BBC One Day 10: Men's Bobsleigh runs 3 and 4, and GB in Women's Curling Winter Olympics

# It's oh so quiet...

# It's oh so still...

# It's oh so still... Flick you're

all alone...

# And so peaceful until

# You fall in love

# This guy up above

# Is caving in.

#

Doesn't that just set the mood? We

will be rocking and rolling between

Carling and two man bobsleigh,

joining the Nicola Minichiello and

Rhona Martin, while you are away,

you watched Lizzy Yarnold, what did

you make of that?

Fantastic, her

mental attitude, she was not in

first place going into that run but

knew she could do it, did not matter

what anyone else could do. She

focused on what she could do and did

it.

And the great to live under

pressure.

Yeah.

With the gold medal

from Lizzy Yarnold and three bronze

medals across the board Great

Britain are already level with the

total medals achieved in Sochi,

could there be more to come? It

might come from curling or

bobsleigh, here is what is coming up

between now and 1pm.

between now and 1pm. As mentioned,

controversy at the curling, we will

catch up with the latest ahead of

the British women in their must win

match against Switzerland, and CD

conclusion of the two man bobsled,

Great Britain currently seventh.

Rowan Cheshire has been through the

mill since Sochi four years ago and

has qualified for the final and

Aimee Fuller trying to book her

place in the final of the women's

snowboard big air. And we will look

at a dramatic short programme in ice

dancing, Nick Buckland and Penny

Coomes in action for Great Britain,

Jayne Torvill will join us for that.

Jayne Torvill will join us at 1030.

It's all happening in ice dancing.

Live and an corrupted coverage of

the women's curling will start just

after 11 on the red button, we will

dip in and out of it but we want to

show you the third run of the two

man bobsled to see if GB can improve

on seventh place. The first curling

medal of the games was awarded to

the Olympic athletes of Russia but

Alexander Krushelnitskiy has tested

positive for meldonium and returned

home. He and his wife Anastasia

Bryzgalova took the bronze medal in

the mixed doubles. Meldonium is what

Maria Sharapova tested positive for,

it increases blood flow and improves

exercise capacity. The B sample will

be coming today. It's pretty rare in

curling to even think of taking

performance enhancing drugs.

Yeah, I

do not know what you would take to

become a better curler. Maybe he was

trying to slow down his heart rate?

It's a new discipline, they are

sweeping more, Sobhi heartrate is a

lot more high. Who knows?

lot more high. Who knows? The world

curling Federation coming into these

games with all the issues with

Russia and anti-doping, they put a

lot of money into doing extra doping

tests on all Russian curlers to make

sure they were clean and did a lot

of tests over the last week while.

Every test was clean.

He was tested

on January, middle of January, and

was clean. But something has come up

in this sample, the B sample will

confirm it or not. Russia as a

country have been banned but the OAR

is made up of athletes from Russia

who have been consistently tested

and come up clean so they have meant

to be the clean ones. Hugely

embarrassing for Russia if this is

confirmed because I think they were

hoping to march together under the

Russian flag at the closing

ceremony.

Was the controversy about

meldonium not that it was able to be

used as a masking agent for

something else?

You must have been

tested a lot in bobsled?

Yes, it's a

power sport, if you can gain more

power, it is massive. The number of

tests this year, so many. Hopefully

the sport is getting cleaner.

Where

are you tested?

Yeah, fairly often.

Even though you know you are 100%

clean and have not taken anything

you are always nervous. You just

don't know. Did somebody mix up the

sample?

Look at Alan Baxter, the

wrong kind of nasal inhaler and he

is coming up positive something he

did not know what was there.

You are

not taking performance enhancing

drugs, you're just trying to feel

better, it was a tragedy.

That was

when he won your gold medal.

Yeah. I

think this controversially with

Russia will be an issue. Russia as a

country, they allow the clean

athletes to compete but this is a

major setback for them if it proves

to be a positive test.

It will cast

doubt on every person competing

under the OAR, as if there is not

already enough, now it will blow

peoples minds. It is embarrassing

for the IOC because they have

trusted them and let them compete,

it is embarrassing for curling and

the Winter Olympics. Today the

second test, the results of the

second test will come back. So to

the actual ice, just over the

halfway stage here, it is very

tense, top four from the round-robin

matches will qualify for the

semifinals, the winners of that go

for the gold medal, the losers play

for the bronze medal. Here is what

has happened so far. No medals in

Pyeongchang will take longer to win

than those in curling. So far we

have had five days with 56 matches

which have seen 731 points scored.

And we are only halfway through the

group stage! Those stones move

slowly. New brooms representing

Britain in the men's competition and

Kyle Smith 's young crew got an

early doors of pressure, a

tie-breaking end against

Switzerland. Examination passed. No

greater test than the next, Canada,

curling 's superpower. Too much too

soon for Team GB perhaps? Japan

pushed them to the end of the final

end, right on cue some perfect

curling. Then the storm turned

again, Britain swept aside by the

supreme Swedes. Worse still the

calamity against Korea. Britain

shuffled in to a corner.

Look what

this means to the crowd.

Crucial

that they beat Italy and an out of

short skipper make this shot. What

might that be worth? Strange going

on on the women's ice, Canada,

curling is a sure thing losing three

from three. Animation reels. They

are recovering now, ominously for

Team GB, most of the bronze winning

band in Sochi back to work on new

material. They took OAR 14. But then

they tried to crack America. Despite

best efforts it was difficult second

album territory. That loaded

pressure on the next match against

China who took it into an extra

tense extra end.

tense extra end. Beat Denmark next

and looked well set but then they

slept, against Korea they came up

curiously short.

That's a big

disappointment.

It made a tough

match against Sweden and even more

tough, they took two in the last saw

into the decider, GB's final shot

all important but the storm stopped

by a red light. She had not released

before the hog line, a curling no

ball.

I have never seen that before.

The headlines will be about the hog

line but they cannot afford to dwell

on it, things change faster than you

think in curling.

We had drama here were some spilled

coffee.

We had drama here were some spilled

coffee. These are the standings

before today's matches. Sweden going

really well, unbeaten in five. South

Korea only losing once. China Great

Britain and Canada who are having a

surprising shocker of lost three.

It's very tight in the middle. Let's

look at the men and remember, Kyle

Smith and his team at the first

Olympic Games and they are forth.

Sweden again unbeaten, they are

dominant between the men and women

at the moment. The Canadian men have

lost twice. Great Britain Japan and

Norway losing three so it's really

tight. Other results will come into

play.

tight. Other results will come into

play. What happened?

Nothing to do

with the!

Yeah, don't worry.

Hog

line headlines.

line headlines. Rhona has brought

this with her, it is the rules of

curling and we need to discuss what

is happening with the hog line and

try to ignore the mess on the floor.

You really did spill a lot. It's OK.

Keep it on a tight shot! Let's talk

about Eve

Keep it on a tight shot! Let's talk

about Eve, this was a really

important stone against Sweden, her

final stone. The red light comes on,

the technology in the Stone

signifying she's gone over the hog

line but she is saying it's wrong,

what do you think?

You can see here

is she clearly releases the stone

before the hog line that as her

fingers touched the back of the

handle its triggered the red light

because,

handle its triggered the red light

because, you are allowed to double

touch the handle. She releases it

there and as you can see, just her

finger touched as the storm went

over the line.

No one, the sweepers,

the skip, no one is allowed to touch

it once it's gone over the hog line?

No. As soon as it over you cannot

touch it.

The beginning of the

storm, not the whole story?

touch it.

The beginning of the

storm, not the whole story?

There is

a centre in the stone and a centre

any hog line, and they are both the

same, when a player goes to clean

the stone at the start as long as it

turns 75 degrees that activates the

sensor in the stone so the green

lights flash. If those green lights

don't flash and the red than a

player knows the stone is faulty.

And batteries don't run down?

They

can do, but it flashed green before

she played it or else she would have

stopped and they tested it

afterwards saw the sensor in the

stone and the hog line was fine,

it's just one of these unfortunate

things. You are allowed to double

touch the handle but not after the

hog line. It's really unfortunate,

it's one of these things that Eve

will never do again.

She said she

had never done it before. In all my

years I have never seen a faulty

sensor, any lights coming

years I have never seen a faulty

sensor, any lights coming on have

been a hog line violation. I've not

seen issues in all my years of

curling. This is what she put on

social media. It's a great shame.

But they have to regroup. They have

to move

But they have to regroup. They have

to move on. They still have a chance

of making it through. How do crucial

is this morning and what would you

regard as ideal preparation and an

ideal start to this game against

Switzerland?

The last game against

Sweden it was an unfortunate ending

but Sweden had the last stones or

Britain could have lost it anyway

and Sweden are top of the board.

This game against Switzerland,

Switzerland are struggling in this

championship. The British girls just

need to do exactly what they have

been doing in every other game, go

and play well, they have been

playing consistently well. They just

need to go and prove they are the

better team.

Sometimes when things

go against you and you feel a bit, I

think Chloe Kim described herself as

hungry and angry but when you feel

like the world is against you it can

fire you up?

That is the biggest

thing, adrenaline can help elevate

us and help us be more focused and

sharp, lift cars of babies and those

kind of things. When you have that

adversity you will get adrenaline on

and that can help us go to the next

level. You see it time and again.

This could be the making of it.

What

do you think? Look at your face!

I

thoroughly believe they will beat

Switzerland. They still have Japan

and Canada quite far of the

leaderboard as well. It's all still

to play for. It is in Britain's

hands, they know what they need to

do, they do not need to rely on

anyone, they just need to win.

That

game will start on the red button

and we will be joining it on BBC

One. You will give us a chance to

mop this up because the Great

Britain men have been in action

against Denmark, this is what I woke

up to this morning, watching this

game, really good finish, we will

join it in the tenth end, commentary

coming from Logan Gray and Steve

Cram.

COMMENTATOR: They have swept it for

the nose. The boys know that there

could be a double after this one,

but it is an extremely difficult

shot.

Kyle Smith has two stones

left, Rasmus Stjerne just the one.

He knows this one, can push it out,

and sitting on top where that yellow

currently is, there is a big gap

across to the other side of the

house between those two British

stones. He will undoubtedly try to

take both of them, 97% accuracy for

Kyle Smith.

If they are feeling

particularly brave, they could try

to roll away from the red stone, but

they must keep this in the house.

Just got a little inch roll the

other way. And how does he luck,

Rasmus? Surely he has just got to

hit and hope for a mistake here?

The

other option is they could draw

around that one played by Kyle.

Rasmus having a good look at whether

it is even possible. He could give

it a fair lash, Rasmus.

They would

lie second shot, assuming he gets it

in the right place, doesn't go too

long. He is looking at whether we

can raise that red back into it. If

he hides it, it is not so easy for

Kyle Smith to take it out himself.

But he only needs to nick it and

take it out, because we have two

stones in. He has got to do two

things, hide behind that red ...

What is he doing? He is going for

the takeout. Scrap all that I was

saying!

This is going to be flying

down the ice.

If he doesn't get this

right, it will be a chance the Great

Britain to get the two. It would be

an incredible shot if he makes it,

it is going to slide by. It was a

great try, Rasmus Stjerne came

within a couple of inches of making

that. That was an incredible try.

What an attempt from the Danish

skip.

Unbelievable effort, and they

over swept it in the end. Maybe just

one more millimetre, and maybe it

could have pushed it out of the side

door. I don't know if we will get

another chance to see that, the

speed he hits it, it almost rebound

is up over. On the turn it has,

enough of a turn to go past the red

stone in such a way that Great

Britain now just need to draw into

the house to win this match against

Denmark. This will be a huge win for

Kyle Smith and his team. A

straightforward shot. His nerves

will be jangling no doubt, but he

has played really well in these last

three or four ends to manufacture

this opportunity, and if they win

this, which looks as though they are

going to do, they will be sitting in

a very good position in terms of

qualification, so Kyle Smith

watching this stone into the house.

It is going to be there. Fist pumps

all around for the guys, and the

handshakes to the Danish team. It

has been a great match, both teams

have played really well, but Great

Britain are getting better and

better as this competition goes on.

They get this one across the line,

so important that they made it, they

beat Denmark 7-6, that is now four

wins for Great Britain and three

losses, and that is a very good

position in terms of qualification.

What a match that was.

Well done both of you. The reaction

at the end probably sums up how you

feel.

It was a little bubble, but we

put in a lot of good curling, we

were two down on the fifth end

break, so we did a lot to get back

into the game, and I'm pleased with

how we finished that.

You have had a

lot of close matches now, but it

must be a good feeling to be getting

them over the line.

Yes, it is

something we practice a lot, and I'm

happy that the whole hard work is

starting to pay off. We have done

the scenarios hundreds of times on

ice, so we are glad we have taken it

in and can do it on ice.

We were

listening to Victor at the halfway

point saying, come on, guys, get

your heads up. Was that a feeling

that you were maybe a little flat at

that point.

that point.

He made a couple of good

shots under pressure early against

two or three, and we just didn't

convert our twos, so definitely a

feeling of frustration, but we did

quite well and came back in the

second half of the game with a

really strong performance to seal

the win.

So you have to matches to

go, in a good position.

Yes, we are.

Can you try and make sure they are

not as close, please?

We will try!

We enjoyed.

Thank you, guys, well

done.

CLARE BALDING: They have got the bit

between their teeth now, and Great

Britain moving up into joint third

place. Canada lost today against the

USA, so that is helping them as

well. Let's have a look at the

remaining fixtures, because Rhona

have a lot of questions for you.

What happens if there is a joint

third situation or joint fourth

situation?

Great Britain have no way still to

come, the women have Japan and then

Canada. If it is two of them in

third, do they go to a points

difference to decide who plays?

They

will do it on ranking, which if they

are third equal, they have won the

same number of games, so it will be

the drawer shot challenge that they

all do that every game, so it goes

to that.

And what is that?

They all

throw a draw to the house, and it is

measured, and the person with the

advantage gets that end of the game,

so they are all added up, and the

person with the best draw shot

challenge would be ranked above, so

the country with a better draw shot

will be ranked above the one below.

There could be three teams equal.

Yes.

So the one in the draw shot

challenge gets the by.

And they do

that at the start of every game?

Every game. A who gets the hammer

for each game, because it is very

important to have a hammer, so that

draw shot challenge is now a skill

in itself.

We need to see that! We

need to be joining the curling

earlier to see the draw shot

challenge. And tell me something has

been happening with the Stones.

For

a couple of days, the players were

not complaining but just stating

that the Stones weren't curling as

much, so the ice men and technicians

have been playing about with

sandpaper and grinding them a bit,

to give more curl, and you can see

in the men's game today, that caught

them out a little bit.

So they were

running to smooth?

The curlers want

a good curl, they want lots of

stones in play, and various

controversy as well, should they

mess about with stones halfway

through a competition? Because all

the teams have had practice on every

sheet with every stone, so now if

they change the stones halfway

through, but they were saying it is

better to have swinging stones so

all the players do want that adage

is the same for everybody, so there

has been a wee bit of sanding going

on on the stones.

It is all

happening! And to take your own

stones would be too much in baggage?

Excess baggage would be a bit

expensive!

Do all the stones until

they are played about with, do they

run the same? Or they also to

different?

There will be very slight

differences in each stone, severing

at the fifth player gets to

practice, and they will test the

stones, so they will match them so

that each player will try to have...

They might give the skipper number

one and number eight because they

might match as a pair, but there

isn't a lot of difference.

Given

that we are going to get heavily

into curling over the next few days,

if we are not already, I think we

had better have an Ask Rhona, don't

you? And here is a curling stone. Be

careful on the table, they are

really heavy.

How much does that we?

44lb.

It is really heavy!

We have

put some safety things under the

bottom, but you can see there, can I

just feel that? That is what they

are sanding?

This bit here is the

bit that is running on the ice. So

that's what will be ground.

OK, so

they are just sanding this area

here?

Yes. And that makes them curl

more.

To be clear, the white spots

are obviously not on it.

That is

just the studio purposes so we can't

throw them up and down the studio.

Indeed, because Chemmy has gone back

to South Korea, but she would have

tried that! Look at you, butter

wouldn't melt! Let's bring in

Nicky's expertise, you can ask

questions about bobsleigh. Brad Hall

is piloting the men's GB two-man bob

alongside Joel. Let's catch up on

how they got on and who the leading

contenders are.

We are under way, the men's two-man

bob. Brad Hall and Joel Fearon, a

lovely clean run one would be

terrific.

This is a good run from

Brad. That won't cost them too much

time. This is a really good run from

Brad Hall. What a lovely start, and

Great Britain are off and running

with a very decent time, 49.30

seven.

Brad Hall going for Great Britain.

This is what he did on the first

run, but hopefully he can start

pulling back towards the Austrians,

and we can see the British leg stay

where it is, and get the number one

spot as it comes up the hill.

Let's

see if that turns green as they go

home. It does, just! They are

definitely going to end the first

day not worse than seventh place.

Janice

-- Johannes Lochner, this is the run

he needs to put the pressure on the

medals.

Is he going to extend away

from Brad Hall now? He goes straight

to the lead. And obviously they

start this run to, let's see if they

can improve.

He is really putting in

a run, he is not worrying about his

team-mate. And he has crashed on the

corner, but that won't affect his

time. You can see he's got his head

down because he is trying to get the

best aerodynamic profile as

possible.

possible.

And Justin Kripps can

afford to go a tenth slower than his

first run and still hold the lead.

This will be right down to the wire

as they come in. Just losing speed.

Are we going to have a slight change

to the order here? Walter stays in

front by a tenth, and Justin Kripps

lost a little there. The distance

between himself and the others in

the race for gold. He might even

drop behind to third or fourth place

here. This could be a big mistake.

So we see Walther make a mistake,

the Latvian has made a mistake, and

is only fourth.

How were the lines?

Two nice, solid,

good heats, and into tomorrow.

I am

so proud of Brad, he has overcome a

lot of things in a short time, and

he is here and competitive. I wanted

him to smile, and so far he is still

smiling! So I am over the moon for

him.

I love that interview because it

shows the brake does so much more.

He is there as support. What do you

make of the leaderboard and how much

it changed and how it may again?

Everything is changing around the

second curve, the velocity is

knocking people by up to ten

commenters per hour if you get the

right line. These are not the

medallists so far. Nico

right line. These are not the

medallists so far. Nico Walther has

been great throughout the season.

What for?

I think it was his weight,

and another was runners.

A week

violation? Because there are limits?

Yes, because I think he may be had a

bit too much dinner. Justin Kripps

was always going to be a challenge.

The Germans are strong, they have

worked through their equipment. But

this track is throwing out the form

book. Brad in seventh is a fantastic

day, so consistent, nailing the

second curve which is the key

day, so consistent, nailing the

second curve which is the key to the

track.

A fast start is not always

essential because you might come

into curve two too fast?

It's about

how much velocity you can take to

the top corners. Curve two is very

open in the beginning. It's almost

like two corners in one which is

designed to throw you into the wall

and knock off your speed before a

flat section. So the more experience

you have on the track the better you

will be an Britain missed the final

training. But every run Brad is

getting more and more solid and

consistent. When a pilot makes the

run look good it looks easy and

effortless. Here the slide is

flowing and he is building more and

more speed. They did not start

fastest but every single split they

got faster and faster.

What do you

make of it Rhona?

It is incredible.

When Britain have lost so many

training runs that must have a huge

impact on the ability to read the

track?

Absolutely but Brad is a

talented pilot with fantastic

feeling, he has been driving better

in four man but he is dialling it

in. They say it takes about eight

years to be a world-class pilot and

he has only been driving I think it

is four years maximum. He's just

starting to come into his own. This

Olympics was always an opportunity

with him going as favourite in

Beijing, the next one.

with him going as favourite in

Beijing, the next one. But he could

set some records here.

And they have

got much better equipment in the

four man, I don't know why. John

Jackson a world-class pilot himself

and bronze medallist in waiting from

Sochi, still nice and cold?

It

actually feeling quite tropical

today, it's short of three degrees

so it is warmer than the low teens

we've been used to.

What did you

make of the first couple of runs and

what would you want to see from

Great Britain today?

More of the

same. They are in a real battle, the

sled behind them are only a

hundreds, the Koreans are on the

100th, any little twitch and they

could move forward or back. I want

to see Brad go out and enjoy it and

slide well and take the momentum

into the four man.

Something Joel

Fearon said, that he wanted to see a

smile back on the face of Brad Hall,

what was that about?

He had a big

crash last season and sliced the

back of his hand and it tore through

a lot of his attendance as he hit

his hand -- tore through a lot of

his tendons. He missed a lot of the

season, a lot of driving time and he

could not push for some time and put

pressure in the hand so it's good to

see him back and doing business.

The

four man is the target, right?

Definitely, the four man equipment

is world-class. I have been in the

sled that Brad will be in, the other

one is world-class, we know it

works. The British two man equipment

is not the best but Brad is making

it work and if they can do it in the

two man, hold on for the four man.

Is there a pecking order, which is

Crewe one and which is crew to?

Crewe one and which is crew to?

By

the time they get into the training

runs the coaches will have to make a

decision, who is better in training

regardless of ranked highest coming

into the competition, who is better

in training, who will get the result

at the end of the day, they should

be given the better equipment but

that is for the selectors to decide.

And the four man starts on Saturday,

one of the last medals to be

decided, we will catch up on Jamaica

so I will come back to you in a

moment. But the women only have the

two, there is a British team in it

but not funded by British bobsleigh,

am I right?

It all changed. Last

summer GB went through a torrid time

with funding, underspend and

overspend. I am sure a lot of it we

still don't even know but the long

and short of it is they were told

they would not be funded. They would

fund the men's programme because

they had the best chance of medals

but they would not fund a women's

programme. Four weeks out until the

season they had to try to raise all

the funds to go and try to qualify.

She had qualified technically but

had to compete throughout the season

and she did it. That is proud

funding. They did it, backed by the

people and she has had an amazing

season. Her results have been up

there, compatible if not sometimes

better than the men.

And we find out

how they are going in training but

let's meet them and find out more

about Misha McNeill and Mica Moore,

the team powered by the people.

All of the hard years you have

worked thinking this is an Olympic

year we want to go in the best shape

possible and then it gets stopped.

It was heartbreaking.

It was heartbreaking.

BBC Sport

understands that British bobsleigh

are set to withdraw funding from the

women's team just five months before

the Winter Olympics. Mica McNeill

says she is gutted and shocked to

see there is no money to fund the

team because of an overspend.

It was

my career very low, as low as you

can get. You are crushed and you

don't know if you can turn around

from it. Athletes don't just give

up, we have to be positive and put

our all into things. I thought that

has to be something we can do so we

had to try.

Obviously learning we were not going

to get funding for the winter was

very difficult but I think we

instantly came together with a plan

that we could move forward swiftly

with because the season was coming

around very quickly and I think we

did that very well.

I did not know what it was going to

work honestly. I thought we might

get a terrible response, we might

get criticism for setting it up but

set it up and it just kind of

started rolling. I think it was the

sixth day we hit 28 grams and I was

so emotional -- 20 8000. I was

shopping with my mum and I just

started crying because it was so

overwhelming.

overwhelming. It's such a small

sport, you don't think people are

watching or are looking out for your

results.

Learning that people were

willing to support us and help us on

our journey was amazing. We want to

say thank you for all your

contributions, we are so grateful.

We have had a good few days back on

the ice and are so excited for the

rest of our season.

Some people

would have put money in not known

how much it does mean to our team.

At any major championships anything

can happen and it to ever perform is

on the day I think the two of us,

what we have been working towards is

getting that consistency and making

sure we can perform on the day.

The

Olympics are every athletes dream.

That's the highest level you can

compete at and it would just mean,

to get there, it's so special and to

be competing for a medal is

absolutely incredible.

They have been through so much just

to get there. Who paid for the

bobsled? Who owns it?

Mica owns it

herself. She has kept focused and

improved, a lot of athletes would

have given up a long time ago and a

massive credit to her and the team

around her around her and her family

and everything that she is still

there and still performing.

What

happens with the support team out

there, the representatives of

British bobsleigh at the Olympics?

It is the same staff, the staff

technically employed by the

programme are still looking after

them, they still get support when

they are out there, it was the

funding to travel, to fly the slide

to America will be £7,000, it is

expensive. It's all of those costs

which were not going to be funded.

This is going to be a story one way

or the other but it could end up as

one of the great successes because

if we go back, can you tell us the

latest from training, how are they

getting on?

They were, I think, two

top five finishes yesterday, second

and third today. It shows that, Mica

or misled the track at the start of

the Olympics so she's not had many

runs but she has gelled with the

track. I think they are working

quite hard at the top and some of

the stronger nations, the Americans,

Canadians and Germans are holding

back a little bit. But for the

British team it shows if they get a

decent start and improve the start

in the years to come they can mix it

with the best in the world because

she's beating some of the best

pilots.

So they can prove they are

not worth only their spot at this

Olympics but future investment, this

is huge for them?

Yes and what a

story it would be if they got the

top five result that British

bobsleigh need to keep their UK

Sport funding, had a meeting that

be? I funded myself to my first

Olympics and its miserable, going

through the heartache and trying to

sponsorship. For Mica and Mica to

potentially be looking at a top six,

top five, top eight result is

fantastic.

We look forward to seeing

them, 1150 tomorrow the first run on

this programme. Give us the story of

the Jamaican women?

They had a bit

of a falling out between the staff,

including the coach and backroom

staff which ended up in the court

should feeling she could no longer

work and the environment and

resigning horror edition.

resigning horror edition. --

resigning her position. A beer

company bought the sled, they have

been sliding, I saw them on the

first day and one of the things I

heard was Jasmine saying she really

needed to focus on the track. I

don't think we have got a coach

unless they have started working

with one of the other nations to try

and get some assistance.

There will

be a lot of interest in them, 30

years after the Jamaican men first

competed and the film Cool Runnings,

I sense another movie plot going on

here.

It certainly looks that way.

The Jamaican team, the pilot sled

for the US prior so it's not like

she's brand-new to the circuit

itself but there is a lot of drama

around the team at the moment and

the Jamaican always attract a lot of

attention regardless of its being

men or women. Hopefully things can

settle down and they can get a good

performance which is what they

deserve.

Thank you for your time.

Back for the third and fourth runs

of the men's two man Bob coming up.

1115.

Now, the importance of bobsleigh for

the fact that Nigeria can compete.

They are the first African nation.

Jamaica could be represented. It is

a sport that is reaching out.

Let's

be real about it. There are three

elements, the equipment, the drive

and the start. Athletically, you

need to be fast. You need to be

powerful. And you don't need to be

living next door to a bobsleigh

track to develop those skills. Yes,

the driving, but the physical

elements of it, you just need to be

fast and powerful, and you want

going to get many faster people than

Jamaica, so it's not a huge

disadvantage as long as they got the

funding to be able to get there into

the winter. But if we look at the

wider story of it, agenda 2020 is

all about gender equality making it

easier to access the sports, winter

sport especially bobsleigh, it is

expensive. You are talking 150

million euros to build the bobsleigh

track in Sochi, and that is not

sustainable if the gender numbers

are not where they need to be.

Africa has been the missing

continent in bobsleigh, but now we

have four continental grip

presentations in bobsleigh for the

first time ever, so the significance

of it is massive, it is opening up

opportunities the people who perhaps

didn't think it was for them before,

countries who perhaps didn't have

access before, and this is just the

start, the more people who are able

to do that ground-breaking work, the

more people will come.

And talking

about tracks, this one was built in

Pyeongchang brand-new, and cost not

far off what it cost in Sochi,

because you can't scrimp and save on

a sliding track. How many are there

around the world?

Probably maybe

ten, 12 tracks around the world. Of

which, they are used regularly, but

we have seen in Italy, the Cortina

track was closed, the cheering track

where the 2006 Olympics was closed,

Vancouver had three years of almost

a blackout where they didn't get

used. The more tracks don't get

used, the more pressure comes from

the IOC to get rid of the sliding

sports out of the Olympics. It is by

far the most expensive sport, so we

need to make sure we have as many

people competing as possible and as

much gender equality as possible. I

think it was 79 to 21%, so that

brings in the dynamic of the four

person bobsleigh, and until it is

more closer to equal numbers, men

and women, there will be a

challenge.

Could you technically

have a mix. Technically it is the

four-man bob, but is it for people?

Could you have women?

There are

women who are taking part, Kayleigh

Humphreys, Alana Myers, it is

chicken and egg because you can't

put on a forewoman competition

because there aren't enough nations

competing, but you can't stop it, so

they decided that the four person

bobsleigh would be gender neutral,

Segan have mixed teams, a female

driver, it doesn't matter. That is

amazing, but it's also, it's kind of

a double edged sword, because if you

think of a relay, just literally the

physiological difference between men

and women, four men is always going

to be faster than four women, so it

is a challenge. Women are doing the

ground-breaking work, but finishing

last in the races, and it is

demoralising. So it is a real tricky

situation. I do develop into a bit

opportunity? -- how do you develop

it? The women just want to take

part.

And I think Rhona in curling

the mixed competition has brought

something fresh, hasn't it?

It has,

because that is always the question.

How often can men and women play

against each other? Can they ride

against each other? Yes, they can,

and there is no reason why in a

bobsleigh, obviously speed is

crucial, but would it help in a

bobsleigh if you had a lighter

female in that four and had a mix,

would that help with speed?

Not

really, because gravity also plays a

big part, so the heavier the crew,

even forgetting the start of the

driving, it will travel downhill and

pick up speed faster. But I think

the start of the Excel oration and

speed that they can get off, that

will also be down, so it is a

challenge, but until more people do

it, it's not going to...

How many

member associations are there in

bobsleigh just now?

Again, off the

top of my head, maybe 40, 50.

And

call all of them enter the Olympics?

Do they have a richer qualifying

standard?

There are two development

circuits, one in North America and

one in Europe, and then the World

Cup which is kind of like the

Premier League. So they qualify

through the development circuits,

and the top 20 in women and 30 in

men would qualify for the Olympics,

but they go through a series of

qualification criteria, so so many

get three macro, two and one,

continental representation and host

nation get theirs as well.

One area

the Olympics has been trying to

expand and develop is the freestyle

snowboarding and skiing event, and

the skiing halfpipe came in four

years ago in Sochi. During

qualification and training for that

qualification, Rowan Cheshire had a

heavy crash that left with

concussion, and that brought on all

sorts of problems like severe

anxiety, she went through a whole

period where she couldn't get out of

the house and she has done

incredibly well to get herself back

on skis, competitive enough to be at

her second Olympic Games. We will

have a look at her and all those

trying to qualify to reach the top

12. Murray and Tim pick up the

story.

To the top for Brita Sigourney. They

have super pipes throughout the

nation, which helps them qualify.

Very well there, 900, that is the

first one we have seen. Another

straight.

straight. Coming into her last hit,

and a big 720. That is why she is

the World Cup leader.

Number one on

the jersey, and what a run that was

from Brita Sigourney. There you go,

Cassie Sharpe now, expecting big

things from the Canadian here. 25

years of age. A singsong as she

rides into the halfpipe here.

Big

straight with the mute grab, nice

and solid. The first of the 900s,

hopefully. Big flare, landing right

on top of the wall.

She wants to

speed it up a little bit here.

Switch 360. Straight air. And a big

900.

Solid. So she had 900s on both

walls, spinning in both directions.

Good run from Cassie. Beating the

Canadian flag. Very clean, 93, there

you go. We have a new leader. Silver

medallist from Sochi, see this first

hit here.

Straight air, 540. Maybe

not going as high as she would have

hoped.

Marie Martinod then.

hoped.

Marie Martinod then.

Flare,

good run so far, 720 to finish.

Strong run. I don't think she will

trouble the likes of Cassie

Strong run. I don't think she will

trouble the likes of Cassie, but she

could potentially knock Brita

second.

Second, good score. So,

Rowan Cheshire. Her second Olympics,

nasty crash in training in Sochi and

she was unable to compete. Since

then she has battled through injury,

concussion. She is just coming off

the back of an ankle injury now and

is excited to get into this pipe.

She is back skiing well, which is

great to see. Big 540. Huge

alley-oop.

That is almost her

signature trick.

900, holding on.

Straight air there.

Come on, Rowan.

Switch 360. And a nice little

straight air to finish.

Good run.

Very good run. Amplitude was good

and consistent. Good grabs. Solid

run from Rowan. I would hope that

would be enough.

Ninth position,

there we go. Well done.

She almost

looks happy!

So, ninth position.

Cassie Sharpe from Canada in top

spot from Marie Martinod, Brita

Sigourney, Annalisa Drew and Maddie

Bowman. It is USA three, four, five.

Next up, she landed a good run on

the first one as well, hopefully she

can put it up a bit and make it into

the final. Come on, Molly

Summerhayes from Sheffield. Big

straight air, nice grab. Big

alley-oop, that was better. Left

540, nice and high. Write 540, that

was good. She got a grab on that

one, that looked like, switch three.

Coming into the seven, good seven.

Last hit. Switch straight air.

Last hit. Switch straight air.

Yes,

switch air, normal to the bottom,

looked like she got blocked off a

little bit. She watched her sister

compete in the Slopestyle, and you

have got to say that coming into

these games, that would have been

her aim, really. To make the finals.

66, up from her first run.

It is a

nodding

nodding acknowledgement there, good

experience for her.

Not quite

enough, but she has definitely skied

very well today.

Brita Sigourney

came out swinging in that first run.

Sixth place in Sochi four years ago.

Second place at X Games aspen couple

of weeks ago.

Big straight air. Huge

alley-oop. Carrying her Speedwell

for the 900, massive 900.

That was

huge!

Straight air, just missing the

grab a little bit, left 540 with a

mute grab. What has she got for us

last hit? Right to 720 to finish,

really good run from Brita

last hit? Right to 720 to finish,

really good run from Brita.

Really

good, solid run.

I think that will

be better than her first run score.

Let's see what the judges do with

this.

Exactly the same.

She sounds a

little bit disappointed with that.

So, Cassie Sharpe at the top.

Doshi

cruise, or does she go for it?

I

can't see her being bombed out. --

bumped out. She will send shivers up

the spine of every athlete here by

showing what she can do.

Big 900.

Right side 900, back to we didn't

see that the first run. There is the

flare, write three higher this time.

Switch three. A lot cleaner. Big

straight air, and what has she got

to finish? Left ten? Yes.

Beautiful.

I'm not saying that she is ahead of

the game, but when Mark Zuckerberg

invented Facebook, there was a

friend request waiting for him from

Cassie.

She is light years ahead of

everybody else.

She has almost got

the keys to the safe that contains

the gold medals.

So, a big improvement of 0.40. So,

the defending silver medallist from

Sochi finds herself in the

qualifying silver position, second

place at the moment. It means

nothing until the finals, of course.

But skiing very well, skiing

confident, the French girl.

Very

much so. Big straight air, tell

grab, left 540, coming in with a lot

of speed. Right side 540, very

clean. Left 900. Right side flare,

just sitting on her tail is a little

bit there.

So, Marie Martinod also

upping her game a little bit there,

stretching her legs.

Similar to

Annalisa Drew, she doesn't really

have a switch in there. So it might

be something she could may be polite

for the finals.

Yes. 33 years of

age.

Rowan Cheshire in ninth position.

Would be nice to improve your.

I

think she will try. Hitting the

right wall first.

right wall first. Nice 540. Big

alley-oop. So smooth. 900. Solid.

Losing amplitude slightly but

holding on. Left seven. What has she

got for us? Switch three. Straight

air. She will be happy with that.

Managed to add in the right five.

Got a glimpse of Cassie sharp

watching on from the bottom.

She's

done really well, had a really nasty

ankle injury but is just about back

to full speed. She had a tough

summer, a lot of rehab, a lot of

work getting her back, had a great

start to the season.

start to the season.

It's not an

improvement.

I think it was her

amplitude.

amplitude.

These are the results.

Cassie Sharpe light years ahead.

Marie Martinod.

Rowan Cheshire qualifying in a very

respectable ninth.

I was

I was trying to keep composure, he

chilled and relaxed mindset. Up

there with the cameras and

everything and the crowd, the nerves

do get to you a little. It was a bit

scrappy but after the first one it

was a bit more relaxing and I now

feel more relaxed going into the

finals.

Can you sum up what it meant

to get out there and compete in

front of this crowd given we know

what happened four years ago?

It

means the world, four years ago I

could not sure anyone what I could

do. I have had such a whirlwind four

years with injuries, my head and

ankle and everything so I've not

been scheme as much as I would have

liked. So do come out here, even

though it was a bit scrappy I'm so

proud and so happy to get to finals

because that was the goal.

proud and so happy to get to finals

because that was the goal.

You could

see how excited she was. Says she

could put down a run and get to the

final, and amazing to have her

parents out there, a big thank you

to everyone who stayed awake, stay

awake tonight again,

to everyone who stayed awake, stay

awake tonight again, 130 you can see

her. The snowboarders in action, the

first time we get to look at big

air, qualification for the women's

competition, in the slopestyle they

were upset about the weather

conditions but it was a lot brighter

and more still in terms of wind for

this one, let's go there with a

belief.

Aimee Fuller one of the riders who

battled the conditions in

slopestyle.

slopestyle. Lest it will be

interesting to see which direction

she drops in. Coming in switch and

she has a cab double under Flip.

She's going for it. Just sat back on

the landing. The first double of the

day goes down. So close. Just got

the grab, timely tackle.

Hello everyone at home, thank you

for waking up early.

Julia Marino, winner of the silver

medal at X Games.

Cab double under

Flip. Coming in switch. A little bit

more rotation on it now, very

difficult to tell if that is cab

double cork 900 or cab double under

Flip.

Flip. 83.7 five.

Has been dominating this discipline,

heartbroken to miss out in

slopestyle, she redefines what

women's slopestyle is ten months

ago. But look at the result. Gold at

X Games two weeks ago.

X Games two weeks ago. She has won

every contest she has entered.

Switch double under flip. Very tidy.

Very big.

Very big. First go making it look

very easy. Anna Gasser all smiles

today. She moves for and a half

points into the lead. Silver medal

in slopestyle and she did it in some

style, the course better off and

gave her a decent black eye, Laurie

Blouin. Sporting a proper shiner on

her left eye. As is so often the

case, you see one person take a

medal and then the find of

confidence, there are more Joe, that

could be the case with Laurie Blouin

here. Cab double under 900, we saw

that, really nice horizontal

rotation mixed with the backflips.

Much more of a corkscrew to that. .

The

The cab double under. Clean on the

landing. Confidence has got her on a

roll. Very, very impressive. Julia

Marino, Anna Gasser and Laurie

Blouin in the top spots.

Blouin in the top spots. Aimee

Fuller 25th but are going for the

cab double under flip, if she lands

that it will push her to the

opposite end of the leaderboard. We

are going to see that again. The

regular footer dropping in switch.

She went up to camp in Mount who'd.

16 birthday, gone early. So big on

the first hit, tried to rotate a bit

more slowly on the second. She's

opened out. She's not been able, not

getting the grab has meant she is

opened up which has slowed the

rotation but at the same time she's

not got the same amount of speed.

This appointment for Aimee Fuller.

Cheers guys.

Cheers guys.

Julia Marino currently

in fourth place.

Lovely, the cab double under flick,

more 900 at that time, more

horizontal axis. The Americans

making their voices heard.

making their voices heard. Drifting,

floating in. Nasty split in her

pants there. The outfits were not

built for snowboarding. Cab double

under flip. Into fourth place.

under flip. Into fourth place. Next,

the Japanese rider who has taken

2018 by storm with the trip we will

hopefully see now, Reira Iwabuchi.

Currently ninth. It is a gamble if

she cannot better the score. I think

she will be very lucky to hold onto

qualification if she cannot better

80 points. Drops in switch. We are

not going to see the big trick she's

been warming up. Another switch 900.

Switch frontside 900. The stale

fresh grab. Perfect landing.

Absolutely stomps it. 92.7 five.

First place. Wow.

First place. Wow. Personally? I

disagree with that. But the judges

award the very clean landing. The

pop and size of the jump. Next, the

31-year-old Yuka Fujimori. The

second oldest here.

second oldest here. Winds up lovely.

Backside 900. Very, very nice. This

is brilliant, we are starting to see

exactly what the women are capable

of. Look coast joked Yuka is. --

Woodhouse

on the strength of scores we've

seen, this is going to be a big one.

94.2 five. It is just qualifying but

we are going through the gears very

nicely. Anna Gasser in the start

gate, currently in sixth place. She

was in second place at the end of

run one but way more consistency

from some of the big guns has seen

her drop down. Can she reinstate

herself at the top of the standings?

Switch frontside double Cork ten a

day, that's the top spot. This is

heating up very nicely. -- 1080.

This is what we missed out on in

slopestyle the other day. Anna

Gasser managing, did she keep the

trailing arm of the snow? No, tiny

touch but on a trek that big and

progressive, look at that smile. 98.

The judges sending it now. I have

been looking at those top spots,

very interesting mix. Currently

fifth.

fifth. She's gone huge. Send it all

the way to the bottom. Not as tidy

as some of the cab double under flip

's we've seen but only because she

went enormous. What do the judges

make of it? Do they want to see it

clean or do they want to see it big?

She moves up one spot. Anna Gasser

takes the lead and will drop last in

the finals. The two Japanese women.

Aimee Fuller not making it after two

valiant attempts.

Should be a great watch. The final

of the women's big air. The medal

table has not yet changed today

because there is nothing going on at

the moment. No medals decided yet on

day ten, things will start again

around 11 o'clock which is when we

will join it, going between curling

and the bobsleigh. One gold medal so

far for Great Britain, three bronze

hopefully tomorrow we will

far for Great Britain, three bronze

hopefully tomorrow we will see back

on the ice Britain's biggest ice in

short track skating and if she could

make a comeback it goes to the top

of the charts of biggest story.

COMMENTATOR: They have gone down!

And again, turmoil for Elise

Christie.

I can't believe it, she

has been penalised again.

Elise

Christie does get the chance to race

for gold. The nation holds its

breath.

Christie tries to make it on

the inside, and she crashes out, she

is out of it once again.

Elise

Christie to get into the elliptic

final. Christie has crashed again on

the final bend. Yet again, she ends

up in a distraught heap on the

floor.

And my word, she is going to have to

get back up if she is to win a medal

at these Olympics. Her favourite

distance, the 1000 metres, the heats

are tomorrow. Let's get the latest

on her condition.

Yesterday we were told Elise

Christie have suffered soft tissue

damage. Today Team GB say she has

been back on the ice in training and

has made good progress, but that

they will wait until tomorrow before

deciding if she will be in those

1000 metres heats tomorrow evening.

Wealth, what do you make of it?

It

has been a very wise decision what

they have now decided. They have no

urgency to make any decision today.

In terms of the racing, the racing

will start tomorrow evening.

Formerly, you have to withdraw an

athlete 20 minutes before the race,

but if they don't do that, it isn't

a crime, you can actually just not

show up the start line and she will

get a did not start. So I think they

are taking the right decision.

The

injury is in the ankle area. What

will the doctors be wanting to be

satisfied about before they let her

take to the start line.

Again,

making my assumption on this. With

short track speed skating, the boot

is moulded around the ankle, and it

is a very delicate area because of

the pressures you are going through

when going around the corner. The

boot itself, I believe she is having

problems getting it on because it is

such a tight fit, so I assume they

will be looking at, can she handle

the pressure being put onto the

ankle by the boot, and the pressure

being created when she's going

around the corner at 35, 40 mph? And

it seems a sensible choice to wait

and see what happens tomorrow, see

how the ankle from skating today,

and then go from there.

And if she

can take to the start line, pressure

of a different kind, because that

will be her last chance here to get

an Olympic medal.

We have seen Dan

Jansen compete in 98, 92, even in 94

when he was the red-hot favourite

and it went to his last event, and

if she can be inspired by this sort

of message, and also enjoy this

event, she will look back 20 years

from now and say, I gave it my best

shot, and that is all she can re-ask

of herself.

So Elise Christie

carrying an injury but encouraging

news that she has been training

today. We all hope that she can make

the start line of those 1000 metres

heats tomorrow.

And we will know by about 10am

tomorrow. We have been joined by

Jayne Torvill, hello. What is your

take on Elise Christie and the

terrible luck she has had so far?

It

is unbelievable. My feeling is that

she will give it a go tomorrow. I

hope so, anyway.

You must've skated

with injuries in the past?

Yes, and

at the Olympics you have only got

one chance, and just take it. Unless

it is physically impossible, I think

she would regret not having a go.

And adrenaline can help, can't it.

There are times when you don't feel

pain any more.

Yes, like we'll said

about getting her foot into the boot

if it is slightly swollen in any

way, that will hurt. But eventually,

the adrenaline kicks in the pain

goes away, and when you take your

foot out of the boot, that is when

it hurts again.

She won't be able to

bandage it up, either, if the boot

is that tight.

The boot will give

her the support.

Yes, the boot, she

showed me she is wearing her old

favourite boots, so they have been

moulded to the shape of her foot,

and it is at the ankle, and they

don't have a lot of padding, you

know. It is not like they have loads

of protection under those suits. So

it is not surprising that she has

got so much bad soft tissue damage.

Anyway, the reason that Jayne is

here is not to talk about short

track speed skating, but figure

skating, and the ice dance has just

begun. We will be looking of the

action from there. Britain has one

couple in this. Nick Buckland and

Penny Coomes, we have been talking

about tough journeys to the

Olympics, and here is another one,

to be honest.

to be honest.

It is so hard to train

for an Olympics when you're healthy.

You push your body to the absolute

limit everyday. There is only so

much your body can deal with.

much your body can deal with. In a

second, my life changed.

Figure skater Penny Coomes has

softened a career threatening injury

which could end her hopes of

competing at the Winter Olympics.

Like that, I'm on the floor with

half of my kneecap up here. I

remember crying, not from the pain,

but from what it could be. And I've

had the hardest year and a half of

my life, but at the same time, it is

the strongest I have ever had to be,

and it has been a really rewarding

time.

That is a career ending injury

for 99.9% of people.

Yes.

Definitely. We just didn't know what

the way forward was, I think, once

it happened. It put everything into

perspective little bit, you know? It

is only ice-skating, but it is

something that we have grown up with

and we absolutely adore, so there

was only one thing that we were

going to do, and that was come back

and pick up from where we left off.

So many people were like, that's it,

done, you can't come back from this.

And I just remember reading those

things and being so mad, and I

channelled that energy. I remember

thinking I will come back and use

that energy, and being out parent

thinking that this is for all the

people who thought I couldn't do

this, because I can.

Not every day was a good day, and I

didn't do it on my own. When I was

down, I had my physio, my

psychologist, and then of course

Nick. For me, at 1.I said to him, I

don't know if I could do this, I

don't know if minute will ever be

strong enough again. And he said,

that's OK. And I think I needed to

hear that in order to get that over.

We are here in Michigan where you

have been based now for a few years.

Why here?

Michigan is an ice dance

hub. There are three big ice dance

camps, and the best dance coaches in

the world, so we have come here for

three years, and we train with a lot

of our rivals, which spurs us on

every day in training, which is an

interesting dynamic, but we all get

on really well, so it is cool.

What

does Pyeongchang represent for you?

I'm sorry. It's just so emotional,

because this has always been my

goal. When we first set out, it was

always like, let's do three Olympic

Games, and Pyeongchang was always,

let's be the best here. And then to

kind of have that... Taken away. I

feel like I've earned it tenfold

before I've even got there.

Going

out there after all we've been

through is just going to be a real

fitting end to this period of our

lives, but the best bit is yet to

come.

They are just so sweet together as

well! I really love them, Jayne!

What a story. In that situation, it

is frustrating for the partner who

is fit and well, and for him to have

the patience to deal with that and

help her along rather than get

frustrated, that he must know, he's

thinking, we should be training now,

we should be doing so many hours a

day, and we can't.

And some of them,

Jayne, would look around for another

partner! Some of them would! And

with Nick, four years ago we were

talking about him being the issue

because he had this in regular fast

heartbeat going on and he had to

have a pacemaker put in.

And that

was quite a scare for them already,

and I guess she was equally patient

with him through that, so as a team

they have done so much together, and

I'm really hoping that they have a

good Olympics.

And why are they the

only British figure skaters Albert

Costa I'm not entirely sure, but I'm

assuming that the other categories

didn't qualify, because it changes

all the time in ice-skating, that

you have to finish in a certain

position at world level or European

level to qualify for an Olympics,

and I guess none of our other

disciplines qualified. Now, Tessa

Virtue Scott Moore, they have been

skating together since they were

seven and nine years old, they have

won gold on the board already. Would

you make some hot favourites for

this ice dance?

Absolutely, the big

battle is between them and the

French team, the French team of the

new kids on the block, and for the

last three or four years, they have

really earned their place out there.

Let's see how this, Tish and

developed overnight. Commentary from

Olympic gold medallist, Robin

Cousins, alongside Katherine Downes.

So, here they are, Great Britain's

comeback kids. 20 months ago, Penny

shattered her kneecap into eight

pieces. They missed most of last

season, she was reconstructed and

rehabilitated, it has been a battle

to qualify for these games and defy

the odds. Skating together for the

third time at an Olympic Games.

She was told she would never skate

again, but Penny Coomes and Nick

Buckland are back on Olympic ice.

But here they are, Robyn, and what

will it mean to them to be back?

Amazing, their first event of the

season was the qualifying event in

Germany, they won that event, got

Team GB the spot.

And that was the

last possible chance to qualify for

the games. They needed to come back

and win it, and they did. They've

done everything asked of them.

68.36, a season's best of 71.39, but

we have seen the scores from the

judges, a couple down from what you

would expect, and Penny and Nick

leapt to the top of the leaderboard

with that performance. They have the

qualification mark against their

name, and they are through to

tomorrow's free skating.

So, Maia Shibutani and Alex

Shibutani for the USA. And we are

joined in the commentary box by Nick

Buckland. These two on Marmite when

it comes to ice dance. You either

love the fact that they are brother

and sister and that dynamic it

brings, or you find it a little

uncomfortable to watch.

That is

something they have had to deal with

their whole career, they have found

themselves dealing with that in the

last couple of years, but they have

had a very good season, and they are

always super-clean, these guys, they

are like machines.

A little bit of a stumble. We will

see if that plays a part.

Struggling a little bit with speed

here. The last part of the programme

looks a little slow to me, but

again, super clean.

A lot of tempo changes within the

music, going up and down depending

on what they need for the specific

element they are doing.

All the precision you would expect

from them. Neat as pins.

from them. Neat as pins.

I think it

was a very strong performance, they

did what they needed to do, they

have a Medline step sequence which

is level format which is very high

scoring. But I expect nothing less

from them.

We have a new leaders. They have

laid down the marker for their

countrymen. Time to say thank you so

much for joining us, best of luck

tomorrow.

Thank you.

For the first

time we will see the two best teams

back-to-back. Cat and mouse between

these couples in this sport for the

last couple of seasons, time to find

out who will come out on top when it

comes to the Olympics.

In the short

dance.

Over the next two days we

will find out who comes out on top

because it will be a battle between

these two, Tessa Virtue and Scott

Moir and the French couple who will

skate after. Training partners,

rivals.

Terrific control.

Safely through the twizzle 's.

Rotational left to finish.

CHEERING

APPLAUSE

The world champions want that

Olympic title. It was only silver in

Sochi, they took a couple of years

away from competition but they were

still training, still working. Came

back last year to win the World

Championship.

Quite a stark contrast

between the Canadians and the French

team but they absolutely exude the

style. It has an element of

spontaneity with the performance

itself. It has to be precise and

clean. The timings throughout.

Seasons best. In the short dance at

the Olympic games. They are out for

that gold medal.

The New World top

scorer for short dance.

Record-breaking, they have put

themselves in the best position to

claim the Olympic title to go with

the gold medal they won in 2010.

Beat that, when it comes on ice

dancing you are either team Tessa

Virtue and Scott Moir, or team

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume

Cizeron. They missed out on a place

in Sochi last out so this their

first Olympics.

Oh! Did not want that to happen

mid-twizzle.

Some costly mistakes creeping in,

they will have lost ground on their

training needs and rivals Tessa

Virtue and Scott Moir.

I am

surprised, they have still been

given level format on the twizzle's

but the pattern dance just sequence

level three.

level three. Slightly off on the

step into the second twizzle.

step into the second twizzle.

Second

place.

The French pair go second. Into the

free dance tomorrow. Three other

couples after them. These two beat

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani to

win the US national championships

this year. Skating at their first

Olympics this year. Looking to come

out on top in the Team USA rivalry.

They were second in the short dance

but second in the free dance and

became national champions overall.

The leg line is not close to

matching which is one of the key

points.

APPLAUSE

Some mistakes then from Madison and

Zachary as well.

They made the

correct terms within the Rumba

sequence, but one straight leg, one

bent leg within the middle of the

key point was a bit odd for me to

see.

It is a new season's best for

them, 77.75, and they are up to

third place in this short dance

programme. So we are all set for an

exciting competition tomorrow.

Confirmation of the qualification

standings: Madison Hubbell and

Zachary Donahue in the bronze medal

position phone now.

position phone now. Tessa Virtue and

Scott Moir who with a new world

record chasing down a second Olympic