Day 1, Part 4 Winter Olympics

After a spectacular and beautiful

Opening Ceremony, where peace and

unity were the central themes,

Pyeongchang has been humming to the

sound of live sports, and dealt

there they are into the evening

sessions of the ice hockey, luge and

short track speed skating.

Welcome to the first day of the full

competition at the 23rd Winter

Olympic Games, the first gold medal

has been awarded to Sweden!

Yesterday, a world record was set

for the number of drones used in

live-action, 1218 of them.

Now thousands are heading into the

mountains and coastal venues to

enjoy live sport and

enjoy live sport and Great Britain's

major chance of golden glory.

The person who could provide it gets

her campaign underway today, she is

a world champion, three times, a

world record holder and ranked

number one in the world but so far,

Elise Christie has only felt the

cold edge of disappointment at the

Olympic Games...

I love the ice. When I am on the

ice, I am free. At the Olympics, it

is quite nerve-racking.

Before the gun goes off, I go

straight to the line and stand

there. I can do this. I will do

this.

From that moment the gun goes off,

you have to be fighting. Every race

is quite aggressive.

Speed... Movement...

Power... On the edge. It is so hard

to move, because you are skating at

35 miles an hour. Sometimes, you get

it right. Sometimes, I really don't.

When you cross the line, it is the

biggest relief you ever feel in your

life. You have to really race to win

in this sport. The only colour I

really want is gold. I'm going to

give it my all to win it.

And

And this is Elise Christie come out

on the ice, getting herself moving

and preparing for the challenges

ahead.

Qualification for the 500 metres

event, she holds the world record

there.

Coming up before 11am.

South Korea is the short track speed

Skating capital of the world.

Their most successful Winter Olympic

sport, that place will be packed.

It will be noisy and exciting.

Getting excited on our half, Sarah

Lindsay,

Getting excited on our half, Sarah

Lindsay, John Healey, he did the

same and carried the flag four

Izaguirre, and Amy Williams, she

will be our expert on that.

Sarah, you were saying that you are

nervous?

I feel I'm getting ready to

compete myself! It's a little

between myself feeling it, getting

those old feelings back, moving into

being Elise 's nervous month!

John,

you are feeling confident about

this?

I've seen their preparation

and how hard the team have worked

behind, and more than happy that

they will put in a good performance

this morning. It is about

qualification for Elise.

And we have a medal contender in the

1500 too.

Amy, we will talk about the Sliding

Centre in a moment, you want to get

in touch with us, use the hashtag

BBC Olympics, if you have questions,

comments or if you want to know more

about the competitors, the sports,

the venues, what these guys have

been up to.

Here's what we have coming up over

the next few hours...

All eyes are on Elise as the ice

Queen begins her Olympic campaign in

the 500 metres. She's the world

record-holder.

Team-mate and friend Charlotte

Gilmartin is also trying to get

through to the quarterfinals.

She is in heat eight.

The first gold of the short track

will be won in the 1500 metres where

Canada's Charles Hamlin is the

defending champion.

Joe Mennie's Felix Locke is a legend

of the luge, going for his third

consecutive title -- Germany's.

And, flying into the air with the

utmost grace, Stoch defends his

title on the normal hill for Poland.

We have the smoking barrels of the

biathlon too, live on the red

button... Obviously a lot of things

are happening at the same time. We

will be hopping to the best of the

action, bringing it to you. Coming

up, we have the men's luge.

At midday, we will be switching to

BBC Two. If you want to follow the

live action on the red button, that

is continuous. The defending

champion Hamelin is about to go.

Live on the red button. We will be

getting over there for the best of

it all. Time for the headlines on

day one...

The opening morning of the Winter

Olympics has brought disappointment

for one of Britain's medal hopes,

snowboarder Jamie Nicholls failed to

get through the qualifying for the

men's slopestyle. And it was a

similar story for his British

team-mates Billy Morgan, who exited

the men's slopestyle after the

opening stage.

Norway's cross-country skier Marit

Bjorgen became the most decorated

female Winter Olympian ever with a

record 11th medal, a silver in the

skiathlon. Sweden's Charlotte Kalla

took the gold medal, the first of

these games.

Sarah and John, let's talk about

Elise Christie. First, the mental

side, how much do you think she has

changed in the last four years?

In

the last Olympics, she was

absolutely, without question, good

enough to win medals. We know that

everything went wrong for her. She

is too good. Too good not to now.

She's been at the top of her game,

experienced at going out into major

championships and winning. In the

last Olympics, it was all a bit new

to her.

And John, physically, how is

she different as an athlete?

She has

really moved on, and as you said,

she has really moved on. She is head

and shoulders above everyone else

and she will show that today, when

she goes and blasts it from the

start.

Let's hope, so much can go

wrong in the short track, at least

in the luge it is just you and the

track?

You and the track and your

commitment! It will be great to

begin watching the luge today. --

your equipment. Luge on the skeleton

and the bobsleigher are all on the

same track. Three different starts,

luge begin at the top so they have

more speed. They go first, the ice

is more rounded, the Bobsleigh tends

to mash it up. You do not have a

proper groove cut in, but it chips

on the ice. Especially when it is so

cold. The luge make it all smooth,

then we come along and take their

ice off of them!

We are watching

from afar, all of the action taking

place 5500 miles away in the

Republic of Korea, as it is

officially known, known here as

South Korea. Japan in the East,

North Korea in the north. It is a

technology hub, very futuristic.

They have the best Wi-Fi out there

of any Olympic venue

They have the best Wi-Fi out there

of any Olympic venue ever, people

are saying! It is all lit up in the

night sky, it will be very dramatic.

Amy, the competitors get to walk the

track. I always think that must be

Amy, the competitors get to walk the

track. I always think that must be

more difficult than sliding it. They

have all walked down the track with

the spikes in their shoes?

Yes,

track walking as part of your

training. We have special tracks

bikes we put over our shoes. We look

at the profile of the corners, you

work out all of the lines in your

head. You only have two runs per

day, six runs to learn the entire 16

corners of a track. It isn't like

Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton can go

round hundreds of times. We only

have six. You have the mental

imagery, writing your track notes.

All of that is information you log

in your brain.

And the later

competitors will be watching the

earlier ones with interest. Let's

have a look at the action as it gets

underway. John Jackson, one of

Britain's best ever bobsleigh

pilots, is in the commentary box...

COMMENTATOR: Good evening from a

very chilly South Korea,

Pyeongchang, the first 16 days of

sliding gets underway. Six bobsleigh

days coming up. Three skeleton, with

Lizzy Yarnold tucked away in the

middle of all of the action. Six

days of the luge are beginning here,

and it's the right time. The first

dozen or so of these luge athletes

to go, this is Semen Pavlichenko,

the reigning European champion. The

first dozen are theoretically all

going to be chasing the gold medal.

This track is so technical,

especially as we get down to the

bend. You will hear plenty more of

that through the course of the next

two weeks or so. John Jackson is

looking at every possible

technicality as the European

champion Pavlichenko is on his way.

He is going down the street now, he

made a mistake straightaway. There

is a lot of skidding. Little moments

like this will cost you medals. Not

everybody has drilled into the

track, working out the lines. That

tricky corner will cost a lot of

people. You can see he is putting

down his feet a lot. Not a good

first run in his Olympic campaign.

Not fluent at all. In the luge

daytime things to the 1000th of a

second. That is because back in the

1970s there was a dead heat for the

gold medal. You saw his body

language, a shake of the head from

Pavlichenko, he is not happy. We are

expecting a fewer of the top stars

to go less than 48 seconds?

There

will definitely be a new track

record.

record. You can see here, as he

comes down the straight, there was a

big skid at the entrance to 12

there. There is a lot of G-force on

the corner. It cost him a lot of

time.

Pavlichenko is unhappy but we

do have some superb sliders to come.

To reiterate... These early athletes

are the likely medallists. Coming up

next for Austria, the current world

champion, Wolfgang Kindl.

Pavlichenko made a mess of his first

run. Now, what can Kindl do? It has

been 50 years since Austria won a

gold medal in this event, thanks to

Manfred Schmidt. Can Kindl

consolidate his position and become

an Olympic champion? He needs four

consistent runs, not a slick away

from Pavlichenko. He needs to be a

lot need to down the track?

His line

into two was great. Another part of

the course that has been tripping up

people. The ice is a lot quicker

than what they are used to do when

they came here last year. It has

caused people trouble. The extra

cold temperatures makes the ice

really hard and fast at the same

time. But it is a good line into 12.

Now he should start picking up his

speed and on the competitor which

has gone down in front of him. You

can now see he is pulling away...

He comes into the last corner.

Uphill to the line here. If you have

lost your speed midway down, it's

tricky to get it back. There you go,

47.9. Kindl with a new track record.

This though is a very young track,

of course. But Kindl has set the

early standard.

The world champion starts his run,

was that a little shake of the head?

Yes, he knew that that mistake cost

him. It's a great line-out, but as

he comes into the bend, he has to

work so hard to correct that. It

costs him time. This will be such a

tight race. The last day of

training, the top seven athletes

were covered by 15 hundredths of a

second. They were not making

mistakes in training but they are

now in the race. It is wide open.

Earlier we were watching the women

having their practice runs, some of

them looked as though they had never

been on the luge before! Now, for

Germany, the third to go down,

Johannes Ludwig. It is his third

Olympics, current number five in the

world for Germany. They completely

dominating this event, and they have

done with the exception of the great

arm and certainly years for Italy.

Germany the team to beat. He has

been impressive in his training

sessions, Ludwig?

Yes, he is one of

the guys to watch. You can see more

control in his sled, how they steer

it, they use their shoulders and

legs, the top leg does the steering.

It is a great line into 12. And it

is key to keeping speed at the

bottom of the track. As he comes

down into the big Olympic corner,

corner 14, you can see the Olympic

logo there. Building speed through

the speed trap. Over 80 miles an

hour.

These guys are really motoring down

there. Moving into first place,

Ludwig goes ahead Earth Kindl. If

finishing speed of 151 Lahmert is

per hour, over 80 mph. He translates

his excellent practice sessions over

the last few days to this first

all-important run -- 151 kilometres

per hour.

Let's point out, as you

watch a replay again... The last

couple of Olympics from day one, you

needed to be in the first three to

get a medal. It is that important to

get a great start and on this track

of all, it is so important that you

are consistent in the four runs.

Without a doubt consistency is key

and it is all about who has got the

mental toughness to cope with the

Olympics. It is no different to any

other race that they have been in

before.

Next for Italy,

before.

Next for Italy, 24-year-old

Dominik Fischnaller, a policeman,

and tonight, speeding is mandatory!

Straight into that early right-hand

bend. He was third in the World

Championships behind Kindl.

And he

also holds the track record, but

there is another mistake and I think

they are just gripping into the ice

which is causing them not to be on

the optimum line. Ice conditions can

change it so much from day.

Hopefully he will keep the speed

that he needs at the bottom of the

track to stay close to Ludwig. But

he has lost a couple of tenth is

already and that will be difficult

to get back.

to get back.

Watching on is the

legendary Italian Armin Zoeggeler,

now coach of these Italian boys.

And after that Dominik Fischnaller

is currently in second place.

Quickest at the moment is Ludwig.

And you can see the coach, he knows

what it means, he has got six

Olympic medals from six Games, he's

a legend of the sport. Just under

their chin you will see a little

strap, that yellow looking cord,

that is to stop their head being

thrown back when they go in to the

big G corners, it is one of the bits

of safety equipment that these guys

use. And here is the great Felix

Loch, incredible to be calling him

great, just 28 years old, but he has

won the last two Olympic Games, a

brilliant talent from Germany and if

he can win gold here this week he

will replicate the achievements of

his compatriot Georg Hackl, who won

three. Such a classy exponent of the

art of luge, what do you make of his

start, John Jackson?

Again, looks

nice and smooth, squeezing his legs,

using the top leg to steer around

the corner. Slid off that one a

little bit did not get the ultimate

line out, but everything looks good

so far. Starting to build speed,

let's see what his line is like,

he's been good in training... Yep,

nailed the straight. This is where

he should start building speed now,

into the bottom of the track. And

he's just starting to pull away,

these real smooth lines as he comes

up to the final corner, are really

paying dividend for him.

And

straight into the lead! Now, that is

the mark of an Olympic champion! And

you can see his coach is very, very

tatters vied -- satisfied with that!

What a start for the great Felix

Loch.

You can see knows what he's

doing, he has done it many times

before, he knows what it is like to

handle this pressure.

He does

indeed. Very happy, and why not, so

important to get a good start, the

power as you push away from the

start and it ended up being a decent

line out although it was quite high?

Yeah, it was quite high, all of

those little bits just cost you time

and ultimate top speed.

Now, if

there is a youngster to beat Felix

Loch, it might be this youngster,

from the Olympic athletes of Russia

team, this is Roman Repilov, a

21-year-old, I saw him training at

the start of the week, he made big

mistakes. I saw him training

yesterday - he looked as though he

had learned a lot of lessons, he's

talented, John?

Yep, his first

Games, this is another guy, can he

handle the pressure of what those

five rings ring to it? Just not

settled into his rhythm just yet if

although he is only 27 thousandths

behind, which is not much. Coming

into these big pressure corners just

this is key... In needs to be

straight, and he has drilled that

straight down the middle, straight

into 12, big G corner into 13,

everything looking good... He's just

starting to drop off Felix Loch a

little bit but he's going to keep

himself in contention as he comes

into the final corner.

Round he

comes, then. Let's see where he

marches

marches up to Felix Loch... And that

is a fairly big gap already. He has

got work to do. And there are plenty

more talented luge athletes to come

in this first ten or 12. To

reiterate - you're watching right

now the best in the world. Whatever

happens this week, Roman Repilov has

got a big future.

Yes, he has,

definitely. You can see how they use

their legs to steer, and this is the

difference between Felix Loch and

the guy who is on the sled at the

moment. You can see the different

lines, and what they're doing on the

sled to achieve that. Ultimately, is

one faster than the other? You could

say that one is but it is about

getting the best for you and your

equipment to get the ultimate speed

for yourself.

Next to go, for

Austria, 28-year-old Reinhard Egger.

Unlike the guys we've just seen, a

top-10 finish I think for him this

week would be a realistic aim for

him. He will be going for the

podium, obviously, but his

performances suggest that that might

be beyond him. Let's see what he's

got, Reinhard Egger, his best World

Cup result this year was fourth in a

number of. He just doesn't seem to

quite have the quality of the likes

of some of the others.

of some of the others.

Yep, some of

it is just down to the equipment.

You will find a young guy like Roman

Repilov, he's just a natural talent,

where others have to work hard to

find the lines. And he's working

hard. He has come into that corner a

little bit late and he has got to

work harder into 12, but he gets a

good line into 13, where we have

seen some guys messing it up. He's

just dropping off a little bit as he

comes up the hill. So, towards the

finish he comes, this is Reinhard

Egger, and he's in sixth place.

We're talking half a second, but

that's a massive margin. It

indicates the gap between the

calibre that is Reinhard Egger and

the calibre that is Loch. Who will

have had to work harder as he came

into the entrance of 12, and that

just takes your speed away from the

bottom half of the track, and you

can see how much he's lost. The exit

there, you can see him using his

right leg to try and turn the sled

coming out of seven, and this is

where he just starts to drift away,

and as it comes out of shot he's

more into the middle of the corner,

and he's just got to work, you can

see him trying to use his feet to

get into the right place.

Those slow

motion shots are fantastic, the face

of Reinhard Egger trying to battle

through that straight after bend

number nine - fantastic stuff. As

now, the young Latvian Kristers

Aparjods gets his chance, his first

Olympics, he's only 19, he turns 20

at the end of the month, he is

you've Olympic champion, and he had

four absolutely super training runs

out of the six that you are allowed.

I'm looking forward to seeing how he

gets on. He is a real talent for the

future, like Repilov.

Definitely,

and he has got a relatively good

start. This is the key and he has

got through their relatively well

and hopefully that will keep the

speed for him. He's just starting to

drop off, but that's relative to his

start. He was brave hundredths

behind and now he's six. Hopefully

he can start to get it back as he

comes down the track. That corner

drops away so much from eight. Write

down the middle, nice, smooth line,

just look at the legs and see how

much they're working. That's just

took keep control of the sled. Into

the big corner, and you can see he's

still within reach.

Good speed, you

know! He's doing really well here,

and Kristers Aparjods goes into

fourth place - that's an excellent,

excellent run from him! Who will be

thrilled, for one so young that was

a fantastic run and just look at the

smile through the visor! He knows he

has studied his Olympic campaign

just as he wanted!

Yeah, definitely

that was a really good run. Just

lost a little bit of a speed at the

bottom, but that happens when you're

trying to fight the sled, sometimes

you can just drive a little bit too

much. And you could see that he was

working quite hard with his legs

through the big corners to keep

control of the sled. You can see him

shifting his body weight down,

tucking his hands in and getting

ready for the first corner. Sliding

off that corner getting a bit high.

Coming round you can see how much

they're using their feet, as he

comes across the line.

Early stages,

then, Repilov is in third, and out

in front is Loch.

in front is Loch. The world champion

is down in fifth place at the

moment. This is Tucker West from the

United States, he had a bad crash on

his first day of training but he

seems to be running fast. He has

just shaved a bit off his old

record.

Well, that's what the

Olympics brings, everybody wants to

come here in tiptop shape and

hopefully he can carry that down the

track and use it to pull himself up

the rankings. He just slipped up

that corner a little bit there, you

could hear it, he didn't get the

optimum online, and hopefully that

will not cost him too much. Yeah, he

has got that wrong, and that was

just from him keeping the steer onto

long and that affected his line

round 12 through the chicane. He was

seven hundredths behind, he is now

going to drop nearly five tenths

towards the end, if not more.

Yeah,

and in terms of trying to get a

medal, that is probably game over

for him. Tucker West, and that

mistake after nine into the chicane,

it's a vital part of the track and

he made a right mess of it, did

Tucker West, and there is no hiding

place?

No, you've got to be perfect

on this track, and the key to

getting a medal on this track is

getting through exit two correct,

and off exit nine. If you get those

two try to... You can just see he

has just steered too much and that's

why he's ended up in the wall. He's

trying to get control, steadied the

sled and almost just hang on and not

get knocked off.

Great pictures

again of Tucker West struggling with

the middle part of this track. Great

starter, exciting talent for the

future, as we move on to the

33-year-old German Andi Langenhan, a

medallist at three World

Championships. He was fourth in

Sochi, fifth in Vancouver. Firmly

enough that so chic he did not get a

particularly good start but went on

to do very well, just missing the

medals. In his third Olympics now

and under way...

Yeah, this track is

a lot shorter than Sochi. So, for

him to be a little bit behind on the

start, on a short-track, is not

going to help him. Yes, he's a great

driver but you just run out of track

to be able to catch the guy is just

at the moment he has got a bit of a

high driving line and I think that

is going to cost him time. You can

see as he drops down in eight, that

corner, the elevation, drops so

much. He is going to come into that

corner late and have to do a bit

more work into 12. Coming into 13,

you can see that I'm dropping away,

and that's cost him big. That corner

is so important, that transition,

and just a little bit high in 15

he's going to have lost a lot of

time coming up the hill.

And Andi

Langenhan drops down to seventh

place, so again, under early

pressure in the early stages of the

men's singles luge competition.

Looking a little bit resigned, Andi

Langenhan. Wanted better, didn't

quite get it. And these are top guys

ahead of him.

Yeah, and the start

was great but it is this line here,

as he drifts over and he's trying to

get himself back into 12, and that's

what cost him. The characteristics

of this track is, it is easy to get

down but it is hard to be fast,

because it is so technical, and the

athletes are struggling to find the

speed in the track, because they're

just slightly off-line.

Those are the leaders, separated by

two tenths of a second. Big margins

from first place to fifth place in

the early stages. Now, the Austrian

competitor,, the 23-year-old David

Gleirscher making his Olympic debut.

Coming into the game is ranked

number 12 in the world. Capable, we

saw them training together this

week. He is capable of fast times

down the track?

A lot of these

athletes are, that's in training.

There's no pressure, you do your own

thing. On race day, it's a different

ball game to what you've done in

training. It just isn't quite in the

read them yet. Sliding off the

corner is a bit. Not quite getting

his optimum line, he slides across

again. Going into the middle, just

losing some time all the way down.

It is because he isn't coming off

the exit directly. He slides off,

costing him time. That's what we

find here.

Picking uphill in the

mid-hill section four Gleirscher.

There we go, he found some great

speed towards the bottom of the

track, he nips ahead of Loch. A

tremendous effort ultimately from

Gleirscher. We saw flashes of this

earlier this week. I do think his

problem will be consistency. He

needs three more of the same. He has

shown in the past he hasn't quite

delivered that level of consistency

but what a start!

Definitely, you

can see it sliding off the corners

rather than coming straight out.

That would usually mean it would

slow down, but he has found his

speed. Maybe that is his style and

it works for him? A great start. He

looked a little messy at the top but

he got sorted at the bottom of the

track, and found a speed when nobody

else has found it in the last few

runs.

We are only 11 athletes in. 40

in this first section. I would be

amazed if anybody can touch

Gleirscher now for the lead. Ahead

of Loch and Ludvig. Next ago, Jozef

Ninis. His fourth Olympics, would

you believe? 20th at Sochi, that was

his best ever placing.

He came a

little too high around the exit of

two. You can see that is just a

little higher on the corners. He is

making his way down. The lines are

fine and looking good from this

point on. Initially, not so great.

No, out of nine, he clattered to the

right-hand wall. To the bottom end

of the track here, and Ninis has to

hold it together. Hitting a wall

like that at halfway, I would

imagine it is difficult to maintain

control? Ninis finishes his run. He

ends in sixth place. To be honest,

that is pretty respectable. Nearly

two tenths of a second behind

Gleirscher. The big guns have gone.

Don't forget Adam Rosen and Rupert

Staudinger are competing for

Britain. The pacesetter from

Austria, Gleirscher ahead of two

Germans. STUDIO: Thanks to John Hunt

and Joe Jackson, that's on the red

button. AJ Rosen in

and Joe Jackson, that's on the red

button. AJ Rosen in 31st position.

Although Felix Loch has just been

overtaken on the first run, he is

the man, isn't he?

He is the one to

watch committee has so many years of

experience, as you say. In our

sport, learning the track quickly,

Years & Years knowledge of the

environment, the ice and the

technology and the sled.

There is so

much pressure on your neck in the

luge and the skeleton?

We do a lot

of training in the gym for your neck

strength, using weighted belts but

nothing can prepare you for the

pressure of the G-force on the ice.

Coming back from summer and not

sliding, you are in pain. You cannot

replicate the actual G-force.

And it

different ice sport, we will go to

the Gangneung Ice Arena. This is the

hot ticket... South Korea

the Gangneung Ice Arena. This is the

hot ticket... South Korea is the

hotbed of short track speed skating.

Every session is a sell-out. In

terms of British hopes, all eyes

will be on Elise Christie.

This is Elise Christie. She is the

best short track speed skater the UK

has ever produced... She is a world

record holder, a triple world

champion, and she is Great Britain's

best hope for a gold medal in the

upcoming Winter Olympics.

best hope for a gold medal in the

upcoming Winter Olympics.

Tell us how it all began for you?

I

started as a figure skater when I

was really young, like, seven. I

transferred over, because we did a

race the week after I started. It

was a fun race. I dig through a

Selection box of chocolate from

winning that race! -- I've won a

Selection box.

She was one of those

kids can you could show her

something and she would pick it up

immediately. She had a natural

ability.

Elise is a very special

athlete but four years ago she

nearly walked away from the sport

that she loves. One of the

favourites for a gold medal in

Sochi, the Olympics she worked so

hard for ended with

disqualifications, and death

threats.

I've had a lot of stuff on the

Internet I've had to deal with, it

has been tough, I am finding it

quite hard.

What is it like to get a

death threat? Most of us,

thankfully, I don't think have

experienced that?

You do believe

that those people and that person,

that they are genuinely threatening

your life. It becomes scary, I spent

six months after being scared of

being in my house alone or going out

alone, because so many, at once,

made it feel so real. Even though

realistically, it was coming from

mostly the Koreans. They weren't

going to be in England. But it was a

very difficult time.

Pyeongchang,

these Winter Olympics, what does it

signify for you?

You want to see

redemption. Is the dream. For every

athlete, they dream of being an

Olympic medallist.

Is there room for

an Olympic medal?

Three brakes is

here!

The dream isn't to go out and

sit in second place, the dream is to

go and try and win a gold medal.

That might mean you replicate Sochi

but I'm not scared of doing that in

terms of how hard I have worked, I

feel like I deserve to go out and

try to win, no matter what anyone

says about it. STUDIO: She is

try to win, no matter what anyone

says about it. STUDIO: She is

prepared to risk it all, that's the

message you get from it.

She is embracing the challenge. This

is what Elise Christie has already

achieved in her career...

A three-time world champion, 12

World Championship medals, 17

European Championship medals, ten

European titles, she is the world

record-holder over the distance that

she will be racing today, the 500

metres.

Sarah, where does she stand among

female short

Sarah, where does she stand among

female short track speed skater 's?

She is the best skater that there

has ever been. She really is the

fastest girl on the ice. She has won

everything now. This is all that is

left for her. I think only a gold

medal would do.

And John, what she

need to do, in these early stages?

She has to be in first two. And not

get into trouble?

She has a great

start, she is in lane two. Alper

block, she can get going and be

confident of leading the race.

Hopefully her coach can tell her she

is five or ten metres ahead, and she

can relax.

British team-mates are in

action, Charlotte Gilmartin, she

could go really well, and Kat

Thompson. Backstage, you guys have

been there and competed, but Sarah,

tell us about what Elise does in

these latter stages?

It's really

difficult with her, I mean look...

You've no idea what she is thinking.

I have been addicted to social media

and stories and things. She appears

to be very relaxed. It is the

biggest moment of her life. But I do

think that she is enjoying herself.

She told me that she gets very

chatty before a race. And she uses

it to psych out the other skaters?

She really does try and interact

with others. Giving off a persona

that she is very relaxed.

And there

is Charlotte.

It's great to see the

girls warming up together...

Charlotte to the left, and Kat

Thompson with her plats?

Yes, both

looking very relaxed. Elise is

exercising with Nicky Gooch, her

coach. And the performance

scientist. Her boyfriend is also

there. Shaolin, he has been in the

1500 metres.

He is a world champion.

He skates for Hungary. It was nice

in the documentary, everybody said

that he has been a really good

influence on her?

He has really

helped Elise. The two together, the

last two years together, they've

come on in leaps and bounds

together. Hopefully they can both be

successful together.

And in Kat

Thompson's heat, we will see Fontana

of Italy, she is very good, isn't

she?

Yes, she has been winning for a

long time. She's done very well at

the Europeans. She has Olympic

medals already. She is definitely

one to watch.

She carried the flag

for Italy last night, she might be a

bit tired...!

Get you! You would be

telling her that. And tell me about

Charlotte Gilmartin. John Cooney you

were saying not to ignore her? She

has become a very strong skater.

Yes, she is from my own club, the

Solihull Mohawks. She will be loving

this. She loves these big

competitions. She will put in a

performance in this.

And it must be

that Andy Murray effect on Kyle

Edmund and others, that when you

have someone as good as Elise,

training as hard as she does,

everybody around her, their level

rises?

Definitely, I do think they

feed off one another well, Elise and

Charlotte, and I think that Kat can

do the same.

Charlotte practising

her starts. In the 500 metres, the

start is crucial. But anything can

happen, as you know. What happened

to you in Vancouver?

Umm, it was a

normal start. We crashed and you do

not have a lame. There is no right

of way into you get to the middle

block. -- you do not have a lane. I

crashed with another girl, so we

started the race again. The same

thing happened again, so I was sent

off. I have done six restarts

before. They always recall it.

Why

were you sent off?

I don't know,

there was a suggestion of being

behind time with the TV. It was

taking too long. Each restart takes

another five minutes, I think they

wanted to hurry it along. They

probably knew the same thing was

going to happen, I wasn't going to

give up, I was always going to fight

for the first corner, if I'm not in

front I went when. My start is my

strong point and it's the same with

the girl I was next to, those were

her strengths. Neither of us were

going to back down.

You've got to be

able to cope with decisions that are

clearly... I was going to say and

just, but they can feel very unfair.

As a team we always say that the

referee will make a decision, let's

try and stay out of those issues.

Try and skate as clean as possible

but as Sarah says, on the start

line, it is dog eat dog you got to

look after yourself in the best way

possible. They are great starts,

Charlotte has lain one, Elise has

the second.

And help close a family

is the short track speed skating

world?

Very. It is a small sport...

And Mike Pence is there by the

way...

The USA VP! It is a big

sport...

Sorry, Sarah, what about

understanding each other? Presumably

someone will always be at the raw

end of the deal... Yes, you are with

one another every single day.

But

you do know what each other is going

through, everybody has the same goal

and everybody wants to win. When one

of your team members wins, it feels

like a victory for everyone.

I think

that is the Korean President too.

Isn't it interesting how Olympic

sport can bring along so much

political diplomacy!

Is the place

sport can bring along so much

political diplomacy!

Is the place to

be seen! You have to be in it at the

right time... This definitely is the

place to be seen. Look at that, as a

stadium. The adrenaline really

begins to ramp up when you have that

big a crowd.

You cannot see that on

the TV, the atmosphere.

You cannot

feel it unless you are really in

there. But you really feel all of

that excitement, throughout the

entire crowd.

Are they adding more

water with the watering can?

They

will be cleaning it a bit.

They put

on the water to help to settle the

ice. It has been freshly cut, it

will be dry. The water goes on and

so the athletes can grip as much as

possible. They can hit the corner as

fast as they want and hopefully

carry that speed out of the corner.

This is going to be extremely

exciting and very tense. Coming up,

in heat four, elite Christie.

Kat Thompson in the second heats,

and Charlotte Gilmartin going later,

let's go over to our commentators,

Wilf O'Reilly is with Simon

Brotherton...

SIMON BROTHERTON: Welcome to the

Gangneung Ice Arena, this is the

women's 500 metres. Elise Christie

will be in heat number four, and the

first heat is just about to start.

The Canadian Kim Boutin goes

first heat is just about to start.

The Canadian Kim Boutin goes to the

front. She was fourth in the World

Championship 500 metres this season.

She has done well at other distances

as well. And at the moment Lana

Gehring from the USA is bringing up

the rear. Just moving into third

place. So, leading the way is Kim

Boutin, second place is the Polish

athlete. That's Natalia Maliszewska.

So, Kim Boutin of Canada leading the

way, Natalia Maliszewska performing

extremely well to take second, ahead

of Lana Gehring of the USA.

Superb

piece of skating by Kim Boutin of

Canada. Storming into the first bend

having started number three on the

line. And on the inside the Italian

Lucia Peretti got left for dead.

It

was a tentative looking start from

the Italian, from which she was

never able to recover. To be fair to

her, she was in a high-quality

field.

She certainly was. And, of

course, it's all about the skate

crossing the line when the time

stops. And in this first round,

Simon, the skaters are placed on the

line based on a random computers

election.

There's confirmation of

the result of Heat 1. Kim Boutin

very dominant there. So, two of the

four skaters in each heat go

through. And we will have four heats

of four in the quarterfinals, again

the top two going through and two

heats of four in the semi. So, four

races to win it. That's Kathryn

Thomson of Great Britain in heat

number two. The Hungarian Andrea

Keszler there as well. Four and a

half laps. If you hear some singing

in the background, it's the North

Korean cheerleaders who are here.

The Korean president is sitting just

in front of us, next to the US vice

president Mike Pence. Here we go

with heat number two, and this is

going to be extremely difficult for

Kathryn Thomson - and Kathryn

Thomson is on the deck already! And

it wasn't her fault! And Andrea

Keszler from Hungary went down

first, and so they have stopped the

race, because it happened so soon

after the start.

Well, the rule is,

Simon, that if the skater falls

before the halfway, top block, as we

call it, on her own... There is a

slight clash of blades, as we can

see. Coming in and taking down

Kathryn Thomson of Great Britain, so

that's why they will be start the

race with all four skaters.

This is

a really tough field for Thomson,

and what a nerve-racking Olympic

debut for her, to end up crashing to

the ground so soon through no fault

of her own. Some running repairs for

Andrea Keszler, European

Championship silver medallist last

year in the 1000 metres. Arianna

Fontana from Italy in this race as

well, silver medallist four years

ago in the 500 metres. And from the

Netherlands, Suzanne Schulting, who

was fourth overall in this year's

European Championship. Let's hope

they get away at the second time of

asking. On the inside, Andrea

Keszler. The Italian, is a major

threat in this 500 metres

competition, going straight to the

front, assuming control.

front, assuming control. Andrea

Keszler in second place, a bit of a

gap back to Kathryn Thomson. The

Dutch skater disappearing almost

underneath the barriers! Fontana is

staying out of trouble. Second place

is Andrea Keszler from Hungary...

And Kathryn Thomson has gone as

well! And these two only need to

stay up right as they take the bell,

because they're the only two stills

gating around the track, and it's

Arianna Fontana and Andrea Keszler

who go through from Heat 2.

Well,

there was discussion is about the

quality of eyes here and two skaters

have gone down, nobody next to them,

no argy-bargy.

no argy-bargy. Is it the ice? I

don't know.

Presumably that would be

very unusual with skaters of this

ability?

Absolutely, for them both

to go down with nobody around.

To

people who do not follow the sport,

ice is ice, a skating rink is a

skating rink, but actually, you have

got the figure skating here as well,

and it is not the same, is it?

No,

generally speaking the figure

skaters prefer to have the ice a

little bit softer. Probably have it

set somewhere around four... And you

can see Kathryn Thomson just going

down - absolutely no reason

whatsoever.

Pretty straightforward

for those two, then. Sliding home

with room to spare. Andrea Keszler

from Hungary and Arianna Fontana

from Italy. Kathryn Thomson

finishing in third place but does

not advance. Spectacular crash the

Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands

as well.

as well. Among the next grouping on

the track will be Yara Van Kerkhof

from the Netherlands.

The Olympic Athlete from Russia,

Sofia Prosvirnova, has won four

European Championship titles, and

from Japan, Sumire Kikuchi has a

world relay bronze medal from last

year. So, it is Yara Van Kerkhof

from the Netherlands on the front.

Very good start. Seven point zero

five for her, really setting the

pace of. Against any skaters want to

skate as fast a time as possible so

that when they get through to the

quarterfinals they can go on the

number one position.

Leading the way

is Yara Van Kerkhof. The Olympic

Athlete from Russia now move through

on the inside, Sofia Prosvirnova, to

take the lead. And at the back is

the Japanese athlete Sumire Kikuchi,

who's not competitive in this field

at all.

at all. And Sofia Prosvirnova goes

through, and Yara Van Kerkhof, who

went out of the traps very quickly

at the start of the race, hanging on

to take second, they are the two who

go through to the quarterfinal.

Well, probably the two I expected to

go through.

go through. We have to wait, of

course, for the official result.

Can't see the referees going to the

video replay.

video replay.

Well, here it is again

at the start, and just look at Yara

Van Kerkhof, asserting her authority

early on the race and setting the

platform for her to qualify, but in

the end, she had to give way to

Sofia Prosvirnova.

Now, Heat 4, Elise Christie of Great

Britain will be on the ice any

moment now. There's confirmation of

the result from heat number three.

Now, the triple world champion from

2017, Elise Christie from Great

Britain. She was ranked fourth in

the 500 metres last year at the

World Championship. She has got a

tough field here. The French athlete

Veronique Pierron, twice sixth in

the World Championship, the Chinese

athlete Qu Chunyu and from Korea,

skating in front of her home crowd,

she grew up here in Gangneung. Four

and a half laps of the track.

Important for Elise Christie to make

a clean start to her Olympic

campaign... And she's underweight!

Elise Christie goes to the front,

and that is where she will intend to

stay to stay out of any trouble.

Elise Christie leading, and it's Qu

Chunyu of China in second place. The

Korean athlete, is a real threat in

this competition, third at the

moment with two-and-a-half laps to

go. Christie out of the gate quickly

and staying out of trouble at the

moment. She has got Qu Chunyu right

behind her. Shim Sukhee of Korea

will have to try and challenge here!

Taking the bell and Christine Still

leads. Qu Chunyu is in second place,

and it's going to be a real battle

with Shim Sukhee of Korea trying to

go round the outside! Elise Christie

is safely through to the

quarterfinals! Christie wins it, Qu

Chunyu is in second place, and Shim

Sukhee of Korea, the local skater,

originally from Gangneung, out of

it, in third.

Well, Kristie Baillie

through the gauntlet down there.

Smile on the face, I said it was

going to be a big game-changers,

this race, and she has really risen

to the occasion.

That was really

important, wasn't it, Wilf, that she

made such a good start?

That's

right. She has also got the fastest

time to date at 42.89. So if nobody

goes any faster in the

quarterfinals, she will get number

one start position.

So that will

help her, she has done everything

she can in terms of staying out of

trouble and winning in a fast time

to give her all the help possible as

the competition progresses. This is

the only round at this distance

today. And it is a new Olympic

record for Elise

record for Elise Christie, 42.872,

so the Olympic record goes in

qualifying, then.

And of course

Elise Christie also holds the world

record, which is 42.335.

Coming up

in

in the next heat, ten times world

champion in total, the Chinese

athlete Fan Kexin. From the United

States, the athlete, 17 years of

age, the first African-American

woman to make the United States

speed skating team for the Olympics.

Kim Alang of Korea and Anastassiya

Krestova of Kazakhstan. And going to

the front is Fan Kexin, and the

United States athletes watched by

the United States vice president

sitting in the stands of. These two

look as if they're dominating

provided they can stay upright.

There is work to do here for Kim

Alang of Korea. There's quite a gap

between them. And it is Fan Kexin

leading the way... And she could be

the one to beat, actually, in the

500 metres! Fan Kexin of China

leading them home.

leading them home. Maame Biney of

the United States safely through as

well.

well.

Well, again, a superb piece of

skating, much, much slower, almost

half a second slower than Christie.

43.36 four Fan Kexin of China. So,

half a second at this sort of

distance is approximately seven or

eight metres difference.

Let's have

a look at it again, a lot of

pressure on Maame Biney, there's

been a lot of media attention on her

around the world, particularly at

home in the United States, just 17

years of age. But she handled the

pressure well on her first Olympic

outing.

She did, blocking well, with

Kim Alang trying to get through on

the inside, making sure she had no

room whatsoever.

room whatsoever.

So, Fan Kexin

safely through. And it was never

really in doubt. There's

confirmation of the result.

confirmation of the result. And now,

it's Heat 6, the Chinese athlete on

the right-hand side, from Italy,

Martina Valcepina, newly crowned

European champion in this distance

at Tristan at the beginning of the

year. From Canada, the 23-year-old

Jamie Macdonald, and Tifany Huot

Marchand of France, who finished

15th in the 500 metres at the recent

European Championships, so she would

be the outsider here.

4.5 laps of the track, a way to go.

Martina Valcepina in tremendous

form, the Italian. Valcepina leading

the way, head of Han Yutong of

China. Jamie MacDonald of Canada in

third, a gap back. Now Jamie

MacDonald has gone down, and

amazingly Tifany Huot Marchand

managed to avoid her. Not taken out

in that incident.

My goodness, she

did well there. Valcepina leading

the way for Italy. Ahead of Han

Yutong. These two should comfortably

go through as they take the bell,

the time is important. They need to

keep going as fast as they can. That

would affect their position for the

rest of the competition. Valcepina,

just on the line but it was a photo

finish, with Han Yutong closing

fast. Jamie MacDonald is out of it

in third place. On the ground and

forth, Tifany Huot Marchand of

France, finishing in third. She will

not advance.

It would be interesting

to see what happens there. Of

course, Jamie MacDonald came through

up the inside, flashing her skates

with Han Yutong of China. There

could be an advancement?

Let's have

a look at that race replay.

Valcepina in great form, straight to

the front ahead of Han Yutong.

We

can see McDonald trying to get up

the inside and clashing into the

back of Han Yutong's skates. Almost

colliding with the French skater and

just missing it.

It could have been

nasty for two reasons, firstly it

could have meant the French skater

Bell but also these blades are

excessively sharp. It could have

been a nasty injury for the

Canadian.

She pulled her and back.

So she did not skate over it -- she

pulled back her arm.

We do have a

lot of video reviewing here. We had

it in a good number of the races in

the short track here. Let's have

another look at the incident. Coming

up now... You can see that there is

a penalty. It goes to Jamie

MacDonald of Canada. She was the

skater who fell. Valcepina and Han

Yutong going through.

Again,

remembering in that time, Elise

Christie is by far the quickest in

the 500 metres so far.

Here we are,

with heat seven, the Canadian

overall cup winner in the 500 metres

this season. In this one, alongside

Polish Magdalena Warakomska. The

19-year-old German student. Anna

Seidel.

Seidel. St Gelais leading the way.

An amazing start. The girlfriend of

the reigning Olympic 300 metre

champion from Canada.

St Gelais

leading by a country mile. Anna

Seidel tries to challenge. At the

back, Magdalena Warakomska. They

take the bell. This is a very

dominant performance by St Gelais.

Second in all three distances in

last year's championships. She

certainly means business that these

Olympic Games. St Gelais takes it

ahead of Anna Seidel of Germany, the

19-year-old was 70th in this event

back in 2014. The Netherlands's

competitor in third. Warakomska of

Poland bringing up the rear.

A

superb start, the Canadians

dominating after seeing her

team-mate receiving a penalty in the

race before.

It's a big gains for

her, she plans to retire after

Pyeongchang, a three-time Olympic

silver medallist, can she make it to

the top of the podium this time

around? An impressive start from her

here.

Certainly, a bit of bumping

and barging there.

and barging there. Anna Seidel

scrapes through on the inside, to go

through to the quarterfinals.

Looking so comfortable, St Gelais.

At a top speed.

There was no doubt

about the winner of that race, from

the moment they started.

the moment they started. Well,

Charlotte Gilmartin of Great Britain

will be in heat number eight,

confirmation of the result from heat

seven.

seven. Charlotte Gilmartin come out

on the ice now. Europe in 500 metre

bronze medallist last year. Petra

Jaszapati of

Jaszapati of Hungary, and the

Olympic Athlete from Russia in this

field, Emina Malagich. And the

overall champion when she was 16,

Choi Minjeong. Twice the overall

world champion. Choi Minjeong is a

big local favourite.

big local favourite. Charlotte

Gilmartin there. We are just having

to wait for the skaters from the

previous race, they appear to have

lost their skate guards. The skaters

will not get off the ice.

That seems

to be the delay. Charlotte is

waiting to start this last 500

metres.

metres.

What is going on here? Are

they adamant that they will not walk

on the carpet in those blades? Are

they that finely tuned?

Absolutely.

It isn't like when we go skating at

Christmas and we go clumping off at

the ends. The guards are a very

important part of their equipment,

to protect those blades. After every

race they going to the changing room

and sharpen those blades. We can see

there she is just

there she is just waiting,, Marianne

St Gelais. The officials are trying

to get her off the ice and she says

she is not getting off.

Charlotte

Gilmartin will have to wait a little

longer, she is sliding around at the

moment, gathering her thoughts. What

chance do you give her in this heat?

The 500 metres isn't one of her best

distances. But she does have a

fantastic start position.

16th in

the event four years ago. Charlotte

Gilmartin there. On the inside...

Petra Jaszapati of Hungary. Emina

Malagich of Russia. There was a

false start.

I do think that was

Malagich. Of Russia.

Malagich. Of Russia. Races are only

allowed one false starts and if

anybody false starts the second

time, they had to leave the ice.

Charlotte has had to watch all of

the other heats, they will wait

until they are finished, and then

have a second go.

have a second go. Here we go... The

eighth and final heat. Away they go

this time. Jaszapati of Hungary

makes a good start. Charlotte

Gilmartin tries to hang onto second

place. Choi Minjeong of career up

into second. Jaszapati... Malagich,

has a lot to do. Charlotte Gilmartin

tries to close at. Jaszapati senses

that Choi Minjeong is right on her

shoulders. She skates past her.

Great racing from Choi Minjeong.

Charlotte Gilmartin has gone, all

three are out! All three have been

chasing Choi Minjeong. They are at a

heap at the side of the track. It's

who can get back into the race.

Charlotte Gilmartin has clearly been

injured in that crash. She is

struggling to get going.

struggling to get going. The winner,

clearly, Choi Minjeong of South

Korea, the only one who avoided

falling. But it's bad news for

Charlotte Gilmartin, she seems to

have heard her right hip. Her right

side as she skates around, slowly

and forlornly. As we look there at

Jaszapati of Hungary, the judges

will have another look here.

That's

right, Malagich of Russia, the

athlete from Russia, she tried to go

up the inside, and started to fall.

Here, hopefully this is the first

bend. Charlotte was coming back on

the leading skate. She was skating

extremely well.

extremely well. You can see Malagich

tries to squeeze through the inside,

taking Charlotte down with her and

pushing her hands on the Hungarian

skater, knocking her out of balance

and all three go down.

Charlotte

Gilmartin clearly was not at fault

there.

Not at all. It will be

interesting to see what happens

here. It looks and appears from this

angle of the camera that Malagich

was the culprit. I think she knows

it, because she has walked straight

off the ice.

It does look like

Malagich caused the problem. It

looks as though Jaszapati fell

without contact.

That's right. But

if you look at it from a different

angle, you can see Malagich,

possibly even Charlotte puts her

hand on Malagich's backside.

We

anxiously await a video review, to

see Charlotte Gilmartin. It is so

annoying, you work so hard for this

opportunity and you can see that it

wasn't a problem of her making here.

It depends, there is a lot of

controversy as to who is the culprit

in this particular point. Malagich

comes in on the inside and the

question is, is she in front of

Charlotte at that particular point?

Still deep in debate. It has been a

very busy table.

Certainly. I would

like to see with the physio repeat

that they have a line, a clear line

to define who is the lead skater or

not -- Nvidia repeat.

And do they

base it on to what extent you left

the door ajar?

It's you changing

your line. Charlotte came from the

outside.

We do have a decision...

They teased us!

They teased us! They added they

would have a decision in a few

seconds. Choi Minjeong, the Korean,

was superb.

was superb. Jaszapati of Hungary,

finishing in second place. This is

that incident again... You can see

the hand on the back of the

Hungarian, causing her to lose her

balance. That was quite a smash for

the other three. Gilmartin certainly

had the wind taken from her sales

for a few moments there. It is a

penalty. Charlotte Gilmartin has

been given a penalty, she has been

disqualified. Choi Minjeong goes

through. Jaszapati of Hungary goes

through as well.

Charlotte came from

the outside and went to the inside.

Disappointment for Charlotte and

again, Choi Minjeong has stated a

new Olympic world record in this

heat. -- skated a new record.

Elise

Christie and Choi Minjeong supremely

impressive, they are the fastest two

in this first round of the ladies

500 metres. The only race they will

take part in today. STUDIO: A big

thumbs down in the studio from Sarah

take part in today. STUDIO: A big

thumbs down in the studio from Sarah

and John at the disqualification of

Charlotte Gilmartin.

It is a real

shame.

It was a horrible fall but

you got the sense in those eight

heats, you saw everything that short

track speed skating can bring,

making it a relief that Elise

Christie stayed out of trouble.

With

Charlotte, we spoke before about

trying to stay out of trouble. It

came down to a 50-50 call. It is

harsh but has a short track athlete,

the girls know that it could happen

to them. Charlotte couldn't shut

that door quick enough but most

importantly, she was skating great

and going fast. She caught up and it

bodes well for the next distances.

She is better over 1000 and 1500.

Talk us through that crash. Why do

these things happen?

Talk us through that crash. Why do

these things happen?

Everybody is

out there trying to win. The top two

qualify. The person in front is way

ahead. The three behind are all

going for the one spot. You have to

take the risks, I guess. You need to

get through clean, and all three

have gone down. Hopefully, Charlotte

isn't hurt and she can recover well.

They must have decided that

Charlotte leaning in on the Russian

athlete causes the Russian athlete

to put her hand on the Hungarian and

therefore, the person who starts

that effect, that is Charlotte,

there?

It is a 50-50 call, to be

honest. It is a difficult one.

It is

difficult for Charlotte. She is

trying to turn into that corner. The

natural reaction is to put your hand

across as you go in, you try and

lean into the corner and keep your

speed. The Russian came in there to

take the spot.

And it's a big relief

to see Charlotte there all right. I

wonder if she caught a blade in the

chaos. Let's have a look at Elise

Christie. We thought it would be the

fastest time that actually she was

outdone by the Korean skater by a

fraction. Talk to me about how calm

she looked and how strong she

looked. Her start and the way she

became so fluid straightaway?

She got a great start, she got away

really, really quick and out of

trouble. There was some argy-bargy

behind her which means she had a

clear run almost to time trial it.

Like Sarah sat, great speed off the

start and then she was able to sit

and relax and just keep an eye on

things. You can see her coach on the

side. As the other girls have

started to catch up, but they

weren't coming past.

It is amazing

balance, isn't it?

I am learning

loads of stuff from these two! I'm

asking loads of questions! As

someone who doesn't know anything,

when you're watching, I'm sorry that

people at home haven't got these

two, when we are fair, we are asking

all these questions! I wanted to

know why her chin strap wasn't done

up really tightly because I thought

aerodynamically...

What was the

answer?

It is in front of her neck

and her shoulders, and when she is

due to change direction she wants to

have that little bit of... Don't

worry, it is tight on her head.

She

looks phenomenal, she looks so

strong. Any tension, prerace nerves

and stuff, getting the first Olympic

race out of the way, she's going to

that, she's gone through with a

flying time, so hopefully that's

what she needed.

And on Tuesday she

will have the quarterfinals,

semifinals, and final in quick

succession, with very little time to

think about it. So there is the

danger that she might have been more

nervous before this call than

anything else?

They've been out here

for a couple of weeks planning, and

they've been planning really since

November, since the qualification

competition, so there's been a lot

of hard work and if there was any

nerves, it would have been here. But

the most important thing is that she

has got the second fastest time and

she will have lain one in the next

round.

That is the goal for her to

keep that time coming in so that she

can control the start. Because you

can make your life easier?

Absolutely.

We can hear from Ellison

herself now, she spoke to David

McDaid. That was a start and a half,

you got the Olympic record as well?!

I know, crazy! I did not even feel

like I was going Max. I went fast

for the first lap and a half,

because I had practised my start a

lot before. And then after that I

was just trying to maintain a good

speed, so I can't complain. If I

have got more to go than that,

that's a good thing!

We have seen

know what happened at Sochi, how did

you feel beforehand?

I'm not going

to lie, I don't think I have been

nervous in about six years like

that. It wasn't even like scared of

my skating, I was just... I felt

like, because everyone back home has

waited so long to see me skate

again, I was so nervous! I was like,

I'm not going to do this because I'm

so nervous! But actually it was fine

and I got up to the line and I was

excited and I'm just going to I got

to race in front of everyone again.

It looks like despite the nerves

you've really put down a marker

again, how much did you want to show

the rest of the field what they are

up against?

You

up against?

You were there when I

was suffering my injury and it has

not gone well this year with the

injury, so to come back and this is

the first event since, I wanted to

let everybody know I am back and I

am back to full strength again, and

I think I did that. I don't know if

I have ended up with the fastest

time but I am definitely up there. I

think I have showed them I'm back!

And that's not even your favourite

event?

No, it's my favourite because

it is the most fun and it is over

and done with so quick, but my best

distance is the last one, the 1000m.

So, I'm building into that, really.

Trying to conserve some good

training to keep building into that,

so I'm not even at full fitness yet,

I don't think!

That was a fantastic

start, your back on Tuesday

hopefully for the following rounds

up to the final - what do you do

between now and then?

I don't know,

I just want to get it done, I want

to go out and do it again because I

feel quite the! But yes, just get

some solid speed training done in

the lead-up to it as a mother

quarterfinals is going to be tough.

I'm going to have to get off the

line fast and get into the top eight

and after that anything is possible.

It is just getting the preparation

in between done.

Fantastic stuff,

thank you very much.

Thank you!

I

love hearing from Elise Christie

because it is almost like she hasn't

been media trained, there is no

filter, she gives it all away just

as we were saying beforehand,

actually worse before qualification

but now that is out of the way...

Definitely, it is gametime now. She

has got over there and enjoy that

first race, big smile on her face,

and now, this is where the real

experience comes in. Because they're

not used to having a long period

between races. She has now got two

days off and you will go again on

Tuesday and she has been and done it

before so she will know how to

prepare.

And you can see how easily

it can go wrong, we lost Charlotte

Gilmartin, and we have now lost

Farrell Treacy as well. Sadly, no

time to recover on this occasion.

Second last, just losing his

footing?

Yeah, it is a real shame

because it is his first experience

of the Olympic Games. He has also

got the 1000m. It is now up to him

and the team to get him up for that

1000m. He has got a good break until

Tuesday so that he can refocus. And

I think that's where the great

support staff they have got will

make a big difference for him.

These

are the first semifinalists. There

are three semifinals for the 1500m.

Let's hand you back to Wilf O'Reilly

and Simon Brotherton.

SIMON BROTHERTON: Just in time for

the semifinals of the men's 1500m.

On the inside the Olympic jump in.

Alongside him the leader of the next

Canadian generation, with number

three on his helmet.

three on his helmet. The Olympic

Athlete from Russia now sliding back

into fifth. We've got the Australian

fourth at the moment. The Latvian

athlete was really impressive in

qualifying, Roberts Zvejnieks.

qualifying, Roberts Zvejnieks.

The

Canadians staying out of trouble.

The other person to keep and eye on

is

is the Korean, is at the back of the

field at the moment.

As it really starts to wind up

now...

now... And the United States skater

leads from the 2015 world champion.

In third place is Francois Hamelin.

First and second will go into the A

final.

Doing his best to stay out of

trouble is JR Celski. And now going

inside JR

inside JR Celski... And there is a

roar around the arena because the

Korean athlete is really powering

around the outside! On the rails,

trying to force his way into this

final is Seo Yira. And Semen

Elistratov comes to the front! Semen

Elistratov first over the line! Seo

Yira in a photo finish the second

place with Francois Hamelin! What a

race! But Semen Elistratov really

showed his class.

He did, he was

third at the European Championships

overall three weeks ago, and that is

a surprising

a surprising performance by Semen

Elistratov.

Yeah, that was a bit of

a turn-up. Seo Yira was the world

champion in the 1000m last year, and

the overall World Championship will

that really is the biggest thing you

can win as a speed skater, along

with, of course, an Olympic title.

It shows the ability that he has

got. But he suddenly found life

really difficult out there.

WILF O'REILLY: There we can see

moving through into fourth place,

Charles Hamelin, almost being

Charles Hamelin, almost being taken

down by Samuel Girard, who was just

almost losing an edge. The coach

from Canada there. You can see

Charles Hamelin squeezing through

into second place! It will be quite

interesting to see who in fact...

It

is a photo between four of them!

Including the Australian!

Including the Australian! The only

clear outcome is that the Olympic