11.

in terms of the best skiers, it is their best chance. As the race piste

:06:12.:06:18.

deteriorates, are we in danger of some freak results? We have been

:06:19.:06:22.

lucky so far in the course preparation.

:06:23.:06:26.

The workers have done a great job. With temperatures now 12 degrees by

:06:27.:06:31.

midday, it is difficult. Normally, they would down salt. But talking to

:06:32.:06:39.

a technical delegate, he said that is not working because the snow

:06:40.:06:43.

doesn't have enough moisture. They are having to add fertiliser which

:06:44.:06:48.

takes the moisture out of the snow. People will be confused about

:06:49.:06:57.

putting salt on. This is a chemical which reacts with moisture. Without

:06:58.:07:03.

moisture, it doesn't react. It is freezing at a higher temperature.

:07:04.:07:10.

It is not working so they are adding a fertiliser. They used it in the

:07:11.:07:14.

men's halfpipe yesterday which worked very well. We will see, for

:07:15.:07:19.

the first ten races, it will be great, then it will break. Who are

:07:20.:07:27.

the men to watch? Definitely the slalom specialist, today.

:07:28.:07:40.

Bode Miller is the defending champion. He says these conditions

:07:41.:07:46.

will favour the slalom specialists today.

:07:47.:07:49.

"Right now, the downhill is so easy and so basic, there is nothing

:07:50.:07:51.

challenging about it really. There is no way to put any time on the

:07:52.:07:55.

slalom guys. Everyone just skis normal, and everyone is within a

:07:56.:07:59.

second and a half or so." "I think if they shorten the downhill the way

:08:00.:08:03.

they do, they should shorten the slalom too If this downhill had been

:08:04.:08:07.

run from the start the way it was before it got warm. And it was

:08:08.:08:10.

full-length downhill and full-length slalom. Then, I think, it would be

:08:11.:08:14.

fair, and would be a really good test".

:08:15.:08:15.

In the downhill, now the top layer is softening up, these are the

:08:16.:08:17.

fastest conditions possible, it makes the time differences between

:08:18.:08:25.

the athletes left. Look for early start numbers. The young Norwegian,

:08:26.:08:32.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. He has a really good chance, he is a good

:08:33.:08:41.

slalom skier. Looking down the list, looking for people who can ski well

:08:42.:08:47.

in slalom, if they can be close to someone like Bode Miller in the

:08:48.:08:50.

downhill, they can easily make up that difference in the slalom. You

:08:51.:08:57.

could lose half a second in slalom, and it takes your whole downhill run

:08:58.:09:02.

to ski out that lead. If we bought the downhill forward by

:09:03.:09:06.

one hour, why not with the slalom event?

:09:07.:09:16.

The issue for downhill is safety. You are travelling at speeds of 90

:09:17.:09:21.

miles an hour. If the course breaks up, with holes on the course, then

:09:22.:09:29.

it is leg breaking territory. On the safety terms, they have moved the

:09:30.:09:34.

start forward for the downhill. The slalom is not about safety, the

:09:35.:09:41.

slalom Hill should hold in order to be able to produce a fair race, it

:09:42.:09:46.

will just be more challenging for the downhill skiers.

:09:47.:09:52.

Great effort getting up early this morning, well done. We will let you

:09:53.:09:56.

go and join Matt Chilton to get ready.

:09:57.:10:02.

When we look at the likes of some other great names, Ted Ligety said,

:10:03.:10:07.

I won this in 2006, I don't want to be considered a one-hit wonder. He

:10:08.:10:12.

is coming into form. And capable of moving from place in downhill, into

:10:13.:10:18.

the medal positions. He is a great technical skier. The

:10:19.:10:25.

little ruts which form probably won't bother him. In terms of Bode

:10:26.:10:32.

Miller, would you agree, he doesn't think, Graham, that he will make it

:10:33.:10:36.

to the end of this one. He breaks all the rules. If he

:10:37.:10:43.

finishes, he will be fast. Ted Ligety and Bode Miller, they don't

:10:44.:10:50.

have any middle years, it is all for nothing -- gears.

:10:51.:10:59.

That is what makes great spectating. I am looking forward to it. Let us

:11:00.:11:06.

remind you of what is involved in this super combined event.

:11:07.:11:15.

A combined event was first held at the 1936 Winter Olympics, making it

:11:16.:11:23.

the oldest of the Olympic alpine skiing events. It was held over

:11:24.:11:28.

three runs, one downhill and two slaloms. In 2010, one slalom run was

:11:29.:11:35.

dropped. The super combined Olympic champion will be a skiing

:11:36.:11:38.

all-rounder. It is a test of speed and nerve in the downhill before

:11:39.:11:43.

they switch to shorter skis to tackle the slalom, a technique of

:11:44.:11:48.

rhythm and agility. The skier with the fastest downhill time always

:11:49.:11:55.

goes last in the slalom so dramatic climax is guaranteed. The times are

:11:56.:11:59.

added and the fastest combined total the winner.

:12:00.:12:08.

It'll be interesting, the Americans are in force to look at Bode

:12:09.:13:31.

Miller. I saw Bodie mid-January. He did that pretty well. He attacked

:13:32.:13:38.

and through everything. He straddled three gates from home so I think he

:13:39.:13:49.

has a chance of giving the rest a run for their money. Aleksander

:13:50.:13:55.

Aamodt Kilde, you may recognise his middle name, no relation to the

:13:56.:14:04.

eight medal Olympic winner, but he is named in his honour. The first

:14:05.:14:08.

man in the start gate. Christof Innerhofer, silver

:14:09.:14:25.

medallist already. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will be the man to open the

:14:26.:14:32.

Olympic super combined. Wearing number one. Just 21 years old. He is

:14:33.:14:37.

fired up. He is really getting himself psyched

:14:38.:14:53.

up for this. Three training runs. One of a shortened distance. He went

:14:54.:15:01.

well in both. Second fastest in training number one, fifth fastest

:15:02.:15:09.

in the third. Here he goes. Opening proceedings. As we strive to find

:15:10.:15:15.

the best all-round Alpine skier on the Russian mountains. Time to say

:15:16.:15:19.

good morning to Graham Bell. Good morning.

:15:20.:15:27.

It does not really affect the speed. You can hear how icy the snow

:15:28.:15:46.

conditions are. The question is, how quickly will blame MacSoft and up --

:15:47.:16:07.

while will they soften up? He is a little ragged. Leaning inside the

:16:08.:16:18.

control gate. More in voting than it was on downhill day when Matthias

:16:19.:16:38.

Mayer took gold. Matthias Mayer will be racing at number 14. That was a

:16:39.:16:49.

huge flight on the late jump. He has really attacked this downhill stage

:16:50.:16:54.

from top to bottom. He has gone a little bit off target on landing,

:16:55.:17:00.

but he has tucked in and set a release all it time. That was fast.

:17:01.:17:11.

-- a really solid time. Half a second faster than the last training

:17:12.:17:16.

run. Really ragged off the Russian Trampoline. That would have cost him

:17:17.:17:26.

only a 10th of a second. He has thrown down the gauntlet to everyone

:17:27.:17:43.

else. Adam Zampa is next. He will have to be good to get near

:17:44.:17:51.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. They have shortened the starting intervals.

:17:52.:18:01.

This was the turn that was so crucial in the downhill. Look how

:18:02.:18:10.

lead he is there. Not only are you losing speed, you are skiing an

:18:11.:18:18.

extra ten metres. You have lost a third of a second. Beat Feuz will be

:18:19.:18:47.

skiing eighth. We should talk about Ivica Kostelic who has a good record

:18:48.:18:53.

in super combined but the other factor is that the slalom course has

:18:54.:18:58.

been set by his dad, which is unusual. They do a draw, there is

:18:59.:19:05.

nothing controversial about it on paper although some would suggest it

:19:06.:19:10.

is playing into his hands. His dad is a recognised ski coach, we should

:19:11.:19:21.

clarify! It is just potluck which caught gets to do it. There has been

:19:22.:19:34.

lots of talk about it. Alexander Khoroshilov. Desperate to put one

:19:35.:19:43.

down and have a clean run. Let us see how it compares to Aleksander

:19:44.:19:46.

Aamodt Kilde, it is pretty favourable. He is not bad slalom

:19:47.:20:03.

skier. A lot of extra energy at the start because the Russian fans will

:20:04.:20:06.

be making as much noise as they possibly can. You can hear it from

:20:07.:20:14.

the start, the noise being produced at the finish area. The unfortunate

:20:15.:20:18.

thing about changing the time is that not all of the Russian fans

:20:19.:20:22.

found out so some of them will be arriving in the next hour only to

:20:23.:20:29.

find that the downhill stage of the super combined is half done. They

:20:30.:20:36.

will have a couple of hours to sit around in the sunshine and enjoy the

:20:37.:20:46.

atmosphere at Rosa goods -- the Rosa Khutor X-treme Park. Alexander

:20:47.:21:04.

Khoroshilov has done OK. It is a wrong all downhill and then a single

:21:05.:21:15.

run of slalom at 11:30am in the UK. A bit of flapping from Alexander

:21:16.:21:34.

Khoroshilov. Ondrej Bank set the quickest time in training. He has

:21:35.:21:41.

been around for a while. He is a decent all-rounder. He needs a good

:21:42.:21:46.

start to have a good chance heading into the slalom. I think he was

:21:47.:21:55.

sixth in the combined four years ago so he has a good chance. Sorry, that

:21:56.:22:09.

was in 2006. Email Dr fourth -- he moved up to fourth in 2010. I am not

:22:10.:22:20.

sure he has the skills to climb up onto the podium. It is a good start

:22:21.:22:35.

for and alleged -- Ondrej Bank. Getting some fabulous

:22:36.:22:43.

high-definition shots. It is clean all the way and he is getting

:22:44.:22:50.

faster. He is a very accomplished slalom skier and if he keeps this up

:22:51.:22:57.

this could give him a ruler good chance this afternoon. That is solid

:22:58.:23:07.

by Ondrej Bank of the Czech Republic. Look at how the snow is

:23:08.:23:24.

already breaking up. I am not sure where that is on the course. Max

:23:25.:23:44.

Franz got tangled up as he started. He has made up for it.

:23:45.:23:58.

The leader is Ondrej Bank of the Czech Republic. Aleksander Aamodt

:23:59.:24:09.

Kilde is second and Alexander Khoroshilov is third. Max Franz is

:24:10.:24:21.

fighting against the course in the midsection. He is heading in the

:24:22.:24:31.

wrong direction on the clock. He is not much of the slalom skier. You

:24:32.:24:36.

need is to take out an advantage over the current leader -- he needs

:24:37.:24:45.

to. He was the second best Austrian in the men's downhill on Sunday. The

:24:46.:24:49.

winner was Matthias Mayer. Just over half a second off the

:24:50.:25:17.

pace. Fantastic slow motion replay. Look at the aggression on his face.

:25:18.:25:26.

Martin Vrablik of the Czech Republic is next. He is quite a character. A

:25:27.:25:34.

little hit and miss. Remember the crash he had in Turin? You never

:25:35.:25:47.

know what you are going to get with him. He looked totally solid during

:25:48.:26:01.

that flight. That is where the holes are developing. You land from the

:26:02.:26:10.

Russian Trampoline and it is facing due west. A slight mistake there

:26:11.:26:21.

from Martin Vrablik. That will be difficult to keep firm. Two seconds

:26:22.:26:32.

off the pace. That section also faces due west but the skiers are

:26:33.:26:41.

not really turning on head so they can turn over the bumps. 133.8kph.

:26:42.:27:18.

Max Franz hold onto third. Big holes starting to form on this men's

:27:19.:27:34.

downhill. Maciej Bydlinski of Poland is next. The good thing about the

:27:35.:27:40.

downhill as you get to see people you do not see every day. Second

:27:41.:27:45.

division racers who get a chance to tackle the course. That was a lucky

:27:46.:27:58.

escape. I thought he was going down. He was on his side going down the

:27:59.:28:04.

fastest part of the course. He may not finish the way things have gone

:28:05.:28:08.

so far with some big jumps still to come. Fingers crossed he manages to

:28:09.:28:15.

stay on his feet and finish this stage.

:28:16.:28:23.

Three seconds down. That has really affected his time. He does not

:28:24.:28:33.

relate look happy with the high speed jumps at all -- does not look

:28:34.:28:54.

happy. Safely over that jump. Maciej Bydlinski of Poland has had quite a

:28:55.:29:08.

ride. He is going to finish up right, that will be a relief. This

:29:09.:29:31.

is the section where he went down. Beat Feuz is an out and out downhill

:29:32.:29:44.

man. He had a visit to hospital. He is a big man. He is wide rather than

:29:45.:29:57.

tall I would say, short, stocky, powerful. He would need to have a

:29:58.:30:04.

lead of over a second over the really good slalom skiers. He was

:30:05.:30:11.

13th in the downhill on Sunday. He just doesn't have the strength.

:30:12.:30:45.

It is worth going onto YouTube and checking out the summer training

:30:46.:30:57.

regime. Beat Feuz, on his way back from injury, he hasn't reached full

:30:58.:31:04.

fitness yet. He will finish this stage. And he will dig out the

:31:05.:31:06.

slalom skis. Next to go, a man who has already

:31:07.:31:24.

picked up a medal at these Winter Games, bronze medallist in the

:31:25.:31:28.

downhill. And the man who took the gold there.

:31:29.:31:37.

Number nine, for Norway. A big push out of the start, a good

:31:38.:31:42.

all-rounder, he could go well on the slalom skis, but he needs a lift in

:31:43.:31:47.

the downhill. We know he likes this hill. For me, he is more Super-G and

:31:48.:31:56.

giant slalom. His slalom is not quite up there. If he can ski out a

:31:57.:32:02.

lead in the downhill and carry that forward, it will certainly help. The

:32:03.:32:07.

quickest of the lot. Norway are currently third in the

:32:08.:32:21.

medal table behind Germany and Canada. Keeping it green all the

:32:22.:32:32.

way. Off the bear's brow, makes a little adjustment mid-flight,

:32:33.:32:36.

setting the inside edge of the left ski to continue the turn.

:32:37.:32:42.

This course is softening up a lot more than the women's super combined

:32:43.:32:49.

downhill. The topography of the slope, the women's is more east

:32:50.:32:55.

facing. This is a west facing. We are getting the early morning sun.

:32:56.:33:00.

It will not favour Bode Miller who starts way too late.

:33:01.:33:10.

The new leader, Janz Ruud two -- Jansrud.

:33:11.:33:24.

Continuing his good form on this Olympic course.

:33:25.:33:32.

Christof Innerhofer was also a medallist on Sunday, he missed the

:33:33.:33:39.

gold by six hundredths of a second. Aggressive, attacking start from the

:33:40.:33:43.

Italian. He has won in World Championships.

:33:44.:33:55.

In Schadming, I think, silver. No, it was in the Amish -- Garmisch.

:33:56.:34:04.

Last February, Ted Ligety won gold. That course was really icy in

:34:05.:34:23.

Garmisch. Its suited Christof Innerhofer more than anyone else.

:34:24.:34:27.

His slalom skiing was slightly better back then. Off the bear's

:34:28.:34:36.

brow, spectacular flight and landing from Christof Innerhofer. Couldn't

:34:37.:34:44.

believe his luck when he crossed the line six hundredths of a second

:34:45.:34:48.

behind. He was delighted to start with, thrilled with the silver

:34:49.:34:53.

medal, then he started to think, goodness me, six hundredths from

:34:54.:35:01.

gold. A mixture of emotions. The speed across the line of six

:35:02.:35:05.

hundredths of a second is about a ski length.

:35:06.:35:10.

Not so strong today, more than a second slower than the leader.

:35:11.:35:20.

These high-definition shots showing the full facial expression. Look at

:35:21.:35:26.

his eyes, you can just see them through his rating goggles.

:35:27.:35:40.

This is Mauro Caviezel from Switzerland, he finished in fifth

:35:41.:35:49.

position in the Kitzbuhel super combined.

:35:50.:36:03.

As he came through that traverse, standing on his inside ski, which

:36:04.:36:13.

means you don't have a safety net. If that edge slips away, the only

:36:14.:36:16.

thing that will touch the snow next is your hip and shoulder, and more

:36:17.:36:19.

than likely you are crashing out. Aksel Lunk Svindal is next to race,

:36:20.:36:40.

fourth in the downhill on Sunday. He will be followed by the two

:36:41.:36:45.

Austrians, Romed Baumann, then Mattias Maher. It will be good to

:36:46.:36:51.

see him tackle this course once again.

:36:52.:36:57.

Final jump. Skidding wide. He comes home.

:36:58.:37:18.

He was born in 1992, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The same year that

:37:19.:37:36.

Aamodt won his medal. Fourth in the downhill last Sunday.

:37:37.:37:42.

Aksel Lunk Svindal window is a good combined skier, he won gold in 2011

:37:43.:37:51.

at the world. His downhill skiing has dropped off

:37:52.:37:56.

but, in an event like this, you just never know. There could be a lot who

:37:57.:38:00.

crashed out in the slalom section if it does get very bumpy. Aksel Lunk

:38:01.:38:05.

Svindal might be able to get a medal, that will be his thinking.

:38:06.:38:12.

He will need to ski well in the downhill and beat his team-mate,

:38:13.:38:25.

Jansrud. You can hear the noise of the cable

:38:26.:38:32.

cam, catching the athletes at full speed. This is good, aggressive

:38:33.:38:39.

scheme from Aksel Lunk Svindal. This is where he was fast in the main

:38:40.:38:44.

downhill, using his power and strength. The weight advantage he

:38:45.:38:49.

has over his team-mate. He has lost time.

:38:50.:38:57.

Off the final jump, and Aksel Lunk Svindal comes home. Good enough for

:38:58.:39:07.

fifth at the moment. Unlikely for him to claw back that sort of time

:39:08.:39:11.

in a slalom. He has plenty more chances for medals at the World

:39:12.:39:15.

Championships and the Olympics. A shrug of the shoulders on his

:39:16.:39:26.

finish, only the third fastest Norwegian.

:39:27.:39:37.

Romed Baumann now. Coming and not of the gate. Bronze medallist at the

:39:38.:39:42.

World Championships last February in the super combined in Schadming.

:39:43.:39:48.

The Austrians don't really have any out and out combined specialists.

:39:49.:39:57.

They have got if you younger downhill skiers who have slalom

:39:58.:40:02.

skills. I include Mattias Maher in that. If they were to get to podium

:40:03.:40:11.

today I would be very surprised. Billy Wright choosing to focus on

:40:12.:40:13.

the technical basis. -- races. As we travel alongside Romed Baumann

:40:14.:40:29.

on this cable camera, what a shot it gives us. A good impression of the

:40:30.:40:36.

speed they are travelling. The only way to appreciate that is to stand

:40:37.:40:39.

alongside the course, if you get to go to one of the World Cup races,

:40:40.:40:45.

you will be blown away by the speed as they come past you in a flash.

:40:46.:40:53.

He is miles away here. His chance has gone already. I can't see him

:40:54.:40:58.

clawing back that sort of speed in a slalom.

:40:59.:41:03.

More than two seconds slower. Next to go, the Olympic downhill

:41:04.:41:12.

champion, Mattias May. The Austrians are here in numbers -- Mayer.

:41:13.:41:21.

Looking for another gold medal today.

:41:22.:41:30.

Here he is, the newly crowned Olympic downhill champion. Puffing

:41:31.:41:39.

out his chest. He has got the big one, he has joined the long list of

:41:40.:41:47.

legends. His father was an Olympic medallist, Calgary, 1988.

:41:48.:42:04.

Skiing well again but doesn't really have the incentive I don't think

:42:05.:42:11.

today to really risk it. His slalom skiing is not as good as others in

:42:12.:42:16.

the field. If he were to get a medal in the combined, he would need to

:42:17.:42:24.

lay one down today. Running slightly wide. Not too far away, 0.38. A

:42:25.:42:31.

different angle on the bear's brow. Very different snow conditions

:42:32.:42:59.

today. That is playing a part. The lead is safe at the moment. He has

:43:00.:43:03.

found a fraction to move into third. A change at the top. Ondrej Bank

:43:04.:43:09.

looking quite strong in second position. The skier from the Czech

:43:10.:43:18.

Republic. He could fancy his chances heading into the slalom stage. I

:43:19.:43:24.

don't think a check ski racer has ever won a medal.

:43:25.:43:30.

Peter Fill. Italian veteran. He has been around a while now, Peter Fill.

:43:31.:43:49.

No great shakes as a slalom skier, said he will need something tasty

:43:50.:43:54.

here this morning. 31 years old. It is so important to use -- to keep

:43:55.:44:20.

ski to snow contact. Every time you see the hand go up and down, it

:44:21.:44:30.

means the skis have taken... And, on cue, Peter has shown what not to

:44:31.:44:33.

do. You have to keep pushing forward. Otherwise you can't drive

:44:34.:44:42.

forward. It is important to push forward, to push your weight against

:44:43.:44:47.

the front of your boots, to pressurise the tips of the skis, to

:44:48.:44:52.

shorten the radius of the turn and generate speed.

:44:53.:44:57.

The Italians are still looking for their first gold medal of the

:44:58.:45:01.

Olympic Winter Games. Peter Fill has skied OK. Ten at the moment.

:45:02.:45:16.

he has a good Olympic record. Look at the holes starting to form. It is

:45:17.:45:31.

lovely for a recreational skier but it is problem for a high-speed

:45:32.:46:02.

downhill skier. Look at that! Excellent. There is a real end of

:46:03.:46:14.

season attitude. What is going on? It is midwinter. Winter lasts five

:46:15.:46:28.

minutes around here. He is getting clear in his mind what he wants to

:46:29.:46:40.

do. Ted Ligety putting his race bib on. Getting himself fired up and

:46:41.:46:51.

ready to go. He won the gold at the World Championships last year. Carlo

:46:52.:47:06.

Janka will be hoping for a better start than he had at the downhill on

:47:07.:47:17.

Sunday. Better this time. He has made areas -- a reasonable start. He

:47:18.:47:27.

did not quite get the angle on that turn, did not lean his hip into the

:47:28.:47:35.

turn as good as he could have done. Still hard and icy on the top of the

:47:36.:47:52.

course, this is where it started and starts to soften. Beautifully

:47:53.:48:10.

executed. In that short time that we had before he's -- he started, they

:48:11.:48:23.

have sent crews down to try to shift the snow. It looks a bit easier than

:48:24.:48:32.

it did before, so Carlo Janka benefiting from that. You do not

:48:33.:48:49.

actually wants the course to be slipped on the flat part so they are

:48:50.:48:55.

given instructions where to do their work, mostly the turns. That makes

:48:56.:49:15.

him the fastest Swiss skier so far. Kjetil Jansrud is first. Ondrej Bank

:49:16.:49:36.

is second. Alexis Pinturault, the big star of the French skiing. He

:49:37.:49:44.

won the super combined in Kitzbuhel. He was second recently.

:49:45.:49:59.

He is definitely one of the favourites to win gold today. The

:50:00.:50:03.

question is, how close can he be in the slalom? You start looking at the

:50:04.:50:09.

time differences between the downhill skiers who can ski slalom

:50:10.:50:16.

and those who cannot, Ondrej Bank can ski a good slalom run, I am not

:50:17.:50:27.

sure about Kjetil Jansrud. Not solid. He did not raise the

:50:28.:50:32.

downhill. He trained in France and flow in late and skied the train

:50:33.:50:41.

runs for the super combined. -- and flew in late and skied the training

:50:42.:50:51.

runs. A French father and Norwegian mother, he speaks fluent Norwegian

:50:52.:50:57.

so he is able to convert with the rest of the Norwegian team. He

:50:58.:51:04.

clattered the gate. He courted with the end of his ski pole so that

:51:05.:51:16.

would not have hurt too much. He is going to have to have the slalom run

:51:17.:51:23.

of his life to get in amongst the medals this afternoon. He is 13. He

:51:24.:51:34.

will be one of the medal starters in the second run -- middle. He will

:51:35.:51:49.

regret his decision to come late. He is not going to ski two seconds

:51:50.:51:57.

quicker than Ondrej Bank on one run of slalom. Natko Zrncic-Dim is next.

:51:58.:52:15.

One of his coaches is the father of his team-mate. This is a good top

:52:16.:52:35.

section. It is always interesting when you watch the super combined,

:52:36.:52:39.

the guys who think that they have got a chance of producing a medal or

:52:40.:52:46.

getting close to the podium always attack the downhill much more than

:52:47.:52:54.

the downhill skiers doing it with perhaps a punt at a good downhill

:52:55.:53:01.

run and hanging on in the slalom. It is all about how much you want it

:53:02.:53:08.

and the will to win and you see that from Natko Zrncic-Dim. He knows he

:53:09.:53:15.

has a good chance when the slalom comes around and he is really going

:53:16.:53:26.

for it in the downhill. Kjetil Jansrud still the leader at the

:53:27.:53:32.

moment. The Norwegians having a cracking Winter Olympics. Some big

:53:33.:53:44.

names to come, Ivica Kostelic, Ted Ligety, Bode Miller. Everybody

:53:45.:53:52.

looking forward to seeing how Bode Miller approaches the downhill part

:53:53.:54:02.

of this super remained. -- combined.

:54:03.:54:13.

When he had the fight, he had the will. He almost overcooked it

:54:14.:54:24.

slightly on some parts of the course. Thomas Mermillod Blondin of

:54:25.:54:39.

France is next. I said earlier I did not think the Czech skier had one a

:54:40.:54:55.

medal, but I think I was wrong. Ondrej Bank is bidding to become the

:54:56.:55:04.

first Czech man to win an Olympic medal, but not the first Czech

:55:05.:55:16.

skier. This is looking good. Thomas Mermillod Blondin is skiing very

:55:17.:55:28.

well. Nice light, a good high line -- flight. That was not so clever.

:55:29.:55:42.

He had to fight for his line. That might have cost him the chance of

:55:43.:55:49.

pushing. He will be more than a second removed at the next

:55:50.:55:56.

intermediate time. Look at the difference between intermediate

:55:57.:56:02.

number two, he was more than two seconds adrift. He has to go and

:56:03.:56:08.

work on skiing the high-speed turns and rollers because he made two

:56:09.:56:14.

mistakes back-to-back. He let off the pressure as he went into the

:56:15.:56:22.

roller, his hip roared over the outside of his ski and he lost ten

:56:23.:56:38.

metres. Kjetil Jansrud leads. Ondrej Bank second. That was Natko

:56:39.:56:53.

Zrncic-Dim attempting the dismount and failing. Sandro Viletta of

:56:54.:57:13.

Switzerland. Seven in Kitzbuhel -- seventh.

:57:14.:57:26.

He is not a brilliant slalom skier. You have Ondrej Bank and Aleksander

:57:27.:57:38.

Aamodt Kilde in their, he would not want to be more than half a second

:57:39.:57:48.

away. Good start. Travelling nicely across the snow. He had his hand

:57:49.:57:56.

behind his back as he tried to hold his position. This is the crucial

:57:57.:58:04.

section. He skied that very nicely. A much better line over those

:58:05.:58:07.

rollers. The middle part of the course skied

:58:08.:58:27.

quite nicely. This is nice. He is their best chance today,

:58:28.:58:30.

Switzerland. That was scruffy and am lucky to

:58:31.:58:48.

stand up and ski away from that. That is going to cost him time

:58:49.:58:51.

because right after that jump there is a flat section and you have to be

:58:52.:58:58.

carrying the speed. He gave himself a real scare. The damage is

:58:59.:59:05.

significant but possibly not terminal. Kjetil Jansrud holds on.

:59:06.:59:26.

Sandro Viletta is 11th. Ivica Kostelic. Fired up and ready to go.

:59:27.:59:36.

He has a good record in the big mind events, silver medallist that the

:59:37.:59:41.

Olympic Games behind Bode Miller four years ago and silver medallist

:59:42.:59:48.

behind Ted Ligety at the World Championships one year ago. The

:59:49.:59:58.

course for the slalom has already been set. The Italian downhill start

:59:59.:00:06.

is the coach. This is good. Ivica Kostelic does,

:00:07.:00:25.

in his favour, skis very well on slalom courses that are softening up

:00:26.:00:31.

and starting to get bumpy. He is a smooth skier, he doesn't put

:00:32.:00:36.

pressure on the ski. And he skis a round line, so when the bombs

:00:37.:00:39.

developed, he can carry his speed down the course. -- the bumps.

:00:40.:00:48.

The sixth quickest training time yesterday. He is keeping his head

:00:49.:00:57.

above water. Solid skiing. Not getting too far removed from

:00:58.:01:00.

Jansrud's time. His sister was the most successful

:01:01.:01:14.

Olympic skier of all time with four gold medals and two silver medals.

:01:15.:01:22.

Ivica has yet to strike gold at the Winter Olympic Games. This might be

:01:23.:01:28.

his last chance. Huge flight of the deer jump, landed a little further

:01:29.:01:33.

to the right than he might have wanted. But that is all right,

:01:34.:01:39.

seventh position. He can move up from there, good slalom skiing

:01:40.:01:45.

later. To get in amongst the Olympic medals. He knows he has a good

:01:46.:01:48.

chance of a medal. Looking at the top ten right now, he

:01:49.:01:54.

is probably the best. Sadly the most accomplished slalom skier in the top

:01:55.:01:56.

ten. Ted Ligety. Out of the gate, the

:01:57.:02:03.

world combined champion. Out on his way, in his quest for the

:02:04.:02:19.

first of potentially for medals he could win still at the Games. He has

:02:20.:02:27.

a chance in Super-G, grand slalom and slalom. Fabulous chances in

:02:28.:02:30.

Super-G and giant slalom in particular.

:02:31.:02:38.

Certainly the late start number, 22. Miller starting 24. It is not

:02:39.:02:45.

helping these guys in the downhill. The slalom, on the other hand, will

:02:46.:02:52.

be the top 30 reversed. This is good from Ted Ligety. If he can keep this

:02:53.:02:58.

deficit to less than one second, I think he has a very good chance of

:02:59.:03:03.

taking gold. A smooth turn.

:03:04.:03:20.

Still within six tenths of the league of Jansrud. He has skied good

:03:21.:03:28.

downhill so far. Now it is starting to look less like a gold medal. He

:03:29.:03:38.

is behind. These guys, I would still say,

:03:39.:03:42.

Alexis Pinturault when he skis the scar them -- slalom, he will make up

:03:43.:03:48.

time. Off the deer jump. Ted Ligety sets

:03:49.:04:06.

up his skis for the line. Down in 14th, he will start in the middle

:04:07.:04:11.

order of the second run, the slalom. Not that of it yet, Ted Ligety. He

:04:12.:04:19.

needs things to go his way this afternoon.

:04:20.:04:25.

The two best slalom skiers of the season of in this competition. They

:04:26.:04:29.

have not really produced good runs in the downhill.

:04:30.:04:36.

It will be fireworks in the slalom. Whether they can move all the way up

:04:37.:04:43.

into gold is another matter. Bode Miller said before this race

:04:44.:04:55.

that it would be difficult to ski out a big lead. What has happened is

:04:56.:05:02.

that it is possible to ski badly and produce a big deficit. That is what

:05:03.:05:08.

we have seen. Ondrej Bank will be excited about his position.

:05:09.:05:17.

The fastest is Jansrud of Norway. The way things stand, he will be

:05:18.:05:25.

last to ski in the slalom. I still think until Rose had a

:05:26.:05:36.

chance of getting onto the stadium -- Alexis Pinturault.

:05:37.:05:49.

Lots of chat going on between the races who are yet to push out of the

:05:50.:05:55.

gate, and those who have already skied the course -- racers.

:05:56.:06:05.

Andrew Weibrecht, number 23. I can't see anyone challenging the

:06:06.:06:21.

time of Jansrud. Purely because of the start numbers. If you look at

:06:22.:06:27.

the top five, all of the guys who finished are placed in the top five,

:06:28.:06:35.

are placed in the top 15. With the snow conditions softening up, it is

:06:36.:06:41.

a question of getting as close as possible.

:06:42.:06:48.

A good start from Andrew Weibrecht who took bronze in the Super-G at

:06:49.:06:54.

Vancouver. Since then, he has been largely anonymous on the World Cup

:06:55.:06:55.

tour. 118 through the gun. Clocking the

:06:56.:07:04.

fastest time of the lot. Jansrud basically has done today

:07:05.:07:40.

what Matthias Mayer did, skiing goes rolling turns much better than

:07:41.:07:45.

anyone else. That is where you can ski out a lead. That is when Miller

:07:46.:07:50.

threw his race away in the main downhill. Miller coming next, he has

:07:51.:07:57.

had good trading results, quickest in the first. -- training results.

:07:58.:08:19.

He needs to eat with his mouth closed really!

:08:20.:08:29.

Bode Miller. Classic stance in the start. Now he gets stuck in. That

:08:30.:08:42.

relaxed look at the start belies the aggression, the hidden aggression

:08:43.:08:45.

and determination that lies within. The defending super combined

:08:46.:08:53.

champion. His only Olympic title came in the super combined in

:08:54.:08:58.

Whistler four years ago. He needs to put down a good downhill run. It is

:08:59.:09:03.

difficult from his start number, I can't see him taking away the lead

:09:04.:09:09.

from Jansrud. But he is a more accomplished slalom skier. If he can

:09:10.:09:13.

stay within half a second he has a good chance of defending his title.

:09:14.:09:20.

He has won the World Cup slalom race in the distant past.

:09:21.:09:25.

He can put the slalom skis on. Oh, no. He has blown it there. 0.39 down

:09:26.:09:34.

at the intermediate time, but much more now. He ran massively wide, the

:09:35.:09:41.

same time he made the mistake in downhill. What is he doing on that

:09:42.:09:52.

turn? Off the lake jump, Miller is now 1.27 off pace. Exactly one

:09:53.:10:01.

second he lost on that mistake off the final job, it hasn't gone

:10:02.:10:04.

according to plan for Bode Miller, he is 11th.

:10:05.:10:12.

If you subtract the second from his time, he would be sitting in fourth

:10:13.:10:18.

position. And thinking he had a really good crack at a gold medal

:10:19.:10:25.

here today. But his race in this combined has been blown on the

:10:26.:10:29.

downhill section. Still got the chance of getting on the podium.

:10:30.:10:34.

Parris is a way for Italy. Good aggression. Number 25.

:10:35.:10:49.

His slalom skills are less obvious. He can't ski slalom but not fast. He

:10:50.:10:59.

is too big. Look at the size of his thighs. You need to be explosive.

:11:00.:11:13.

But he is not backed. He is a big lump of a man.

:11:14.:11:23.

Talking of slalom skiers, we are seeing some skiers not skiing

:11:24.:11:34.

downhill today, but focusing on other events.

:11:35.:11:59.

The Italian supporters still looking for their first Alpine medal of the

:12:00.:12:23.

Games. But let us not forget Christof Innerhofer.

:12:24.:12:31.

It is a bit like rugby players, talking about size.

:12:32.:12:48.

Not a bad start for Adrien Theaux, a downhill man through and through.

:12:49.:12:59.

It is a fascinating result we are getting here from the downhill. It

:13:00.:13:06.

is really going to be hard to call. I think that Aleksander Aamodt Kilde

:13:07.:13:12.

has a good chance. Ondrej Bank has a good chance. Bode Miller

:13:13.:13:21.

potentially. We have two of the downhill

:13:22.:13:24.

medallists among the top three at the moment. Jansrud took bronze on

:13:25.:13:32.

Sunday. Matthias Mayer took the gold. I can't see either of them

:13:33.:13:39.

ending up on the podium today. If they do, it will be a bit of a

:13:40.:13:44.

shock. Lake jump for Adrien Theaux. Ivica

:13:45.:13:52.

Kostelic has a good chance, he is lying in seventh. 0.93 down. Miller,

:13:53.:14:01.

if he makes the finish, the chances of that are slim.

:14:02.:14:19.

That is a great shot, that must be from the wired camera, looking down

:14:20.:14:33.

on the Traverse -- wire cam. 27, Morgan Pridy from Canada.

:14:34.:14:41.

The top of the course is still icy and hard, still in the shade.

:14:42.:15:00.

This section has been in the sun, breaking away. -- baking away.

:15:01.:15:12.

Some spectators are starting to strip off and improve their

:15:13.:15:21.

suntans. The temperature is due to rise until about 14 or 15 degrees in

:15:22.:15:29.

the mountains, possibly five degrees higher than that on lower ground.

:15:30.:15:39.

All the reflection from the snow, it feels much warmer than that. Morgan

:15:40.:15:53.

Pridy starting number 27. Off the final jump.

:15:54.:16:08.

We are heading into the realms of the unknown because that will be

:16:09.:16:15.

some names coming up that we do not normally see racing regularly on the

:16:16.:16:22.

World Cup. Some guys coming to take that chance on the Olympic combined

:16:23.:16:29.

and hoping for a bit of luck. Jared Goldberg is next.

:16:30.:16:39.

Certainly pushing hard at the top. He is in touch at the first

:16:40.:16:53.

intermediate. These guys will be kicking themselves they did not draw

:16:54.:17:00.

an early start. The second 15, those ranked between 16 and 30, could

:17:01.:17:13.

potentially go 1-7, or they can start in the later group and it is

:17:14.:17:20.

pot luck. Once you have benefited from that particularly in the

:17:21.:17:29.

downhill -- the ones who benefited include Travis Ganong, Carly -- and

:17:30.:17:50.

also Carlo Janka. He comes from Utah. He has gone well. 15th.

:17:51.:18:07.

Starting so late, that is not bad. That is some hat! There is Bode

:18:08.:18:19.

Miller with his professional beach volleyball playing wife.

:18:20.:18:31.

Klemen Kosi from Slovenia. The 22-year-old from Maribor. On the

:18:32.:18:53.

inside ski. As he came down the valley. A lot of people would think

:18:54.:19:05.

you would want the snow to soften up so you could get a better agent

:19:06.:19:12.

Brett on the ice, but these racers skiing with their edges as sharp as

:19:13.:19:20.

they are, they would rather have it as I -- icy as possible. We saw home

:19:21.:19:29.

a chit slowed down when the conditions got slushy. Some of the

:19:30.:19:36.

girls were having difficulty carrying speed off the kicker and

:19:37.:19:42.

not enough landing on the knuckle and that is what was causing

:19:43.:19:51.

problems. He was 24th in the downhill on Sunday. Kjetil Jansrud

:19:52.:20:05.

looks unstoppable. The slalom is due at 11:30am. Great body angle, inside

:20:06.:20:29.

and heading onto the snow -- hand. Krystof Kryzl from the Czech

:20:30.:20:35.

Republic. A couple of his team-mates have already gone, including the man

:20:36.:20:42.

in second position, Ondrej Bank, and he will have been able to top to him

:20:43.:20:47.

via the two-way radio to pick up some advice.

:20:48.:20:57.

He does not seem to be getting any deeper -- it does not, the cuts and

:20:58.:21:09.

holes. In the section where they used the water injection bar, that

:21:10.:21:16.

was a six-man job getting it to work, you need a pump and two or

:21:17.:21:26.

three men pushing it down into the snow and it freezes really deep and

:21:27.:21:31.

you do not get any break-up underneath the ground. The top layer

:21:32.:21:38.

is getting soft and underneath it is still quite firm. Off the late

:21:39.:21:58.

jump, lands softly. He is one gate from home. He is 29th. Kjetil

:21:59.:22:15.

Jansrud is fast, Ondrej Bank second and Matthias Mayer third. A great

:22:16.:22:34.

shot of the outside. Kjetil Jansrud taking his time to sign some

:22:35.:22:40.

accreditations before he heads off to consider his next move. He is

:22:41.:22:49.

going to check on the standings. -- let us.

:22:50.:23:23.

The top 30 goal reverse in the slalom. This is the man who leads

:23:24.:23:33.

the way at the moment and if things stay the same then Kjetil Jansrud

:23:34.:23:41.

will be the last skier on the mountain in the slalom later. It is

:23:42.:23:50.

interesting that Alexis Pinturault is hoping for a couple of skiers to

:23:51.:23:56.

come in and knock him down so that he can start earlier in the slalom.

:23:57.:24:01.

If you can start in the top five he can easily ski out a two second

:24:02.:24:13.

lead. This is Jorge Birkner Ketelhohn. You may be familiar with

:24:14.:24:20.

the catsuit, his sister was wearing a similar one on Wednesday. It is

:24:21.:24:31.

not a good look in my opinion! I preferred it to the American white

:24:32.:24:41.

suit. I will give you that. The third sister did not get selected

:24:42.:24:47.

for the Argentine Olympic team and lost her appeal yesterday. Two of

:24:48.:25:01.

the siblings racing this time. This is his third Olympic Games. Macarena

:25:02.:25:32.

Simari Birkner used to go out with someone who is now a coach. Cristian

:25:33.:25:51.

Javier Simari Birkner is the best of the siblings. He needs to be in the

:25:52.:25:57.

top 30. If you are not in the top 30 in the combined, you have no chance,

:25:58.:26:02.

because you will be skiing down the slalom run in the ruts. Marcel

:26:03.:26:23.

finished 31st in the super-G -- 35th and claimed all the way up and came

:26:24.:26:29.

to finish in third in Kitzbuhel. It was remarkable. Pavel Trikhichev is

:26:30.:26:49.

next. Let us see if he can give himself a boost going into the

:26:50.:26:57.

slalom. You would expect the Russians over the next few years to

:26:58.:27:02.

start producing serious World Cup and champion contenders, but there

:27:03.:27:09.

is no one really at the moment. Talking about legacy, you Billy need

:27:10.:27:17.

a school. It takes a long time to produce alpine skiers. He could be

:27:18.:27:23.

the second man on the mountain in the slalom. He is right on the

:27:24.:27:30.

bubble. I do not see him staying in the top 30. That is headwear of the

:27:31.:27:41.

highest calibre. I saw him coming in earlier and I saw the fees of the

:27:42.:27:50.

people sitting behind him -- the face of the people sitting behind

:27:51.:27:58.

him, with their heads in their hands! Olivier Jenot's compatriots

:27:59.:28:30.

recovering from a broken ankle. The forward rotation is winding them

:28:31.:28:35.

up, the backward rotation is winding them down. It is more of 70s disco

:28:36.:28:58.

dancing from him. Dad dancing. Great to see some of the less established

:28:59.:29:07.

alpine nations racing. This is Ferran Terra from Spain.

:29:08.:29:21.

The World Championships were held in Spain right in the south. Massive,

:29:22.:29:33.

that is probably the biggest flight we have seen. It is a good facility

:29:34.:29:41.

but it is used more for some athletes for all to Jude training

:29:42.:29:49.

than four the alpine skiers -- used for all to altitude training. When

:29:50.:30:10.

they returned in February 2006 there was too much.

:30:11.:30:22.

Markus Fux from Slovakia. -- Matej Falat.

:30:23.:30:39.

So, no change, Kjetil Jansrud leads the way in the first stage of the

:30:40.:30:44.

men's super combined. The second in this two-part alpine

:30:45.:31:01.

drama goes off at 11.30. We have had an early start because

:31:02.:31:06.

this event was brought forward by one hour. Emma Carrick-Anderson, it

:31:07.:31:12.

is looking like a good session -- decision.

:31:13.:31:21.

The top section was fairly firm until the trampoline, but then it

:31:22.:31:29.

softened up. Temperatures in Sochi are rising. We saw some holes

:31:30.:31:33.

starting to appear particularly in the landing areas.

:31:34.:31:39.

I am surprised it didn't get worse, it broke through at about number

:31:40.:31:44.

eight, luckily it didn't get any worse because it could have been

:31:45.:31:48.

dangerous. Let us talk about those who have made the most of the

:31:49.:31:54.

conditions. Jansrud, bronze medallist in the downhill the other

:31:55.:31:59.

day. This is where it gets confiscated, this is a 2-part drama.

:32:00.:32:06.

Is it now in the hands of the slalom skiers? I would say so. And

:32:07.:32:14.

fortunately for the likes of Alexis Pinturault, he has a lot to do in

:32:15.:32:25.

the slalom. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has put himself in a good position.

:32:26.:32:32.

Ivica Kostelic has twice had silver in this event. 34 years old. If his

:32:33.:32:40.

body holds up, many people would love to see him win a gold medal. A

:32:41.:32:45.

very nice bloke and a fantastic ski racer. You have talked about his

:32:46.:32:53.

father, many will say how can his father have set the slalom course?

:32:54.:33:01.

It is legitimate. One world cup will be set by an Austrian, the next by a

:33:02.:33:08.

French. It happens his father, a Croatian, has set the Olympic

:33:09.:33:18.

slalom. Ivica Kostelic has set a lot of slalom

:33:19.:33:20.

. A good time posted by Ivica Kostelic. From harm -- how far back

:33:21.:33:35.

could this be one? That is a tricky one. I am not writing off Alexis

:33:36.:33:47.

Pinturault. I think somebody from about two seconds back could still

:33:48.:33:51.

win it. He may not actually get the gold, but I think he could medal.

:33:52.:33:57.

That includes Ted Ligety who won this eight years ago. Not done a

:33:58.:34:02.

great deal in Olympic terms since but he would love to establish

:34:03.:34:12.

himself again. 1.93 seconds. He still has a big chance. He is

:34:13.:34:22.

starting just after Alexis Pinturault. Decent conditions for a

:34:23.:34:29.

second run. We have had two Norwegian victories

:34:30.:34:34.

in the last 20 years. Three Norwegians in the top six. Just

:34:35.:34:42.

hovering is Aksel Lunk Svindal. He has said he is angry at the snow

:34:43.:34:46.

conditions because he does not feel he has done himself justice. He is

:34:47.:34:57.

fired up. The conditions are in the hands of the gods. Aksel Lunk

:34:58.:35:04.

Svindal, Ivica Kostelic, it will be an exciting one. Are you going to

:35:05.:35:13.

call it? No! 11:30am is when we are looking forward to the second run of

:35:14.:35:15.

the men's super combined. There was a big fat asterisk in the

:35:16.:35:24.

calendars of Russian sports broadcasters and fans today. The

:35:25.:35:29.

men's figure skating free programme. Because it was supposed to mark the

:35:30.:35:32.

attempt by the legendary Yevgeny Plushenko to try and win a record

:35:33.:35:41.

fifth Olympic medal. But, to much consternation last night, the Great

:35:42.:35:44.

One had a surprise parting shot for his adoring public during the short

:35:45.:35:46.

programme. Before he was due to take to the

:35:47.:35:57.

ice, he was clearly struggling. After a chat with the coach and the

:35:58.:36:02.

judges, he decided to withdraw from the men's competition on medical

:36:03.:36:06.

grounds, back injury, we are hearing. He announced his retirement

:36:07.:36:12.

shortly afterwards. He took gold in the team event but not the way he

:36:13.:36:16.

wanted to say goodbye. Members afterwards, Jeremy Abbott took to

:36:17.:36:27.

the ice. He had a nightmare, and fell. He was cheered all the way

:36:28.:36:34.

afterwards. A touching show of support from the Russian fans for an

:36:35.:36:41.

American competitor. Delivering a gutsy performance to a standing

:36:42.:36:46.

ovation. It was a magical moment. Wonderfully touching. Disappointment

:36:47.:36:50.

for two medal contenders but an opportunity for everyone else.

:36:51.:36:58.

How Nuer was the start of the short programme during the team event --

:36:59.:37:13.

Yuzuru Hanyu. In Japan have never won the men's Olympic gold medal. He

:37:14.:37:15.

is one of the favourites. opening with his quad combination.

:37:16.:37:44.

Oh, absolutely easy! Beautifully centred, great position

:37:45.:38:04.

on the spin. He needs to stay focused and in

:38:05.:38:46.

control for the triple axel. Yes! From a difficult entry, left back

:38:47.:38:52.

inside turn without the push, superb work.

:38:53.:39:02.

His combination, triple toe loop, that is it! Watch him enjoyed the

:39:03.:39:13.

steps sequence. -- enjoy. Wow! That is what we have been

:39:14.:40:13.

waiting for. Outstanding. Nerves of steel. It is only the Olympic Games!

:40:14.:40:16.

? That is also the reason why plush

:40:17.:40:40.

Ancona -- Plyushchenko knew that if he wasn't at his best, it wasn't

:40:41.:40:47.

worth trying. That lovely flow, down on the knee,

:40:48.:40:53.

soft and light for the triple. Easy with the triple toe loop.

:40:54.:41:02.

Excellent, wonderful performance. Oh!

:41:03.:41:14.

Watch out, everybody. He is heading for the top of the podium. If he can

:41:15.:41:23.

deliver another performance like that. A different class.

:41:24.:41:34.

Javier Fernandez. He has been European champion for the last two

:41:35.:41:46.

years. He has struggled on the Grand Prix circuit but looks back on form

:41:47.:41:50.

just in time for Sochi. He became doubled European champion. Aiming to

:41:51.:41:56.

win Spain their first figure skating medal at the Olympic Games.

:41:57.:42:23.

His opening quads. He stayed on one foot.

:42:24.:42:45.

Oh, no, too slow on that junk. -- jump. The whole programme is very

:42:46.:43:37.

tight. Not choosing the traditional music

:43:38.:44:50.

as always, always a fun performance. One wonders how he was affected by

:44:51.:45:01.

the marks by Yuzuru. But they are training makes, he knows what he is

:45:02.:45:09.

capable of. I just felt, he looked a little tired halfway through that. I

:45:10.:45:15.

know that music is Jimmy well, I won a world approach as a world approach

:45:16.:45:19.

have shipped with it. -- extremely well. Little things all the way

:45:20.:45:27.

through, I felt there was a lot of tension in that programme.

:45:28.:45:32.

It is mandatory to minus two for that kind of mistake. Not the best

:45:33.:45:54.

marks. All of his big jump elements are getting him less than ten

:45:55.:46:06.

points, which is not good at all. That has him just ahead of Jason

:46:07.:46:11.

Brown, so at the moment he is in second place. Patrick Chan came in

:46:12.:46:23.

as the favourite for the gold medal but that disappeared in the team

:46:24.:46:26.

event in the short programme where he made a number of errors. The

:46:27.:46:35.

judges liked the programme. The component score was above his

:46:36.:46:41.

components. If he can deliver the elements, he could be right up there

:46:42.:46:48.

for the gold, but he has to be clean, he has to nail every element

:46:49.:46:52.

and he knows that. Quad toe loop, triple toe loop. He

:46:53.:48:03.

needs to do the same with the triple axel. Maybe just a little bit too

:48:04.:48:13.

much. There may have been an error, but

:48:14.:50:05.

some of the elements, there is such a quality to his skating, he is not

:50:06.:50:09.

going to be far away, but he will have wanted every element nailed and

:50:10.:50:15.

it wasn't, so he has opened the door. He flew into this quad with

:50:16.:50:24.

conviction. It was exquisite. Beautiful presentation in the air.

:50:25.:50:34.

Suitably landed, plenty of time. He did not need to push quite as much

:50:35.:50:40.

on the axel. Does not have such a big jump. You see the body leaning,

:50:41.:50:51.

he is over it. Just the step out, no deduction as such. The grade of

:50:52.:51:00.

deduction will be two or three points which is mandatory. Not easy

:51:01.:51:13.

is an's best. -- a season's best. Almost four points behind. Not the

:51:14.:51:30.

best to take into the free programme, but anything can happen.

:51:31.:51:42.

He is in the mix. Peter Liebers finished sixth at the European

:51:43.:51:48.

Championships, but he was rewarded with a season's best in the team

:51:49.:51:52.

event. Can he repeat that? Beautiful quad tool -- quad toe loop

:51:53.:53:00.

combination. With the triple mac toe loop.

:53:01.:53:25.

He was good in the team event. Even better tonight. The jumps were spot

:53:26.:54:57.

on. He got every element. The commentators beside us are standing

:54:58.:55:04.

uploading. A superb performance. I loved it. The spins are not quite at

:55:05.:55:11.

the same level as the jumps, but the jumps were on form. This quad toe

:55:12.:55:28.

loop was on the money. Top about speeding with conviction. --

:55:29.:55:48.

skating. He has a very open stance. Down, hands out, his body placed

:55:49.:56:04.

exactly right. 79 was his season's best. All the technical elements

:56:05.:56:21.

were there. What a performance. These super Takahashi -- Takahashi

:56:22.:56:38.

gets a round of applause. Such a popular skater. Can he deliver the

:56:39.:56:44.

elements tonight? He wanted the quad toe loop, just

:56:45.:57:48.

under rotated. He got the triple axel.

:57:49.:58:33.

Triple lutz, triple toe loop. He made the rotations.

:58:34.:59:42.

A huge cheer from his adoring fans, he has given them so much to cheer

:59:43.:59:51.

about over the years, world champion a few years ago, but there were

:59:52.:59:57.

mistakes, he knows that, he will not celebrate, it is not what we are

:59:58.:00:02.

used to seeing from him from years ago, but it has not been his season.

:00:03.:00:10.

Let us look at the quadruple where he was not fully rotated and he was

:00:11.:00:13.

on two feet. It has been downgraded to a double from a triple. Just two

:00:14.:00:25.

points for that. 10.21 credit for the triple axel and 11.01 for the

:00:26.:00:35.

triple lutz, trouble to look combination.

:00:36.:00:47.

A great component score. The Japanese fans were silent because

:00:48.:00:53.

they wanted more. They know he could be bidding for the gold medal. But

:00:54.:00:58.

he finds himself in fourth place. In touching distance of the podium.

:00:59.:01:04.

It was his Japanese colleague, Yuzuru Hanyu, wait in front, after

:01:05.:01:10.

becoming the first figure skater to go past the 100 figure mark. Nearly

:01:11.:01:17.

a four-point lead over Patrick Chan of Canada. We have the free

:01:18.:01:27.

programme this evening at 6:15pm when the top six skaters go. It has

:01:28.:01:33.

been interesting to gauge their reaction of the departure of Yevgeny

:01:34.:01:40.

Plushenko. There is a universal sympathy for his very sad exit, it

:01:41.:01:44.

has to be said. But a hint of controversy. One of the daily

:01:45.:01:53.

newspapers saying, a genuine human tragedy. They quote Yevgeny

:01:54.:02:01.

Plushenko saying, I beg forgiveness for my fans.

:02:02.:02:12.

Something like this from one of the big sports newspapers, why has this

:02:13.:02:25.

deprived one of our other great chances representing us in the

:02:26.:02:32.

final. Sympathy but a little bit of sniping.

:02:33.:02:37.

That free programme is at 6:15pm. It looks like a cracking contest.

:02:38.:02:52.

Good morning to you. We are staying on the ice for a little bit of bonus

:02:53.:02:59.

cologne, David Murdoch and his men will be playing Denmark later today.

:03:00.:03:05.

A chance to catch up on the medal hopefuls, Canada against Norway.

:03:06.:03:10.

Also a chance for us to see some of the most anticipated sets of

:03:11.:03:15.

trousers of the entire Games, courtesy of the Norwegians! I hope

:03:16.:03:20.

this isn't too loud for you over your breakfast cereal.

:03:21.:03:26.

We picked them up in the seventh end.

:03:27.:03:33.

A good and set up here already for Jacobs. The lead stones came in and

:03:34.:03:41.

let an opportunity. This is the situation. That has

:03:42.:03:55.

helped Norway's cause, if it got buried enough. A great try, two in a

:03:56.:04:03.

row. Almost perfect on his first one as well. His second attempt. Rolling

:04:04.:04:10.

from the corner to the centre line, a pretty good drive.

:04:11.:04:28.

That is not easy to do. To have good control to throw that as asked for.

:04:29.:04:52.

And to keep your shooter on the side, well done.

:04:53.:04:57.

Trying to hit and roll on the other side.

:04:58.:05:14.

If Jacobs wanted, he could try to go around the centre.

:05:15.:05:26.

He would hate to go to that centre line behind the Norway guard.

:05:27.:05:34.

Hitting and rolling is a little safer.

:05:35.:05:43.

I have never seen a skip that calls the sweep from a squat position.

:05:44.:05:51.

Holding that position. The entire way. It is amazing.

:05:52.:06:17.

Playing the hit and rolled to the centre line. Ryan Fry is playing

:06:18.:06:24.

exceptionally. Two or three are in play. One small

:06:25.:06:32.

mistake from Norway... It doesn't look as if he likes it,

:06:33.:06:57.

he is casually walking beside it. It finishes hard at the end. About as

:06:58.:07:04.

good as he could have done really. Pretty good.

:07:05.:07:20.

It is tricky. The rock that is in his way is his own. If he tries this

:07:21.:07:35.

soft weight. It is one of those ones where you sweep it to get by, once

:07:36.:07:40.

you are past it, you could move it back. It is over buried. Visually,

:07:41.:07:48.

it is a tough shot. Watch that centre line. Another test for the

:07:49.:08:00.

Harndens. A bonus from sheet B, China and

:08:01.:08:25.

Sweden. Impressive performance on the sheet B from team China. They

:08:26.:08:26.

will be one up. A nice draw, but great force.

:08:27.:08:47.

Nervous for Norway because it is a lonely yellow stone in there. They

:08:48.:08:51.

need to get a second yellow in, how are you going to do that? The hit,

:08:52.:08:59.

the double, the role to the corner? If he can hit that red stone at the

:09:00.:09:04.

top of the eight foot anywhere from the hit and rolled over, into that

:09:05.:09:14.

pile. He could get unlucky in theory. Anything on the outside with

:09:15.:09:18.

the right weight will either rolled into this one or that one. -- roll

:09:19.:09:32.

into. A multiple school could come into

:09:33.:09:35.

play. That was fierce looking. Jacobs and

:09:36.:09:43.

Fry. They don't lack for intensity.

:09:44.:09:51.

There is a double that was left, as you pointed out. A mistake.

:09:52.:10:07.

A little frustration there. It is the only way that he gets a bad

:10:08.:10:20.

result, he could easily hit it then. If the double is made, the rock will

:10:21.:10:27.

probably rolled into that area. The question is whether they will try to

:10:28.:10:34.

go around that corner guard. A big shot. Putting some pressure on

:10:35.:10:49.

Ulsrud. There it goes. Oh. Not a good results. -- result.

:10:50.:11:21.

So, a good throw. They were surprised it didn't cull more. He

:11:22.:11:26.

didn't overthrow it, the shooter still stayed in the ring. Still no

:11:27.:11:37.

danger for a steal. Ulsrud has to make a decent shot here to get a

:11:38.:11:44.

piece around that yellow. That is why he drew it around.

:11:45.:11:54.

You just don't get that many opportunities to score multiple

:11:55.:12:00.

points so you hate it when you lose them. That, and the fact the second

:12:01.:12:04.

stone will be that much more difficult.

:12:05.:12:08.

You have to change your mindset. From going from opportunity to

:12:09.:12:15.

making a save. Four Ulsrud, if this slips back,

:12:16.:12:30.

even with the stone at the back, this might be a double. This isn't

:12:31.:12:36.

curling. Could this be a 44, oh, my goodness. -- could this be a four.

:12:37.:12:52.

He can't believe it. The wait was great -- weight. It just didn't take

:12:53.:12:59.

the big cull. Can he get past the guard tight enough to make contact

:13:00.:13:04.

with both of these stones is the question. It looks like he can.

:13:05.:13:13.

So, back to opportunity for Brad Jacobs. Get close to the guard, make

:13:14.:13:25.

the double. The danger here, if you overthrow and it runs straight, it

:13:26.:13:30.

ends up being a steal. This is a massive point.

:13:31.:13:42.

What an opportunity. The final stone, and seven. This could be it.

:13:43.:13:58.

I love that reaction! I can't get enough of that.

:13:59.:14:15.

The family loves it. Mike, on the right. Watch the boys. We'll go back

:14:16.:14:28.

to that in a second. There is the four. Does that feel good. Take

:14:29.:14:35.

advantage of opportunity, good throw. Every Canadian faith goes

:14:36.:14:41.

instantly read! -- red! STUDIO: That proved decisive, Canada

:14:42.:14:56.

went on to win it 10-4. A very good performance from them. They have

:14:57.:15:01.

lost too already but they are on a roll.

:15:02.:15:06.

We have just heard that China have been beaten in their match against

:15:07.:15:11.

Sweden. Their first defeat. Dave Murdoch and company will be on

:15:12.:15:25.

the ice later today against the Danish. What would you doing 30

:15:26.:15:32.

years ago today, if you were both about at that point? 30 years ago

:15:33.:15:36.

today marks one of the ground-breaking performances of the

:15:37.:15:45.

Winter Olympic Games. Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Sally Eval

:15:46.:15:46.

Olympics. -- Sarajevo. In everyone's eyes, it was ours to

:15:47.:16:08.

lose. This was our Olympics. Our chance. Going into the competition,

:16:09.:16:17.

we were so focused, like a caged lion. Using the music Became so

:16:18.:16:36.

popular it went into the charts. It went into a frenzy. When we were

:16:37.:16:45.

performing it, I see it outside, like an outside body experience. It

:16:46.:16:51.

feels like a dream sequence. It feels like I was looking down on

:16:52.:16:55.

someone else doing that. Because it was such an emotional piece as

:16:56.:17:01.

well. It was one of those routines that felt eerily silent. When mayhem

:17:02.:17:09.

is going on in a movie and they will play music in slow motion, it felt

:17:10.:17:19.

like that. We had so many flowers that people were giving us by the

:17:20.:17:23.

side of the ice and throwing onto the ice and we were collecting them.

:17:24.:17:31.

Do I really have to go any further? There was a roar at the first set of

:17:32.:17:39.

scores and at the second said there was a mass of -- massive roar. I

:17:40.:17:49.

remember looking up at the scoreboard and seeing all the sixs.

:17:50.:18:12.

There has never been any resentment. It is not Torvill or

:18:13.:18:20.

Dean by themselves, it is Rolls-Royce, fish and chips. Torvill

:18:21.:18:25.

and Dean returned to face the music and dance ten years later when Peter

:18:26.:18:29.

Gummi bronze, many feel that they were robbed. You never hear that

:18:30.:18:34.

piece of music without thinking about that performance. We wonder

:18:35.:18:40.

whether we will have another one this afternoon because Lizzy Yarnold

:18:41.:18:49.

is going for gold with a 0.4 second advantage. That is that the 40 M --

:18:50.:19:07.

3:40pm your time. Ice hockey could be the sport for you. We are going

:19:08.:19:12.

to see action from Group C shortly. After we have reminded you how it

:19:13.:19:16.

works. Ice hockey is one of the fastest

:19:17.:19:29.

team sports in the world. With pucks travelling fast, this can be brutal.

:19:30.:19:34.

The aim is to score more goals than the opposition. Matches consist of

:19:35.:19:40.

three 20 minute periods with two 15 minute breaks in between and start

:19:41.:19:44.

with a feast of in the centre of the ice. Penalties are given if a

:19:45.:19:59.

player's actions are said to have broken the rules of the game. If a

:20:00.:20:03.

player is sent off, the team is said to be playing short-handed while the

:20:04.:20:09.

opposing team is on power play. This is the best opportunity for a team

:20:10.:20:13.

to score. We are going to check out the form in Group C of the Czech

:20:14.:20:21.

Republic and the Latvians. The Czech Republic were the shock winner in

:20:22.:20:33.

1998. One of the players was in that team and is still playing, years 42.

:20:34.:20:37.

-- he is 42. He already has a gold in this

:20:38.:20:51.

competition. One of the greats to ever play in any era. The Czech

:20:52.:21:04.

Republic are looking to bounce back after opening defeat. Looking to win

:21:05.:21:08.

their first match of the 2014 Games, the Latvians, who were beaten

:21:09.:21:23.

with a late Swiss gold. -- goal. The Czech Republic are in white. The

:21:24.:21:38.

Latvians will go right to left. I think it would be a big ask for them

:21:39.:21:43.

to get anywhere close to the medals but they are not the worst team in

:21:44.:21:48.

the competition and they beat Great Britain in qualifying to book their

:21:49.:21:49.

place here. He hangs onto it. He plays with

:21:50.:22:19.

Everton in the National Hockey League. You can see how far away he

:22:20.:22:30.

is. You can see the puck trickling potentially towards goal. Face off.

:22:31.:23:21.

A very important part of the game is hitting a little bit for

:23:22.:23:44.

intimidation. No penalty called. Petr Nedved needs to be careful. He

:23:45.:23:51.

has taken a few penalties in the opening match. Time to set things

:23:52.:23:59.

going. When we talk about the zones, that

:24:00.:25:35.

is the fence of, the neutral -- offerings offensive and the

:25:36.:25:37.

defensive. Sandis Ozolinsh is in his 40s. He is

:25:38.:25:59.

one of the few in the tournament that featured for the USSR in early

:26:00.:26:04.

on in his international career. The Czechs have been offensive so

:26:05.:26:25.

far. The Latvians are in danger of being

:26:26.:26:49.

caught cold. Too many players on the ice for the

:26:50.:28:28.

Czechs, not cold. I am surprised about that. The Czechs are going to

:28:29.:28:45.

go on a power play. Skating six Czechs against the five Latvians.

:28:46.:28:55.

The whistle blows. That is one of the fears, it is going to be hard

:28:56.:29:11.

for him when the younger skiers get the pace, Sandis Ozolinsh. He is a

:29:12.:29:22.

roaming player. He does a lot of looping. He gets a high stick call.

:29:23.:29:36.

It looks incidental but it is the one hand sweep and you're not going

:29:37.:29:42.

to be able to control your stick. He is fortunate to get two because he

:29:43.:29:47.

could have been assessed as double minor. There is Ted Nolan, he has

:29:48.:29:56.

won the Jack Adams trophy which is awarded to the best coach. He has

:29:57.:30:07.

taken the Latvian job and made the season and the opportunity presented

:30:08.:30:10.

itself to return to the pinnacle of the sport in club hockey. The Czechs

:30:11.:30:16.

have looked much better today, much better movement. A lot of these

:30:17.:30:22.

players have come halfway across the world to get here and they are right

:30:23.:30:26.

into intense action. A big shot, that was great power

:30:27.:31:06.

from Zidlicky. We saw him in game number one getting it into the net.

:31:07.:31:14.

Jagr had a good shooting angle. That was well blocked and away by the

:31:15.:31:24.

Latvians the length of the ice. They go for a full change, all four

:31:25.:31:28.

players go off and for new ones come on. You saw them try to load up the

:31:29.:31:35.

shot. He can shoot it, as we saw against the Swedes.

:31:36.:31:41.

Nedved was a prime scorer earlier in his career. These days, not so much

:31:42.:31:45.

but he still does all right. Nedved crashing. He couldn't find

:31:46.:31:54.

the puck, it was easily away. The Czechs had good possession in

:31:55.:32:22.

the zone, but given away. That was a poor clearance.

:32:23.:32:30.

The opportunity now, great poise from the big man, spinning it

:32:31.:33:08.

through. Nearly found the net. Hemsky bringing it back the other

:33:09.:33:10.

way. Erat scores. Good transition. That puck low and hard, no chance

:33:11.:33:31.

for the Latvian netminder as it went through his legs. The set up was

:33:32.:33:39.

perfect. Erat, rolling his way through the legs of Masalskis.

:33:40.:33:48.

Getting themselves on the board first.

:33:49.:33:58.

Erat, a late call into this squad, he wasn't part of the initial

:33:59.:34:05.

selection. It comes at an interesting time for him. At home in

:34:06.:34:10.

North America, his wife is due to give birth to their second child

:34:11.:34:12.

next week. Not what the Latvians were hoping

:34:13.:34:29.

for. Hemsky feeding that in front, tipped

:34:30.:34:45.

just wide by Krejci. Finally, some relief. Sending it forward, this

:34:46.:34:52.

could be a chance. A slight slip from Michalek.

:34:53.:35:00.

Latvia haven't created anything offensively yet. Just the one played

:35:01.:35:09.

by Ozolins. The Czechs are getting nicely settled into this

:35:10.:35:13.

tournament. A great execution from Erat. Taking a half opportunity and

:35:14.:35:20.

making a full conversion. That's where the game rests. You get

:35:21.:35:23.

yourself an opportunity but it is about execution in the moment and

:35:24.:35:27.

you can't be too picky. Take what you are given. Well saved. Have a

:35:28.:35:47.

lecture macro, the check -- Czechs goal-tender -- Pavelec.

:35:48.:35:54.

Six, a massive man mountain. -- Six feet.

:35:55.:36:12.

He will sit down for two minutes, or less.

:36:13.:36:13.

A good save, a quick rebound, but unable to finish it. A wonderful

:36:14.:36:22.

chance for the Latvians to equalise. Ozolins circles deep in the zone.

:36:23.:36:30.

Looking to go back door but that hopped over a stick.

:36:31.:36:42.

This is a two on one for the Czech Republic. He shoots, nearly scores

:36:43.:36:50.

second chance from behind the line. Ozolins will step clear. That was a

:36:51.:36:58.

big saved, a very important one. Even though they had the advantage,

:36:59.:37:03.

offensive opportunities get created for the opposing team.

:37:04.:37:14.

Down the length of the ice by Erat. Out to play it is this gal skis

:37:15.:37:25.

macro -- Masalskis, the goal-tender. The shot deflected over the top,

:37:26.:37:39.

back door, how did that block go in, Sprukts was somehow a denied. --

:37:40.:37:51.

somehow denied. 18 to go on the power play. They have had some good

:37:52.:37:57.

opportunities. Maybe the Czechs welcome back, a good save!

:37:58.:38:06.

Remember that 30 seconds. If it is a save made, my goodness. It will be

:38:07.:38:09.

something special. Hanzal is at the box but the danger

:38:10.:38:22.

is not cleared yet. Another penalty coming, a tripping

:38:23.:38:26.

call. A bit of conversation here. We are looking at Sprukts who had

:38:27.:38:39.

the opportunity. A little bit of television time out. This is almost

:38:40.:38:44.

like theatre stage where they readdress everything, cleaning up

:38:45.:38:49.

and tidying. That was a goal, wasn't it? Without a doubt. Watch it again.

:38:50.:39:03.

That is a goal. They never celebrated. That was a clear goal. I

:39:04.:39:09.

don't know how. Sprukts doesn't know himself that that is a goal.

:39:10.:39:12.

Goal-scorers know. Particularly standing five feet away. I hope

:39:13.:39:19.

there is a discussion to review this. Please don't have controversy

:39:20.:39:24.

on something that is so clear cut. They have the orange lights

:39:25.:39:27.

flashing. I think they are going to review it. The referee has come

:39:28.:39:30.

over, they are having a conversation. Sprukts is going to

:39:31.:39:38.

get an Olympic gold. In commentary, we have said we don't know how it

:39:39.:39:46.

has not gone in. It clearly did. The rest were perfectly happy to resume

:39:47.:39:54.

play with a faceoff. Until the timekeepers made the request. Is not

:39:55.:39:58.

as if this went on the near side post, this was essential. You can

:39:59.:40:11.

see the camera move. Look! Surely he can see? That has gone in, clearly.

:40:12.:40:19.

The one problem we have had in this tournament is that the nets are

:40:20.:40:27.

strong so slightly -- tightly. The puck is in and out in the blink of

:40:28.:40:31.

an eye. You do need a replay. Finally, it is under review. Sprukts

:40:32.:40:38.

should made -- have made more of a deal. You need more emotion. That

:40:39.:40:46.

was clear-cut. That is scary. That moment almost left us. Sprukts

:40:47.:40:53.

wasn't going to be awarded. That is very concerning to think that needed

:40:54.:40:57.

to be called upon and the officials come and Sprukts himself who was

:40:58.:41:01.

standing five feet away from recording history. Absolutely. I

:41:02.:41:12.

have got to say, I have never seen this in my life. The second time

:41:13.:41:16.

this has happened in this tournament. This time, at least, the

:41:17.:41:21.

right decision has happened. For the Japanese women, a different story

:41:22.:41:28.

earlier. The last 45 seconds of play is scratched out of history now, the

:41:29.:41:33.

time will go back on the Kop -- the clock.

:41:34.:41:41.

This is one of the vagaries of ice hockey. Video replays are there. I

:41:42.:41:53.

am more amazed at the Latvian players. You can see the frustration

:41:54.:42:07.

for the Czechs players. -- Czech. They are saying, they never asked

:42:08.:42:15.

for the goal. We are fortunate enough to review it again. I

:42:16.:42:19.

understand, the speed of the action for the referees, it is difficult to

:42:20.:42:27.

monitor. We are all human. My goodness, gentlemen, that was clear

:42:28.:42:28.

for all to see. So, why is Hanzal still in the

:42:29.:42:44.

penalty box? You can't go back, award a goal, then not scratch

:42:45.:42:46.

everything that happens after that from history. It looks like that is

:42:47.:42:58.

going to be the case. Now, more clarification. We not done with

:42:59.:43:03.

this. I think everybody is just as confused as the referees. There

:43:04.:43:07.

should be zero confusion here. When the goal is scored, play stops. If

:43:08.:43:13.

you have to review it, you go all the way back, everything that

:43:14.:43:19.

happens after that... The referees are talking upstairs. Come on! This

:43:20.:43:29.

is embarrassing. The men in charge there. Unfortunately for themselves,

:43:30.:43:33.

I am not sure this situation is reflecting well on their ability to

:43:34.:43:38.

manage this accurately, swiftly and efficiently, to keep this contest

:43:39.:43:42.

rolling. Eventually we will get the right situation. Surely?

:43:43.:43:52.

Hanzal will remain. If I was the coach, I would be losing my rag, it

:43:53.:44:04.

doesn't make any sense. You can't order a goal and keep a penalty that

:44:05.:44:08.

happened in between times. They have done that. There will be a long

:44:09.:44:14.

process whereby the Czechs will be very frustrated. The Latvians could

:44:15.:44:21.

very well take the lead here. We will have a number of referees

:44:22.:44:24.

watching in the UK. Feel free to get in touch and give us your views on

:44:25.:44:32.

what you have just seen. Technology helping out and hurting the

:44:33.:44:35.

officials right now. The school is level. The Latvians have a power

:44:36.:44:42.

play. The Czechs are on the back foot. The most important thing is

:44:43.:44:46.

that the goal was recorded. They have a great opportunity to take the

:44:47.:44:47.

lead. A bit of pushing and shoving, it

:44:48.:44:54.

might get nasty. Smid having words. That might hand is cut. Zidlicky is

:44:55.:45:13.

having words. Ozolins is a man mountain.

:45:14.:45:20.

This is the penalty. A little bit in it. This will get Sparky. We have

:45:21.:45:35.

had some controversy. Frustration for the Czechs. This will build up.

:45:36.:45:48.

The Bolshoi is getting a little narky, there is an air of thrush

:45:49.:45:51.

Trish and. -- frustration. Jaromir Jagr has not been on the ice

:45:52.:47:53.

for the two penalties. They save his energy. It hurts the Czechs when

:47:54.:48:00.

they cannot get their best players on the ice.

:48:01.:48:29.

Jaromir Jagr has such a strong lower body. Jagr again. This has been a

:48:30.:48:49.

breathless game for various reasons. We will seek clarification

:48:50.:48:54.

between periods as to why the referees called it as they did.

:48:55.:49:08.

Janis Sprukts is denied by a wonderful save. He was looking for

:49:09.:50:01.

his second. This should not come as a surprise. Each huge save from

:50:02.:50:15.

Ondrej Pavelec. Although they are ranked 11th, the Czechs have an

:50:16.:50:29.

average age which is lower than that of the Latvians.

:50:30.:50:49.

Penalty coming on the Latvians, I sticking. If the Czechs are serious

:50:50.:50:59.

about getting something from this game, they have to steal something.

:51:00.:51:07.

It is one of those absent flaws in a hockey match where you have to steal

:51:08.:51:15.

at the end of the period and if you can grab momentum going into the

:51:16.:51:20.

break it will be huge. There is the high stick. They cannot be too

:51:21.:51:29.

disappointed because the goals the Latvians scored was a goal. Perhaps

:51:30.:51:41.

just disappointed that the penalty remained.

:51:42.:52:03.

A bit more pushing and shoving going on. There is an edge to this game.

:52:04.:52:23.

That was then Gus Gergen since -- Girgensons.

:52:24.:52:45.

Jagr does not take the 1-timer. He pumps it home. The second of the

:52:46.:53:22.

tournament for Jaromir Jagr. What a finish that was. Just like that, the

:53:23.:53:31.

Czechs are back in front. This is potent from Jaromir Jagr as he holds

:53:32.:53:38.

and fires. They talk about slow release and he gets a nice bit of

:53:39.:53:44.

control on the trigger and then clutches and pumps it past the

:53:45.:54:01.

keeper who knows nothing about it. The bad news for the Latvians with

:54:02.:54:12.

they remain on the penalty kill. There is a second power play. It

:54:13.:54:21.

means the Czechs will start the second period on a one-man

:54:22.:54:23.

advantage. Jaromir Jagr has put the Czechs in

:54:24.:54:43.

front. A good performance from him. Plenty of controversy, but it is

:54:44.:54:50.

Jagr and the Czech Republic who have a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes.

:54:51.:54:59.

Confusion as well as controversy, technology helping and hindering. We

:55:00.:55:06.

are thinking of freedom in these the spring Olympics. -- re-naming. I

:55:07.:55:16.

know that you are battening down the hatches for another storm later, but

:55:17.:55:20.

we hope we can bring you good news later because this is a key moment

:55:21.:55:23.

for Great Britain's gold-medal hopes.

:55:24.:55:32.

It is Bob skeleton time. Focus, concentrate. An explosion of power

:55:33.:56:04.

and strength. You feel your way, shoulders and feet in position. A

:56:05.:56:09.

tap of the tour and a move of the head. Lightening fast reflexes, you

:56:10.:56:21.

feel the track. It is a quest for the fastest line, finding the

:56:22.:56:25.

perfect angle. You have to is they calm -- Steed calm, the tiniest

:56:26.:56:31.

errors will cost you, making the smallest adjustments and

:56:32.:56:37.

split-second reactions. It is about accuracy, precision. One false move

:56:38.:56:53.

and you are off on cold ice. Lizzy Yarnold was cool as ice yesterday

:56:54.:57:00.

with a point for second -- 0.4 second advantage. The woman who

:57:01.:57:06.

because her the most problems, what a journey she has had. She missed

:57:07.:57:13.

the 2006 Olympics after a freak accident. She made a full recovery

:57:14.:57:17.

and you will have heard about the course worker who was injured by a

:57:18.:57:27.

runaway bobsleigh yesterday. They are said to have undergone surgery,

:57:28.:57:33.

two broken legs, but we understand they add in a stable condition. That

:57:34.:57:41.

could have been much worse. One of the athletes retired, we thought

:57:42.:57:47.

that was it, but she came back driven by the thought of a chance of

:57:48.:58:00.

another medal in the Olympics. I used to be distracted by other

:58:01.:58:04.

athletes. I would see that times and it would scare me because I would

:58:05.:58:10.

think, they are going so fast. This year I stood at the line and I do

:58:11.:58:20.

not even recognise the Thames. -- times. It has nothing to do with

:58:21.:58:25.

their time, or how fast the ice is, it is to do with me and what I can

:58:26.:58:29.

handle and what I can put together down the track. I've really like

:58:30.:58:37.

this track. It is very different to any other track in the world. It is

:58:38.:58:42.

the longest track in the world and there is simplicity but also

:58:43.:58:47.

technicality, so I love it. The last time I was here was in February, a

:58:48.:58:53.

year ago, and I won the World Cup here and hopefully I will be able to

:58:54.:58:56.

feel that rhythm again and get back on the podium. She is going to be

:58:57.:59:09.

gathering at her best. She has pushed me mentally and physically to

:59:10.:59:13.

be my best, and I hope I do the same for her. This is it. The last one.

:59:14.:59:27.

We have 14-mac races apiece. In 2006, being hit by a bobsled and

:59:28.:59:33.

then retiring and I was very happy retiring, but for me with what I

:59:34.:59:39.

have been through, I have dealt with it. If I had gone to the -- Italy, I

:59:40.:59:52.

would have been completely satisfied with a medal. I was happy. Finishing

:59:53.:00:00.

fourth, so close, but I gave it my best, I could not ask any more of

:00:01.:00:06.

myself. All those hours of training and sacrifice at the time that goes

:00:07.:00:16.

into training to be an Olympian. It is the blink of an I've. There it

:00:17.:00:27.

goes. I do not know what will come the last and final run. I know that

:00:28.:00:31.

is my last medal for the taking so it is about everything coming into

:00:32.:00:36.

one moment so it could be a little emotional, I guess.

:00:37.:00:49.

It could all be over in the blink of an eye, so fast this sport, speeds

:00:50.:00:59.

approaching 80 miles an hour. Lizzy Yarnold has four tenths of a second

:01:00.:01:05.

advantage. That is the advantage she holds. You need so much guts to go

:01:06.:01:13.

on a bob skeleton. It is about so much more than bravado. Lizzy

:01:14.:01:18.

Yarnold from Kent is certainly a cool customer.

:01:19.:01:24.

You always feel nervous before you compete or chain in the skeleton. It

:01:25.:01:32.

is something where you need to be aware of feeling nervous, because it

:01:33.:01:37.

can be quite dangerous. But it is that thrill and adrenaline I really

:01:38.:01:43.

love. As you walk to the start block, you have to be completely

:01:44.:01:47.

focused, yet really exhilarated and ready produce -- to produce a really

:01:48.:01:57.

fast sprint. As soon as I am in two position, I am completely relaxed. I

:01:58.:02:05.

let my body mould into the sled. I have come so far in a short three

:02:06.:02:09.

years. When I came into the programme, Amy Williams had just won

:02:10.:02:14.

a gold medal. It was the same team she had around her that I have

:02:15.:02:19.

around me. So I slotted into the amazing machine that is British

:02:20.:02:20.

skeleton. Your mind just takes over, your

:02:21.:02:32.

peripheral vision takes over. You are feeling the interaction between

:02:33.:02:37.

you and the ice, all your senses are working at 1 million miles an hour.

:02:38.:02:42.

There is no perfect run, there is always something you can improve on,

:02:43.:02:47.

the slight angle, the angle, your line. It is not only about doing

:02:48.:02:56.

well against other athletes, it is seeing how good I can be against

:02:57.:03:02.

myself. I am so proud to say that my hardest condition is within my own

:03:03.:03:07.

team. Shelley Rudman is an amazing athlete, an ambassador of the

:03:08.:03:12.

programme that I got involved in, in 2008. We are friends away from the

:03:13.:03:17.

track. On the start block, she is one of my hardest rivals. Her

:03:18.:03:25.

performance has pushed me into trying to be better. I can't let up,

:03:26.:03:31.

every session means everything. I have to try to be the best version

:03:32.:03:37.

of me that I can. Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain, a World Cup leader.

:03:38.:03:43.

Victory! A very impressive slide, World Cup champion, Lizzy Yarnold.

:03:44.:03:55.

The great thing about the Olympics from what I have heard is it is a

:03:56.:03:59.

magical event, not like anything else. It is my first Olympics. I am

:04:00.:04:05.

taking it one step at a time. I hope to perform at my best. I am

:04:06.:04:10.

unbelievably motivated. Fingers crossed.

:04:11.:04:16.

She talked about Shelley Rudman who is in 11th place. Lizzy Yarnold will

:04:17.:04:22.

have two shoulder the expectations, she goes in the third run, live on

:04:23.:04:26.

BBC Two. Lizzy Yarnold, aiming to follow her

:04:27.:04:38.

land lady, Amy Williams, to the top of the podium. The very last day Amy

:04:39.:04:42.

Williams will be able to call herself the reigning Olympic

:04:43.:04:43.

champion. Skeleton athletes maybe have a screw

:04:44.:04:55.

loose, I don't know! Are we fearless? No, but we are brave. I

:04:56.:04:59.

think you learn to control the fear. In 2002, I remember watching the

:05:00.:05:17.

skeleton race, and the bronze medal. I took myself down to the

:05:18.:05:23.

bottom of the playing fields of the university. There was a special

:05:24.:05:28.

track where skeleton and bobsleigh can practice just starts. I started

:05:29.:05:33.

on the ice for the first time in October 2002. I didn't love it to

:05:34.:05:37.

begin with. I remember the first run, you don't know what to expect

:05:38.:05:42.

or feel. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The second time I did

:05:43.:05:47.

burst into tears. I had to hide because I did not want to look like

:05:48.:05:53.

a wimp. That addiction to wanting to become better, just happened. Then,

:05:54.:06:01.

I didn't want to stop. The Olympics 2006, there was only one place for a

:06:02.:06:07.

girl to go. It was always a battle. Didn't get to go. It fed me this

:06:08.:06:16.

fire in my belly that I was never going to watch another Olympics, I

:06:17.:06:20.

would be competing. I became obsessed. Every decision every day

:06:21.:06:26.

was, is this going to help me get to the Olympics? Yes, or no. Vancouver,

:06:27.:06:32.

when I heard I had got a place and I was going, it was unbelievable.

:06:33.:06:38.

Every dream come true, all that hard work, suddenly, you were part of a

:06:39.:06:44.

team. I remember collecting the kit, having my parents and grandma

:06:45.:06:49.

around. Opening it up. It was like Christmas day, time is a million.

:06:50.:06:56.

The Olympic race... It is so hard to remember it all. It seems like it

:06:57.:07:05.

was over in a blow. -- blur. I had a quite confident that if I did

:07:06.:07:09.

everything consistently, the fact I had worked so hard over the last

:07:10.:07:13.

four years, it was all coming together exactly how I wanted it to

:07:14.:07:18.

on that one day. On her way to the gold medal.

:07:19.:07:23.

There was so much pressure, I wanted it so badly. I remember before my

:07:24.:07:29.

final run, being in the changing room on my own. Not a single sole. I

:07:30.:07:33.

had to stand on the start line, thinking, this is for the gold

:07:34.:07:39.

medal. Then I just had to slide. Amy Williams, going for gold, for

:07:40.:07:44.

Great Britain. Amy Williams could become Olympic champion.

:07:45.:07:52.

Surely it is gold for Great Britain? Oh, yes!

:07:53.:08:01.

I hugged my coach who was hugging me. Then I had to whisper in his

:08:02.:08:09.

ear, where did I come? He whispered, you are Olympic champion. I didn't

:08:10.:08:15.

know what to do. It was a really special moment.

:08:16.:08:22.

We will know soon enough, Amy Williams will be delighted if Lizzy

:08:23.:08:31.

Yarnold can take her crown. We will know by about 6pm tonight.

:08:32.:08:38.

Have we cleared up all the confusion in the Bolshoy Dome? We were

:08:39.:08:42.

watching the men's ice hockey. We are going straight back. It has been

:08:43.:08:46.

an eventful morning already. Goodness me, without doubt, there

:08:47.:09:01.

has been confusion. Next to us, we have the French-speaking Canadians,

:09:02.:09:07.

CBC, and at the end of the period, everyone took their head set off,

:09:08.:09:11.

through their rounds up and said, what is going on? We have

:09:12.:09:18.

clarification. There are slightly different rules here. Which is what

:09:19.:09:24.

will explain the confusion. Essentially, this is one of the few

:09:25.:09:33.

differences between how the ruling body operates to the National Hockey

:09:34.:09:37.

League. The International Ice Hockey Federation sanctioned this

:09:38.:09:39.

tournament and their rulings are such that if the goal counts, it

:09:40.:09:44.

counts. The camera recorded the goal, therefore, we record the goal.

:09:45.:09:51.

But the penalty that happened and the play is also recorded. Which

:09:52.:09:58.

would not happen in National Hockey League. I am not sure we entirely

:09:59.:10:03.

understand it. We are about to start the second period.

:10:04.:10:10.

OK, clear, vaguely... The Czechs lead, that is very clear.

:10:11.:10:28.

Jagr is on the ice. Another of their scarlet -- scorers, Zidlicky.

:10:29.:10:37.

Good play. That was a blind pass. Couldn't find

:10:38.:10:52.

Kaberle clean. So, it winds around again.

:10:53.:11:08.

Jagr will have it again. Considers his options. Now, he goes to the

:11:09.:11:13.

net. That was over. Raising it into the

:11:14.:11:18.

top corner. Kaberle, didn't hold in the zone.

:11:19.:11:28.

And cleared away. We are back to five on five. The

:11:29.:11:51.

double minor penalty taken by the Latvians, they conceded one to Jagr

:11:52.:11:55.

at the end of the first period, they did well not to concede again.

:11:56.:11:59.

Resuming normal business defensively.

:12:00.:12:08.

Into the zone. The Czechs have started well, that power play help

:12:09.:12:20.

them. Latvia are coming back. They wear the burgundy shirts. For the

:12:21.:12:25.

first time this period, they have a chance. That could have been a

:12:26.:12:27.

penalty. Hemsky moving forward. The way it goes for the Latvians. --

:12:28.:12:39.

Away it goes. A bit petulant but there could be an

:12:40.:12:54.

opportunity. Back on level terms! Something out of nothing for

:12:55.:13:04.

Vasiljevs, a mistake in the defensive zone.

:13:05.:13:14.

That was impressive by the Latvians. They pulled the puck out

:13:15.:13:20.

of the corner. Vasiljevs squeezed that in the far left post. You can

:13:21.:13:26.

see it sticking in the back of the net. Perfectly just inside that post

:13:27.:13:31.

and wrapping around behind the camera. What a take and finish from

:13:32.:13:35.

the Latvians. There was no question.

:13:36.:13:42.

The referees will breathe a sigh of relief at that. The controversy of

:13:43.:13:53.

the first period will be put to the back of everybody's mind until the

:13:54.:13:56.

press conferences after the game when the two quite -- coaches will

:13:57.:14:03.

be quizzed on it. Looking back at the goal scored in

:14:04.:14:06.

the first period... As we see the second one again. It is a flat puck.

:14:07.:14:17.

Look at that. Right off the left. It comes down to a different ruling.

:14:18.:14:24.

The goal still stands regardless of what happened. It happened in live

:14:25.:14:30.

play. The curious part is the fact that the time that happened after

:14:31.:14:35.

the goal was allowed and awarded, was allowed to continue. The penalty

:14:36.:14:40.

was allowed to remain which would have been wiped out in the National

:14:41.:14:45.

Hockey League. Nearly a big opportunity there. The

:14:46.:14:54.

Latvians lived to finish -- fight another day.

:14:55.:15:01.

If a goal is scored but not given, it can be reviewed. But if a penalty

:15:02.:15:07.

was given and assessed, the clock goes back but the penalty remains,

:15:08.:15:13.

the clock goes back to when the goal was scored. Ironically, had either

:15:14.:15:15.

scored, neither of those would have The goal remained at when the

:15:16.:15:29.

penalty was taken by the Czech team. That is what did not get completed

:15:30.:15:36.

in the whole chain of events. As Simon once said, he does not make

:15:37.:15:45.

the rules, he enforces them. This is a good game of hockey. I hope you

:15:46.:15:50.

are enjoying it. If you are new to it, there is a lot of ice hockey in

:15:51.:15:58.

the UK. You can check the BBC sport website for details of where your

:15:59.:16:00.

closest ice rink is. A broken stick on the ice. Play

:16:01.:16:19.

continues. When you talk about ice hockey in the UK, I would hazard a

:16:20.:16:23.

guess quite comfortably that there are more ice rinks in the UK than in

:16:24.:16:28.

Latvia and they are in the Olympic games so it is a credit to the ice

:16:29.:16:35.

hockey programme in Latvia. There are also more in the UK than there

:16:36.:16:41.

are in Slovenia. They only have seven and they were playing

:16:42.:16:42.

yesterday. That shot was juggled a bit. It was

:16:43.:17:00.

a good move from the Latvian netminder who has done a decent job.

:17:01.:17:21.

That one was high and over the top. Ladislav Smid hast to turn and

:17:22.:17:35.

recycle position -- possession. Sandis Ozolinsh will have time to

:17:36.:17:50.

play it back. There is space. The first pass is always crucial,

:17:51.:17:58.

that was rather telegraphed. That was a big collision as they

:17:59.:18:29.

tumble into the boards. It was nasty looking but they both climbed up no

:18:30.:18:39.

problem. A blind pass is a giveaway. Thomas Kabbalah was the roadblock.

:18:40.:18:50.

That was easily claimed I Ondrej Pavelec. That last goal has calmed

:18:51.:19:02.

things down a bit. They went through the stage with the uncertainty of

:19:03.:19:06.

the first period and the clarity ran back call -- goal. The Latvians have

:19:07.:19:15.

been taking six penalty minutes and the check team have taken a four. --

:19:16.:19:25.

Czech Republic team. The Latvians have the advantage overall. There

:19:26.:19:30.

have not been many face-offs in this match. It has been pretty open as

:19:31.:19:35.

both sides are content to play a free swinging game as they have

:19:36.:19:41.

avoided the face-offs and allowed themselves to continue in open play.

:19:42.:19:45.

You can see the Latvian bench there. They will be feeling decent

:19:46.:19:50.

but they know how to hang tough. They are right where they want to be

:19:51.:19:55.

and there are a few Latvian jackets. They are here in a zone.

:19:56.:20:07.

Area of the Bolshoy Ice Dome. This stadium holds 12,000 people for the

:20:08.:20:12.

Olympic Games. It can hold more when there are no Olympic media seats. It

:20:13.:20:16.

will be used as a concert venue and they will probably place ice hockey

:20:17.:20:21.

matches here. This is not a big region in Russia for ice hockey this

:20:22.:20:26.

is a region that I suppose the Winter games lends its more to them

:20:27.:20:30.

somewhere further north in the country, we are as far south as it

:20:31.:20:36.

can get in Russia. This is more of a resort and it had rich memories for

:20:37.:20:40.

bladder may Putin when he came here as a child and it is his legacy to

:20:41.:20:45.

develop this area which has in many ways been totally reconstructed.

:20:46.:21:04.

That was high end over the top from Michael Barinka. He screamed at

:21:05.:21:13.

himself in frustration. That was tipped to the goal. A low shot and

:21:14.:21:19.

nice play from Jacko for a check. It was enough to find its way into the

:21:20.:21:26.

back of the net and the Czechs take the lead for the first time. --

:21:27.:21:38.

Voracek. It was a good shot from the Czech team. Voracek has a voracious

:21:39.:21:46.

appetite for goal. This is his first one in the Olympic Games of 2014 for

:21:47.:21:55.

the Czech Republic. Voracek was the man to finish. That was amazing hand

:21:56.:22:04.

/eye from that man. That was really tough to do when you were extended

:22:05.:22:08.

and one of his hands was taken off the stick but he did just enough.

:22:09.:22:12.

You do not want to do too much when you redirect it but he did just

:22:13.:22:16.

enough to knock it out of the air. He is a big man, isn't he?

:22:17.:22:27.

He has a nice touch in and around the front of the goal area. It looks

:22:28.:22:36.

like one of his team mates have been giving him some grooming tips! Who

:22:37.:22:41.

does he remind you of? There is another shot that comes in from

:22:42.:22:52.

range and it is cleared away. A big body and a big ginger beard as well!

:22:53.:23:00.

The Latvians come to the net. There are a number of different players.

:23:01.:23:04.

He is long and lanky powerful but you are right, Hartnell very much

:23:05.:23:10.

the same type of player with his team. Tomas Kaberle sets things up.

:23:11.:23:23.

He used his hip. Letters have another look at this. This is lovely

:23:24.:23:28.

because he is on the ice. He managed to get that second hand on the

:23:29.:23:33.

stick. It was very close. It was very impressive. He was at a Latvian

:23:34.:23:39.

party and the only Czech Republic player but he came through and stole

:23:40.:23:55.

the goal. He walked out. Jaromir Jagr has never thrived in physical

:23:56.:24:02.

play. He was initially in Pittsburgh where he won the Stanley cup. These

:24:03.:24:07.

days, after a stint in the KH Elliott Russia he is back in the

:24:08.:24:11.

National Hockey League with the New Jersey Devils. One of the question

:24:12.:24:19.

marks you have set yourself about Jaromir Jagr is whether he enjoys

:24:20.:24:22.

the game enough to play as long as he has done and you would not have

:24:23.:24:26.

thought about it. When he was a Pittsburgh Penguins I was playing in

:24:27.:24:32.

the minor leagues in North America and one of my team-mates was friends

:24:33.:24:36.

with him. He loved his heyday then but he went through a spell of

:24:37.:24:38.

uncertainty but now he is back. The Czech Republic have been given

:24:39.:24:56.

latitude here. The Latvians are looking for a third comeback in this

:24:57.:25:03.

game. I am sure they coach will be gutted that they have had to come

:25:04.:25:08.

back twice and now they will have to come back three times in order to

:25:09.:25:09.

get a result. Michael Barinka does well to hold.

:25:10.:25:31.

That was a nice outlet play. Now Cipulis wind one up from range.

:25:32.:25:37.

There have been some close matches in this first round and there has

:25:38.:25:41.

not been an upset yet. This is as close as we have come. The

:25:42.:25:46.

Slovenians hang tight with the Russians yesterday and many people

:25:47.:25:50.

were surprised to see that from the Slovenians. They were writing it

:25:51.:25:53.

with the Russians until they sped off in the later stages of that

:25:54.:25:59.

match. Right now the Latvians are in good cherry to try and get something

:26:00.:26:02.

and potentially have the first upset of this round. You can see how

:26:03.:26:11.

steeply banked the arena is. One of the faults of this place is that all

:26:12.:26:16.

of the steps are at slightly odd depths so you find yourself walking

:26:17.:26:19.

up and down them and I have nearly fallen about ten times. It is quite

:26:20.:26:33.

off-putting. Can the Latvians create here? They are trying. No penalty

:26:34.:26:40.

called again. Ted Nolan looks a little bit perturbed at that.

:26:41.:26:49.

Voracek sends it behind them let. -- the net.

:26:50.:26:57.

We have not seen much of Patrick Kelly at G8. He was an NHS all-star.

:26:58.:27:19.

A high chip into the zone and icing will be called. That is one of the

:27:20.:27:37.

vagaries of the difference in rules from the different forms of this

:27:38.:27:38.

game. Jaromir Jagr whereas 68 as a tribute

:27:39.:27:52.

or a memory to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the then

:27:53.:28:05.

USSR. Michael Frolik's nickname is Baby Jagr. He is from the same town.

:28:06.:28:12.

And when he was younger he looked a lot like him. They were both tall

:28:13.:28:16.

and lanky and they had a lot of skill and Michael Frolik got that

:28:17.:28:20.

nickname which is one that you probably would not want. Jagr, if

:28:21.:28:31.

you look at his first name, he was named after another player as well

:28:32.:28:36.

so the hands of time passing on from one generation to the next.

:28:37.:28:48.

Tomas Plekanec took over. This is good play. It was not cleared out of

:28:49.:28:55.

the stone. It bounced in the air. The players were a bit confused for

:28:56.:29:05.

a moment. That was a little too deep. Away goes.

:29:06.:29:11.

The Latvians continue to come back. They have been on the back foot ever

:29:12.:29:15.

so slightly in this period. That one was easily handled and

:29:16.:29:33.

dealt with. Now we have a break in play. The Latvians are a little bit

:29:34.:29:36.

on their back foot. That was the first time I have seen a pass from

:29:37.:29:41.

behind the goal line of any team in this tournament outward player who

:29:42.:29:43.

is coming in with speed from the neutral zone and quickly into the

:29:44.:29:47.

offensive zone. The Latvians were not able to get up to the ice in

:29:48.:29:51.

time to prevent that movement. They are much more freewheeling to day.

:29:52.:29:56.

Although there is only one goal separating it, they are starting to

:29:57.:30:03.

show their pedigree. You can see the discussion going on on the bench

:30:04.:30:04.

there. Just three players on the Czech

:30:05.:30:18.

Republic squad are in the top 100. Jaromir Jagr is the man of the

:30:19.:30:25.

moment, 49 points for New Jersey. He is pushing away the trainer. He has

:30:26.:30:33.

a smile on his face! He gave him a shove in the chest, and a great big

:30:34.:30:38.

smile on his face. He was trying to give him a Valentine's Day kiss!

:30:39.:30:50.

There we go! Hang on! You will be glad you can't see that. That should

:30:51.:30:54.

have been post-watershed, that is all I will say! Let's concentrate on

:30:55.:31:04.

the hockey. Goodness gracious me! I saw how many cavities he had! We are

:31:05.:31:09.

all getting hot under the collar after that!

:31:10.:31:18.

The shot came into the Max, well covered again. The shot was from

:31:19.:31:48.

Milan Michalek. That is the Latvian bench. The coach has got a

:31:49.:31:57.

tremendous story. He was in the NHL, he played with Wayne Gretzky in

:31:58.:31:59.

his youth. He was based deep in the North of

:32:00.:32:12.

Ontario, the middle of nowhere. Patrick Ally is nearly got that one

:32:13.:32:45.

through. Just denied. He is a great servant to Latvian

:32:46.:33:05.

hockey, Sandis Ozolins. He was tempted by the thought of playing at

:33:06.:33:10.

an Olympics in Russia. He was eight key cog in their qualification

:33:11.:33:17.

process. You can see him muttering to himself. He would have to be a

:33:18.:33:23.

great competitor to keep on playing into his 40s.

:33:24.:33:48.

A good kick save. We will see a bit of pushing and shoving. There is a

:33:49.:34:08.

big scrum. A lot of conversation. A couple of punches being thrown. Are

:34:09.:34:12.

they going to decide they want to go?

:34:13.:34:20.

The referees will try to stamp this out quickly. Let's have another

:34:21.:34:32.

look. Martins Karsums gets hit hard by Michal Barinka. He ends up right

:34:33.:34:44.

on top of him. It is awkward for the goal-tender. Your knee can get

:34:45.:34:50.

twisted, his left leg is possibly trapped under his body. It is

:34:51.:34:53.

dangerous. Ondrej Pavelec is key to any chance

:34:54.:35:04.

of the Czech Republic's success. That was a huge deflection off

:35:05.:35:40.

Ladislav Smid. You sense that Jaromir Jagr thrives when he can get

:35:41.:35:43.

a one-on-one. The referee's arm flickered for a

:35:44.:36:56.

penalty. The linesman was on the spot, much to the disappointment of

:36:57.:37:07.

Miks Indrasis. Look at the deflection. Ondrej Pavelec does

:37:08.:37:14.

really well. Yes, it might have been going wide, but too close to be

:37:15.:37:28.

casual. He extended his leg. Miks Indrasis is a gifted offensive

:37:29.:37:29.

player for Latvia. Herberts Vasiljevs scored what could

:37:30.:37:56.

prove to be a crucial goal in this one. Martin Erat with the first for

:37:57.:38:13.

the Czech Republic. Ondrej Pavelec has made 12 saves from 14 shots so

:38:14.:38:21.

far. This could go any way. A late push from Latvia to try to level for

:38:22.:38:27.

the end of the period would go a long way towards getting something

:38:28.:38:33.

from this match, to get to extra time.

:38:34.:38:48.

When you see these long deflections that go into the stands, that is

:38:49.:38:54.

usually what the reason is, active sticks. Michael Frolik denied a

:38:55.:39:02.

shooting opportunity. Can you see the likeness between them? I think

:39:03.:39:07.

it is a flattering compliment to Michael Frolik. You are not wrong!

:39:08.:39:17.

Michael Frolik plays with Winnipeg in the NHL.

:39:18.:39:36.

Into the back of the net, and another goal. Pitching into the

:39:37.:39:47.

play. Marek Zidlicky scores his second of the tournament. Is that

:39:48.:39:53.

now breathing space for the Czech Republic? Finally, they have some

:39:54.:40:01.

space. Petr Nedved throws it on goal, Marek Zidlicky was able to get

:40:02.:40:12.

there just in time. He gets it hard. He stayed down for a while. He just

:40:13.:40:17.

got it a crossed the goal line before he got thumped from behind.

:40:18.:40:23.

That is why do still see him on bended knee. You have got to wonder

:40:24.:40:30.

whether he may need some dental work, as he goes into the post area.

:40:31.:40:36.

Head height, at the top of the goal, hit from behind, and straight

:40:37.:40:42.

in. Right on the corner. He should be all right, but he will pay the

:40:43.:40:46.

price to get a goal at the Olympic Games, to get his team a 2-goal

:40:47.:40:50.

lead. The Czech Republic have got the goal that Latvia wanted. He will

:40:51.:40:55.

be fine, just a blemish on his right cheek.

:40:56.:41:04.

Beaten four times, the Latvian netminder. Marek Zidlicky has his

:41:05.:41:17.

second of the tournament. Another veteran campaigner who can provide

:41:18.:41:19.

the offensive side from the backend. Somebody has lost their glove. The

:41:20.:41:54.

shot is pretty comfortable to claim. Mikelis Redlihs is OK. It is the

:41:55.:42:00.

second goal for Marek Zidlicky in the tournament. He did well. The

:42:01.:42:07.

Neds, off quite comfortably. The plastic mooring goes into the ice

:42:08.:42:14.

quite ably. He has got a smile, he is OK. The Neds come for that

:42:15.:42:17.

reason. He went high and short side. It has been a spirited effort from

:42:18.:42:43.

Latvia, but not quite able to match the offence of the Czech Republic.

:42:44.:43:05.

That is well handled at the second chance by Edgars Masalskis. He had

:43:06.:43:18.

to juggle it slightly. Edgars Masalskis getting himself turned

:43:19.:43:22.

around, but he is frustrated. Watch his reaction. Under a bit of

:43:23.:43:32.

pressure. Almost bathing himself in water, he goes through that pretty

:43:33.:43:38.

quickly, in the goal. He is frustrated by the fourth goal, he

:43:39.:43:42.

felt as though he has been able to keep his team in it. If they could

:43:43.:43:48.

have stolen one themselves... The coach looks on.

:43:49.:43:56.

Free periods in ice hockey, remember, so there will still be

:43:57.:44:02.

plenty of time for Latvia to come back, if they are able #3 periods.

:44:03.:44:14.

It would be game over if the Czech Republic got a fifth.

:44:15.:44:36.

A great interception by Sandis Ozolins. He read the play well.

:44:37.:45:27.

That hooter signals the end of the second period. There was some

:45:28.:45:35.

controversy in the third -- first but the Czech Republic take control

:45:36.:45:39.

in the second despite conceding an early goal. The fans are happy

:45:40.:45:46.

because they lead Latvia by 4-2. You can continue to watch the third

:45:47.:45:53.

and final period on the red button. The ice hockey tournament is clearly

:45:54.:45:57.

one of the big events at the Sochi Olympics games and there are two

:45:58.:46:06.

venues. There is the show Bay Arena and the Bolshoi arena. They could

:46:07.:46:10.

have sold this venue -- that's all this venue over and over again for

:46:11.:46:15.

the big showdown tomorrow between the Russian men and the United

:46:16.:46:18.

States who just happened to be in group A. This is the one that all of

:46:19.:46:24.

Russia wants to win. It will summon all kinds of vivid memories of

:46:25.:46:26.

this... 1980, the Olympic flame cannot

:46:27.:46:46.

thought the Cold War. A classic in the Adirondack Mountains and into

:46:47.:46:55.

this frozen area of New York stepped the Soviets. They have just

:46:56.:46:59.

conquered Afghanistan and now they come to conquer sport on American

:47:00.:47:06.

soil. The Soviet Union are ice hockey champions of the past for

:47:07.:47:15.

Olympics but the USA, on during the Olympic code of amateurism select

:47:16.:47:19.

none of their star professionals from the National Hockey League and

:47:20.:47:22.

instead pick a team of college boys with an average age of 21, under the

:47:23.:47:28.

guidance of the coach from the Minnesota Golden gophers. The

:47:29.:47:33.

underpaid Rockies against a Soviet machine on ice. -- underpaid

:47:34.:47:38.

Rockies. --unpaid. The United States has beaten the

:47:39.:48:02.

Soviet Union! 28 years I have been reporting on ice hockey and I have

:48:03.:48:06.

never seen a scene like this before. An absolute sensation. The

:48:07.:48:14.

Americans are throwing their sticks into the air. They have beaten the

:48:15.:48:21.

mighty red machine which is standing forlorn and dejected. There is still

:48:22.:48:23.

a game to win, against Finland. Hello, Mr President. We will see you

:48:24.:48:44.

tomorrow in the White House and we are all proud of you. Good luck to

:48:45.:48:52.

you. Do not celebrate! No, we won't. The full White House treatment. In

:48:53.:48:59.

these Cold War days it requires the full biblical treatment. This goes

:49:00.:49:03.

down in history as the The Miracle On Ice.

:49:04.:49:15.

Members of the Miracle On Ice team were at the Salt Lake City games to

:49:16.:49:19.

light the cauldron. So enjoy it was their victory there that they still

:49:20.:49:23.

talk about it to this day. As for the Russians, eight titles for the

:49:24.:49:28.

Soviet Union as a uniform -- unified team but never as a single entity,

:49:29.:49:35.

never as Russia. That is one of the more traditional sports but the

:49:36.:49:43.

newest one to showcase last night was the luge relay. Three slides per

:49:44.:49:48.

team at the end of every run a rider hast to touch a touchpad which

:49:49.:49:53.

releases a start pad for the next risers. It was part wacky races and

:49:54.:49:57.

parts it's a knockout but it was very enjoyable to watch.

:49:58.:50:04.

It is packed as always at the Sanki Sliding Centre. This is the luge

:50:05.:50:15.

team relay. It is a brand-new competition for the Olympics. First

:50:16.:50:22.

we have the Ukraine. Like everybody else she gets away well. We have

:50:23.:50:26.

been used to people coming down here in about 50 seconds. This event goes

:50:27.:50:35.

on for three minutes. The women are used to this start and they have

:50:36.:50:39.

been training all week. Back corner was a little bit sloppy. You have

:50:40.:50:44.

got to hold it together because you know your team-mates will want to

:50:45.:50:46.

finish this and get a position at the Olympics. It is a solid

:50:47.:51:01.

advantage. We will see the pad. This is good changing over. This is the

:51:02.:51:06.

doubles. The changeover is key, it is the same terminology as they use

:51:07.:51:10.

in the athletics. That was good. So, we come to

:51:11.:51:15.

Poland. This could be a good slide. She

:51:16.:51:45.

finished in 16th place. No starting mechanism.

:51:46.:51:50.

She got this place over a more experienced pilot who has been

:51:51.:51:57.

sliding in the team relay events but the young upcoming star got it. She

:51:58.:52:00.

is sliding well there. She is coming down the course

:52:01.:52:15.

superbly. She just avoided the left-hand side which so many people

:52:16.:52:19.

have hit in the individual competitions. She is going well. She

:52:20.:52:27.

has got a solid lead. The good slap of the pad here. Three quarters of a

:52:28.:52:36.

second up on the Ukrainians. She unleashed the male contestant. He

:52:37.:52:40.

finished in 20 Third Place which is not a good position to be. --23rd

:52:41.:52:46.

place. They have had a long rest since that

:52:47.:52:55.

competition and they are back on the ice now. They have seemed to go

:52:56.:53:01.

well. He has not really made any inroads on the Ukrainian but he is

:53:02.:53:10.

holding the lead. He took a little tap there and his head popped up. He

:53:11.:53:17.

has done something well in the middle section. He is coming up the

:53:18.:53:24.

hill towards the pad. That was a pretty decent time. It is pretty

:53:25.:53:29.

interesting that as he hit the pad they decided to stay in the middle

:53:30.:53:35.

at the finish. The pairing have got away quite well. They went over to

:53:36.:53:42.

the left-hand side at the start. That was significant because they

:53:43.:53:43.

lost a little bit of time. Almost a second now that they are in

:53:44.:53:58.

the lead, head of the Ukrainians. It is going well.

:53:59.:54:09.

They are right inside the target. Right up to the woodwork there, that

:54:10.:54:23.

was close to a slap. They clip at the finish line that can get a clean

:54:24.:54:28.

it? Yes, they do. They are in the lead.

:54:29.:54:37.

This team have managed to get three Olympic medals between them already.

:54:38.:55:09.

They got their first ever Latvian medal of any description for the

:55:10.:55:17.

men's luge. This is a superpower team.

:55:18.:55:25.

Their first slider was a bit of a disappointment in the women's but if

:55:26.:55:29.

they get their act together they could be a real threat.

:55:30.:55:34.

We are just looking to see what she needs to get. It is very close. She

:55:35.:55:42.

is in the lead by 0.139. She is going well. She is driving the

:55:43.:55:46.

course much better than she did in the individual event. A better speed

:55:47.:55:56.

than previous sliders. She hits the pad and releases the next slider. He

:55:57.:56:04.

did not have the best start but his reaction time was lightning. He has

:56:05.:56:09.

managed to hold the lead. We have often said that this guy is one of

:56:10.:56:14.

the best sliders in the world. His start does let him down. It didn't

:56:15.:56:21.

let him down that time and he is not .356 or up already. He is

:56:22.:56:28.

undoubtedly one of the best pilots in the world, maybe not the absolute

:56:29.:56:32.

best but not far off it. On his day he can win but it is his start that

:56:33.:56:37.

is his weakness. He is 35 and he has had some bad injuries but he is in

:56:38.:56:45.

the lead. He will be handing over to the doubles team. That was a

:56:46.:56:52.

tremendous finish. He hit it one-handed and it opens the gate for

:56:53.:56:58.

the Latvian number ones, the Sics brothers and one of the best crews

:56:59.:57:01.

in the world. It is an interesting chance for us to see physics in

:57:02.:57:04.

action. How fast will the doubles crew go? The previous slider rides

:57:05.:57:17.

about -- weighs about 85 kilograms. The Sics brothers have a combined

:57:18.:57:25.

weight of over 200 kilos. The bigger you are, the faster you fall in

:57:26.:57:33.

luge. The Sics brothers are tearing up this track. It is one of the

:57:34.:57:43.

highest speeds we have seen. That is quick. They are going to take the

:57:44.:57:51.

lead by some way. My goodness, gracious me. That was a phenomenal

:57:52.:57:56.

final run by the Sics brothers, brilliant stuff there. Remember

:57:57.:58:02.

their time. I wonder if any of the doubles crews will go faster than

:58:03.:58:06.

that. That is some lead that they hold.

:58:07.:58:14.

This slider finished seventh in the individual event. She gets away to a

:58:15.:58:25.

solid start. It is always difficult to tell because there is no start

:58:26.:58:30.

club Ashman clock but she is in the middle of the course. If there is

:58:31.:58:35.

anybody who really wants to put in a massive run here it is her. She is

:58:36.:58:40.

the two times European champion but fourth at the last Olympic Games.

:58:41.:58:48.

She was absolutely gutted by her individual performance. She is well

:58:49.:58:49.

in the lead here. She is in the lead by 0.169 the

:58:50.:59:02.

second. She must keep it together. She has done it so far. That is

:59:03.:59:11.

fantastic. It is a great speed. Away we go. That was a bit sloppy. He

:59:12.:59:18.

went into the left-hand wall as he pulled away. That is one of the

:59:19.:59:26.

problems. You cannot sit in the compression phase at the start, you

:59:27.:59:31.

have to wait until you see the beat. He is 32 years old and the Olympic

:59:32.:59:35.

silver medallist. He is still in the lead, one third of the second up. He

:59:36.:59:42.

is lightning quick and the big guy. He gets great speeds.

:59:43.:59:50.

He is sliding well. He has not created any bumps at all. He

:59:51.:59:57.

increased his lead. This is getting faster. This is terrific.

:59:58.:00:06.

That is superb. My good this. Here, we have the doubles. The man in

:00:07.:00:20.

front is a giant of a guy, 105 kilos. Head back, that is good

:00:21.:00:31.

sliding. Forget about Latvia, for Russia, they would love to lay down

:00:32.:00:34.

a massive slide and beat the Germans for the gold. As a unit, you look at

:00:35.:00:45.

the individual performances, you would expect them to be ahead of

:00:46.:00:49.

Latvia, but it is trying to take a gold medal away from Germany. They

:00:50.:00:56.

are in the lead at the moment. They finished fifth in the individual

:00:57.:01:07.

event. Yes! That is brilliant once more, that is one second ahead of

:01:08.:01:15.

Latvia. Russia in first place, Latvia second, and Poland still in

:01:16.:01:22.

third place. They did not have a great slide yesterday in their first

:01:23.:01:27.

run, they pulled it back in the second and finished fifth, when they

:01:28.:01:30.

were genuine medal contenders. That will feel really good. They are the

:01:31.:01:35.

new course record holders. 132.1 kilometres per hour, that

:01:36.:02:08.

matches what the Russian did. She unleashes her team-mate. He was

:02:09.:02:11.

disappointing in the men's individual. He has got something to

:02:12.:02:20.

try and overcome. He will be disappointed with his individual

:02:21.:02:23.

result, people want to put something forward for the US team. He finished

:02:24.:02:31.

13th in the individual event. The league is still there. This pair

:02:32.:02:39.

finished 11th in the individual event. 61 kilometres per hour, they

:02:40.:02:49.

are chasing the Russians. The Russians are not as good at the

:02:50.:02:57.

start. I am not sure they have got the ability to slide as well as the

:02:58.:03:00.

Russians. They are not pulling this back.

:03:01.:03:13.

The lead has increased, my goodness. They are going behind further and

:03:14.:03:22.

further. They will not pull this back. Will they go ahead of Latvia

:03:23.:03:29.

in second place? No, they are in third place. Russia, Latvia and the

:03:30.:03:42.

United States. The Germans go next. There is the greatest slide of them

:03:43.:03:46.

all. The flying sausage as he was known, Georg Hackl. Quite a line-up

:03:47.:03:58.

to have, it is like having Usain Bolt handing over to Usain Bolt,

:03:59.:04:03.

etc! It is like the all-star superstar team. Perhaps of all time,

:04:04.:04:11.

they that good. This is the Olympic champion, she won two days ago. She

:04:12.:04:17.

is on fire at the moment. She is the best starting woman in the world. So

:04:18.:04:24.

are her team-mates, they have the whole package. No touches on the

:04:25.:04:28.

left-hand side. His Albert Demchenko destined to pay

:04:29.:04:43.

homage to the Germans again? Away we go. Felix Loch. What a lead.

:04:44.:04:55.

Things do go wrong, even for Germany here. They win 99% of the time, but

:04:56.:05:04.

the likelihood is they will win again.

:05:05.:05:14.

Felix Loch is so good, he is 24, he has already won two Olympic gold

:05:15.:05:23.

medals. Brilliant speed. Toes pointing together. Albert Demchenko

:05:24.:05:30.

had a good slide. He did. The supreme doubles pairing. Felix

:05:31.:05:55.

Loch is such a tall man, 193, 194, he just stuck his arm up, huge, long

:05:56.:06:01.

arms, he is able to slap it lying down. This pair were the Olympic

:06:02.:06:16.

gold medallists. A bit sloppy there. I am not sure the speed gun is

:06:17.:06:19.

right, because that is not great speed.

:06:20.:06:27.

They are pulling away, I think the speed gun was wrong. It is over as

:06:28.:06:35.

long as they hit the pad. They get it, wow. That is remarkable, they

:06:36.:06:44.

have taken one second out of Russia. The split must be one of the

:06:45.:06:57.

all-time great. There you have it. Nobody has done the fastest of the

:06:58.:07:04.

day! They are posing already, that is the gold medal pose. Slightly

:07:05.:07:08.

insulting to the teams who are still to go, Canada and Austria. But it is

:07:09.:07:22.

hard to see how they can beat that. If they just hit everything

:07:23.:07:25.

perfectly, they could pull off a miracle. We just have to look back

:07:26.:07:37.

at their World Cup form, knocking on the door of the podium this year.

:07:38.:07:45.

Alex Gough, she matches the Germans for the start.

:07:46.:07:56.

It looks slow. But it is in fact quick.

:07:57.:08:10.

A little touch there. I would really like to see them get a medal. They

:08:11.:08:20.

are losing time, it is ebbing away with every corner. It is not great.

:08:21.:08:30.

My goodness, they are in fourth place, they have missed out. Here we

:08:31.:08:37.

are, with Russia -- with Austria. They have the credentials, that is

:08:38.:08:43.

the shore. Have they the speed? That is the important thing. The Russians

:08:44.:08:48.

and Germans will be hoping they haven't. Here goes Wolfgang Kindl,

:08:49.:08:56.

who finished ninth in the individual event, he went well. Yes. He has

:08:57.:09:02.

been given the nod ahead of Reinhard Egger, surprising, because he had

:09:03.:09:06.

finished in eighth place. The deficit seems almost impossible.

:09:07.:09:18.

That was a very quick reaction time. They want another medal, they have

:09:19.:09:37.

got to gold medals and a silver from yesterday, their doubles event. We

:09:38.:09:45.

know Germany have taken another gold medal, a clean sweep for the

:09:46.:09:51.

Germans. They have won every event. Who can beat them? Russia have got

:09:52.:09:57.

the silver medal. Latvia have got the bronze.

:09:58.:10:07.

Germany won by over one second. They have nailed it. Four out of four

:10:08.:10:14.

gold medals. This was the sweetest of all, the first time we have ever

:10:15.:10:17.

had a team relay event. Great scenes, and it was quite fun,

:10:18.:10:27.

I quite enjoyed it. The Germans untouchable, that is a clean sweep

:10:28.:10:33.

of all of the luge gold medals, it puts them in front of everybody at

:10:34.:10:37.

the top of the medal table, with seven gold medals, three more than

:10:38.:10:42.

any other nation so far. That was a first for luge, but it is one of 12

:10:43.:10:47.

new events here, and another took place the other night, the women's

:10:48.:10:51.

ski jumping, after a long legal campaign to get it included. Matthew

:10:52.:10:55.

Pinsent was there to see history made.

:10:56.:11:05.

Women's sport and the Olympics has had a bit of a difficult past. When

:11:06.:11:11.

the modern Olympics started in 1896, there were no events forwarded at

:11:12.:11:17.

all. There was a score of thought that asserted that physical exertion

:11:18.:11:20.

had an effect on childbirth. You might think that all of that medical

:11:21.:11:26.

argument is so last century, decades ago, but let me read you this quote

:11:27.:11:34.

from the president of skiing. He said about ski jumping, it is like

:11:35.:11:40.

jumping down from two metres onto the ground about 1000 times a year,

:11:41.:11:44.

which seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of

:11:45.:11:53.

view. He said that in 2005. Yes, when we first started, we heard some

:11:54.:11:57.

of those excuses. They were a bit ridiculous. This woman spearheaded

:11:58.:12:04.

and one the battle to ensure that women's ski jumping was part of the

:12:05.:12:09.

Olympic movement. This is a dream come true, not just for women's ski

:12:10.:12:14.

jumping, for women's rights, human rights, women and sport, all of the

:12:15.:12:22.

above. These women have been like family, we have all been in this

:12:23.:12:25.

together, and whoever gets a medal to night, we are still excited,

:12:26.:12:28.

because we have all won. What a special night we have in

:12:29.:12:42.

prospect here. The first Winter Olympic medals in women's ski

:12:43.:12:45.

jumping are just hours away from being awarded. The quality of the

:12:46.:12:50.

competition tonight promises to be a fitting tribute to all those who

:12:51.:12:55.

have worked so hard to ensure it can be included. The Americans will

:12:56.:13:01.

think their heart out for Lindsey Vonn, she has been injured and

:13:02.:13:06.

mental, -- she has been instrumental in this event being included

:13:07.:13:08.

tonight. Vancouver would have been her best

:13:09.:13:19.

chance, but thank goodness she could make it here, because she deserves

:13:20.:13:24.

to be here. If this was a Hollywood movie, she would get a medal. Sadly,

:13:25.:13:32.

it is not to be. It is overwhelming. It is hard to put it into words. I

:13:33.:13:39.

had a great time, I enjoyed myself, I was living in the moment for the

:13:40.:13:40.

first time in a long time. She has played a huge role in this

:13:41.:13:52.

event being included, she sued the Vancouver organisers over not

:13:53.:13:56.

letting them compete for years -- not letting them compete. Four years

:13:57.:13:58.

later, she is here. There were times when I was in court

:13:59.:14:07.

instead of training, it is everything I have been fighting for,

:14:08.:14:11.

so I am really happy I was here tonight. The fierce competition

:14:12.:14:16.

dictated the true Olympic event. The decade-long battle finally fully

:14:17.:14:23.

justified. The world number one and dead cert for the gold medal, the

:14:24.:14:27.

Japanese, was left just out of the medals in fourth place. So, it was

:14:28.:14:33.

left to a 22-year-old woman from Germany to leap her way into

:14:34.:14:36.

sporting history. To be a champion is fantastic, to be

:14:37.:14:47.

the first champion is Olympic immortality. Does it beckon for the

:14:48.:14:50.

German? Unbelievable, she has done it! What

:14:51.:15:05.

a moment! Germany celebrate a piece of history that will never, ever be

:15:06.:15:09.

forgotten. Incredible, it is an amazing feeling

:15:10.:15:17.

to be on the first podium, the first time. I am speechless. Look at what

:15:18.:15:35.

just happened! We did everything for that and that makes it worth it --

:15:36.:15:41.

but worth it. Well done, you are a pioneer. A hugely significant moment

:15:42.:15:51.

for women's sport and the Olympic Games and a story beautifully told

:15:52.:15:56.

by Matt Pinson there and it is excellent to see it included. It

:15:57.:15:58.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS