Day 1 Highlights Winter Olympics: Today at the Games

Previously at the Winter Olympics.

Welcome to Today at The Games and

it's the day after the night before.

The opening ceremony

was a huge hit but now

is where the action really starts.

Hundreds of millions of viewers

around the world and the athletes

loved it. Now they must focus on the

serious business of winning medals.

Here's what's coming up:

In from the cold - Elise Christie

begins her Olympic campaign.

Style icons Jamie Nicholls

and Billy Morgan try to qualify

for the slopestyle final.

There's nothing normal

about the normal hill -

it's a leap of faith

for the ski jumpers.

Going downhill very quickly,

can anyone break the German

domination in the men's luge?

A country divided becomes a country

united in the women's ice hockey.

Korea take on the very

neutral Switzerland.

The first gold of the Games

was awarded early this morning

as Sweden's Charlotte Kalla beat

the Iron Lady, Marit Bjoergen

of Norway, in the skiathlon.

This is a reverse of their placings

four years ago in Sochi.

They get awarded the mascot, the

White Tiger, at the venue and then

there is a medal ceremony later. On

the left, a third Olympic gold medal

for Kalle but for Marit Bjoergen,

record-breaking 11th medal as she

moved to the top of the list for

FEMA Winter Olympians. She has more

opportunities to come.

With me in the studio,

two short track speed skating

experts and a skeleton champion.

Sarah Lindsay, who competed in short

track at three Olympics.

Jon Eley who also represented GB

at three Olympics and Amy Williams

who won gold in Vancouver

in the bone-shaking skeleton.

Lots to discuss and we start

with Elise Christie,

touted as GB's best chance

for a gold medal and potentially

the first Briton to win more

than one medal at the same Winter

Games.

As we know in short track,

you can't take anything for granted

but Elise has learnt a whole lot

from her heartbreak four

years ago in Sochi.

Turmoil for Christy!

Being

disqualified in Sochi hurt.

They've

gone down!

I thought about never

staking again. It took me two years

to get over that. It made me tougher

than I ever thought I could be.

Christie, aiming to become the first

British woman to win a short track

world title. Christie leading the

charge. It is going to be tight.

She's done it! She is the world

champion! Elise Christie. Here comes

Christie on the inside. It is

another gold!

Proving something to

the world, one gold, two golds,

three golds. When something breaks

your heart, it takes awhile to love

it again I'm smiling now. I'm ready

for the spotlight.

She

She is now 27 and this is what she

has already achieved, gold in the

1000 metres and a 1500 metres and

the prestigious overall title at the

World Championships last year. In

the European Championships in 2016,

gold in the 500, 1000, 1500 and the

overall. She's also the world record

holder at 500.

What a story it will be if Elise can

get something from these Games.

It is so exciting.

Her first chance of a medal

is in the 500m, but she has

to qualify through the heats first.

David McDaid picks up the story.

He's got a precious ticket

to the Gangneung Ice Arena.

It is fair to say Elise Christie's

last experience of the Winter

Olympics did not exactly go to plan.

I think we all know what happened.

They've gone down! They've all gone

down!

Since then, though, she's gone

from strength to strength and she

comes here to a country that loves

its short track, as the overall

world champion. So good this time be

a different story? -- could this

time.

Skating high-speed!

For the Korean team, gold medal and

your country, British, silver medal.

LAUGHTER

We've got four athletes involved a

night for Great Britain but the one

that most people will be focusing on

is Elise Christie. Sochi, everyone

knows, well-documented, did not go

so well. How does she feel ahead of

her return to the Olympic ice?

She's

in really good spirits, actually. I

think we are ready now for getting

racing. There's always going to be

elements of excitement, anxiety.

This is such a big platform for

competing in. But I would say that

talking to her this morning at

breakfast and lunch, she's ready she

wants to come out and the redemption

everyone has been talking about.

In

terms of Great Britain, a big night

for Elise Christie.

It certainly is,

I think it's going to be a game

changing night for Elise Christie.

The one thing she really needs to be

concerned about the night is staying

relaxed, that is the key thing.

This

is the home of short track. What

will it be like in there tonight?

Ballistic, Nicky will be at the

barriers, trying to instructor and

hopefully she will be at the start.

She won't be able to hear a word he

is saying. It's going to be

absolutely electric inside the

building.

It's been exactly 1450

days that Elise Christie has had to

wait it out last Olympic experience

but very shortly, she will be back

out on the Olympic ice and I tell

you what, the atmosphere is

incredible!

COMMENTATOR: The triple world

champion from 2017, Elise Christie

from Great Britain. Four and a half

laps of the track. Important for

Elise Christie to make a clean start

to her campaign and she is underway.

Christie goes to the fight and that

is where she will intend to stay, to

stay out of any trouble. Elise

Christie, leading. The Korean is the

real threat in this competition,

Shin, that at the moment. Christie

out of the gate Greg Leigh. Staying

out of trouble. Qu Chunyu right

behind her. Shim Sukhee of Korea

will have to try to challenge. They

are going to take the Bell and

Christie is still leading. To join

you in second place and it is going

to be a real battle with Shim career

trying to get around the outside.

Elise Christie is they be true to

the quarterfinals.

That was a start

and a half, finishing first in the

heat and earned Olympic record.

Crazy, I did not even feel like I

was going max, I went hard of the

first lap and a half because I've

practised my start a lot as I said

before and it went really well and

then I was trying to maintain a good

speed after that. If I've got more

in the bag, that is a good thing.

We

know what happened in Sochi at the

last games but it's been a long way

to get out there again. How did you

feel beforehand?

I was so nervous! I

was like, "Maybe I won't do it

because I'm so nervous". But when I

got to the line I was just excited.

I'm glad I got to race in front of

everyone again.

That was certainly

an Olympic return worth waiting for,

first in her heat, really fast time

and hopefully that is all the nerves

banished. Now just the small matter

of three more races on Tuesday but

fingers crossed, the first Olympic

medal.

Those three races on Tuesday start

at about 10am, she will have the

quarterfinals in and hopefully it

all goes to plan for the semifinals

and the final, BBC One, to follow

Elise Christie through on Tuesday

morning. Sarah, you never really

well. You have been texting already

after the race, before the race.

well. You have been texting already

after the race, before the race.

What was your response to the

performance, how did she look?

Incredible, got off the start before

everyone else, she said she was

nervous but I think it helped

because of the adrenaline, she

blasted away from

because of the adrenaline, she

blasted away from everybody so it

did not hurt.

John, her technique at

the start, wages are effective?

The

reaction to the gun, it sounds like

she's been doing a lot of work in

the last few days in training and

like Sarah said, she looked sharp

and ready to go and get herself in

front and very smooth after that.

Sarah, talk me through the line she

takes, very wide in the early laps

into the bend.

She's trying to take

the fastest line in the early laps

because her speed is so quick and

nobody is catching her until later.

In the last lap, she is starting to

shut the track down a bit more but

to start with, she is skating her

line as quick as she can.

She ended

up second fastest of the qualifiers.

How important is that and what does

it mean for the quarterfinals on

Tuesday, to be right up at the top

of the time leaderboard?

It puts a

performance marker down and going

into the next round, she will have

lain one which is the favourite to

Lane so she can get another good

start and hopefully get out in front

again.

Amy, it must have felt such a

long wait, for years to get your

chance again.

Is it worse in the first rung of a

skeleton, the first short track

event, just the first event?

You

need to get yourself out there, even

if it is just a training run, for

us, get one run under your belt, I'm

fine, now I can relax and let the

butterflies settle to the bottom of

it and then it is like your

concentration is heightened and you

could really focus on what your job

is and what you are doing.

You

already on this list it is a very

short list of individual gold

medallists from Great Britain at the

Winter Olympics. This is the list

Elise Christie wants to join.

Jeanette Altwegg in 1952, John Curry

and Robin Cousins, Amy Williams in

2010 and Lizzy Yarnold in 2014, the

only British athletes who have as

individuals won a gold medal and the

other thing Elise Christie could do,

Sarah, and these are things I know

you don't think about before but we

love talking about them, she could

become the first British Winter

Olympian to win multiple their

medals at one games.

Fingers crossed

, she had three chances and I think

she's stronger in the 1000 and the

1500. I think if she gets the first

one done and get the monkey off the

back and then she will fly through

the rest.

This is the kind of frame

of mind that she is in. She posted

this on Instagram. I think it looks

like a giant would be Kocian!

I

think it is.

Where on earth has she

found that?

Everyone is stressed and

if she's nervous but obviously not.

People say it is boring in the

village but obviously not!

Where did

she find it?

Did you texted to tell

her to go to bed?

I reposted it

laughing at her read it and she

wrote back saying she loved me! It

was quite late for her so I can't

member what time it was for us but

it was about 11pm, nearly 11:30pm so

I told her to go to bed.

She will be

firmly asleep right now because it

is for 15 AM in Korea. There was a

final in the short track speed

skating and the lights of the home

crowd were high with two athletes

going for gold in the 1500.

Wilf O'Reilly and Simon Brotherton.

Wilf O'Reilly and Simon Brotherton.

COMMENTATOR: Semen Elistratov was

impressive in the semifinal and now

hitting the front is Lindsey O John

and Hwang Daeheon going around the

outside, trying to get to the front,

Hwang leading this Olympic final

with half a dozen laps to go.

The

Koreans though it is such a long

way, nine skaters in this final and

moving around the outside with

either to go.

What a race this is

going to be, slowly winding it up

faster and faster and they managed

is they are bright. Sjinkie Knegt is

being followed down the back

straight by Lim Hyojun and Hwang

Darheon. Semen Elistratov back in

fifth. The bad folk and Ed loitering

at the back. Bregerie is a dinky can

I get at the front, the world record

holder. A desperate struggle, one of

the Koreans has gone out and the bad

Cabinet! Lim Hyojun still leading

from the dinky can get in second

place. Semen Elistratov is third as

they have one lap to go and Korea

leading the way, up towards the

line, Lim Hyojun, Lim Hyojun coming

up towards the finish, Lim Hyojun

takes it! The dinky ends with the

silver medal and Semen Elistratov,

the Olympic Athlete from Russia,

take the bronze, and the hosts have

a gold, they have struck gold in the

Ice Arena. They have lifted the

roof. What certainly is a win for

Lim Hyojun of South Korea. That

confirms that Lim Hyojun in an

Olympic record time is the winner.

Stinky can

Knegt has a silver to add to the

Bronzino in Sochi.

CLARE BALDING: he tactically...

He

moved up the pack, moved into first

just at the right time and Knegt had

nothing on him. On the last two

laps, the crowd wanted to push into

the finish line.

It makes a real

difference and nine skaters in the

body which meant they would never

all get round a 1-piece snow are

done, it is fine. -- in one piece.

Alain Baxter won gold in salt Lake

City so technically was the first

British skier to win a medal on

snow. But was disqualified for being

tested positive for a banned

substance, so Jenny Jones. To follow

in her footsteps was Jamie Nicholls.

Young Jamie Nicholls from Halifax

one of the best rail riders in the

world.

How much did you enjoy Sochi?

I loved it, it was such a great

place to go to and it was such great

place because it was well organised.

Because I did well it makes

everything so much better. I the

best run I have ever done and the

trip was really fun and I enjoyed

it.

it.

You are a threat in any contest,

do you think the setup in South

Korea is going to suit you?

I am

thinking, this looks good, so many

different options and rails. Up

rails, drop-down rails and I love

doing transfers, it is my favourite

thing. Transfer 450 in two down

rails on the other side. Hopefully

they will put something good down.

How do you view your chances in

Pyeongchang?

I hope I do as well as

I did in Sochi, if not better. I

would love to get on the podium,

that would be the icing on the cake

after four years of training.

What

would be success for you?

It would

be the performance. If I go and do

the best run and I can do, even if

it wasn't a medal, fifth, sixth, top

ten would be amazing but if I have

done the best I can do on but day,

it will be amazing.

Before Jamie gets to the final,

he has to qualify.

Also looking to make

the top 12 is ex-gymnast,

Southampton's Billy Morgan.

Here's Ed Leigh.

The slopestyle in Pyeongchang

will be one of the most spectacular

competitions at these Games.

The course is beautiful.

Snow sculpted like marble into huge

features that will be

a test of technique,

creativity and mettle.

And the riders will be up

to the challenge, starting

with the men's qualification today.

The big names?

The likes of Marcus Kleveland,

Mark McMorris and Red Gerrard

should make it through to the final

with room to spare.

The rest, including

Brits Jamie Nicholls,

Billy Morgan and Rowan Coultas,

will have to land near-perfect

runs to progress.

After a long delay to the start of

the competition, the American Chris

Corning dropped first in Heat one.

The difficult task facing the judges

was immediately clear. A clean run

followed by a triple back 14 didn't

score very highly.

followed by a triple back 14 didn't

score very highly. Dropping next was

the favourite for gold, Norway's

Marcus Cleveland.

Here we go. Take a

breath. This should be the marker. A

lot of speed into the kink rail.

270. Different line. I feel that

might have been a little mistake,

but don't worry, he can roll with

the punches. Switch into the first

of these jumps. Huge switchback.

How

did he stop that rotation?

This is

the Marcus we know. Bottom jump.

the Marcus we know. Bottom jump. He

had so much time to spare. He

finished the four spins and he was

probably still three or four feet in

the air.

Carlos Garcia night

impressive kicker line saw him go

second with 80 and Cleveland's

team-mate followed him into the

final claiming fourth spot with a

1440 on the third kicker. Next drop

in run one was Jamie Nicholls.

First

Brit of three to drop in. First

rider to hit the high rail line.

Look how easy he made that look?

Very nice. Switch 180 on, 360 off.

Best rail section we have seen so

far.

far. His adrenaline will be peaking

at the moment.

at the moment. Backside 1260. It is

looking good for Jamie Nicholls.

Very nice. Very smart. Score on the

board, that is what we have said.

Those rails up top, they were the

best we have seen so far.

1260,

slight handwriting.

71.56, a lot

lower than I thought we were going

to see.

The Finnish rider went ahead

of Jamie despite a sketchy rail

section. It left the Brit on the

bubble in the final qualification

place going into run two.

Needs to

put this down here. Massive.

Jamie!

It was huge. He saw everyone else

coming up short on that and he sent

it. Top six will qualify for the

final.

Painfully close for Jamie Nicholls

and Chris Corning.

Do you feel your

first score should have gone higher

with what you did?

Yes, I was

gutted. I felt I was clean through

the rails, I was doing something

different from everyone else and on

the third section. I don't

understand. But that is how it goes

sometimes in competitions.

Today

wasn't my day. As the dust settles,

it is time to pull the action apart.

Tim, you can be pleased with

yourself on your predictions?

Thank

you very much, I cheated a bit

because I picked the favourites. The

surprise package from me was Carlos

Garcia night, the young Kiwi, he

smashed it.

He wrote so well. A lot

of people felt, Jenny, Jamie

Nicholls' first run was marked Rey

Lee-Lo?

Yes, he is less technical

than others and he had a hand drag

and I guess that is what the judges

are looking for, in needs to be

clean.

They flagged up there might

be inconsistencies when we saw

another jumper land 90 degrees short

and kick up a load of snow and we

thought it was the end of the run

and suddenly he is into fourth place

above Jamie.

That is a question for

the judges.

You have wriggled out of

that one and the debatable rage, but

it is decided, we have the first six

finalists for the men's slope style.

In he two, Tyler Nicholson from

Canada got things under way and got

off to the worst possible start. His

team-mate landed a beautiful run to

land with a beautiful 83.4. And

Canada's mac Spero went into second

with an excellent run and the

backside tripled to finish.

backside tripled to finish. This

second run in style as he scored an

82 to go for. At the top of the

field it was a battle to take top

spot and bragging rights in the

Canadian team.

Mark McMorrisa, the

most dominant rider of the last

eight years in slope style. My

goodness.

So perfect.

The landing

was like laying your head down on a

pillow. Look how easy these landings

are. The ground came up to meet him,

he didn't have to do a thing, just

wait if the Earth to rise to his

feet.

He is coming here for the gold

medal, make no mistake. Higher score

we have seen so far and no surprises

for anyone. The Canadian is

currently in second place.

Really

weird line. He is going to go big

here, isn't he? Front-end.

Something

big here. Backside tripled. Playing

it safe. When you are talking about

Max parrots, then it is playing it

safe. We are all wrong, 87.3. It was

super clean and you said that.

The

two Brits in he two both failed to

put down a clean run, completing a

disappointing day that the team.

First run I thought I was coming

quite fast so I tried to scrub on

the take-off but scrub too much.

Sucking, I couldn't get the full

rotation.

So close to getting the

kind of trip. I think I would rather

have fallen over and it being

completely shot. So close to hanging

it on, by the hairs on my chin,

didn't make it to the second jump.

They were always going to be up

against it in the heat stacked with

talent but with all the big hitters

making it too, things have been set

of beautifully tough for tomorrow's

final. If you want to tune into the

final, it is 1am tomorrow morning on

BBC One, so in under five hours, Max

Parrot the leading qualify.

Such a shame for Jamie.

Such a shame for Jamie.

I am not a

snowboarder, whether or not in

Jamie's head he is annoyed, hang on

a minute he didn't score me justly

and I needed more, then went a bit

too hard and pushed it too much.

We

have seen it in short track speed

skating, there is that line, you

have got to push it if you want to

win something. The risk is...

It is

about performing. Those guys have

pushed it as hard as they can. On

the biggest stage, they want to

perform.

Do you enjoy watching it?

It is amazing, because it is judged,

it is so different. We are used to

racing and you get over the line and

do the fastest time and you win. It

is more simple, not in someone

else's hands as much.

But it is the

sport getting everyone under the age

of 20 talking. It is just brilliant.

Ski jumping and Kamil

Stoch of Poland

is trying to defend his title.

Sliding his way into

the history books, can Felix

un-Loch another gold?

United we stand - the hockey

women of Korea combine.

Absolutely.

Can you believe 30 years ago

on Valentine's day Eddie the Eagle

soared to finish in dead last place?

Three decades on, ski jumping

still holds an immense fascination,

and that's where we're going next.

Fans of South Korean

football will recognise

the Alpensia Ski Jumping centre

as the home of Gangwon FC -

the landing area doubles up

as a three sided football stadium.

Jumpers for goal posts then.

Hoping to score is current

Olympic champion Kamil Stoch.

The Pole started ski jumping

at the age of nine and is trying

to become only the second ski jumper

to clinch the double double.

Stoch's trading blows

with a pair of jumping Germans,

Richard Freitag and

Andreas Wellinger.

The two young Germans

will have a lot to learn

from ageless wonder and crowd

favourite Noriaki Kasai,

who carried the flag for Japan

at yesterday's Opening Ceremony.

The Sochi silver medalist is making

a record eighth Olympic appearance.

Olli Williams was watching

a windy competition unfold.

COMMENTATOR: Noriaki Kasai, eight

Olympic Games, they love him. He is

so popular in the sport.

Oh, into the air! Lovely jump,

Noriaki Kasai. This is a man who was

winning medals at the last Olympic

Games so don't count him out. 130.9

points, he goes third for now.

Stefan Hula from Poland. Beautiful,

beautiful jump, cutting through the

green laser that shows you the

distance to beat. Just about stuck

the Telemark Landing. And the judges

love it! 19s across out of 20, 100

31.8 and Stefan Hula goes into the

provisional lead. Robert Johansson

and his moustache escort themselves

out of the starting gate. Let's see

how he gets on.

He looked a bit unsettled in the air

and his coach was reasonably content

with it, I'm not sure he held the

form well enough that the judges.

18s only from the judges. His score

is respectable but he knows he is

now 12 points off the lead and that

is a big difference.

He won the last pre-Olympic

competition, but the issue for this

man is consistency, if he can put

together two Gudjohnsen in a row, he

will be a contender. He goes into

second. Andreas Wellinger, top in

qualifying, surprised himself as

much as anyone else, 22 years old.

His coach looks down, tames his

eyebrows, gives it the green flag.

Good distance, just not quite the

longest jump we have seen. It is

going to leave Andreas Wellinger

just about in contention. 124.9.

Which brings us to another German,

Richard Freitag. This man is their

favourite. They think he has the

chance to win. Good distance. That

looks like it might put him in

contention. Let's see how the judges

reacted. They loved it! 19s, as soon

as you see 19s on the board, you

know someone will be happy.

Defending champion Kamil Stoch won

the normal hill and the large hill

in 2014. Qualified in second place,

immediately dismissed the jump he

did and said it was not very good.

What has he got tonight?

What has he got tonight? He's got a

big jump, that is what he has got.

The Polish bands love it. He is

bidding to be the first man to

successfully defend a normal hill

title. -- the Polish fans love it.

Into second place. Well, Kamil Stoch

is up there, level with Johann Andre

Forfang of Norway but they both

trail Stefan Hula of Poland by more

than five points. This is the final

round. Robert Johansson, green

light. Flag down.

light. Flag down. Johannson makes

its way down.

What a job! What a job! And the

aerodynamics on the moustache have

paid off because that is a fantastic

jump from Robert Johansson of

Norway. 249.7, into first place.

Andreas Wellinger, won qualifying.

Only 124.9 from his first round and

this looks like it could be good. It

is long! It looks like it might be

golden!

golden! 113.5, that is exactly the

same distance as Robert Johansson

and Andreas Wellinger, I think is

going to go first. Yes, he goes into

first place, Andreas Wellinger and

he's only got four more to watch.

The first of which is his team-mate

Richard Freitag. He is the German

that the Germans thought was going

to win. Suddenly, he has got Andreas

Wellinger to deal with and that is

not going to push Andreas Wellinger

off the top. Richard Freitag misses

out on a medal and goes into sixth.

Johann Andre Forfang, 22 and all the

pressure in the world. He has the

green light.

Launches forward, looking good, as

it got the legs? It is good, it is

good, but is it good enough? It

might have fallen short. I don't

know that is going to be enough.

Let's see what the judges think. It

is second place, Johann Andre

Forfang, 250.9. Kamil Stoch, 125.9

from the first round, he needs an

even bigger jump now.

I don't think he got it. I think

Andreas Wellinger might hold onto

this. There is the result. There

won't even be a medal for the

defending Olympic champion. Stefan

Hula for Poland, jumping now for

gold. Into the air, how long is it?

Does it have the legs? It is close!

I don't think that is going to be

enough. It is nowhere near enough

will stop Stefan Hula is this. Near

enough. Stefan Hula is in fifth

place. And your Olympic champion is

Germany's Andreas Wellinger, and the

silver medal to Johann Andre Forfang

of Norway, bronze to another

Norwegian, Robert Johansson. Strong

wind created havoc in that

competition so it did not finish

until about 12:30am.

After its debut four years ago

in Sochi, the women's competition

starts on Monday 12:50pm BBC1.

It is

It is amazing and Andreas Wellinger,

22, a first individual ski jumping

title for Germany in 24 years. If

you want is see extended highlights

of the jumping and be man they visit

moustaches, you can an Olympics

extra on BBC Four straight after

this. Despite huge success in the

skeleton, Great Britain is not

really embraced its sister sport of

luge, where Germany again tend to

dominate.

Team GB have two men

who rattle down feet first -

AJ Rosen is competing in his thirrd

Olympics but it's Rupert

AJ Rosen is competing in his third

Olympics but it's Rupert

Staudinger's debut.

My biggest challenge is just to

relax, do my best.

The feeling never

gets old.

It is me that has to go

down the sled. I'm not racing

against somebody else.

The ice is

very hard so it makes it a bit more

difficult.

Yeah, let's see what happens.

How do

you describe the state of British

luge at the moment?

We are actually

in a very good way at the moment. We

have a good team, and we have people

coming up on the pipes so we have a

good future coming ahead of us.

I

know you had a practice run this

morning that did not perhaps go

according to plan. Talk us through

what happened.

It happened just

behind me, an corner 12, I looped a

bit, I had pressure at the end and

there is a weird edge in there and

it made me flip towards the curve

but I'm OK. It happens.

100

kilometres per hour?

A bit more but

I am fine.

Typical luge, shrug

shoulders, that's fine, I fell off

the sled this morning but not a

problem.

Yes, the ice is nice and

smooth, they did a great job so no

ice burns or anything, just swept

through. I could ring in your

previous two Winter Games, you have

finished 16th, what is your

expectation for here in Pyeongchang?

I would like to be better than 16th,

maybe third time is lucky. Obviously

I want to be better.

How proud you

to be back in the Team GB tit?

It's

absolutely amazing, considering

eight years ago was my last time, it

is such an honour every time. It's

absolutely amazing.

This is where it will all happen,

the Alpensia Sliding Centre lit up

at night, this is the only second

artificial track built in Asia, the

other one was in Nagamoto, Japan,

for the 1998 Winter Olympics.

In the luge, the smallest

error can be costly.

It is the only sliding sport timed

to 1000th of a second.

Sliders go four times,

let's see how they did in run 1.

Double Olympic champion Felix Loch

was the hot favourite and he led

after his first run before

Austrian David Gleirscher went

a fraction of a second

quicker than the German.

Adam Rosen was eight tenths slower

than Gleirscher and was 25th

after his first run.

That was eight places

above Rupert Staudinger who

got off to the worst possible start.

His hopes dashed within

the first ten metres.

So medal prospects for

the Brits all but gone

after the first of four runs.

Gleirscher, the surprise leader

but Loch, gold medallist

in Vancouver and Sochi,

was handily placed to strike.

Run two began in spectacular

fashion, Jozef Ninis

doing well to hang on.

Next up was Gleirscher.

Commentary comes from

John Hunt and John Jackson.

COMMENTATOR: This is the leader,

David Gleirscher. We were talking

about his excellent training

routines, his first run beyond his

wildest dreams. He leads into round

two. Can he backed that up with

another flying run?

47.652, his time delayed after run

one, and here he goes, we will hear

the word consistency a lot this week

John, right through the disciplines.

David Gleirscher has got to prove he

can do it again.

Exactly and we have

seen there, and this is what we have

been mentioning about, how they

consistency of the second exit and

the ninth exit is key, a bit early

on to that corner, onto six as he

comes into seven. Getting a good

light into eight, as the corner

starts to drop down now, this is the

key point. That is a great line into

12. He is going to start pulling

away from the guy in front of him

who had a big mistake but this is

not about the guy who has just gone

down, this is about staying in front

of Felix Loch and the other guys

close to him as he comes to the

finish line.

Around they come to the

line, David Gleirscher, seeming

smooth, 47.835, slower.

Here is the

great man, Felix Loch.

Looking for

his third straight gold medal. Let's

see, if ever you can put your money

on somebody to deliver in the white

heat of competition, it is this

German, who is still only 28. 20,

when he won his first gold medal.

Yes and a great start. There's a

hundreds in it, less than a blink of

a night. He did that in the first

run and now you can see the

right-hand corner, the light has

gone green which means he is in

front. He is just starting to pull

away. That was inch perfect in

there, could not have been any

closer to the wall. He's just

sliding around on the corners on

some of the exits but he is still

pulling away. It is obviously

working for him and the sled set up

that he has. Didn't see the mistake

that just happened from the athlete

prior to him so that is a big margin

that he has put down. Stamping his

authority on this Olympics.

What a

big run, to come from behind and now

at the end of the second run, Felix

Loch put himself nearly 0.2 seconds

ahead of the leader on the first

run, David Gleirscher. That is all

about applying pressure. But it is

Rupert Staudinger next, and in his

first run, he had a disaster right

at the start. A clap of the hands,

classic Rupert, tapping the ice as

if to say," come on, Rupert, you

know you are better than that".

Explosive start and then relax, that

is the idea.

And that is a lot

better start, he has got through

clean. Let's see what Rupert can do

with the lines that we know he can

drive, a bit of a slide of the

corner but this is a lot better

start than what he had and this will

be more of a true reflection, if he

can get through nine, of what he can

actually do. I was speaking earlier

about how may be they chose the

wrong setup but sometimes the

smaller nations, Great Britain, a

small nation in luge, they don't

have lots of equipment, they only

have one set of runners and it

either works in the conditions or

not. He's getting a bit behind the

sled. None of these guys have got

massive amounts of funding like some

of the bigger Winter sports. A lot

of it is self funding. It makes it

difficult to compete against the top

of the world when you are self

funding.

0.4 seconds quicker than

run one but he had an awful start.

Better from Rupert Staudinger. Adam

Rosen, 25th after the first run

which was a shade disappointing

although to recap quickly, John, it

didn't look untidy by any means.

No,

it looked good but this comes back

to the point about the equipment. If

you've only got one set of runners,

that's all you can put on, they

might not suit these conditions.

They might only work at certain

points, like I said in the first

run. Runners are really finicky and

they almost like tyres for a Formula

1 car. You put slicks on in the wet

and they are not working and certain

runners like certain conditions.

Because these guys have limited

funding and limited support, they

have not got the ability to buy the

equipment they need and again, this

is a great run from AJ. But there's

not the speed there and all you can

think is it is because of the

agreement and they don't have the

support, so it is not where it needs

to be for these guys that have done

well. You can see why in past

Olympic Games, he has finished 16th

because the run is worthy of that.

We seen worse from that -- from the

guys in front of them but the

equivalent is not there. -- the

equipment.

It looked like the same kind of run

by Adam Rosen, smooth but not quite.

It is great to have me and rooted

here and we are looking to do our

best.

There is a difference between

nations to the highest up, Olympic

ice. The ice is super hard and that

is the key, to be solid and don't

let yourself skid.

So Felix Loch is on track

for his third straight Olympic

gold in the men's luge.

With two runs to go

David Gleirscher of Austria sits

in second and the in-form

Roman Repilov lies third.

Aj Rosen finished 24th

and Rupert Staudinger finished 33rd

and have two more chances

to improve tomorrow.

Amy, watching the list 's -- Felix

Loch, I was amazed at the gloves

they were to push them off at the

start.

It is all the power and

explosiveness from the upper body,

their shoulders and their arms and

taped around their gloves they have

spikes on their fingers so they are

clawing at the ice to get the

spikes on their fingers so they are

clawing at the ice to get the power

to be as fast off the block as

possible and then lying down, be as

still as possible.

Let's look at the

man who has

still as possible.

Let's look at the

man who has been the best at it,

Felix Loch of Germany.

Straightaway

into the body position and

concentrating into the first corner.

Aerodynamically, you can see he is

as smooth and as flat as possible.

His legs and feet are in front of

him. It is all about staying calm

under pressure. If he makes a tiny

mistake, not quite on the correct

line, he is calm and not panicking

and twitching on the sled.

How

strong does your neck need to be?

You can get up to five G of

pressure. It is like an elephant sat

on your back, you can have the

breath is taken out of you. We have

a lot of training in the gym with

weights around your neck, but you

cannot replicate what it feels like

to be going round those corners.

They are big corners, but it is a

unique track.

Tomorrow at 11am you can watch the

final run of the louche.

And now to the women's ice hockey

and the decision to unify the teams

of North and South Korea typifies

the Olympic spirit of

universal respect and joy.

The IOC President Thomas Bach said

it gave him goose bumps to see them

walk out under the same flag

at the Opening Ceremony.

But the united team had a tough

first match against Olympic bronze

medallists from Sochi, Switzerland.

But sometimes the sport

is not the point.

Korea, a nation divided.

I cannot

recall what the situation was as

dangerously.

By Borders.

This is the

most militarised part of the whole

planet.

By deals. But now, and

divided nation marching together

under a unified flag.

Korean

citizens have the same history and

we are one people, one Nation.

It is

in ice hockey, the unified will

become truly united.

become truly united. This is the

Guangdong hockey arena. It is a very

big night for Korean sport, isn't

it?

It is, everybody is so excited

about having one team in the

Olympics.

Olympics.

TRANSLATION:

Pyeongchang

is the peace Olympics. Holding this

flag is really meaningful because it

is a symbol of peace.

A momentous occasion for all

concerned and for the first time

ever, combined Korean team and a

chance for some hockey history. Your

commentators are Seth Bennett and

Ken Simpson.

Shot on goal and the opening of the

tournament comes from Alina Muller.

Benz, brilliant.

Benz, brilliant. This is beautiful

from the Swiss, Alina Muller. It is

a hat-trick in the first period.

They are looking to feed Alina

Muller, she has another chance and

scores. Number four. The goalkeeper

could do not think about it. Another

chance and another goal. What a feed

that was, Evelina Raselli onto

Phoebe Stanz. Number six. The shot

comes in. I don't know if it

deflected in front but it was a bomb

from Lara Stalder. Lara Stalder

looking for her second. There it is,

the opening game for the hosts is

over, it ends in defeat. The heavy

one at that.

We have crews from the

US, Canada, the US and Germany,

Austria and Korea. This is so much

more than just one hockey match. Are

you being asked to pay a price for

politics here?

It is hard, at first

I was upset about our team being

used for political reasons, but once

the team were combined on a got to

know the North Korean players, I

enjoyed coaching them. We get to go

to training camps, we get a lot of

opportunities they don't get. Now

they are soaking everything in.

Lots

of talk of how to integrate the two

sections of the team, have you found

it as a challenge?

The team did a

great job about adjusting quickly

and I think we did a great job of

being cohesive.

What kind of masses

do you think this team passes to the

whole of Korea?

I heard it out there

chanting, we are one.

Nice message.

It gives the opportunity to project

a bigger message?

It does lend

itself to that opportunity and it is

a nice one. It all starts at the

beginning, the opening ceremony when

everybody marches the same way,

everybody cheers and everybody

starts on uneven playing field.

It

is not the first time that politics

has been part of an Olympic Games?

We had Jesse Owens at the Munich

Olympics, he stood up for black

rights. And thusly everything that

went on after that, it a strong

message.

Also, a powerful message

about female empowerment that comes

from watching a mixed sports event?

Yes, it is female is now being able

to do the same things, you said

earlier about Ski Jumping. Females

can do Ski Jumping when before they

couldn't.

It was medically danger

is, or something?

Yes, simple things

like that and now there is an even

playing field and it doesn't matter.

The Olympics is one place everyone

is cheering each other on, no matter

what nation.

The media scrum

afterwards, so a sign of the massive

impact of that decision to have a

unified women's ice hockey team.

This is what else that has been

happening in Pyeongchang.

We saw Germany claim their first

gold as Laura Dahlmeier reigned

supreme with her first ever Olympic

medal at the 7.5km biathlon sprint.

It was a bit more than just

Double Dutch as we witnessed

a Netherlands one-two-three finish

at the speed skating

in the women's 3000m.

And in the newest event introduced

in these Games, it would be

the Canadians who locked their place

into the semis of the mixed doubles

of curling as they triumphed over

Switzerland.

Let's have a look at the medal table

after the first full day of action.

Out in front, Germany ahead with the

two gold medals.

I had a question from a young viewer

Alasdair Fraser, he said has an

African nation ever won an Olympic

gold medal in the winter Olympics?

The answer is, not yet.

It's time now for the

random and the rad.

Let's go Off Piste.

Amy got a Selvie with Elise

Christie. Coverage of the louche

inspired this little one

Christie. Coverage of the louche

inspired this little one this

morning. That is not your baby, Amy?

It is not, but I wish I had sent my

vote in.

Please do. If you want is

some photos in, just use the hash

tag BBC Olympics. Time now, for

this.

Keeping your weight down is very

important for ski jumping,

the downside is that it makes

you very hungry.

Now this is syncronised

clapping, Korean Style!

With all this winter weather,

it's vital you always wear the right

footwear at all times.

I never touched him, ref, honest!

And finally, dear men,

get a moustache.

That is a cracking moustache.

Radzi is here at 11:50pm

with a packed overnight schedule.

1am is the final of the men's

snowboard slopestyle.

2:30am is the men's downhill.

4:30am is the women's snowboard

slopestyle qualification

featuring Aimee Fuller.

Then Eilidh Barbour brings

you the 30km skiathlon featuring

GB's Andrew Musgrave at 6:15am.

I'm back in the morning

at 9.15am with the final two

runs of the men's luge.

Elise Christie is safely through

qualification.

Elise Christie is safely through

qualification.

Fingers crossed the

Tuesday.

What will she do?

Ed Ling

she just relax, bring herself back

down again. She will calm down and

then start building back up towards

Tuesday, I am sure.

Thank you so

much to Sarah, John and Amy for your

insight. We will see you again.

Tomorrow it's arguably

the blue riband event

of the Winter Olympics -

take the men to the mountain...

They will be hurtling down at speeds

that will make your eyes water. If

they water in that kind of cold, it

freezes. We will see you tomorrow.

Then's Downhill promises to make

Olympic history.

Phil Johnson, the all-American boy.

You are watching the greatest ski

racer and he has done it again.

He

is going to win the gold.