BBC One Day 8: Yarnold and Deas in Women's Skeleton Final Action Winter Olympics

east to West splits. Towards the

West, rain and cloudy conditions,

the best of the sunny conditions to

be found further east. Bye now.

Good morning and welcome to coverage

of the middle Saturday of the Winter

Olympics here on BBC One. We are

with you until 1.45 and this is the

biggest day so far of these games

for the British team. There has been

good news already. Before we get

into skeleton and short track speed

skating, a second medal of the

games, this time won by the youngest

member of the team, 19-year-old Izzy

Atkin landing a clean running

freestyle skiing to secure her place

on the podium.

Next to drop will be

Great Britain's Izzy Atkin.

The biggest one of her life starts

now.

Mechanical with the 450, laid

it down beautifully.

it down beautifully. She comes up

from the side and tilt the skis onto

it.

it. This run is flowing for her now.

Dare I say it, the best rails we

have seen from her. Come on, Izzy

Atkin.

Atkin. Final junta... -- final jump.

And it's super-clean! Its

third-place! 84.6.

third-place! 84.6. She's down. Great

Britain's Izzy Atkin takes a bronze.

Talk spirit.

There were tonnes of

big names in the field. It could

have been anyone's. I was standing

at the bottom after my final run. I

knew I had skied the best I could on

my heart was racing. I can't believe

it.

She held her nerve. She didn't push

it too far. Izzy Atkin, at the age

of 19, lives in Park City, Utah. She

was born in the USA became to the

Britain for the first time in five

months old. Her grandma Betty still

lives in Birmingham and her dad

Mike, who is out there with her mum

Zoe, they said that grandma Betty

would have recorded it and watched

it all this morning. And that is

what she has been rewarded with, a

bronze medal, seeing her

granddaughter on the podium. Katie

Summerhayes, by the way, finished

seventh. That is the start of what

could be an exceptional day here for

the British team. There is so much

to look forward to on a very special

Saturday.

Saturday.

Three medals for Great

Britain! What a night.

Olympic long

jump champion Greg Rutherford.

Mo

Farah for Great Britain!

Jessica

Ennis is the Olympic champion.

It's funny how these things tend to

happen on Saturday. Six years on

from Jess Ennis-Hill, Greg

Rutherford and Mo Farah, it's time

for Elise Christie, Lizzy Yarnold

and Laura Deas to skate and slide

into the limelight. It's the midway

point of these Winter Olympics, the

biggest and best British team ever

sent to a winter games, and it has a

chance today to make history. Never

has a British athlete retained a

winter Olympic title. Never have

British athletes filled two places

in the top three of a Winter

Olympics boards. Never has a skater

from these shores won a gold medal

in short track speed skating. In

2014 and 15, Lizzy Yarnold was the

skeleton supremo. She was Olympic

champion, world champion, European

champion and World Cup champion.

Then she stepped away, exhausted.

She had achieved everything. She got

married, she do a course in

book-keeping, she made lampshades.

Then two seasons ago, she got back

on a sled with one goal in mind -

retaining her Olympic title. She is

third at the halfway stage, one

tenth of a second behind the leader.

And right on her tellies her

team-mate and friend, 29-year-old

Laura Deas. She is lapping up the

experience of her first Olympics and

setting hugely impressive times. She

was the second fastest on 12 to move

up to fourth place, tantalisingly

close to the podium. When Elise

Christie was at school, she was

teased and bullied for being pale

and thin. They called her skeleton.

She took up bigger skating and then

switch to a sport where she thought

she could control the outcome -

short track speed skating. She has

been through the best and worst of

experiences in the last ten years. A

ten time European champion, 12

medals at world level, three World

Championship titles, including the

coveted overall gold medal. And yet

at the Olympics, she has a score to

settle. Buoyed by support from Jess

Ennis-Hill and Kelly Holmes,

Christie has a first Olympic medal

in mind. You have to go back to

February three, 1924 to find the

last time that a British team won

more than one medal on the same day

at a Winter Olympics, and if one of

them was to become champion... Well,

they would join this very exclusive

list of ten. In 1924, the men's

curlers took Britain's first ever

Winter Olympics gold. In 1936, it

was the men's ice hockey team. Then

figure skater Jeannette Altwegg won

told in 1952. In 1964, bobsledder 's

Tony Nash and Robin Dixon topped the

podium. At Innsbruck in 1976, the

late, great John Kerry was the star.

And four years later, Robin Cousins

too was all gold on the ice. In

1984, Jayne Torvill in Christopher

Dean's Bolero was legendary. Salt

Lake City saw Rhona Martin and

co-win curling gold. Then skeleton

sliders Amy Williams in 2010 and

Lizzy Yarnold in Sochi topped the

podium.

podium. And there are the three

faces of the women who today could

step into those history books, Elise

Christie, Laura Deas, Lizzy Yarnold.

We have got a couple of hours of

live sport here that will thrill

you, excite you. Anything could

happen. These are sports in which

nothing is guaranteed, but the first

round of the 1500m is at 10.15,

followed by Elise Christie at 11.10

and in the final is at midday. The

skeleton runs, ran three.

If you want to get in touch, use the

hashtag # BBC Olympics.

hashtag # BBC Olympics. We have

experts in short track with us,

Sarah Lindsay and Jon Eley have

competed at three Olympics each in

short track speed skating. They know

Elise Christie well. They know what

happens. And Alex Coomber was the

woman who in the 21st century

restarted this revolution in

skeleton. She won a bronze medal and

since then, it has been silver and

gold all the way for the skeleton

sliders. It's a big day, Sarah. Some

of what you hope for form today.

I

just want a -- Elise to do her best

so she can be happy with what she

has done.

Yeah, some great

performances and everyone coming

away with a smile.

Alex, how would

you describe the skeleton

competition?

I can't wait. The girls

are so different. It will be so

exciting. We will see changes

amongst the top sliders and the last

run will be incredible.

You said

yesterday it could be the most

exciting skeleton competition we

have ever seen. Here is what has

happened so far.

She is a quality athlete, but she

has the pressure on in these games

of wanting to retain her title. Is

she going to lose speed? This could

be the run that puts her at the top

of the pile.

It's going to be close.

Needs to be cleaned. She goes first!

Quicker than Loelling. Clearly,

Lizzy Yarnold is here for business.

Obviously, it's not going to help,

but I think she's used to this. At

least it has happened before, so

it's not like it's the first time.

Her team will know what to do to get

her ready.

Come on, Laura, keep this

together. She has just got to stay

relaxed. I think she is going to

hold onto the lead.

She has got to

go under 52 seconds at the finish.

Again, a wobble.

I'm only seven

hundredths away from a medal

position. This is a sport where

anything can happen and things can

change in a split-second. I want

stay positive.

Is this enough for

her to stay in front? She might drop

behind the Austrian.

Very close

between Loelling and Lizzy Yarnold,

who has dropped back to third place,

a tenth of a second off the leader.

I have a sore sinus thing going on.

I'm struggling to breathe enough. It

is very cold here. I am doing lots

of steaming. I think I am still well

in the mix.

She is well in the mix.

She is in third place, a tenth of a

second behind the leader. This

morning, she said, I have my eyes on

the prize.

the prize. She is the big race

performer, Alex, and although in the

last two years her form has been in

doubt, she has struggled to get back

to the heights of 2014-15. What do

you think we saw yesterday and what

can we expect from her?

It's true.

The season has not been great for

her, but she has come back. She set

a track record on the first run when

she wasn't feeling great. What can

she do when she is fine? Hopefully,

she had last night to sort herself

out, maybe had a good rest. She is

ready for this.

She has had this

balance problem and a slight

blacking out during a run. We are

not worried about that, we?

Well, I

am assuming she has a great team who

will keep an eye on that. They will

not let her do anything that will

endanger her or injure her. She has

had this for a long time and they

are used to dealing with it.

And she

is always so calm and methodical.

Laura Deas, we know less about. Many

have never heard of her until

yesterday.

And now she is forth. Her

improvement was exceptional.

I have

been really impressed with her. I

did think the nerves would get to

her, but seeing her interviewed

yesterday, she was calm and

motivated. You can see she knows

what she wants to do. She is in the

perfect place in fourth. She is not

in a medal position at the moment.

The same thing happened with Dom.

People talk about being under the

radar and having no pressure. The

pressure is only what you put on

yourself. She wants a medal, so

fourth place for her is a

disappointment.

Definitely. The fact

that her first run was not great and

she came back fighting, and she had

the second best time on the second

run. Most of the girls had a worse

second run and it is a four run

race, so if she can keep improving,

I would be amazed if she is not up

there in the medals at the end.

We

have had lots of questions about

skeleton. Alex, you are so

knowledgeable. Let me repeat what

you said about why it is called

skeleton?

It was originally called

the skeleton bobsleigh, meaning you

stripped everything off a

bobsleighed and what have you got

left? Just the bottom and the

runners. Then as skeleton tried to

find its own identity, we became

skeleton bob, then we dropped the

word Bob and we are skeleton.

So it

is just the bare bones. Rosie and

Johnny have been watching carefully

and they want to know, how do they

slow down and is it saw when you

fall off?

At the end of the track,

once they have come of the finish

line, you will see that all of the

women are pushing up. The track also

goes uphill and eventually, they

will hit a bit of foam or a mat and

you go from sliding really fast to

coming almost to a complete stop.

Falling off is common. You can come

right off your sled, but you can get

back on it. The hits look worse on

TV than when it happens in reality,

because you ping off and you have

protection on the sleds. Right at

the front, there are metal bumpers.

So although it looks like the

athlete is slamming into the wall,

it is normally the sled.

And what do

you need as qualities to be a good

skeleton slider?

Skeleton is one of

the most difficult sports to teach.

I have taught on novice courses and

you can tell within the first one or

two runs whether someone will be

good, because you have to be so

quick thinking. It has to be so

instinctive. You can't teach someone

to think fast. Everything is coming

at you so quickly. You need to be

steering for the band that is coming

in 20 or 30 metres, early. If you do

it later, it is too late. So it is

about quick thinking, staying calm

in a pressured situation, having a

fast start, maintaining your

aerodynamic position, not getting

worried and fiddling about. So it is

a combination, but ultimately, a lot

of it is just instinctive. That is

where the Britons have tended to be

good in identifying people who seem

to be able to do it naturally.

Both

Laura Deas and using Arnold came

through the talent ID programme. --

Lizzy Yarnold. Lizzy talks about

listening to an orchestra of

information. So she really does

highlight the speed at which your

brain is working. But also

physically, you have got to be

brave.

Yeah. Ultimately, it's a

contradictory sport. You have to be

fast and explosive as you are

starting, but in a split-second you

then have to be relaxed and you have

to try and let yourself work as one

with the track. You can't fight it

as you go down, because it will

always win and slow you down. So it

is a contradictory sport. It is

hugely mental. The mental side of it

is probably more important than the

physical side. It is just that

combination of attributes. If you

get a good package together, you

have a good slider.

Laura Deas and Lizzy Yarnold came

from other sports. They are

competitive. The World Cup is not

exactly glamorous, you don't go into

it if you want to be mollycoddled.

You are talking about driving

halfway around Europe and the world,

hours on the road, staying in places

that you would not go on holiday. It

is cold and early start, late

starts, it is a brutal sport. You

are going out, and you are often

getting battered as you go down this

cold, icy, unforgiving track. But

weirdly, that is what the draw is.

And you want to do it again.

If you

say so! You saw Lizzy at the end of

the run, Jen Ryan helping her off

the track, undoing the top of her

suit, because she was struggling to

breed. But she recovered quickly and

looked happier as she walked off the

track. -- Tabriz.

If you can do that when you are not

feeling great, what is she capable

of when she feels better today?

We

will focus fully on skeleton from

11:30 on BBC One. Let's turn our

attention to short track speed

skating. You can't guarantee

anything in this sport. It's

roughest, toughest, most

unpredictable event of the lot.

Tight corners, slipping and sliding,

shoulders charging, it is ruthless.

Last Tuesday, Elise Christie was on

the deck in the final of the 500

metres, she finished fourth in the

end and is trying to stay positive.

Is this to be her moment?

It's tough, I worked so hard for the

500, and it has been taken away from

me. I know it's short track and I am

supposed to be prepared for this,

but it still hurts, you know?

I don't know Will it is I can't see

living with this feeling, you know?

I think that night was obviously

pretty rubbish, but after that, the

next day, I woke up and I thought

about everything. I have said to you

guys before, it's short track, it

out of my control. My hand was

kicked and it was an accident, short

track, nothing I can do about it.

For me, my focus is mainly on the

1001st, I have the 1501st, I will

see what I can do without and pick

up a medal. The 1000 is the one I

will try to get the gold in.

It

seems like you are philosophical and

I know this is experience helping

you get over this.

Definitely. It

was nowhere near as dramatic as

Sochi. What happened, I couldn't

have done anything about. I know

that, as frustrating as it is, I

have to move forward now.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me

lovely messages of support, I never

expected that, so it's amazing. My

two eras, Jessica Ennis-Hill Kelly

Holmes both sent me a tweet, that's

amazing -- Heurelho Gomez.

Sportsmen and women understand sport

is crazy and harsh at times, but

they've gone through things like

this before, and I can get through

this and come out the other end.

this before, and I can get through

this and come out the other end.

So good to hear Elise speaking with

so much more confidence, to be

honest, she get over these things

quickly and shares her emotions with

all of us. She, let's not forget, is

supreme in this sport. She won three

gold medals at World Championships

in 2017, including the overall

title, first European skater to do

that. But at the Olympics so far, it

has not gone well. Disqualified in

all three events at the Winter

Olympics in Sochi, and crashing in

the 500 metre final at the Olympics.

But this happens all the time,

doesn't it, in short track speed

skating. This is her today.

It is part and parcel of sport,

things go wrong. It happens in a lot

of sport. For us, this is not an

unusual circumstance, like we said,

but today she will come again and

focus. I know there was a lot of

talk after Tuesday about what the

team have got to do to help Elise

switchback in, she would know what

to do.

switchback in, she would know what

to do. There has been no divine

intervention. It is the plan as

usual, we will crack on and get on

with it, coming back to be ready

today.

Does her approach need to be calm,

or is it good to have anger there?

Who knows with Elise. One day she

will bounce off the walls and

perform brilliant, other times she

is focused and doesn't talk a lot.

You are never sure with her, but she

has refocused. Word from camp is she

is in a good place and feeling

positive, and is ready to go today.

Given what happened on Tuesday,

John, she fell, yes, didn't win a

medal, but finished and got a

result.

Completely different to

Sochi, she finished fourth, our best

result in the sport since 1994, that

is a massive positive for the team.

It was a disappointment she didn't

get the medals you wanted, but she

had another chance to go again, and

refocus.

Today is three times the

distance. On Tuesday, it is over so

refocus.

Today is three times the

distance. On Tuesday, it is over so

quickly. Looking at it again, she

was fighting to try to get up there

to win a medal.

Watching the race

back over and over, she didn't do

one thing wrong. She couldn't have

made a better decision. Sometimes

the decisions go against you. She

did a good start, but got boxed in

because of Lane four. She took

advantage and responded well to

that. It created something else to

happen. All the things that went

wrong, nothing was to do with her

performance. She is performing

really well, I hope she takes

confidence from it, even though it

was not the result she wanted.

Her

boyfriend there, Nicky Gooch coming

in, they said to her, don't go

through the interviews. She said she

wanted to, because

through the interviews. She said she

wanted to, because the quicker she

does them, the quicker she gets

through it.

She is an emotional

athlete, she likes to go out and be

upset, but that is how she turns

things around so quickly. One of the

few people I know that can switch

energy quickly. If I was like that

after a race, I would be knackered.

She feeds of that.

Sometimes you

can't change your personality, you

can't become a completely different

individual because you are a

sportswoman. Making the most of who

you are is sometimes the key.

I

think some of that can be the reason

why she does so well, and the reason

why she can also make mistakes. That

big personality, and all that

emotion, she just has to channel it

in the right way.

We will see her

heat in a couple of minutes. They

are running a bit behind. We have

the opportunity to see Team GB's

second medal of the Olympic Games.

Izzy Atkin, you will see her on the

right-hand side, she is about to

receive her bronze medal from the

freestyle skiing slopestyle. That

will give everybody confidence, two

medals already does help. Gold went

to Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland.

I'm liking their outfits. I love the

officials, the volunteers, helping

to put the officials in place.

Just a reminder, down there, coming

up next, Elise Christie going in

lane three. She will still be racing

fearless. Also, Charlotte Gilmartin

and Cap Thomson, catching up what

happened in their heat as they try

to make their way to the semifinals.

It is a busy day for Elise, not a

bad thing that three races come

quickly after each other, there is

no time to think. For Izzy Atkin, 19

years old, youngest member of Team

GB. She knew exactly what she had to

do, because everybody was falling,

basically, all over the place. They

were going for big tricks and jumps,

and she thought, as Jenny Jones did

four years ago, land a run that is

clean and she could land a medal.

That is exactly what happened. On

the right there.

ANNOUNCER:

Bronze medallist, Great

Britain.

Britain. Izzy Atkin.

All of Izzy Atkin's family out there

watching her, and her grandma Betty,

watching from Birmingham, this is a

wonderful moment. A second medal of

these games for Team GB, for Izzy

Atkin, her first experience of an

Olympics, she is coming back with a

medal. Based in Utah most of the

time, but she showed bravery there

and a bit of Knauss. We have talked

about intelligence in skeleton, and

how much you have to think, how

instinctive do you have to be in

short track speed Skating making

decisions quickly and changing your

mind?

You can have your race tactics

planned to a tee, but there are so

many people on the ice with you that

can change those things for you. You

had to be able to adapt to other

people's decisions.

Four years ago

in

Sochi, in 1500 metres, Elise

Christie won her semifinal

relatively easily, but put her left

skate, as she pushed it forward, she

put it to the left of the finishing

line, and the cameras picked that

up. Officially, she hadn't crossed

the line. It was the weirdest

disqualification of the lot.

It is a

rule in our sport. The camera picks

it up because it is used for the

photo finish.

it up because it is used for the

photo finish. It is classed as a

non-finish. As we said earlier the

week, you can go anywhere you want

on straight ways when you race, but

at the finish line, you have to

crossed the finish line.

With two

laps ago, moved into second place.

Arianna Fontana, who won on Tuesday,

she is in this race, not in the same

heat, but in the 1500 metres again.

Elise Christie, easy as you like,

thinks she has qualified for the

final, no panic at all. She looked

up at the board, didn't she, and saw

a penalty.

Just devastating. It is a

rule, but it is not something that

you think is going to happen.

I

talked to her about it when I went

to see her, and she said she had

never done it before. Usually, the

cameras wouldn't pick that up. But

you can see it there. Let's handover

to heat five, Elise Christie, let's

join Simon Brotherton.

COMMENTATOR: Elise Christie on the

ice for the first time since the 500

metre final the other day. A quick

run through of the runners and

riders, Zhou Yang from China,

currently in second position there,

number 137. Zhou Yang is the

two-time and defending Olympic

champion at this distance. Bianca

Walter. It is a 13.5 lap race. Elise

Christie there, just tucked in in

third place.

The game, the skaters

here jostling for position. Volta is

in the lead. Ten laps remaining.

Nothing to worry about now.

Three of

the six will go through.

The Olympic silver medallist in the

relay four years ago in second. Zhou

Yang is third. In fifth place at the

moment, Elise Christie biding her

time. Zhou Yang moves around the

outside. Bianca Walter from Germany

tries to follow her up into second

place at the moment, behind the

defending Olympic champion.

Elise is

comfortable at the speed at the

moment. Six laps to go, one, two and

three will qualify. She really needs

to start thinking about making a

move. The Canadian also having that

thought as well. Moving through on

the outside.

Now they start to wind

it up with five to go. Zhou Yang on

the front. Bianca Walter skating

well. Christie in five. She tries to

go on the inside. A little bit of a

gap back to them from the front

three. Zhou Yang staying out of

trouble, the Olympic champion on the

front. Christine now starts to show

some of her speed that we know she

has got in her legs. Christie around

the outside, draws up level with the

Olympic champion from China. Elise

Christie sweeping round at the Bell

into first place. That's more like

it from the World Champion. Elise

Christie now can ease up a little

bit. She knows she's going through.

That was a tremendous return to the

ice after what happened the other

day. Safely through to the

semifinal. Elise Christie of Great

Britain.

It showed how confident she

was in this race, just took her

time, waited and waited, and waited.

Didn't do an awful lot of work. When

she put the foot down, it was around

the outside and left everybody

standing.

Very assured performance

from the World Champion.

We can see

the move from Christie around the

outside of the Olympic champion. She

made that look so easy, sitting down

deep on the straight, getting the

maximum leg extension. And just

totally concentrated on the process

rather than the medal.

Pace, control

and dominance in that heat from

Elise Christie. A reminder that this

event goes all the way from the heat

to the final in this session, here,

so we will have the semifinals. They

go straight from this, no

quarterfinals, they go straight into

the semifinals and the final.

The three you would have expected to

go through with the three who went

through. We have the sixth and final

heat here in the women's 1500m to

go. The skaters are on the ice

already. The three-time World

Championship medallist is in the

field. Also the Hungarian, the

19-year-old.

19-year-old. Choi Minjeong of Korea.

Sofia Prosvirnova, the Olympic

Athlete from Russia, and the Chinese

athlete on the outside on the

left-hand side. Away they go.

left-hand side. Away they go. It is

fair to say that Choi Minjeong is

the favourite for gold here.

Well,

we have seen so many turn ups for

the books in the last few short

track days, so I wouldn't put my

money on anyone at the moment. That

was a superb piece of skating by

Elise Christie.

The good thing about

this event rather than the 500 is

that once they have started, they

have time to get settled in. No need

to panic in this one.

to panic in this one. At the front

is Kaminaga from Japan. Choi

Minjeong moves around the outside.

And before you know it, all the way

to the front of the race.

It's all

about jostling for the right

position, as the Chinese skater

moves through.

moves through. Li Jinyu is leaving

for China -- she is leading.

for China -- she is leading. Choi

Minjeong seems very comfortable in

third place. And Prosvirnova, the

Olympic Athlete from Russia, tries

to move on the inside. Everyone is

still pretty much in contention.

Lana Gehring from the USA is up into

fourth, a bit of jostling.

fourth, a bit of jostling. As Choi

goes around the outside, Prosvirnova

is stuck in third place. Superb

piece of skating from her. Can she

retain that third spot to qualify

for the semifinal?

Choi Minjeong is

looking good. Her form has looked

superb this week. Prosvirnova is

third at the moment. There will be

one lap to go. Choi Minjeong staying

out of trouble at the front. There

will be a battle for the other two

places. Choi Minjeong is trying to

ease off the gas. She slides over

the line. It is a photo finish

between the Hungarian and the

Chinese athletes.

She made that look

very comfortable. That means that

two of the Korean skaters are now

through to the semifinals. That will

help Elise Christie. Normally, there

are always three Korean skaters in

the final. And I wouldn't say they

are teams getting, but they will not

hinder one another.

So a strong

skate from Elise Christie and from

Choi Minjeong.

It could be Super Saturday! But the

first thing that has happened

smoothly is Elise Christie winning

her heat. It is such a different

pace in the 1500m. They go very

steady

pace in the 1500m. They go very

steady. But when she swept through

to overtake, she can turn on the

afterburners, can't she?

Did she

make that look easy? Just trying to

save a bit of energy. She didn't do

a lot of work until later in the

race, when she did a nice overtake.

Loads of speed, and that she settled

down for the finish.

She has talked

a lot about the 1000m. She is

putting a lot of expectation on

herself for that, her favourite

distance. But she is world champion

in this. Is that just a way of

telling people not to concentrate on

the 1500?

It is a bit of a

protection mechanism, but she is

world champion in the 1500m and it

does play to her strengths because

the field opens up at the end. And

although she is strong, she is fast

as well.

as well.

Does she not enjoy the

1500? It does start to hurt a bit?

The legs start to hurt at the last

five laps. So I think that is why

she prefers the shorter distance.

The lovely thing is that her success

has prompted more athletes to get

involved in short track speed is --

's skating.

There were others in action in the

heats of the 1500m. Let's find out

how they got on.

Next, heat two featuring Kathryn

Thomson from Great Britain, the

22-year-old Scot in the middle of

your picture.

Han Yutong was fifth in the World

Championship a couple of years ago.

Anna Seidel is from Germany.

Anna Seidel is from Germany. And

Capcom Thompson goes to the front.

-- Kat Thomson.

The helmet numbers

signify their ranking at the World

Championships. We can see that

Marian Saint July -- Marian Saint

Delay is wearing the number two,

signifying that she was second at

the World Championships last year.

She is competing on her 28th

birthday today. She is considered

one of those capable of winning a

medal in this event. At the front

for the United States, Jessica

Kooreman. And there is Kathryn

Thomson from Great Britain. She is

at the front with nine to go.

You can feel the pressure coming

from the back as St Gelais moves

through to take the lead.

through to take the lead.

Kat

Thomson is now in fifth place.

Valcepina has yet to make a move,

letting everybody else do the

bumping and jostling and barging for

position. St Gelais in second place.

And the German goes down, tangling

with Kooreman of the United States.

Thomson in with a chance, but now

Valcepina makes a move.

Valcepina

moving through comfortably. The

first, second and third will qualify

for the semifinals with one lap to

go.

Han Yutong from China is

leading. Valcepina of Italy is in

third. There is a bit of a gap to

the United States and Kooreman.

Thomson comes through in fifth

place, meaning she will not go

through.

through. But you could be

reinstated.

Here is the first

problem that was caused. You can see

the American, Jessica Kooreman,

changing the line, coming from the

outside into the inside. Anna Seidel

then tried to move up the inside and

collides skates.

Cleanly away this time. Charlotte

Gilmartin from Great Britain moving

around on the outside.

On the inside is the Singaporean,

trying to nudge her way through.

trying to nudge her way through.

And

on the outside, the Australian, who

has trained in Korea with a Korean

coach.

It will be interesting to see

how she fares, the Queensland from

Brisbane. Perhaps not surprisingly,

she decided that elsewhere there

would be a better standard of

training and facilities for her.

training and facilities for her. The

Dutchwoman is in second. Efremenkova

having a look on the inside.

having a look on the inside.

Seven

laps to go. A lot time of 10.82, so

at some point, the pace has to be

picked up as Schulting of the

Netherlands goes into the lead.

There was a sudden change in tempo.

Charlotte Gilmartin is in second

place at the moment for Great

Britain. Efremenkova goes down. A

slight collision with Deanna Lockett

of Australia.

of Australia. Schulting leads the

way. They will have three laps to go

this time.

And unfortunate for by

the skater from Russia. At the

front, Schulting is making this look

easy. Charlotte Gilmartin was to

finish in second place to get a

better seeding for the next

semifinal.

There is going to be a

battle for second place. Schulting

leads the way for the Netherlands.

Charlotte Gilmartin holding second

place. Deanna Lockett from Australia

in third. They are the first three

over the line.

over the line. Charlotte Gilmartin

is safely through to the semifinal.

Let's have a look at the race again

here, Wilf.

We can see Lockett

battling to retain third place.

Under Russian skater again in the

same

same turn that saw the Korean fall.

I am still questioning the quality

of this ice.

We can see Charlotte Gilmartin

coming across the line. Interesting

to see what, in fact, her final

position would be. If she has given

away second place.

Which she may

have done.

There is no need for that

whatsoever. She should have skated

to the line.

Ekaterina Efremenkova,

the Olympic Athlete from Russia, is

penalised. Gilmartin going through

in third place.

Gilmartin qualifies, but she got a

ticking off for not finishing

properly.

Always skate to the line.

Long-standing rule, skate to the

line.

She had a crash in the heats,

hurting her ribs when she whacked

into the wall. She was determined to

do better. She will be thrilled.

She

will be pleased. She has really good

skills in the 1500 metres, she comes

late at the end and attacks. She

will be up for it and she has had a

week off to prepare, so she will be

ready to go. In the next round,

let's skate to the line.

Exactly.

You want to get that message to

let's skate to the line.

Exactly.

You want to get that message to her.

Let's look at the qualifiers. Kim

Boutin benefited so much from the

disqualification of the Corrie and

in the 500 metres to get a bronze

medal for Canada. Elise Christie has

been drawn in semifinal three. Choi

Minjeong is in her semifinal. She

will have a lot of home support. Who

are the

will have a lot of home support. Who

are the dangers? The top two go

through to the final.

The top two go

through. Obviously, Elise and

Charlotte in the same race. That

will separate the field a little

bit.

We are loving short track, and

we will get straight back out there,

because it is the men's 1000 metres.

Elise Christie will watch closely

because her other half is competing

in the fourth quarter final, let's

rejoin Simon Brotherton.

COMMENTATOR: Will come back. We are

almost ready to go with the

quarterfinals in the men's 1000

metres, four races to win it. They

had the heats the other day, we have

the quarterfinals now and two heats

of four in the semifinals to go

through to the final.

through to the final. Shaolin Sandor

Liu was the World Cup winner this

winter, but he's not in this first

quarterfinal. It is a strong

line-up. We have the gold medallist

in the 1500 metres. We have Thibaut

Fauconnet. The world ranked number

two from Korea, Hwang Daeheon. And

we have the World Champion. All

three of them in the quarterfinal.

Including, the Olympic gold

medallist from the 1500, and the

current World Champion.

Fall is start for this first

quarterfinal.

It's very unusual to

have three Koreans. We can see it

again. I'm not sure if

again. I'm not sure if it was

Daeheon, the second skated from the

outside. Position three, one false

start.

Hwang Daeheon didn't finish

the other day. Cleanly away this

time. Scuffling into the first

corner. Fauconnet, the Frenchman,

outnumbered here.

Nine laps, and

extended sprint as Fauconnet needs

to do something if he wants to go

through to the next round. Skaters

one and to qualify.

At the front it

is Hwang Daeheon. Fauconnet in third

place. Six laps to go. Over the line

this time, in second

this time, in second place... As

Fauconnet was forced wide.

The Koreans really not playing teams

skating, but they are so dominant,

they make it impossible. They are

changing the lead.

Like a team

pursuit, doing a bit on the front.

At the

At the front is Lim Hyojun. Leading

is Lim Hyojun from Korea, followed

closely. All three going for it.

Sweeping through on the inside to

take first place, the World

Champion, who we didn't see until

the end of the race, he timed his

race to perfection, and ending up on

the.

the. Fauconnet fourth,

provisionally.

Running exceptionally

well. Skating very wide, very

relaxed early on. Saving his energy.

He is the World Champion. He has

skated better than I have seen him

all week so far.

A tough draw for

the Frenchman here.

You've got the

world number one, the Olympic

champion, the world ranked number

one. It was almost an impossibility

for him.

You are not supposed to

race as a team, but questions would

have been asked if they had messed

it up and the Frenchman went

through.

Hwang ended up on the floor.

The

skate has to be flat on the ice.

They could award a penalty to the

third skater. The hand coming across

the inside.

All about the skate that crosses the

line.

A perfectly timed effort from

Seo Yira, the World Champion. He

looked unruffled, unlike the other

two as they stretched.

And a penalty for Hwang of Korea.

Hwang out, and the second of these

quarterfinals coming up very

shortly. The running repairs to the

ice here.

That's right. As Hwang was

going over the finish line, he is

trying to push his skate out in

front of him, because that is the

marker when the stopwatch is

stopping, and whether he is going to

qualify or not, and the back of his

skate bug deep into the ice. What

they will do is prepare the ice --

repair the ice.

They have a spray,

it looks like a fire extinguisher.

That's right.

I can see one of the

officials is about to spray the

eyes.

eyes. Once the fresh eyes has been

plastered down onto the surface...

There we are.

There we are.

Quite a deep rut in

the ice before the finish line. I

hope the remaining skaters don't

have any problems with that

a feud

Dutch fans in tonight Derek

Campbell, former Olympian and

Olympic gold medallist, coaching the

Canadian team for 12 years now.

Amazing success is back in

Vancouver.

Vancouver.

Hopefully, the repair is

almost complete now. We will be able

to continue the quarterfinals.

Farrell Treacy will go in the third

quarter final in a few minutes time.

Really is quite a nasty gouge out of

the ice made by Hwang in his

desperate attempt to finish in the

first two in that first

quarterfinal.

Incredibly

disappointed to have drawn his own

team-mates in this. The races are

made up conceding points. It's only

recently that the seeding points

don't matter any more. When I

skated, they kept skaters apart from

one another. That was a little bit

unfair. Now it is all about your

world ranking, and based on a world

ranking, that is where you are

placed into the race.

You can see

they are refreezing the rut in the

ice. Repairs complete and we are

almost ready to go. A packed house

inside the Ice Arena again tonight.

They love short track racing in

Korea. Locally, it is one of the hot

tickets, short track.

Almost one of

the impossible tickets.

Samuel Girard is the world silver

medallist from 2016.

A World Championship gold medals

last year. Six laps to go, this time

over the line. Kazuki Yoshinaga

moving up. A lot of work to do.

Samuel Girard comes around the

outside, moving up the inside.

Samuel Girard finishing in fourth

place the other day. One that the

Canadians have high hopes for in the

years ahead, just 21 years of age

from Quebec. Samuel Girard looking

comfortable on the front at the

moment. Having a look on the inside

was Kazuki Yoshinaga, Yuri

Confortola, the XP rinsed Italian,

31 years of age.

31 years of age.

Two that is to go,

Samuel Girard still on the front

with Yuri Confortola in second

place. DeLaet in third place.

Samuel

Girard looking comfortable still.

Yuri Confortola ahead of the Lark,

who looks annoyed at himself at

that.

A comfortable skate from

Samuel Girard from the front,

controlling the race. Talat making

the slip early on in the race and

has to pay the penalty now by not

qualifying.

It has been a long time

since Confortola was at the top of

his game.

his game. Bags of experience, and he

used it in this quarterfinal.

We can

see Girard moving through very, very

comfortably indeed. Here is the

challenge for the line. A lot trying

to squeeze up the inside.

to squeeze up the inside. Confortola

has qualified for the semifinal.

Girard looked good, but DeLaet will

be frustrated because his form is

better than that.

Absolutely.

Confirmation that Confortola from

Italy goes through behind Samuel

Girard of Canada. Next up on the

track will be the third

quarterfinal, featuring Great

Britain's Farrell Treacy, second in

his heat behind John Henry Kruger of

the United States.

Farrell Treacy Ryosuke Sakazume. A

tough one for Tracey.

Big guns in

this 1000 metres. Farrell Treacy

moving through comfortably to the

front with eight laps to go. It's

all about jostling for positions.

Farrell Treacy comes through.

John-Henry Krueger of America

cruising around the outside.

Farrell Treacy trying to get

involved and lost a little bit of

speed as John-Henry Krueger is in

second.

John-Henry Krueger moving through up

the inside with three laps to go,

looking comfortable indeed. These

two skaters fighting for that

qualifying position.

Two laps to go,

in third is Ryosuke Sakazume from

Japan. A gap back to John-Henry

Krueger and Farrell Treacy hanging

off the back at the moment.

I was looking at the referees, and

it could go anyway, to be honest,

Simon.

Knegt was involved in an

incident the other day as well, for

which he was penalised. The Dutch

look a little unsure in the crowd.

But Elistratov has shown that his

form is really good so far with the

bronze medal in the 1500. This

distance is shorter than that, but

again, he had the experience to

stand his ground at the front. There

you see Farrell Treacy getting

involved early on.

And here is the

move on Knegt. He seems to be coming

out to make sure he is going into

the term.

Knegt looks as though he

forced John-Henry Krueger out wide.

That could be a possible penalty for

Knegt. He won the bronze medal four

years ago at this distance.

Which I

think was the first Dutch medal in

short track at the Olympic Games.

That is true.

Which is a very

different scenario to the Dutch

dominance in long track speed

skating, which has continued across

the way in the Oval, right next to

this ice Arena. So do you think

Knegt will be concerned?

I saw him

giving John Henry a pat on the back

as if to say sorry.

John-Henry

Krueger is standing out just beyond

the padding, waiting for a decision

which he hopes might give him a

reprieve. But provisionally,

Elistratov and Knegt where the first

two. And yes, Knegt has been

penalised. He is out, so one of the

medal favourites has gone. Semen

Elistratov goes through. Ryosuke

Sakazume the advances as well and

the victim of the move by Knegt is

John-Henry Krueger of the United

States. And in fourth place, Farrell

Treacy of Great Britain.

Disappointment for the Dutch.

The

national coach of Hollund will not

be happy with that decision at all.

That is twice that Knegt has been

involved in incidents at these and

begins. Here comes the fourth

quarterfinal.

And we have a false start.

I am not

sure if that was the number one,

Hamelin, on the inner lane. Of

course, not forgetting the racers

are only allowed one false start. If

they do it again, they have to leave

the ice. It was very close.

the ice. It was very close.

I think

it is Dajing for China.

it is Dajing for China. Away they

go. Scrapping for that first place.

Hamelin trying to move through the

inside.

Wu Dajing is looking very

comfortable, controlling the race

from the front, a tactic I used to

enjoy. If you are going to tire

towards the latter part of the race,

it's better to be at the front than

at the back.

at the back.

Hamelin in second

place. Still looking good for

Canada. The two Latvians are hanging

the coat-tails of this group. A bit

of barging. Hamelin was forced out

wide, managed to stay on his feet.

Charles Hamlin was there and the

Latvian was also involved in a photo

finish.

'S stunning skating from all

the skaters. The way Peter Worth is

calling these races, it wouldn't

surprise me if there are possibly

two penalties here, maybe one from

Charles Hamelin and one for Wu

Dajing.

Hamelin almost ended up on

the deck.

You can see the Hungarian

crossing over, forcing easy and onto

the inner of the rink. And this was

later, when Hamelin tries to squeeze

around the outside. And then exactly

the same thing happens here with Wu

Dajing trying to go around outside.

He is not allowed to cut inside.

He is not allowed to cut inside. You

can see Wu Dajing making a mistake

on the right pivoting leg.

on the right pivoting leg.

Pretty

close on the line here, with Hamelin

from Canada.

from Canada. That was close.

We will

have to wait and see for the

official result, because if Charles

Hamelin does receive a penalty, that

will mean Pukitis of Latvia will

move through to the semifinal.

This

is the final judges' liberation from

these quarterfinals.

these quarterfinals. Wu Dajing,

trying to dive in at the front of

the race. It was all or nothing for

him.

The Chinese are having a

disastrous game so far.

disastrous game so far.

This is an

event that Korea has dominated over

the years. Only twice as anyone

other than a Korean won this event.

Here comes the referee's decision.

There is a penalty and Wu Dajing is

penalised for his attempt to chop

his way into the front. Shaolin

Sandor Liu from Hungary goes

through, as does Charles Hamelin

from Canada. And Wu Dajing finishes

last.

So here were with the line-ups,

those who have gone through.

It is a day that promises so much.

Six minutes away from the semifinals

of the 1500m in short track speed

skating, but this is the scene at

the Alpensia Sliding Centre ma Laura

Deas in fourth place at the halfway

stage of the skeleton competition.

And Lizzy Yarnold just in front of

her in third. The British and Welsh

fans are out in force. That is Laura

Deas' camp cheering her on, and

Lizzy has made it clear that she is

here to defend her Olympic title. So

we just want to give everybody who

is watching around the country a

little smile, a little cuddle,

because the white tiger which is the

mascot of Pyeongchang of these

Winter Olympics, we have our two at

the front of the table and I know a

lot of people are watching at

Nottingham eye centre. Hello to you

and good luck to both Charlotte

Gilmartin and police Christie --

Elise Christie. There is also

curling at the moment. The British

women are in action against the host

nation, South Korea. That has just

started and it is on the red button

and will be uninterrupted coverage.

But we will tell you what has

happened a little later. Oh, my

word. Let's head out to the sliding

centre shortly. You know about Lizzy

Yarnold. She is the defending

champion. She carried the flag at

the opening ceremony, but what about

her team-mate, Laura Deas? Who is

she and how did she get into

discussing? Nick Cudd has been

finding out about her mindset, and

she is ready for liftoff.

Ignition

sequence start.

sequence start.

You never quite know

what's going to happen. It's down to

you in that moment. There's nobody

else.

Talk about not feeling like a

skeleton athlete. You weren't always

a skeleton athlete.

Yes, it was

unusual in the fact that I came from

an equestrian background.

How big a

switch was that? Your whole life,

your mindset must have changed.

I

had never been in that sort of gym

environment before. I had literally

never stepped inside a gym until I

was put through my paces for the

skeleton trial. So it was a massive

shock for my body. The focus also

became different because as a rider,

it was much more about how the horse

feels, how they are moving and what

is happening underneath me. All of a

sudden, it was about, how am I

feeling? In a way, there are

parallels as well, with that

sensitivity to what is happening

underneath you and having to plan a

route and think quickly. Those

things transfer well, so was a good

crossover in some ways.

How much

does your relationship with Lizzy

helped? She says you are her best

friend, but to work together must

also help you both perform.

It's

nice to have someone with you who

understand everything you're going

through. If you have a tough gym

session together, there is always

someone to have a cup of tea with

and talk about it with, which is

nice. We push each other in a

positive way as well. As soon as we

step on the track, we are

supercompetitive. We both want to

win. And the fact that we both see

ourselves as podium contenders means

we are constantly pushing each other

forward. But we are part of a wider

team and everybody could bring their

A-game on race day.

There has been

so much British success in skeleton

at recent Olympics. Have you watched

while Amy Williams has won her gold

medal and a Lizzy Yarnold in 2014?

I

vividly remember sitting and

watching Amy do her first two runs

at Vancouver. And I remember this

powerful feeling of thinking, wow,

I'm in the same programme as this

athlete who is leading at the

Olympics. If she can do it, I can. I

have always carried that with me.

The fact that Lizzy then went on to

do the same thing has just

reinforced that. It is an exciting

time for our programme.

And what do

you feel is possible for you?

I

definitely feel I can win a medal. I

have beaten every person in that

field, so I know if things go right

and I bring my A game, I can be on

the podium.

Laura Deas, full of

confidence and really enjoying

herself. Every shot we have seen of

her, she looks relaxed and excited.

She looks to be smiling, but this is

the serious end of the competition.

She is in fourth place. She is 17

hundredths behind the leader,

Loelling. And in third place is the

defending champion, Lizzy Yarnold.

Let's head out to Alpensia because

Amy Williams is there. It's going to

be chilly, but it's a hot night of

action on the track. What can we

expect?

Like you say, we can't wait.

We are going to have two of our

British girls fighting for those

medals, both wanting to win, both

wanting gold, silver, bronze. The

atmosphere including credible. We

have loads of supporters behind me.

I can't wait for the races to start.

They haven't had a chance to slide

on it today, but they have walked

the track. What does that tell them

and what do you expect to see Laura

and Lizzy trying to do on their

third run?

To be able to walk the

track on the morning of your race is

a good feeling. You want to be able

to look at the ice. It actually just

calms your nerves. I didn't track

walk before my race in Vancouver,

and it settles you. It is something

to do as well, because you have a

lot of hours to kill before the

evening race. So you are going

through the mental imagery of the

track in your head. They have only

had six runs to learn the track

here, so the more times you can go

through it in your head, shut your

eyes and go through every corner. It

is like replaying your perfect lines

in your head.

We have seen lots of

shots of Laura in the warm-up area.

She looks fine. Lizzy set a track

record in her first run yesterday

and then looked dizzy and said she

was short of breath. How is she?

Back here,

Back here, she said she was short of

rest.

And she has a cold. She said

she found it hard to breathe. She

looked fine throughout the run. I

was watching her eyes, everything

was spot on, it was just coming up

to the finish line that she needed

to get her breath back, which is

fine. The team are happy and

confident. Laura is in a good place.

Yeah, we are looking forward to it

so much.

Great copper Tichit naked.

-- competition ahead. We will bring

you everything and we will go

through from

through from the leader, third will

be Lizzy Yarnold, and fourth Laura

Deas. Alex, you know what it is

like. The whole which the

competition, they want to get on

with it.

It. Definitely. This is it,

this is D-Day. This is what they

have been working for, the

combination of four years is now.

As luck would have it, we have

action all the way, they are ready

for the short track semifinals,

three semifinals in the 1500 metres,

Charlotte Gilmartin will be in the

second, and believes Christie will

be in the third. Sarah, I love

asking you, what would you whisper

in Elise's if you could?

Get the job

done. She needs to

in Elise's if you could?

Get the job

done. She needs to get through

without incident or problem. She

needs to float through and get into

the final.

What would you say to

Charlotte Gilmartin?

Get in there.

This is her strength, she loves to

race, and she is one step away from

aching the final.

The first of the semifinals.

COMMENTATOR: They are almost ready

to go, just lining up down below us

on the ice here. Kim Alang has

number one position, Kim Boutin

second. Pierron from France.

Marianne St Gelais from Canada

currently on the outside in second

place. St Gelais, the 2016 World

Champion.

Champion. Anna Seidel from Germany

won the European Championship 1000

metre bronze medal earlier this year

already. 13.5 laps of the track.

The

skaters jostling for position as you

Kim Boutin, bronze medallist from

the 500 metres.

Two Canadians at the

front going around the outside.

Marianne St Gelais leading from her

compatriot Kim Boutin at the moment

with Han Yutong of China third. Kim

Alang of Korea, an Olympic gold

medallist in the relay four years

ago in the white Jersey of Korea in

fourth. Seidel of Germany in five.

Pierron and Valcepina at the back.

The crowd warming as the Korean Kim

goes through and takes the lead.

She

makes that look very easy. Very

comfortable. A lap time of 9.2

seconds. Not incredibly fast. She

comes around the outside.

The first

two go through to the final. Kim

Boutin leading the way. Kim Alang in

second place with Marianne St Gelais

third the Canada. Work to do the Han

Yutong of Korea. The other two are

out of it. Sliding out of contention

was St Gelais. Amazing that

Valcepina and also Pierron didn't

come into collision with her.

Leading the way, now trying to catch

up Han Yutong. Almost level now. A

scrap to the line. Kim Boutin in

second for Canada. She maintains

second spot, but the Korean over the

line in first place, Kim Alang.

Boutin in a photo finish. What a

disappointment for Marianne St

Gelais, the 2016 World Champion

ended up smacking against the

padding at the side of the eyes.

Interesting to see what the referees

make of that from Marianne St

Gelais. She collided going up the

straight with Kim Alang. Kim Alang

moving around the outside. Kim

Boutin having a look and letting her

come through comfortably as the pace

increases.

increases. Seidel going down there.

This appointment for her. This is

where the question really is, is Kim

Alang moving inside, protecting the

inside lane? What will the referee

make that? I have seen a lot of

decisions in the men's racing when

the skater, what we used to do when

I skated, cross track, now it is

called blocking, preventing the

skater. If you change your line, you

run the risk of getting a penalty.

Might there be an issue for Kim

Alang?

There could very well be. I

can see the referees talking to one

another, looking at that pass of

Marianne St Gelais moving up the

inside. I can see the video referee

from Holland shaking his head. We

will have to see what the official

result will be.

Let's look at it

once again. Hopefully, this is the

key incident. Yes, it is.

You can

see, Kim Alang, she was very

fortunate.

One of the officials was

almost wiped out, and two

backmarkers could have collided with

her.

The Canadians having a battle

here with the Koreans. If this

Korean gets a penalty then there

really will be war on the ice.

Kim Boutin and Marianne St Gelais,

Boutin and Han Yutong in a photo

finish for second place as it

stands. St Gelais also waiting,

hoping that maybe she might be

advanced.

That would mean, of

course, so far, one advantage, they

would be seven people in the final.

Despite talk of around the table and

viewing of video evidence, is this

one position in the end?

Yes, the referee makes the final

call, he can be advised by the video

referee, but ultimately, it's down

to the final referee to make that

decision. The chief referee, as it's

officially known.

They are writing something down. So

it would appear there has been a

call, that maybe on St Gelais or

Kim.

What is your feeling?

I would

have thought the Korean crossed into

Marianne St Gelais, so I would call

that it would go with a penalty to

Kim.

And the result is that Marianne St

Gelais has been penalised. Kim

Alang, Kim Boutin both going

through.

As I already said, the

angles the referee looks at are

completely different to the angles

we see here and you see at home, the

view was on TV. That always makes it

more difficult.

They should look at

that, so we can see what they are

making the decision on. Charlotte

Gilmartin for Great Britain, Suzanne

Schulting on the right-hand side of

the screen, Fontana from Italy, the

Olympic 500 metre champion. Ter Mors

has already won a medal here. Deanna

Lockett for Australia, Charlotte

Gilmartin from Worcestershire and

Kikuchi from Japan.

If Lockett of

Australia wants to make anything of

this race, in fifth place at the

moment, she needs to make the race

as quickly as possible, because she

is not good leaving it to the last

3-4 laps when high-speed kicks in.

Schulting of the Netherlands and Ter

Mors in one and two.

The difference

between the pair of them is in the

helmet, the orange one for Suzanne

Schulting. Ter Mors, who was so

impressive on the oval across the

Plaza the other night still looking

for an Olympic medal in short track.

She has twice finished fourth.

Charlotte Gilmartin in second place

in behind the very much informed

figure of Ariana Fontana. Fontana a

six time Olympic medallist finally

getting a gold the other day. Going

to the front is Ter Mors with 8.5

laps to go.

Ter Mors, of course,

doesn't like the argy-bargy. She

prefers long track speed skating.

She proved her fitness is good, so

she will try to do negative splits,

every lap getting quicker. The last

lap was 10.3.

Gilmartin with work to

do with seven laps to go, but still

in the group is Ter Mors... O! Down

she goes again! Charlotte Gilmartin

has crashed out as she did in the

heats of the 500 metres. But she's

back on her skates and back up and

running on the ice, but a lap behind

everybody else. Meanwhile at the

front, Ter Mors. Ter Mors on the

front ahead of Fontana, Schulting in

third place. Bringing up the rear is

Kikuchi of Japan.

We are going to

see Ter Mors move through again into

first place with relapsed to go. We

have to wait and see what happens

here. Schulting tried to go into the

back of Fontana.

Fontana wasn't

about to give way. Ter Mors leads

the way on the front. Fontana in

second place, Lockett trying to make

a challenge, but she goes wide. Ter

Mors of the Netherlands leads.

Fontana in second place. Kikuchi

challenging in third. The first two

over the line, Ter Mors and Arianna

Fontana. Deanna Lockett of Australia

crashed just going into the final

bend, and unfortunately, the

Queensland unable to challenge for a

place in the final.

That was superb

skating by Arianna Fontana. She has

got one gold in the pocket. Ter Mors

has another gold in the pocket, two

gold medallists going through to the

final.

We have A and B finals. It

determines the final placing. This

is the second semifinal, and

Charlotte Gilmartin.

I couldn't see

what happened there. Schulting

trying to come up the inside.

trying to come up the inside. The

Italian completely blocking her out.

We have to weight, still, for the

official result there.

Arianna

Fontana finished with the bronze

medal in this event in Sochi. This

was the end of the race for Lockett

from Australia. Disappointment for

Charlotte Gilmartin, though. Crashed

out of her other event as well.

Yeah, incredibly disappointing. As I

said, had she finished second in the

race, might have meant that she

would have gone into another

semifinal, which could have been a

little bit easier.

Once more, the

judges deliberating. Hopefully, not

for too long. Next onto the track

will be the final of the semifinals,

the last one featuring Elise

Christie.

The move from Fontana, she

just moves across, we have to weight

for the official result, of course.

So, Ter Mors and Fontana are

qualifying for the semi... From the

semifinal. Confirmation of the

result. Kikuchi and Schulting into

the B finals. Here we go.

Elise Christie needs to finish in

the first two to get into the

Olympic final. Choi Minjeong, the

world record-holder, seven time

World Championship gold medallist on

the inside. Petra Jaszapati. Valerie

Maltais from Canada.

What will

Christie do here? Will she adapt the

same tactics as she did in the first

round, not doing very much, and

leave it for a final burst of speed

at the end? I'm fairly convinced,

looking at the field, there's no

real specialist 1500 metres gators

in this race. That is horribly the

tactics, the race plan, what she

will adapt to. Choi sat behind

Christian fifth, China one and two.

In the first race of the day,

Christie was confident enough in her

speed to bite her time early on in

the laps, which is what she has done

initially here. Moving up a little

bit now. Moving in front of Valerie

Maltais into second place. We have

Li Jinyu and Zhou Yang of China at

the front at the moment with

Christie in third. She has got to

finish in the first two here. Just

moves into second place behind Li

Jinyu, world bronze medallist in the

junior championship last year. Tight

up the front, not too much room

there. Two Chinese athletes continue

to dominate up until now.

Christie

skating and ice lines into the turn.

Not going in too tight, squeezed

onto the first block, that happened

in the first final. Looking

comfortable. Multi tries to attack

around the outside.

Making a move

around the outside. Christie looking

boxed in as multi makes a move.

Multi, Zou, Leigh and Christie with

four laps to go. At the front,

Valerie Maltais, sixth in Sochi in

2014. She has a gap here, multi.

Christie has a little bit of work to

do now, as Choi Minjeong goes around

the outside. Choi goes towards the

front. Christie comes through on the

inside, good move from her, two that

is to go, Christie and Choi neck.

Christie doesn't want to crash

is to go, Christie and Choi neck.

Christie doesn't want to crash. Choi

Minjeong leads the way. Zhou Yang

and Christie as they go round the

front. Christie has crashed again

now! Right on the final bend yet

again. She ends up in a distraught

heap on the floor. She was almost

there. She was almost about to

qualify. She could see the line in

front of her and, once more, Elise

Christie, this time tangling with

one of the Chinese athletes ends up

on the deck against the padding at

the side of the track. Choi Minjeong

qualifies first. Petra Jaszapati,

the defending limply and champion.

And unfortunately and sadly from a

British point of view, Elise

Christie is on the ground and hasn't

crossed the line.

My heart goes out

to this young lady. She skated a

fantastic race. You Seou

fantastic race. You Seou -- you see

Choi steaming around the outside. A

collision. It appeared as if Li

might have cut her blade into

Christie's cut resistant racing suit

on the inner side of the right

skate. An awful disaster. You can

see it again. Which it looks like

she might be taken off by stretcher

from the pictures on the ice. A

disaster here for Elise Christie.

What terrible pictures for the

second time in a few days. She

finishes on the floor, the world

champion down. But hopefully in

terms of these Olympic Games, not

out. Hopefully, she will be able to

pick herself up and go and try again

in her favourite event, the 1000m.

You see her coming around the

outside. We only see the angle here

and whether she passed Li of China.

She has clearly not passed her.

Maybe the knock on the left shoulder

on Li causes her to go down. We need

to go back a bit. She clearly takes

Christie out. But the big question

is, is Elise in front of Li at this

point?

The other question is,

hopefully she is not badly injured,

either from the impact of the crash

or from the blade of the Chinese

skater. It goes without saying that

you can do a lot of damage with

those blades. They are extremely

sharp.

We are waiting for the final

decision.

Quite a hush. It is the

quietest this arena has been the

whole time. You can't see Elise

Christie, but we will give you an

update. She is still on the ice. The

stretcher is there. They are still

pending to her, but she is out of

our line of vision at the moment. We