BBC One Day 3: Women's Luge first run and Men's Moguls finals part 1 Winter Olympics

Hello, welcome to a full day of

coverage from

coverage from the Winter Winter

Olympics. If you're going to win

gold it is not just about battling

the course, it is about battling the

elements. The first Monday of the

Winter Olympics and if it is

anything like we have seen over the

weekend, it's going to be a cracker.

She has been getting better as the

day has gone on. She is tearing down

the course. The first French woman

to win the Olympic mogul.

Gold in the luge. Red Gerard on whom

all American hopes are pinned. Yes,

revved.

Red. You can be the

favourite but you have to deliver

when it counts and that is what he

has done. What a win for the German.

We knew it would be cold, but I

don't think anyone realise how much

the wind can get up. You can see the

problem on gondolas, really

struggling to be safe enough. Wind

speeds up to are 45mph. The women's

giant slalom had to be postponed and

that will take place on Thursday. As

well as the men's down hill. The

women's slopestyle did go ahead, but

many think it was a mistake. Nearly

all the competitors had at least one

fall. None could do their most

difficult tricks, because of the

conditions. We are lucky here in the

studio in Salford, there is no wind.

You can see what a problem it can

be. Even right at the top I think

competitors worrying about what

might happen at the jumps and

therefore being tense and with the

snowboarding events whether

slopestyle or half pipe, the best

are completely relaxed and that is

when they managed to do the cool

stuff. But lovely conditions here.

It is fap is fantastic. We will show

row the women's slopestyle, Jamie

Anderson of Canada was defending her

title and we have a lot coming up

between now and 1 o'clock.

between now and 1 o'clock. Jamie

Anderson defending her title. Also

lining up was Aimee Fuller of

Britain. And Laura Dahlmeier is

trying to win the sprint pursuit

double. Felix Loch finished out of

the medals in the men's luge. Canada

are there to the final of the mixed

doubles curl. Ing. They will play

Russia or Switzerland. Canada will

hope for more good new in the men's

mogul. These timings can change,

because of the weather. Here is the

plan.

So let's look at the headlines so

far. Canada have won their first

gold with their figure skating team

upgrading from the silver they won

four years ago. The athletes from

Russia took silver.

Russia took silver. Britain's Laura

Deas will be the one to watch in the

Skelton, finishing first and second.

After an up and down season, Lizzie

Yarnold is looking nearly back to

her best. She was third and fourth

in the first two training runs.

Which is tremendously exciting, as

soon as they get on the ice, the

I'ms don't lie and they have a --

the times don't lie. It is great

both Laura and Lizzie have got their

kit right, they're in fantastic

conditions and getting to grips with

the track. We will talk more about

that later. We are going to go to

ice hockey shortly. But here is the

best of what has happened so far.

Switzerland against Jes pan. --

Japan.

Quick shot.

It goes in! Something of nothing

from Benz.

It goes wide and then

Sara Benz picks it up and Fujimoto

does not expect this. She thinks

Benz will pass it back to the point.

Meier will walk into one and that

was too easy. Simply blocked. Meier

is in trouble in her own end. What a

pass and a chance and a goal as

well. Benz, second of the game.

Look

at presence of mind from Meier,

firing it all the way to the blue

line.

This has just happened in the

third period - Switzerland on the

attack and that is Muller scoring

for Switzerland. They lead 3-0

against Japan. That match is live on

the red button. The big story has

been about the women's slopestyle.

Should it have taken place? Very

difficult conditions. Jamie

Anderson, the defend champion, they

had their qualifying runs cancelled.

. Ed Leigh is our man. COMMENTATOR:

The women's slopestyle finals after

the cancellation of qualifiers we

have a full quota of riders, 26

women dropping today. Instead of

getting three runs and the best

score counting, they will only get

two.

two. Klaudia Medlova one of trail

blazers of recent years. She dropped

first ever double rodeo. Big gap out

on the double kink rail.

Setting up for that final module.

Into the first of the jumps.

Super-corked. Goodness me.

That was

incredible. She got...

She

essentially jumped off the roof of a

house and landed on her back.

Whether that was the wind? It caught

her board and stalled the rotation.

Jessica Jensen dropping in.

Jessica Jensen dropping in. There is

a very strong American contingent

who have made their way into

slopestyle.

The Americans all qualified through

their own Grand Prix series. Jessica

got a fifth place there. Highest

result this season.

Killing speed into the ramp. The

body language - both hands held out

in front.

This is I feel a bit...

Nervous watching her. That was a

nice solid switch 540. That is more

like it. Into jump two. Now, keep

your composure. Keep tucked in here.

A big backside 720. First place.

Definitely first place. We haven't

seen a run completed over all three

kickers.

kickers.

First place, easy.

Aimee

Fuller is about to drop. The rider

who burst on to the scene with her

incredible double black flip and the

cab double under. Been getting to

grips with this course throughout

training. The 50/50 on that big down

rail.

Come on Aimee, Fuller. Coming

off early on the kink rail.

The results she has been pushing, a

top 10 would be a good result for

Aimee today.

Speed is her friend

here.

The under flip. That is the

single version there. Didn't feel

like she had the speed.

You can

almost hear her say, it's so windy.

You can see the wind socks

horizontal on that second kicker.

Just making it over the small side.

Again wind an issue. It is a shame

for Aimee.

for Aimee.

Pray the wind stops.

You

can hear her saying, waiting for the

wind to stop. Back up to the top.

Nornedahl is a very tidy competitor.

Really difficult switch grind

through the kink 180 out.

Super

technical on the kink rail. She got

three X games medals in a row.

Switching to this first jump. Coming

up a little short. Needs to tuck in.

No speed checks.

No speed checks.

Front side 360

clears it, despite losing her

composure. Backside 720 and you see

the fist of the rider -- first of

the riders, she has got the control

and able maybe not in the prettiest

way, but she has made it through

comfortably.

comfortably. 73.91, she moves ahead

of Jessica Jensen.

Here is a rider who thinks this

competition shouldn't have run in

these conditions. But pound for

pound the bet slopestyle rider in

the world. Last year she landed the

best run anyone has seen by a woman

in slopestyle. Let's see what she

has got. 270 to front side board

side opt on the end of the double

kink.

She is going without a jacket.

So thinking about the wind. Looking

very good from Gasser.

Cap double

under flip. That is how you do it.

Oh, my goodness! She wants this.

Sent it huge there. She got the big

trick out of the way early.

She

adopted the Hayley Lang land

approach, it is just watch this.

Heroic effort from Anna Gasser

though. She has dominated women's

slopestyle for the last decade and

knocked Jenny Jones off her perch

back in 2012. If anyone can ride

this course and find a way around

the wind it will be this woman. The

reigning Olympic champion. The gold

medallist at X Games, Jamie

Anderson.

Just when you think she will hang up

her

Just when you think she will hang up

her snowboarding boots, she finds

new tricks. Look at that, liquid

snowboarding.

It is an absolutely

different league through the rails.

So, so stylish, so smooth.

Confidence and experience shining

through, but what will it look like

here?

Massive.

Oh my goodness, legs

forged from steel. Boxed clever

there. Opened up, I think that was

going to be a double under. Look at

that! That's exactly what we said.

The experience, the confidence, and

the trust in her tricks, the ability

to understand, spatial awareness

that every point. And she knows it

wasn't pretty all the way through.

That wasn't pretty but experience

got her through it. 83 the Jamie

Anderson. A big smile for her there

and a very, very well deserved gold

medal position after the first run.

So good to see.

Very good to see.

The Americans sitting in gold and

bronze. Ladies slopestyle after the

first run, Jamie Anderson, Silje

Norendal and Jessika Jenson in the

medal positions but a lottery after

that. Second runs here at the Fina

's Park venue for all of the

freestyle events.

A few of the

windsock.

Like a basking shark. You

can see, not a cloud in the air,

this is snow being blown off the

hill. More than 45 kilometres of

dusts. Jamie Nicholls, good to have

you back. Aimee Fuller says let's do

this. So, certainly at the moment

the wind socks saying it's good.

Let's see how she can go on these

rails. 50-50 all the way to the end

there, great start.

Nice all the way through the double

kink.

Nose pressed on the final

section. And through the rails nice

and smooth. Snapped that backside

180 around.

180 around.

Good crab.

Come on,

Aimee

Pumping into this. -- good

grab. Through the 360. Now just the

last jump. Again, gone huge. Oooh!

I

hope she's OK. What a shame, too

speed.

That picture says it all.

There is a snowstorm, a blizzard

almost happening down at the bottom.

Crazy.

You can see a spiral of snow

on a mini tornado. Next up, Hailey

Langland. The girl who said you

can't judge a book by it's cover but

you can judge a snowboarder by their

method is on course. There is that

lovely r around, tapping the corner

of the close out rail.

No one else

doing that.

Not as tidy as she would

have wanted to be on the double

kink. Almost surfing into that

feature.

Nice.

Nothing functional

about it. That lovely double grab

through the 360. Come on Hailey

Just made it over the knuckles. She

has enough speed...

Yes.

Look at how

stoked she is. The Americans

cheering very, very justifiably. One

of the smallest and lightest riders

in the field has landed a full run.

Do you think its top three?

Definitely top three for me. The

only question is if it is a gold

medal. I don't think it's gold. I

think, I actually think it might be

silver.

Oooh, just.

Fourth place!

That's a shame.

So, Jessika Jenson stays in third

place. Laurie Blouin, the Canadian.

She has the double nine as well.

Interestingly, I don't think it's

about your best tricks here. It's

about what can you put together

under the circumstances, what is

your best stock run? Interesting

comparing Hailey Langland with

Laurie Blouin. Hailey Langland with

fluid between each feature. -- was

fluid between each feature.

Nice.

Sitting back a tiny bit. This is

where it counts, though.

Has held

on. Just making it over the

knuckles.

Into the last jump. Switch... Yes,

got it.

There you go, second.

Look at the

black eye sustained in training.

Second place. Next in, one of the

riders who really was not happy

about this course after the first

run, Enni Rukajarvi. Silver

medallist in Sochi.

Keep it simple.

Is that your advice?

I think so, on

a day like today, I think it is best

to keep it simple.

That lovely

rainbow transition tuck on the

broadside and then coming through

the hardest section. Backside 180.

Perfect.

Really, really nice. Come

on Enni. Using the classic line and

the Finnish mended. Dropping right

for the take-off. Lovely.

for the take-off. Lovely. Cab 540.

She has gone big, backside 520. This

is good! Frontside 360, goes smart

and bounces off the knuckle, on the

spot, on the spot, where is that?

I

don't know!

Currently bronze medal

position. I think Silje knows that's

the end of her medal hopes. She

slots into third position. Anna

Gasser As ridden in four contest and

won all of them. Ten months ago at

the US Open, she lay down the best

slopestyle run we have ever seen in

women snowboarding. What can she do

today? There is no question she has

the tricks.

I think she should,

either she does the cab under and

plays it safe... I still think a

good chance of making the podium.

Blazing through the rail section.

That is so good.

Picking up speed.

Half cab.

Such a hard line, doing

the 180 and switching to the edge

quickly to get on the Braille.

A

single...

single... Frontside 720 and she has

gone huge.

Oh my gosh! That is just

so annoying. One of the best

slopestyle riders there is.

So

another rider who again has the

firepower of tricks to take this

down. Julia Marino currently in 11th

place. In the world rankings only

one spot behind Jamie Anderson,

currently in second.

Very smooth.

So

smooth. Lovely 50-50 to frontside

360.

I think that is up there, one

of the best top sections.

Frontside

720. Clipped the knuckle. Jamie

Anderson knows that she has claimed

a second consecutive Olympic gold

medal. Look at that!

Enjoy it.

It's

the one thing I would say, you know

what, silver and bronze, they could

have gone anywhere, but Jamie

Anderson, the cream has risen to the

top of the slopestyle today, against

the odds... Against the conditions,

she managed to land the run and she

wanted to do and her experience has

told. Look at it.

She's waiting.

Maybe she does want to do something

good and not just ride down. I hope

she goes down and does methods of

everything.

Let's have a look.

Lovely first rail. The only rider

transferring from the big kick into

the landing.

So smooth.

Liquid

snowboarding! CHUCKLES

All of these, it is muscle memory,

isn't it, with Jamie Anderson

question up lovely switch backside

180.

Oh no.

And you think why, why

did you biscuit?

Yeah. -- why did

you risk it?

Exposing to the wind

even more with the board.

She must

be so happy, especially in these

conditions as well.

Tripod over the

knuckle. Jamie Anderson rounds out

the women's slopestyle final here

and her boyfriend, the Canadian

slopestyle rider is the first in the

area to congratulate her. Jamie

Anderson crowns what has been a very

well decorated career, with a second

gold medal.

Unreal.

That tells more

of today's story than the finish

area. The wind whistling through

this half pipe course. The courage

of the women should be saluted.

Jamie Anderson, Laurie Blouin and

Enni Rukajarvi taking gold, silver

and bronze.

Enni Rukajarvi taking gold, silver

and bronze. Jamie, double Olympic

champion, how does that feel?

Honestly, it feels insane. I of

course believe in myself and have

dreams and goals but the level of

riding has changed so much in the

last couple of years, it wasn't

nearly as much... In Sochi I knew I

had a really good chance. Here I was

like, I have no idea. There are so

many girls who could land a run and

win this contest. Just let it go.

At

the end of the day at the Olympic

final and everyone wanted to ride.

It's not how I would have expected

on how I planned and how I'd

plagiarised four years of prep work

to go into today. I think if you

were lucky with the wind, there were

some calm windows, but the majority

of it was super inconsistent. I

don't think it was a true show of

women's female slopestyle, which is

a real shame for our sport at the

end of the day we have big air next

week. Have to pick ourselves back up

is Bastareaud, have a good rest and

recovery.

-- pick ourselves up and

stay strong.

Almost terrifying to watch. Ben is

alongside me along with Chemmy

Alcott. Then went to two games with

his snowboard. Have you ever seen

conditions quite that tricky?

We

always had to deal with the warmer

climates in Sochi and Vancouver.

Obviously it is a lot here in pond

Pyeongchang but the wind is the

big...

The shame of it if they

weren't given the chance to show

what women's slopestyle is all

about.

They are all saying it has

progressed so much in the last four

years, this is where one time to

show the world what they can do but

they weren't able to do that. It was

not a test of skill but a test of

courage but the best girls did win.

Even so, Jamie Anderson, brilliant

as she is, first woman to defend her

title, it almost seemed like she was

dialling it back, as they say.

I

think a lot of the girls were

holding back purely to just stay on

their feet. You can really tell with

some of the runs they were affected

by the wind. It is almost as if

someone was tugging them back.

Obviously they weren't clearing the

landings. Sometimes they were

overshooting. The wind was playing a

big part.

They wear these big baggy

clothes and acts as a parachute,

doesn't it? Sometimes they are just

pulling out of it...

Only nine out

of the 52 girls managed to land a

run.

Nine out of 52 runs.

Yes,

mental. Look at the height.

It must

be terrifying when you suddenly get

a gust and you are up there.

These

guys have done this most of their

lives, so they know what speed is

required to clear these jumps. For

them to get it so wrong shows how

much wind there actually is. We

can't see wind, we just use the

flags as a guidance as to either put

on the brakes a little bit or two

gunmen it.

The Olympic organisers

defended it saying they didn't

believe it was dangerous. There are

some athletes who were injured and

badly injured in qualification or in

training for this because

qualification was cancelled, who

said they should never have

happened.

It is really tough. It is up to the

riders to speak up in times like

this. A few of them are upset that

it did go ahead.

There is a meeting

before the start to say, does

everyone agree it should take part

and no one spoke up.

Like Aimee was

saying, that they had a meeting, the

winds died down and that was the go

ahead. But they ended up picking up

again.

Here is Aimee Fuller's run.

She didn't get a lot of chance to

practice. She gets her shot in the

final, what happens?

Here we are,

the top section is quite good. She

got the rail features good. But then

here obviously she just...

Completely got taken out by the

wind. Over shot the jump and you can

see it tilting her on her wrong

axis. The first thing to hit the

floor looked like her hip.

There was

no coming back from that.

No, it is

an invisible assassin, the wind.

Jamie Jones won bronze in Sochi and

is there this Pyeongchang. Good

evening to you. How would you sum up

that competition and what we saw

today?

It was just a shame. These

girls are such good snowboarders and

the level is so high now and that

didn't get shown today, because of

the wind and the conditions. It

simply is so gusty, the wind. You

can ride when there is a tail wind

or a constant wind. But this was

gusting in and out. I'm ju gutted

for the girls. They have trained for

four years for this and they get

just a two-run final. It was I guess

pot luck.

In your view was it too

dangerous. Should they have

postponed today?

It's so hard to

say. When you're not up there and

riding yourself. To me, it looked...

It did look dangerous to me. When

they initially started that

training, there was a little window

of opportunity, you could see the

wind socks had died down slightly

and the gusts were not happening.

But if you notice as we got closer

to the end of run one, heading into

run two, the wind really picked up

and even was you know, they were

struggling so much. Some of the runs

that were landed were all in the

first run. Whether it was too

dangerous, snowboarding is an

extreme sport and you do take risks,

but this was a big risk. I'm

surprised some of the girls didn't

speak up at the top when you have a

rider meeting. You have talked about

that, but they speak with the

coaches and the judges and make a

decision and a call about whether it

should go ahead. I wonder if they

all got so in the moment with the

training session that that was maybe

overlooked to consider that hey,

hang on, this is... This wind is

really picking up now.

Actually

maybe some of that comes down to

experience, if you have, if your

sport has been in the Olympics for a

long time, you feel more confident

saying no, not today. Equally if you

have got a lot of younger riders who

want to get on with it, they're not

necessarily going to stand up to

Olympic organiser say, don't fancy

this today?

Yeah, there is a

question over some of the girls

maybe tried to and maybe some

didn't. I think that is Las question

of some of the -- - that is also a

question of some of the coaches. We

don't know, everything is hearsay on

that conversation. Did they feel

pressure from the TV?

Are there any

serious injuries because of falls

today or is everyone OK.

I think

everyone is OK. There has been some

bumps and bruises and girls were

coming up short and catching the

edge. Fortunately there weren't any

bad injuries. The event did happen

and the contest did happen. We have

to remember that. Some girls did

land a run. But those runs you were

seeing, they were almost identical

to the runs that we saw in Sochi. We

know these girls can do such good

runs. For snowboarding it is a

shame.

A word on Jamie Anderson,

defending her title.

Yeah, Jamie

Anderson of course has so much

experience and she really dropped

down her level of riding to lapped a

run. -- land a run. That was the

key. She could land a run in almost

any conditions. She will be over the

moon she battled through that. Even

herself, she was would have liked to

have show cased the high new tricks.

But she is now a two-times Olympic

champion. That is pretty cool.

Thank

you. Thanks for staying out late for

us. Let her go inside I think now.

It is fantastic. It is rare, I know

it is almost part of psyche of

snowboarders not so say things that

are controversial, it is quite rare

to hear people say, that was

dangerous, irresponsible, shouldn't

have happened.

Yes, there is

pressures there. If they say Ben

Kilner you're next to drop and it

was bad conditions, I wouldn't say

no, because I have trained for four

years and I won't say no to a run

and disappoint people. I think that

they have obviously felt the

precious and don't want the say no.

Once the riders start dropping in,

they can't go back.

In ski jumping

they have all of these machines

measuring the wind and if it is too

much of a side wind, they have the

technology to tell them and the

decision is made by the judges.

Maybe they should bring in this

technology if it is a problem in the

future.

Today, the girls were

starting and on the rail and the top

it was OK and then it was so gusty.

Even that might not have picked it

up.

The other more established

sports, the men's down hill

cancelled because of the wind.

Is

that an ego things, do the girls

don't want to say no. In the heads

they're doing something crazy and

difficult and don't want to be the

ones who say this isn't safe.

ones who say this isn't safe. The

giant slalom was cancelled and you

guys, they charge that and they

tried that.

I'm not sure why they

haven't gone forward with it to the

IOC and tried to postpone it

further. But it is one of those

things it is hard once the event

starts, they can't draw back. They

make it unfair if five people go and

the rest have to follow.

What Jamie

Anderson did cleverly was just

contain it and get your run done,

they're difficult conditions, a lot

of people won't complete. Jenny

Jones said in the run up, the tricks

she did in Sochi wouldn't have got

her on the podium. But with that she

would have won gold.

Jamie Anderson

is experienced and went in with a

simple run.

It takes confidence to

do that and knowledge to back up.

It

was thrilling to watch, but not for

the reasons we wanted. A huge shame

they weren't able to show their most

difficult tricks. They can do it.

But big air still to come and

women's half pipe and that is a

different set. So we are going to go

inside. That sheeps the safe efs --

that seems the safest thing and show

you the grace and finesse of ice

skating.

? COMMENTATOR: Our first look at the

Russia wonder kid. The prodigy.

She is something else.

Into the first jumping path and it

is the most difficult combination we

will see.

will see. A triple loop combination.

Double axel, triple toe loop.

Here is the triple flip. Double toe,

double loop combination.

And another triple flip. Last jump,

the axel.

Alina Zagitova.

You have a bonus for

having the jumps in the back end to.

Start as she does always, footwork

sequence, beautiful spins and lay

the jumps down, it is fantastic.

She

just pops up from the ice, doesn't

she? You don't even see them coming.

It is the identical

It is the identical technique that

Mediva has. I would love to go and

watch and see how these teach these

youngsters, because they are

children.

She is 15 years old and

she can do that at the Olympics!

But

the talent is undeniable. It is not

childish in its performance. She is

15, but there is such maturity in

the choreography and the way she

moves. What is also very clever is

there's pretty much not a single

movement in this programme that is

not designed to get them points.

She

has such confidence, that belies her

age. She steps out on to the ice and

you think there will be no mistakes.

And even when, and I have seen her

mistakes, it doesn't carry through

into the rest of the performance, it

is left behind and after you go.

Fantastic to hear this could be a

medal performance with the music of

Don Quixote, the music that won the

gold medal in 1976.

157.97 is her season's best.

No red

lights from the judges, green across

the board, so everything will count.

There is Medvedeva, standing behind.

158.08, a new season's best for

15-year-old

15-year-old Alina Zagitova. Surely

looking for a medal in the

individual as well.

Her team-mate,

Medvedeva will be her nearest rival.

Our final skaters represent Canada.

The gold is already in the bag, so

just a masterclass then from the

world champions, Virtue Tessa and

Moir Scott. The gold around their

necks when this is done.

CHEERING

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From the Mulan Rouge to the top of

the podium, that will put Canada out

of sight. The gold is already there

is but Virtue Tessa and Moir Scott

are head and shoulders above the

rest.

Everything that they do, every

detail of this is designed

specifically and only with this

music. It wouldn't work anywhere

else. I think the time they took to

do it, plus technically they are

incredibly strong.

That's what that

stance is all about -- ice dance is

all about, the theatre, the

performance.

performance. 118.10 for the

Canadians. Easily on top of the

stack. And as if they didn't already

know, confirmation that team Canada

are the Olympic champions.

Now you see why Virtue Tessa and

Moir Scott came out of retirement

after Sochi. Oh my word. Patrick

Chung, on the left, his first-ever

Olympic gold medal. A three-time

champion that the first time he has

got an Olympic gold around his neck,

which will happen later. Patrick

Virtue Tessa and Moir Scott have

been dancing together since she was

seven and he was nine or something.

You can see it in the synchronicity.

They get given the Tiger, the

mascot, at the venue and then there

is a medal ceremony later. Germany

out in front at the moment with

three gold medals so far but Canada

get on the board with that gold

medal. And it is possible, highly

possible, that Germany could add to

their gold medal tally. Coming up

shortly as the women's biathlon. We

will be heading there and joining

commentary very soon. Adjustments

and -- I just want some quick

reaction.

I look at that I think it

must be the most difficult winter

sport out there and then I look at

slopestyle and think that is the

most difficult was that each has

their element but that is stunning.

I think the way they perform, they

almost mirror each other's

movements.

They think the same. It

is just so elegant. When you watch

their feet, you don't realise how

much they are turning, pivoting.

It

is like they live it with every of

their being, it is so emotive. Oh my

gosh! We should try it.

No, we

shouldn't! Let's had out quickly

back to Pyeongchang because we have

live sport coming your way and is

women's by Rotherham. It is the

pursuit and

pursuit and Germany's Laura

Dahlmeier trying to do the double.

This is first past the post

competition.

COMMENTATOR: The first to cross the

line for the medal and the standings

from the sprint race are of vital

importance. We have four visits to

the shooting range, two lying down,

prone, and two standing up. The key

fact as far as the German fans are

concerned, a great attendance

despite being bitterly cold, -12,

and quite windy. When you take the

wind chill into account you are

probably looking closer to minus 20.

But there is Laura Dahlmeier. She

will begin with a 24 second head

start. That was her winning margin

in the Sprint and all of the women

preparing and warming up behind her

will be chasing down the German. The

times you can see on the screen is

how far behind Laura Dahlmeier they

finished in the Sprint on Saturday.

And just to reiterate, if you are

watching biathlon for the first

time, Laura Dahlmeier getting her

quest for a golden double underway.

It is a ten kilometre race, this

one. Five circuits of two

kilometres, then they visit the

range at the end of laps one, two,

three and four. The real sting in

the tale is that for every miss at

least shooting range, they will have

two ski one penalty loop of 150

metres, that equates in time to

around 23-25 seconds of skiing.

Number two, a

brilliant silver medical for her.

The veteran from France got a bronze

in Vancouver.

The figure to watch on the

lime-green is the defending winter

pursuit champion, Darya Domracheva,

who is capable of closing the

deficit. The shooting range was the

reason we had some unlikely

medallists, no disrespect. Because

in the race on Saturday of the 87

women who took part, only three shot

clean. Shooting clean means they hit

ten out of ten targets at the range.

So it is up to these women who are

starting some 1.5 minutes behind

Laura Dahlmeier to be as accurate as

they can at the range and hope that

those in front run into one or two

problems. But here is Dahlmeier.

These are great races, I've really

been looking forward to this one.

When you first start watching

biathlon, you can't believe that the

two sets of skills go so well

together. Because the men and women

who compete here need incredible

speed, stamina and technical ability

for the cross-country skiing, but

they then need to come into the

shooting range, lower their pulse

and be as calm and composed and

collected as possible, aiming at a

tiny target, when they are lying

down it is 4.5 centimetres. That is

about the same width, diameter as

the carbon cheek -- cardboard tube

of a toilet roll. Then they are back

out on what is a very, very tough

course here, ready for another lung

bursting 2.5 kilometre loop. There

is a little something for everyone.

35 seconds adrift now, Darya

Domracheva. That thousands she has

closed down by 11 seconds and Laura

Dahlmeier. We would expect the field

to start coming together a little

bit. Very, very hard to lead, albeit

with a 24 second head start. You

know that the rest of the field are

quite well bunched and at some

stage, you would think, Laura

Dahlmeier will come under pressure,

especially in the shooting range for

the first of her four visits.

The course for the cross-country

biathlon are stunning. I had a

little jog round last week whilst we

were doing our prep. By daylight, it

is a beautiful, beautiful setting.

No time for these women, including

Darya Domracheva in the lime-green,

to enjoy the surroundings. Absolute

focus required when they get into

the range for the first time.

Because

great aerial view. Of the home

stadium. Darya Domracheva, she will

be using this opportunity just to

try and get that pulse down, even if

it's down from about 180 to 160,

150, 140. She is unlikely to be

taking a full breath in

efforts at the range. A surprise

silver and bronze medallists from

the Sprint on Saturday are locked

together. There was about seven

seconds, two seconds separating them

on the podium on Saturday night.

Dahlmeier trying to block out the

cheering and the noise from the

crowd. Experts call these moments,

building the position. Getting

themselves ready. This is about

rhythm. There is no set order,

whether you left to right or right

to left. White means a hit target. A

flash of red means a miss and a

penalty loop of 150 meet es. This is

good from Dahlmeier. The last one

can be trickiest. She has shot

clean. She is out pretty much at the

same time Olsbu hit her target. She

has a flash and red, so will have at

least one penalty loop. Vitkova has

shot clean wearing bib No 3. Habert

has two penalty loops there.

Dahlmeier leading. Vitkova in

second. Remember, this is first past

the post, that makes it easier to

understand. That was Vittozzi, the

Italian. A couple of missing for

Semerenko. Domracheva has shot clean

and that is significant.

and that is significant. Braisaz of

France is fifth. Some of the big

names are going well.

names are going well. Dahlmeier

still in front.

still in front. Here is the

standings.

standings. Kuzmina is doing well.

Olsbu has the one next to her name,

because she has had one miss.

because she has had one miss. It is

the inner circle, that is the four

and a half centimetres, the outer

circle is the one they will be

aiming at when they come in for the

standing shoot. Lovely rhythm from

the German. A 17-second advantage at

the beginning of her second circuit.

That miss could prove costly for

Olsbu. 50 metres away in minus 12,

harder than it looks. Laura

Dahlmeier is aiming to become the

third German to win is in fantastic

title.

Dahlmeier swept all before her at

the World Championships last year

and a few people were wondering

whether she may have lost a little

bit of that sparkle on the World Cup

circuit this year. A couple of wins,

six podiums.

six podiums. Now 13 just got a

glimpse. Three is Vitkova. 33 is

Kuzmina. She won in Vancouver and

Sochi. Seven podiums this season.

The speed is key for her today and

she is going brilliantly. Just to

put that into context, Kuzmina 17

seconds adrift of Dahlmeier, when

she left the shooting range at the

end of that first circuit, she was

32 seconds adrift. So she is going

brilliantly. Domracheva is the

defending champion. Olsbu is

struggling after that penalty loop.

Good shotting, I make it -- good

shooting. Six of the leading 11 shot

clean on their first visit. Of

course, it can all change. But the

drama is beginning to unfold,

because Kuzmina is moving

brilliantly.

brilliantly. There is Kuzmina.

Second in the World Cup standings.

She was bitterly disappointed to

finish 13th. She missed three

targets - two in the prone and one

in the standing. That is why she

started a minute adrift of

Dahlmeier. Now she is only 14.5

seconds adrift. Braisaz of France

going well in these early stages.

Olsbu is 44 seconds adrift now.

Domracheva is OK, but needs to start

picking up the speed. She started 46

seconds behind Dahlmeier and has

drifted three seconds further back.

Kuzmina however is getting closer.

25 is

We could see some nerves here

fluttering as well as the flags. If

Kuzmina is continuing to ski as well

the last time we saw her, she will

be coming into the range and will be

lying down next to Laura Dahlmeier

before the German has finished her

second set of five shots at the

target and the psychological

pressure starts to mount on the

German.

Dahlmeier is the first to shoot. She

is going left to right and she has

got a miss slam she has been put

under pressure. But so too has

Kuzmina with her first attempt at

the target. They could well be

coming out of their penalty loop at

the same time. Kuzmina taking her

time over her last effort. It is

often the fifth that causes the

problem. She is really taking her

time. Kuzmina only has one penalty

loop. Vitkova could go into the lead

here if she shoots clean. Talking

about the athlete in lane 3. But

there is a miss from the bronze

medallist and a miss from Olsbu.

medallist and a miss from Olsbu. Can

Braisaz go clean? The lady who was

last out on the course has shot

clean.

clean. Bescond is a class act and is

ninth in the World Cup standings.

Dahlmeier in the lead with Kuzmina

nine seconds behind her. Cadurisch

is fourth.

is fourth. The next time they come

into the range they will be shooting

standing up.

Such a brutal combination of tests.

Got to lower their pulse.

Domracheva, she has that one miss.

So she is in eighth place now and 58

seconds off the pace. Kuzmina is

looking good. That is Dahlmeier. She

and Kuzmina both missing early on

with this second visit to the range.

But it was only one personality loop

each. Dahlmeier still leading. But

Kuzmina is a very quick skier. That

is why the two of them are now,

well, pretty much only a ski length

apart. Dahlmeier leads, Kuzmina in

second. What a great battle this

could turn out to be. Plenty of time

for one or two of the other women to

get in the mix, depending on how

these two get on their their second

two visits to the range.

Kuzmina now decides to take it on.

Her daughter, Olivia, was born in

2015. So she has come back from

childbirth, trying to recapture her

very best form.

very best form. First Slovakian to

win a winter Olympic gold, she was

representing Russia up until 2008.

Dahlmeier, the five-time world

champion, having to hang on a bit.

Bescond is going well, five finishes

in the top ten on the World Cup

circuit this season. Got an

individual silver at the world

champs a few years ago.

Cadurisch is going well. Vitkova and

Dahlmeier and Kuzmina has won this

at the range. If you're just joining

us the air temperature is about

minus 12 and it will feel colder for

these women at the Alpine Centre. In

the men's sprint yesterday, there

were people crossing the finishing

line with icicles hanging off their

beards - those of them who have got

a beard. It was incredible to see.

Just little pieces of spittle that

had frozen solid on their way around

the course. Kuzmina and Dahl hire

out on their -- Dahlmeier out on

their own. Bescond is 23 seconds

adrift and she is a bit adrift. All

can change. There are still two

visits left to the range. Standing

next time. So they're aiming at a

bigger target.

bigger target. Dahl hire clearly

felt -- Dahlmeier clearly felt the

pressure of Kuzmina being alongside

her the last time. But where she

missed, so too did Kuzmina. Which

one will be able to hold nerve at

this third visit to the range? With

Bescond at the beginning of that

straight behind them.

So Kuzmina getting herself poised,

getting herself ready. There she is.

Going right to left. Oh there is a

miss from Kuzmina. Two misses from

Kuzmina. Dahlmeier just needs to

focus on what she is doing. She is

two away from having a sizeable

lead. One away. The last one is

often the most difficult. Yes,

Dahlmeier shoots clean. Kuzmina with

two penalty loops. That will equate

to around 50 seconds. All that hard

work she produced to close the gap

all undone by a matter of

millimetres, not once, but twice.

Cadurisch with two misses now. Oh,

three for Cadurisch. That is such a

shame. She was going so well.

Bescond still with just the one

miss.

miss. If Vitkova could shoot clean,

she would be in second place I

think. That is good shooting from

the woman from the Czech Republic.

The defending champion, Domracheva,

we may have forgotten her. But a

clean shoot would give her a chance.

She has missed one.

She has missed one. Kuzmina in

second and 37 seconds adrift. They

were side by side. The reason is

because she missed two at the range.

Vitkova is in third and Bescond in

fourth.

World junior silver in the pursuit

couple of years ago. Watch out for

Herman, a former cross-country

skier, she's in eighth. We know

Kuzmina will go absolutely hell for

leather now to try and close the gap

down an Dahlmeier, and we know she

is a quicker skier than the German.

Disappointment on the face of the

Slovakian, she was way off with that

one. Two misses proving so costly.

Dahlmeier clean on that visit. Still

just the one.

Dahlmeier leading, Kuzmina in

second. Vitkova in the bronze medal

position. Anais Bescond with a

penalty loop. Dahlmeier once again

has a bit of breathing space.

You can hear the German coaches

roaring her on, giving her the

information. She will have been

aware, of course,

aware, of course, Kuzmina had a

couple of penalties, but wouldn't

know how much her lead was. She will

now, courtesy of the coaches. Once

again, Kuzmina having to push really

hard here, in terms of the skiing,

to make up for that inaccuracy at

the range. Maybe she is tiring,

because she was 37, nearly 38

seconds adrift and she hasn't

managed to close on that first

little section of that climb out of

the stadium. Bescond trying to close

in on Veronika Vitkova. The cosy

left the range 1.09 address.

A good target for the Frenchwoman.

21 on the left, Denise Herrmann.

There she is. She got a bronze in a

brilliant cross country race four

years ago in Sochi. If she can bring

that cross-country speed to be for

here and if she can shoot clean on

her next visit to the range, maybe

she has a chance. There is

Domracheva, the defending champion.

She was one minute and 34 off the

pace when she left the shooting

range for the third time. She has

missed twice. So, Dahlmeier

attempting the double here. This is

her last visit to the range. If she

can shoot clean here she has a

chance of producing history on this

stunning course. Two misses from

Kuzmina allowing Dahlmeier a little

bit of breathing space here, but she

has to maintain her focus and her

concentration. It looks as though

she is peaking at exactly the right

time, which is what she did at the

World Championships last year when

she took an unprecedented five gold

medals. Five gold medals at the

worlds. Can she go two out of two at

the early stages of the biathlon in

the Winter Games, when the stakes

are even higher? 24 years of age,

Laura Dahlmeier. She was ill early

on this season. She looks as though

she is fully recovered. The Germans

in the crowd are holding their

breath. Surely five clean shots here

and the gold will be within her

grasp. Good start, going right to

left this time. A little pause. Last

one is sometimes the most difficult.

Not today! That was sensational

shooting. And before Kuzmina has

even taken her first effort,

Dahlmeier is on her way out of the

range and heading for her last two

kilometre circuit. Kuzmina now under

enormous pressure, and that's

perhaps why she has missed with her

first effort. She knew she couldn't

afford a single mistake. Now just

trying to block out the context and

the other two who have arrived

alongside her. One penalty loop for

Kuzmina, still in with a shout of a

medal, of course. Bescond and

Vitkova side by side. Remember,

Denise Herrmann, the German, if she

can shoot clean, she has a chance. A

very fast cross-country skier.

Vitkova has missed one, now two.

Olsbu also coming unstuck. Bescond,

good shooting from her. If Denise

Herrmann can... She has just missed

one. I was going to save she could

just get that last one with her

skiing speed she might be in with a

shout. Dahlmeier from Kuzmina with

Bescond, those two very close

together. They are the three

medallists at the moment. This is

Domracheva. Sheep this time has left

it too late. She is a wonderful

champion. She will have other

opportunities as well as the relay.

Dahlmeier has a lead of almost a

minute out on the course. What will

be a moment of history for her and

the Germans.

the Germans.

Disappointment this time for

Domracheva, but don't write her off,

she is a wonderful champion. The

Frenchwoman, Marie Dorin Habert, so

close to a medal in the Sprint is

not so this time. Dahlmeier from

Kuzmina. Bescond headed out onto the

range just a second behind the

Slovakian. Olsbu, a surprise silver

medallist from the Sprint is in

fourth. Marie Dorin Habert in fifth.

The third medallists look on paper

like they have a big enough gap to

assure themselves a place on the

podium. Number 22, the

podium. Number 22, the Estonian,

podium. Number 22, the Estonian,.

Dahlmeier bidding for an

unprecedented double here in the

history of women's biathlon in the

Winter Olympic games. Nobody has

done the Sprint pursuit double yet.

Brilliant shooting, brilliant

composure. She just needs to

maintain her rhythm here. She will

be tired, it is a really tough

course. Kuzmina and Bescond in

second and third. This has been a

wonderful effort from Anastasiya

Kuzmina. Her wrongdoing, missing at

the range. These two, when they left

the range for the fourth time, had a

gap of a roundabout half a minute

and Marte Olsbu who was in fourth.

They are closing and Dahlmeier but

surely it will be too little too

late. 45 seconds, the gap. It was 55

for Kuzmina when she left the range,

so she has managed to take ten

seconds out of that lead, but this

is Dahlmeier's to lose now. It will

be, you suspect, another Winter

Olympic medal for Anastasiya

Kuzmina, but will it be a bronze or

a silver? Anais Bescond tracking her

every move. When you bear in mind,

Bescond started, she was one minute

and 15 behind Laura Dahlmeier. Only

19th, that is why her bib says 19,

only 19th in the sprint. Kuzmina was

13. This has been much better from

the two women currently occupying

the other medal positions. And now

the Frenchwoman trying to go for it.

Kuzmina has got real quality. Two

Golds in the sprint and she knew the

shorter races were her best

opportunity perhaps to get on the

podium. And here she comes. Laura

Dahlmeier, all on her own, in a

class of her own and she has done

the unprecedented double. She grabs

the German flag. Delight once again,

the 24-year-old absolutely superb

tonight, in brutally cold

conditions. She saunters over the

line, a little look up. She is now a

double Winter Olympic champion and

she is the first woman ever to win

the sprint and the pursuit and there

are still so many more chances of

gold to come. And what about this

battle for the silver? Kuzmina on

the left, just edging the

Frenchwoman. It has been a fantastic

effort and a great battle. Oh my

goodness me, this is so close! I

think Kuzmina got it just by two

tempts second. They took almost half

a minute out of Dahlmeier and that

last lap. Not enough for gold, but

Kuzmina and Bescond are worthy

Winter Olympic medallists. A great

battle to the line between the two

of them. It was so, so close. Olsbu

driving those arms, really good

strength from the Norwegian. She is

having a fabulous games. An

unexpected silver for her in the

sprint and that is a fantastic

effort. She is forth.

effort. She is forth. 21 is Denise

Herrmann, the fantastic

cross-country skier. When you bear

in mind how recently she converted

to biathlon, sixth place is

fantastic. She will have other

chances to come as well. Laura

Dahlmeier has done the double. That

is barometer Vitkova. Cutting a

rather tired figure coming across

the line. Lena Haecki inside the top

ten. A great skier.

ten. A great skier. Linn Persson

there.

there. And Lisa Vittozzi. Dorothy

. Disappointment for the rest. A

really, really tough night. A good

effort from the Canadian, inside the

top 20, Rosanna Crawford.

The rest, absolutely shattered, but

I think Laura Dahlmeier will have a

little bit of energy left. Just got

a quick glimpse there. She has done

it! What a fantastic Games it is

turning out to be for the

turning out to be for the German

biathlon. Laura Dahlmeier has made

history on a freezing night here in

South Korea. And she will have more

opportunities to come for further

glory. Kuzmina takes the silver,

Bescond the bronze. A great race and

brilliant celebrations from all

three medallists.

STUDIO: Pretty impressive from

Dahlmeier and Germany, they are

having a wonderful Games so far.

They are at the top of the medals

table, that is their fourth gold

medal. We can see they are moving

ahead of the Netherlands, who have

two gold medal so far, USA with two.

Norway, Canada, France, South Korea,

and Sweden will have won gold medals

at this time tomorrow, could Great

Britain make their way onto the

table?

Being disqualified in Sochi her.

They have gone down!

I thought about

never skating again fostered it took

me two years to get over that. It

made me tougher than I ever thought

I could be.

Christie aiming to be the first

woman to win a short track title.

Christie leading the charge, it will

be tight. She has done it. Elise

Christie! Here comes Christie on the

inside, it is another gold.

Proving

something to the world. One gold,

three golds, three golds. When

something breaks your heart, it

takes awhile to love again but I'm

smiling now. I'm ready for the

spotlight.

This is when the spotlight will

shine on Elise Christy. She was

second fastest in qualifying. Her

quarter final is tomorrow at 10. We

know things can go wrong in short

track, but hopefully her semi-final

at 10 past 11. The final is tomorrow

at 5 past 12.

A we have a chance

before we go before to the

Pyeongchang for a section that we

are going to call, Ask Chemmy. She

knows everything there is to know

about winter sports. We set you the

challenge to ask her questions. Who

knows where this may take you. Not

restricted to alpine sports. You c

turn to Ben. First from ice hockey,

how do you get the lines on to the

ice.

It is a good question, if the

lines were on the top they will

dull. There is a huge vat of

powdered paint that is mixed with

water and they have these power

brooms that sprays it on to the ice

and seal it with a layer of water.

It is unlikely where it is pointed

on to the grass in rugby it gettious

ing on your legs.

No.

When speed is

an element of success, why do the

mogul skiers not wear slim suits.

A

lot of it is speed. You think maybe

they would long for the

aerodynamics. But they're not in the

tucked position and not reaching

that high velocity, they don't need

skin tight suits. However in down

hill and I have one to show you.

This what is we wear. This is a

really thin Lycra suit that Clare

wanted to wear and I said not today.

This is very retro and this is Salt

Lake City.

Would mogul skiers wear

that or watching the slopestyle

style they could haven't got caught

by the wind.

You would take the

style out...

Are you saying we don't

have style?

That is exactly what she

is saying. The technology of the

speed suits has advanced.

And our

performance director in Britain is

be hind wind tunnel testing and

these suits have come a long way.

You you see the Austrians go past,

you can hear their skis. This is my

bib from Sochi. It is like Blue

Peter. Here is one I made earlier.

The men don't get their bibs, nor do

the girls until the day of the race.

Because they would spray it to give

it less wind resistance and it was

said to be cheating.

Back to the

Austrian suits, the whistling is

created from what?

All the suits

have to be tested to make them fair.

This has a small metal plum and

they're tested to led air through.

If they stop air, if they fall, they

will fall so fast. They try to

monitor them. But the Austrians,

this suit is one material and the

Austrians have a tiny divot hole to

pass through the speed trap and wear

one piece under this. But this is

100th of the a second - it could

first or nothing at all.

You have

done a lot of testing in wind

tunnels.

Yes you're hand goes out

and it can make 0.7 of a second of

difference over 100 minutes.

Snowboarding, you have just got to

look cool.

It is just part of

parcel. Baggy clothing...

Baggy

trousers!

Red Gerard, not only does

he look cool, if we see him. This is

the ceremony at the event. A lot of

people have been asking why are they

getting Teddy bears.

This is a

reaction in the crowd for the

athlete to enjoy that first moment

when they know they have won gold.

They will be getting a medal. There

is a medal ceremony. But the medal

weighs half a kilo the gold. You can

see the texture that is to replicate

the sacred trees in this region and

the ribbon is part of the design and

created using a traditional South

Korean fabric.

And you get your

chance to celebrate twice?

Yes, I

think obviously you want to

celebrate as many times as you can.

I'm sure he will be celebrating

again at home. And I remember

again at home. And I remember in

Vancouver it took a while to build.

We have some very exciting news,

because in a lot of the sports you

can tell so much from the training

runs, but particularly in the

sliding sports. In skeleton we have

a strong female team that includes

Laura Deas and she has been getting

better results than Lizzie Yarnold.

In the second training run Laura was

fastest. She is setting the pace.

Flock is strong. Lizzie fourth

fastest at the moment. And here are

the men's training runs and under

the radar, the men's team has not

been talked about at all, you see

Don Parsons on his second run, he is

at the top by a long way. It is

telling us the kit is spot on.

Yes.

The athletes are spot on. They're

getting to know the track and they

will build in confidence, because

those times matter.

Amy said

although Dom is a surprise, he has a

good start. He is going under the

radar. We are all talking about

Lizzie. And Laura is in the same

boat. They can fulfil their

expectation without the expectation

of country. Dom is a quiet guy.

He

is very quiet. In Sochi and

Vancouver he is quiet. Now he has

the training runs.

He has had some

good results and he is getting

closer. He could be a threat. The

men's skeleton starts Thursday

morning and finishes on Friday. The

women's starts on Friday and

finishes on Saturday. It is going to

be fascinating and we will be

hearing from the expertise of Amy

Williams. Now to the Sliding Centre.

It is the fist run first run of

women's luge. We saw Felix Loch fail

to win. Who could win in the women.

Let's first out.

After the watching the guys, will

they take it steady?

She was the first female luger to

win a medal for America. And the

first European to win a medal. Last

year, she raced here in the World

Cup and did OK without being

brilliant and finished tenth. She is

getting married this summer and

America at the moment flying high.

Can Hamlyn start her Olympic

campaign in style. Erin Hamlyn for

the United States, under way. First,

a different start from what we were

used to with the men.

They start

lower down the track and come into

bend 4. Their start is shorter so

they're straight into the bend and

it has caught a couple of them out.

She has her eye in and this is

getting the first run to get rid of

any sort of pre-race nerves and we

will see what the speed is. 122K an

hour. That is 70mph.

That is a

decent start.

decent start. The coach happy.

That

is a new track record. We will see

how fast it is as the next few sleds

come down. The top four have been

close. But it shows how cold it is,

the ice is fast and that could make

for good racing. And there could be

more mistakes.

You can't stress it

enough what you need, they get four

runs, you need consistency. There is

so many of the men who had three

good runs and a shocker and that put

them out of it. Here one of most

consistent of all time.

consistent of all time. 34-year-old

Huefner, she is the oldest

competitor in the event. She has won

all three medals at the last three

Olympics, silver, bronze and gold in

Vancouver. If she could get a medal

she would be the most decorated

competitor in luge history. She is

trying to run down Hamlin's time.

She had a better first bend than

Hahlin. You can see how quickly the

women have to get down on to the

sled. The men have more time to

settle. That is just the way the

track is designed. She starts to

build speed into the most important

part. That is the line you have, you

just miss the wall. As she comes

down, that is building that speed

and that is all relevant to the

start. She has got similar speed to

Hamlin.

Should beat Hamlin, but only

just. These two have started

strongly.

strongly. Visually I Huefner very

impressive.

She lost speed as she

came into the big Olympic corner.

She was a tenth up. As she come

across the line, she has lost seven

hundredth, that doesn't sound like

much, but in four runs will that

cost her a medal? That is the

perfect line. You come out and

you're pointing back to the left

hand wall. As show you skimmed both

sides.

Third down Sandra Robatscher. She is

the world No 9. The standard has

been set. This is her first run of

the Olympics.

A good exit. You can

see the difference in the start.

That is why she is down in the red

light already. The lines are looking

good so far. Speed just building all

the time. Trying to get a nice line

into 8. The line drops down as you

come into this important corner.

Maybe because they have got reduced

speed at this point it is making the

track easier. But she is losing time

down the bottom of the track.

She is

finishing her run for Italy. That

14th corner very popular with the

spectators. She has fallen a little

way behind. As you said, John w that

loss of speed very late on in her

run. Strange isn't it you would have

thought loss of speed would be hard

to achieve once you're on the second

half of the run.

It is quite a

strange thing, you can see into

sliders in almost identical lines

and one is doing more to achieve

than. That is down to their driving

styles and equipment and how they

come into that corner.

Next art for America is from a

Britchner. Like many, she struggled

early in her training, only 13 here

last year. She reported earlier in

the week Shirov corded herself to be

very low after her first week of

training that on Sunday morning,

went quickest of all. A real mixed

bag. Don't know what to expect

clear.

Back here. She has found a

consistent failure that she leave.

She is there and the start, but how

will she cope with the speed and how

will she build it? Is she a little

nervous in just over driving it to

make sure she is on the right lines

customer still dropping back, but

that could be relevant to the start

time. Still building speed. This is

the first one where we've seen

having a bit of trouble, feet down

and that will cost a lot of trouble

as she comes down to the bottom.

That is probably not what she was

wanting. You can see straightaway,

she went into straight about a tenth

down and now three tenths dumb.

Disappointed to be half a second

behind. You can still see clattering

into the walls after the US man was

walking away there. I could sort of

see that coming. Her body language

all week was not great. She was very

vocal about the fact her four runs

on training had got to her.

And

those poor runs on training are

still in her head now. This is the

whole psychological part of this

sport. She knows how to drive. You

can see in her face, she knows she

has messed up, got it wrong, not got

as much air time as some of the men

last night. Even a little mistake at

that point in the corner could cost

you nearly two or three tenths and

that's what happened to her. Lost

nearly four tenths because of that

mistake.

She looks gutted. She looks

really upset. That was the coach

with that arm round her. Another one

for Germany now. Dajana Eitberger.

Seven top six finishes in the World

Cup this year and comes into the

Olympic games ranked number two in

the world. As she gets underway, she

has reported a couple of times that

she is having terrible difficulties

after bend nine into the Dragons

tale, it is key for her.

Key for

everyone. It is a tricky corner,

nine is like no other corner on any

other track on the world. You have

to drive it completely differently

to what they are used to. It is

hard. She has gone a little bit

flat. You can see her steering the

sled and working too hard to get

through that, but she has got

through fairly clean. She will go

the speed at the bottom. This may

keep her in contention. She has got

good speed. It might give her a

little confidence for the next run.

A little nudge on the wall at bend

15. But to be so close to Hamlin and

Tatjana Huefner, a perfectly

satisfactory first go for Eitberger.

She will be policed the Dragon's

tale didn't cause any particular

problems. Interesting to watch,

whereas Tatjana Huefner went through

it like an arrow, she had to correct

herself halfway down.

That's because

she is not confident with the track

at that point and her ability to

drive it. What she's doing is just

making sure that she gets through

their clean and by that, she is just

overriding and costing herself some

speed. If she goes with the

confidence of what she knows she can

drive, she will be quicker on the

second run.

That is the early order,

the top three separated by precious

little. Next up, this is the best in

the world, the Olympic champion from

Sochi in Russia. Natalie

Geisenberger absolutely destroyed

the field. Let's see what shape she

is in. She, of course, is ranked

number one in the world and has been

for the last six years. She is the

one they all have to beat, on paper,

as she begins her quest for another

gold medal here at the Olympic

Games. Geisenberger underway. This

could be a real sprinkling of top

quality.

We shall see. She has not

been off the podium all year and the

most consistent pilot throughout the

whole season, but it's now, none of

that matters, this is about the

Olympic Games and about making sure

that she leaves here with the gold

medal again. That is the only thing

she has come for. This is the

section of the track she needs to

get right. She's down with a lot of

speed. Don't know if that caption

was right for the speed, she was

starting to pick up on the women in

front of her. She has great speed

coming up the hill. She should be in

the lead here by a few hundredths.

Much quicker than Hamlin at that

stage and she is seven hundredths of

a second ahead of the field. So

Natalie Geisenberger praise her

first-hand of the Olympic Games, and

it was a pretty tidy hand, as well.

She sets the early standard. You

could just see as she came up to get

off her sled, looks like she took a

deep breath, almost like, OK, first

one is out the way, I know what the

track feels like, I will open the

traps on the second one and put the

afterburners on.

Look at the hips

and thighs working to keep the

through line.

This is the difference

between two pilots. You can see

almost exactly on the same line.

That is hours and hours of training

and getting used to wake you need to

be on the corner. Those two pilots

are both Olympic champions from

different Olympics, so they know how

to slide.

Some very smart talent

still to come here. A mixed bag

through the 30 that next is Kimberly

McRae, who is an excellent second

here in Pyeongchang last winter in

the World Cup. That was a fine run

in sixth place and she is underway.

And having that result at the test

event will give people a little

confidence that the track sort of

suits their style of driving and

their equipment. It depends now

whether she can handle the pressure

of what those five Olympic rings

rings. It is the same race, just

over two days but it depends how she

handles it. It looks like she is

doing really well at the moment. She

has the line, slightly more wavy in

12 but it looks nice and clean and

she is doing a good job. Staying in

contention, within a tenth.

Ahead of

Hamlin at their respective stages.

Down the bend to the 16th and final

corner. Lost a tiny bit late on but

only a fraction. She goes third.

That is the way to celebrate! The

Canadians in good voice.

Most of

these athletes now will thrive on

the next run. Some of them will be

nervous, especially if it is their

first or maybe even their second

Olympics and they are making a big

jump up in the standard. Overall,

that was a really good run. You can

see she has dived into the track. A

little bit of pressure, just try to

cut the middle out too much but it

worked for her. Maybe that is the

style she has an she is not

overworking the sled too much, still

keeping herself in medal contention

at the end of the first run.

Natalie

Geisenberger, Tatjana Huefner and

Kimberly McRae separated by one

tenth. Now Italy, Andrea Voetter.

19th in Sochi and world ranked 16

coming in here. She did finish sixth

in Innsbruck but that was the first

World Cup race of the entire winter