12/02/2018 Winter Olympics Extra

After the postponement of the men's

downhill and the slopestyle

qualifying yesterday the women's

giant slalom was called off as well

today. We will start when things are

a bit calmer inside in the ice arena

with the conclusion of the team

figure skating. Yesterday we saw

Evgenia Medvedeva, one of the

Olympic Athletes from Russia team

who set a world record in the short

programme. Canada are in pole

position with three events to go.

The men's and women's free skate as

well as the ice free dance. Your

commentators are Catherine Downes

and Robin Cousins.

commentators are Catherine Downes

and Robin Cousins.

The Olympic bronze medallist

representing the English -- Russian

athletes.

We will see how he

manages. There are eight quads

planned in all from the gentleman 's

side this morning so we will see how

he manages.

He skates to Elvis

Presley because he says he feels a

bit like Elvis Presley. I read that

in an interview.

He is opening with a quadruple Lutz,

which is the most difficult of the

quadruple jumps. When it works it is

exquisite and when it does not it is

not great, and that was not a great

one there. He made a rotation so he

will be given credit for it but

obviously he wanted a landing and

not running edge, not a landing the

backside.

backside. The second quadruple. He

did not make the rotation there.

That will definitely be an X in that

box, the boxes up on the left of

your screen there. That is for each

element. Read it means review and

yellow means review and green means

accepted. A triple axle double toe

loop. Watch that box go green. A

technical panel deciding which

elements are clean and which are to

be reviewed.

And now, Kearney got her and deliver

another clean quadruple jump -- can

he prepare and deliver? He has a

quadruple planned.

CHEERING

Yes, he can. Not the best landing,

so the judges' grade of execution

point for that jump will probably be

minuses, but he gets credit for the

element.

element. Lovely light and easy

triple axle.

triple axle. A big jumping element

here that he absolutely needs to get

right. Two triple combination jumps,

the triple lutz and the triple

salto.

-- Salchow.

CHEERING

At the Olympic Athletes from Russia

in the silver medal position for now

and they would have wanted to see

those quads on point if they were

going to push the gold.

We saw in

the short program. He didn't quite

nail" and then again any long

programme, he went for them and they

didn't work out. He's very much an

all nothing skater.

Well done on

this season's best which is up on

the 180s. A pat on the shoulder, but

I think the whole team know that he

could have done better. The great

Patrick Chan. We saw him muddled

through in the short program, not a

performance that we were expecting

from the three-time world champion.

He took team and individual silver

in Sochi, looking to go for gold

with team Canada, here in South

Korea.

Chan has two quadruple jumps plan.

There is the first, eight to -- a

toe loop and triple toe loop in

combination, the second quadruple is

a repeat, which he is allowed one.

And it is going to come right now.

CHEERING

Exquisite, absolutely glorious.

That should have been a chapel axel

in combination. -- a triple axel.

That is better, the triple Lutz,

loop, triple Salchow.

Second triple axel, made the

rotation but not the landing.

Two hands down on the triple loop.

The triple flip, added a double toe

loop, means to try and rack up some

points. -- needs to try.

APPLAUSE

The Patrick Chan that we know and

love has not yet turned up at these

games. The mistakes there, just

uncharacteristic.

Look at this

perfect body position, body

alignment, great take-off, easy,

through the landing.

through the landing.

They have given

him a massive new season's best

comments previous was 151.27, after

a difficult season but one to 79.75

is a massive season's best.

But in

context the boys heading for the

medals are going to be scoring over

200.

Let's have a look at the

standings of that men's competition.

Patrick Chan, the three-time

champion leads the way.

champion leads the way. Adam

Griffin, what a skate from him at

his first Olympics in third. --

add-on Rippon.

add-on Rippon. -- Adam Rippon.

And she's got it, the triple axel to

open the programme. The music from

Miss Saigon and there on the screen

you can see the green box ticked.

The triple flip, the triple toe

loop, did very well to save that,

but save it she did. And the triple

Salchow.

The double axle, triple toe loop.

Double toe loop.

Triple books, double toe loop. --

triple Lutz. Triple flip.

One triple jump left. A triple loop.

And she has got that.

Oh, my goodness me.

Team USA are on

their feet. There they are, cheering

on their girl. What a way to open

this lady 's long programme. Mirai

Nagasu on her Olympic return will

stop a new season is best for her.

137.5 three. She is top of the

standings for now.

standings for now. Here is Gabrielle

Daleman for the Canadians, as they

look to consolidate that gold-medal.

They are way out in front, seven

points ahead of the rest of the

field. She is a world champion

bronze medallist. This is her second

Olympics. She was the youngest

member of the Canadian team that

Sochi but here she is four years

later with a lot more experience

under her belt. She is a powerful

skater.

skater.

She is also the current

Canadian number one, the national

champion. As she was two macro

seasons ago. Last season it was her

team-mate. Gaby opens up with a

triple toe loop, triple toe loop.

A nice triple Lutz. She has terrific

balance and elevation on her

take-offs. She has had difficulty

controlling it in the past but last

couple of seasons good consistency.

A triple flip.

The second triple Lutz in

combination with two double toe

loops stronger in combination than

the first.

the first. There is the triple loop.

Final jumping pass. Triple Zarco and

a double axle she wants. There is

the Sawao Kato. There is the double

act so. -- axle.

That is it. That has got to be gold

for Canada. Clean and strong from

Gabrielle Daleman, and with the

world champions Tessa Virtue and

Scott Moir to come in the ice dance

it is surely now only a formality.

Just give them the gold!

She wanted

to lay down the gauntlet, and she

did it. We are going to see a new

season 's best. You are probably

correct that team Canada will still

be in the lead.

I am going early. It

is a massive seasons best, 137.144

Gabrielle Daleman of team Canada.

Alina Zagitova, 15 years old, the

Prodigy who has out prodigies

Evgenia Medvedeva this season and

she beat the double champion to win

the European title just a few weeks

ago. She is something else.

In for the first jumping pass, and

it is the most difficult combination

we will see in the Lady event.

Triple Lutz, triple loop

combination.

The double axel, triple toe loop.

There is the triple flip, double

toe, double loop combination.

Triple Lutz.

Another triple flip. The last jump,

the axel.

Alina Zagitova, you little

firecracker! What talent.

She is 15,

but there is such maturity in the

choreography and in the way she

moves.

moves.

158.08, a new season is best

for the 15-year-old Alina Zagitova,

her first Olympics. Canada have an

unassailable lead so they are the

Olympic champions for 2018.

Olympic champions for 2018. The gold

is already in the bag so just a

masterclass then from the world

champions, Tessa Virtue and Scott

Moir and a fitting way to close out

this team event. The gold around

their necks once this routine is

done.

APPLAUSE

CHEERING

From the Moulin Rouge to the top of

the podium that will put Canada out

of sight. Tessa Virtue and Scott

Moir are head and shoulders above

the rest.

This solidifies their

second gold medal. They took gold in

Vancouver in 2010, and I absolutely

loved every second and every move of

that performance.

What does this

mean,

that performance.

What does this

mean, the team gold for Canada?

What

a testament to the strong

performances from our team-mates. It

was so inspiring. We had no doubt

that they would lay it down but they

gave a nice cushion as we took to

the ice and we were able to savour

their moment and embrace it every

step of the way.

Last time in Sochi

it was silver for the team, who

converted that to gold. What has

changed in Canadian figure skating

in the last four years, Scott? That

is a great question.

Give me a great

answer! I think we just have a

special team. I'm so proud of these

skaters and I think our attitude

changed from Sochi, I think we were

a little bit too casual. And this

team event now in figure skating is

just like the hockey and curling

medals, we are a figure skating

country. The choreographers, coaches

and skaters have come from Canada,

and we are proud of these athletes

for making that happen and this is a

great journey, and I think these

guys really deserve it.

After three

days of spellbinding competition

team event is over, the medals have

been handed out and Robin and I have

been watching the action from the

commentary box above the ice, it

been quite a perch from what -- from

which to watch the competition.

Some

of the performances might not have

started out the way they wanted them

but in the team competition, team

Canada came through in a blaze of

glory, and Virtue and Moir did need

to perform to take the gold medal

but they did it in such amazing

style. Some teams had set themselves

up for medal contention in the

coming days.

That is what this team

competition has been all about. It

is brilliant to see Canada win, and

a celebration show that it means so

much today at athletes to compete as

a team, but really, they want that

individual glory. We saw some real

gauntlets being laid down,

particularly in the women's event,

with the 15-year-old from Russia.

She was just mind blowing.

She

skated flawlessly, and got a new

world record Medvedeva, then we saw

another incredible performance,

somewhat clinical because everything

she does is points first, aesthetics

second, but she delivered the goods,

and it is going to make an amazing

1-2, I think in the gold and silver

positions, but in which order, we're

not going to know. But then, the

triple axel, we have not seen one of

those in many years at this

competition, at this level.

Scott

Moir and Tessa Virtue didn't need to

skate to win the medal NBI stands,

but they are head and shoulders

above the rest. We have not yet seen

the French pair that they train

with, that could be the big rivalry

there, but

there, but for me, Moir and Virtue

look untouchable.

The French team

have the world record score overall,

so they are not going to go down

without a fight, and I know, they

train together, they know exactly

what the other is capable of, and

it's a question of who's going to

deliver on day. Moir and Virtue had

this opportunity to skate in front

of the Olympic crowd and judges and

really deliver a performance and it

was a masterclass in performing, as

well as being able to deliver the

technical quality required.

Robin,

it has been an absolute delight to

watch it with you over the past few

days. Canada are the Olympic

champions, the Olympic Athletes from

Russia take silver, with the USA in

the bronze medal position once

again. Now our attention turns to

taking individual glory, and the

tears get underway on Wednesday

morning. After the wind delayed

qualifying yesterday it was a

straight final but that conditions

make things very difficult, despite

that Aimee Fuller of Great Britain

still try to follow in the footsteps

of Jenny Jones.

So the women slopestyle files, after

the cancellation of the qualifiers

yesterday we have a full quota, 26

women dropping today and instead of

three ones and the best score

counting, they will ultimately get

two. Klaudia Medlova, one of the

trailblazers of recent years. She

made a name for herself dropping the

first ever double rodeo. She did the

first double caught frontside 1080

in competition. A big gap out on the

double kink rail.

double kink rail. Up and over the A

frame, setting up that final little

module and into the first of the

jumps, super corked, and goodness

me, that was incredible. She

essentially jumped off the roof of a

house and landed on her back. I

cannot believe she is riding away.

You can see that she got caught up

in the rotation, whether it was the

wind that caught her board, and

stored the rotation. Jessika Jenson

dropping in. Hailey Langland, Julia

Marino and Jamie Anderson rounding

out the very strong American

contingent who have made their way

into slopestyle. Jessika Jenson just

centring herself. The Americans

qualified through their own Grand

Prix

Prix Series and Jessica got a fifth

place there, the highest result of

this season.

this season. Pinning speed into this

little ramp. The body language, both

hands held out in front, she does

not look confident on this course.

I

feel a little bit nervous watching

her. That was a solid Switch 540.

That is more like it. Now the

frontside 360, very nice. Now, keep

the composure. And a big back side

720, new first place.

We have not

seen a run completed over all three

kickers.

Yes, that is first place,

easily.

Aimee Fuller is about to

drop. The rider who burst onto the

scene with a very credible double

that -- backflip handicap double

under. She has been getting to grips

with this course throughout

training. The 50-50 on that big down

rail.

Come on, Aimee Fuller. Off

early on the kink rail.

early on the kink rail.

With the

result is that she has been pushing,

a top-10 result would be good for

Aimee today.

So, the under flip,

that is the single version. It

didn't feel like she had the speed.

You could almost hear her saying,

it's so windy.

You can see the wind,

almost horizontal on that second

kicker.

Just making it over the

small side. Again, the wind, an

issue. It is a shame for Aimee.

Waiting for the wind to stop.

You

can hear her, though, saying,

waiting for the win to stop.

Now

another rider who doesn't have the

World Cup ranking that is --

reflects her ability and level of

riding. She is a very tidy

competitor. Really difficult switch

grind, super technical on the kink

rail, but let's not forget she got

three medals in a row at the X

Games. She loves riding at the X

Games. Now into this jump, coming up

a little short, she needs to tuck in

now, no speed checks. And through

the 360, she clears it, despite

losing her composure. The front side

720, and there they go, we see the

first of the riders, she's got the

ball control, the internal

speedometer and maybe not in the

prettiest way, but she has made it

through really constantly.

There we

go, look at that, 73.91, moving

ahead of Jessika Jenson. Next up,

Anna Gasser. One of the riders who

thinks this competition probably

shouldn't have run in these

conditions, alongside Enni

Rukajarvi, but bounced about the

best slopestyle ride in the world.

At the US Open last year she landed

the best run anyone has ever seen by

a woman in slopestyle. Let's see

what she's got, here. Really

attacking the course. 270 to

frontside broadside at the end of

the double kink.

Going without a

jacket, consciously thinking about

the wind, nice slip slide on the

down bar, looking good from Anna

Gasser. And the under flip, that is

how you did, and it is with a

revert, oh, my goodness.

See what's

this, doesn't see?

She sent it huge,

got the big trick out of the way

early, then calmed down.

Just watch

this, everyone.

Horrific effort from

Anna Gasser, though.

Anna Gasser, though. -- Heroic ever.

She has dominated slopestyle,

knocking Jenny Jones off of her

perch in 2012. If anyone can ride

this course, if anyone can find a

way around the win, it would be this

woman, the reigning Olympic

champion, the gold medallist at the

X Games, two weeks ago, Jamie

Anderson.

Just when you think she is

thinking about hanging up her

competitive snowboard boots, she

goes and learns new tricks. Look at

that, goodness me, liquid

snowboarding.

It is a different

league, through the rails.

So

stylish, so smooth.

Confidence and

experience shining through. What is

it going to look like here? Massive.

My goodness. Legs, forged from

steel! She boxed clever, opened up.

I thought that was going to be a cab

double under.

Look at that. It is exactly what we

said, the ability confidence and the

trust in her tricks and the ability

to understand, the spatial awareness

at every point. She knows it wasn't

pretty all the way through.

It

wasn't pretty but experience got

through it.

83 for Jamie Anderson. A

big smile for and does very well

deserved gold medal position after

the first run.

That is so good to

see.

Very, very good to see. The

Americans are sitting in gold and

bronze.

bronze. An absolute lottery after

the medal positions. OK, the second

run here in the Phoenix Park venue

for all of the freestyle events. A

few of the wind sock.

Gaping like a

basking shark.

You can see this is

not the air, it is snow being blown

off the hill. We have more than 45

kilometres of gusts. It is good to

have Jamie Nicholls back.

have Jamie Nicholls back. Aimee

Fuller says let's do this. Certainly

at the moment the wind sock in

saying that it is good. Let us see

how she can go on these rails. 50/50

all the way to the end. A great

start.

start. Nice. All the way through the

double kink.

Yes, a nice press on

the final section of the King cry.

Through the rails nice and smooth.

Snap the backside 180 around.

Snap the backside 180 around. A good

grab. Come on, Aimee Fuller.

Pumping

into this. She sends it really on

with the backside 360.

Now just the

last jump.

She has gone huge.

Oh,

God! I hope she is OK.

What a shame.

Too much speed. That picture says it

all. There is a snowstorm. A

blizzard almost happening down at

the bottom.

the bottom.

Just crazy.

You can

access the spiral of snow, a mini

tornado. Next Hailey Langland. The

girl who said you cannot judge a

book by it's cover but you can judge

a snowboarder by their method is on

course. That lovely art around, just

tapping the corner of the close-out

rail.

That is a good line, no one

else is doing that.

Wasn't quite as

tidy as she would have wanted a

double kink. Almost surfing into the

third feature to kill speed.

Nice.

There was nothing functional about

it. That lovely double grab

frontside 360. Come on, Hailey

Langland. Backside and just made it

the knuckles. She has got enough

speed. Look at how stoked she is.

The Americans are cheering and very,

very justifiably. One of the

smallest and lightest riders in the

field has landed a full run.

Do you

think it is top three? Definitely

top three. Definitely top three for

me. The only question is whether

it

is a gold medal. I do not think it

is gold. I think, I actually think

it might be silver.

Oh, just off!

Fourth-place.

That is a shame.

Jessika Jenson stays in third place.

Laurie Blouin the Canadian.

She has

got the 99 as well. She can do the

cab 99.

Interestingly, I don't think

it is about your best tricks here,

it is about what you can put

together in the circumstances, what

is your best stock run? Interesting

to compere Laurie Blouin with Hailey

Langland, Laurie Blouin is so

functional but Hailey Langland was

so fluid between each feature.

Sitting back a tiny bit. This is

where it counts.

She held on.

Just

making it over the knuckle.

We go

into the last jump. Switch 540. Yes,

she has got it. Another landed run.

There you go, second.

Look at the

Black eye sustained in training.

Second place.

Second place. Next in, Enni

Rukajarvi, a rider who was not happy

about the conditions.

Keep it

simple.

Is that your advice?

I think

so. A day like today to is best to

keep it simple.

Are lovely rainbow

transition into the board slide in

the coming through the hardest

section of the course, over the

close-out and 50/50 backside 180.

Perfect.

Really, really nice. Half

cabin using the classic line at all

the Finnish men did across the rail.

Setting up as which were the first

take-off and dropping right to the

skewed take-off. Lovely. Cab 540.

She has gone big. Backside 720.

Holds on. Yes.

This is looking good.

Frontside 360. Bounces off the

knuckle. On the spot, Jamie, on the

spot. Where is that?

I don't know.

We currently have the bronze medal

position there but I think she knows

it is the end of her hopes. She

slots into third position. Anna

Gasser has written in four Big tests

this year and won all of them. La

slopestyle Konta she wrote was ten

months ago at the US Open and she

laid down the best slopestyle run we

have ever seen in women's

snowboarding. What can she do today?

There is no question she has the

tricks.

I think even if she does the

cab under and plays it safe, she has

a very good chance of being on the

podium.

Blazing through the rail

section.

That is so good.

section.

That is so good.

Killing

her speed. 50-16 knows press.

That

is a hard line with the 180 and

switching to be urge to quickly get

on the rail.

A single and a one

under flipper. Jamie Nicholls called

it. She has gone huge.

it. She has gone huge.

Oh, my gosh.

That is so annoying. One of the best

slopestyle riders varies.

Another

rider with the firepower of tricks

to take this down. Julia Marino is

currently in 11th place.

That was

really nice.

In the World Cup

ranking she is only one spot behind

Jamie Anderson, currently in second.

Very smooth.

So smooth. A lovely

50/50 to frontside 350.

That is one

of the best top sections.

of the best top sections.

Frontside

720. Clipped the knuckle and

bounced. Jamie Anderson knows that

she has

she has claimed the second

consecutive Olympic gold-medal. Look

at her.

Enjoyed it.

That is the one

thing I would say, you know what,

silver and bronze could have gone

anywhere but Jamie Anderson, the

cream has risen to the top of the

slopestyle today. Against the odds,

against the conditions, she managed

to land the run she wanted to and

her experience has told. Look at it.

She is waiting.

Curtains on the side

there.

I hope she goes down and 's

methods on everything. Let us have a

look.

Lovely first rail. The only

rider transferring from the big kick

into the landing with the stale

finish.

She is so smooth.

Liquid

snowboarding, as Tim calls it. All

of these, it is muscle memory, isn't

it? A lovely shifty late switch

backside 180. Oh, no! Why? Why did

you risk it?

Yes.

you risk it?

Yes. The method exposes

the wind even more. She must be so

happy, especially in these

conditions as well.

Tripod over the

knuckle. Jamie Anderson rounds out

the women's slopestyle final here,

and her boyfriend, the Canadian

slopestyle rider Tyler Nicholson is

the first man in the finish area to

congratulate her. Jamie Anderson

crowns what has been a very well

decorated career with a second gold

medals.

Unreal.

That tells more of

today's story in the finish area,

the wind whistling through this

halfpipe course and the courage of

the women should be saluted.

halfpipe course and the courage of

the women should be saluted. Jamie,

double Olympic champion, how does it

feel?

Honestly it feels insane. I

mean, of course I believe in myself

and I have dreams and I have goals

but the level of riding has changed

so much in the last couple of years,

it wasn't nearly as much as in Sochi

where I knew I had a good chance but

here I have no idea because there

are so many girls who could land a

run and win the contest so I thought

I would just let it go.

At the end

of the day, it is the Olympic final

and everyone wanted to ride. It is

not how I wanted or planned or

visualised four years of prep work

to go into today but I think if you

were lucky with the winter there

were some calm windows but the

majority of it was super

inconsistent and I don't think it

was a true show of women's female

slopestyle, which is a real shame

for our sport but at the end of the

day we have Big Air next week so we

have to pick ourselves back up and

stay strong and have a good rest and

recovery and go hard next week.

That

is all for today but we will be back

tomorrow at exactly the same time

Iran BBC Four. With weather

permitting it will be the highlights

of the women's halfpipe final and

live coverage kicks off at 1am on

BBC One. There is also build-up for

the incredible Elise Christie and

her short track speed skating and

fingers crossed you could be Great

Britain 's first medal at the

Pyeongchang Olympic Games.