Day 1, Part 5 Winter Olympics

Welcome back to day one

of the 23rd Winter Olympics

from Pyeongchang in South Korea.

We have all of the remaining live

coverage here on BBC Two and later

on BBC One. And we also reflect on

what has happened so far. A typical

day of Winter Olympics drama.

If no one... Elise Christie looked

in top form as she began her quest

for Olympic glory easing through the

opening round of the women's 500

metres short track. Her team-mate

Charlotte Gilmartin crashed in her

heat and did not make the

quarterfinals on Tuesday. Cat

Thompson always -- also out. And

disappointment for British

snowboarder is Jamie Nicholls and

Billy Morgan, they both failed to

qualify for the final stages of the

Slopestyle.

The first gold of the Games went to

Charlotte Kalla in the women's

Skiathlon. Marat Yergin was second.

The flame burning brightly, it was

late last night of the opening

ceremony. We are into the first

evening action and we will take you

live to the louche very shortly. And

then the short track, the men's 1500

metres, nine skaters qualify. Then

the 3000 metre women's speed skating

and men's ski jumping. Normally that

would take place in the daytime but

it is like Time out there and it

will all be lit up. On the red

button you can follow coverage as

well.

If you go online now

you will be able to watch

the women's 7.5k biathlon -

Amanda Lightfoot going for Britain.

I almost think that is the toughest

of the lot. Your skiing so hard and

then you need to bring your heart

rate down and fire accurate shots.

They have to have phenomenal lungs,

the lactic acid going through the

legs and then to suddenly drop all

of that and go and fired their

shots. People ask if when we are

sprinting flat out and then have two

everything down yes but oh my

goodness.

They're phenomenal. What I

love about the Winter Olympic

athletes, you admire each other's

disciplines so much. Because you do

not normally get a chance to see it.

It is just every four years we get

to catch up and see who was leading

in each sport.

So it becomes really

exciting. And Johnny, getting revved

up about the 1500 metres finals.

Yes

some typical short track, everyone

just pumped up and ready to go. But

you have got to stay cool in those

moments and we have had a lot of

crashes already. It is so exciting

and everyone is a little bit tense.

So Elise Christie just cruised

through, a big relief.

Let's take a

look at the standings in the louche.

Four runs in total.

Four runs in total. Felix Loch is

second but not far behind.

Another

three runs. So it is all about the

Doubleday of racing. That planning

and preparation. You need for solid

runs, you cannot drop any of them,

they all count. So it is that

consistency. They do not know the

track all that well. So you might

still be planning and testing some

of the quarters. You might not yet

have your perfect run. And there may

have to go to sleep and bring it all

together and bring it back for the

final day.

Let's see how the second

run develops. John Jackson is

alongside John Hunt.

run develops. John Jackson is

alongside John Hunt.

The second run about to begin. The

luge. We have a surprise leader

after the first run. And now the

second

second run for Ninis. A perfectly

good run for him.

And a smooth start

it seems. He was one of the better

guys at the start. We are back into

the top guys now and you should see

those lines that have been really

smooth in comparison to the back of

the pack. These guys looking to

close in on people now. And he has

made a mistake. You can see that

height but he got, it was amazing.

This will cost him any chance he had

of a medal place. Just gone out of

the window. He must've been at least

two feet in the air.

That was

extraordinary. What a collision.

What drama. And Ninis through in a

time of three seconds slower than

his first run after that terrible

blunder.

That is the best we've seen

so far and I think we will have more

of those to come. So unfortunate for

him. But part of what this track is

giving them. As you look around, and

you can see, look at the height he

is getting. Ten out of ten for

effort. He comes into the corner at

the wrong way and look at the ice

getting thrown around. That is

probably the worst but we've seen so

far and he knows it. A big mistake

for him.

Well we should just make

the point, if that can happen to the

man who finished seventh place it

can happen to almost anyone.

can happen to almost anyone. And

here is our leader, Gleirscher. His

first run was beyond his wildest

dreams. Can he back that up now with

another flying run? 47.652 after the

first run. And here he goes. We will

hear the word a lot, consistency

this week right the way through all

of the disciplines.

And Gleirscher

needs to prove he can do it again.

Exactly, and this is what I have

mentioned, that consistency of exit

numbers two and nine is key. Just a

bit early on to six coming into

seven. The corner starts now to drop

down. And this is the key point.

That is a great line into 12. This

is not about the guy who has just

gone down but staying in front of

Felix Loch and the other guys close

to him as he comes up to the finish

line.

line.

So quite smooth for Gleirscher

but slower than the first run. Two

tenths of a second slower. And that

opens the door for Felix Loch and

the others.

Yes and that could be a

bit of the track, it is now hard

after 40 sleds damn it, but it has

had a lot of action. This little

mistake will not have helped him but

it was not such a bad run. The speed

is still there and hopefully as we

see these next couple of fast guys

coming down, whether to attend this

is the norm or those mistakes he

made has just cost him enough.

And

next for

Germany, Langhenham. A disappointing

third place for him. Now he has got

a big point to prove. It is make or

break I would say for his game.

break I would say for his game.

Any

of them can make a mistake. It is

just him against the track.

And

we're watching Langenhan. We watched

his first run and his second run

here, we are back here with

Langenhan as they head towards the

finish. He has drifted a bit off the

pace. And this is tricky for him as

he now comes to the closing stages

of his run. He has drifted as you

can see. Three tenths of a second

behind Gleirscher. And he now

finishes for tenths of a second off

Gleirscher.

Gleirscher clearly

delighted. He is staying ahead of

the guys and possibly that is a bit

slower as well as his first run. The

speed may just have gone out of the

track a little bit. A couple of

mistakes just down the bottom, 15 he

did not get quite right and they are

just costing him time all the way

through. Especially coming into that

uphill section in 16. Any mistake

there and you just double the

consequences. But overall not a bad

run. You can see the difference in

the lines of both of the leading

pilots at the moment. Very similar

in what they're doing.

in what they're doing. Gleirscher

just pulling away from him all the

way through.

So we move on.

way through.

So we move on. Tucker

West, his second Olympics and

currently ranked -- ranked 26. The

deal with him, it is a clear one. A

quick starter but not being held

together down the run. He's just

making too many little mistakes. But

still relatively inexperienced. With

a good run he could move up a few

places. With the start he needs to

move up and get closer to these

guys. But it is difficult. Just one

of those things, maybe he just has

not quite zoned into the track

properly and got the optimum line.

Just making a little mistake on six.

A big corner eight with the G-force

but this is now key. And that is

perfect. Cutting through the

beginning of 12 a little bit early

but keeping his speed. Not much

difference between the beginning of

his run and the end timewise. He

will just start dropping away a

little bit I think. I think so

although relative to the earlier to.

Not too bad for Tucker West.

Not too bad for Tucker West. But I'm

afraid he will probably drift

mid-table obscurity, really. But he

still seems to be relatively happy

with his first Olympics experience.

It is one of those things now, he

just has to fight for the spots of

the people around him and we will

see more of where he is finally

ranked at the end of this. But for

tomorrow with the third runs, it is

where they finish from today and

that is where he can start to jostle

for the points and prizes. And try

to get as far up the table as

possible. Now in the first round we

enjoyed this young fellow. He was

six after the first run. He turns 20

later this month. He was the winner

of the youth Olympic championships a

couple of years ago. So much before

him. Can he build on that?

him. Can he build on that?

Latvia

has been really strong here and good

to see that. The Germans and

Austrians have competition. The

Germans have been dominant in the

sport and this is looking very good

run. Good to see other nations

fighting for the medals. If Felix

Loch is going to get his third

medal, he will have to earn it. This

is almost perfect. Just playing with

his steering. Just a bit too much

over to the middle point. Doing

relatively well in terms of keeping

his speed for the bottom of the

track. Up the hill to the final

corner and not a bad result.

corner and not a bad result.

The

Latvian coach looking happy with

Aparjods. And he is talented.

Keeping himself in the mix.

He

needed to come down and keep that

spot as close to the leader as

possible. Because you never know.

That gap might be his chance of

keeping a medal place. The top guys

can make mistakes as we have seen.

Just coming up the hill into the

last corner. Taking a little bit of

a wave because that is where the

pressure is. That is the neutral

part of the corner.

Very shortly we

have Felix Loch. Roman Repilov to

come as well.

Bearing in mind he finished the

World Cup was quite strongly. That

20th place will have very good

slightly.

You probably should have

been better than that. Definitely.

These guys have come and perform

well at the World Cup. Sometimes

when you come to attract like this,

when you have limited experience, it

is more about whether you jell with

the trite and get on with it

straightaway, you can work out the

lines and it suits your style of

driving, or you have to work hard to

find a speed. Sometimes it takes

longer than the 30-40 runs that

these guys have had on the track to

do that. The runs are not looking

too bad at the moment. It should not

be from the top guys. It should be

minor errors instead of big

mistakes. You never have the perfect

run but that was inch perfect, down

the wall, into the corner. It will

help him keep speed as we come

through this speed trap. 129 speed,

89 mph as he comes into the last

bend.

Five tenths of Gleirscher. It

is a big margin. Relative to the

leader, it is a big gap between

Gleirscher and Egger that has now

developed.

I think, for him, his

challenge for a medal is gone over

these two mega runs. He will be

fighting for the top ten positions,

or however Heidi can get in the

positions. We will see tomorrow

where these guys need to fight TB.

There is lots of action still to

come. You never know where they're

going to finish from what we have

seen so far.

Next up will be the

exciting Russian. We get a kiss

blown away from Egger. This is Roman

Repilov, representing the Olympic

athletes of Russia. A really good

first run. Just what we were hoping

for and expecting, putting him in

fourth place. Needing to consolidate

bad. Can he get closer to Gleirscher

and apply some pressure on the great

Loch who will come next?

This is a

great opportunity for this luge

pilot to stamp his name in the

Olympic history books. He just needs

a good, consistent run. We have seen

he is quick in training all the way

through the week. If he can get a

good run as he starts building down

the track, into seven, coming into

the big drop in Connor Braid as he

accelerates again. This is key, can

you stay in the medals? Perfect. He

will keep the pressure on the

leading Austrian as he makes his way

down the track. Into the big corner

towards the speed trap.

This is

exciting. He has closed the gap on

Gleirscher but a terrible mistake.

Round to the finish he lost ground.

It was a vital stage. I thought he

was going to take the lead but how

did that unravels so laid?

He came

out of 15 to far around Andrew

himself into the wall. That is all

that was. It cost him the lead. When

he came through, the light had

turned green, so he was in front.

The hundreds of the setting tears

behind, the tap on the wall cost him

the lead. It shows how dangerous

years. Did that cost him an Olympic

gold medal? You will not see

something like that from Felix Loch,

I am sure.

We were talking about the

curse of the commentator error.

Guess who is next?

The great German.

You can see the crowd getting into

the rhythm of things. The great man,

Felix Loch.

Indeed. Bidding for his

third straight gold medal. He has

Gleirscher and Repilov in his

sights.

sights. Let's see. If ever you could

put your money on somebody to

deliver in the white heat of

competition eight is this German,

who is still only 28.

20 when he won

his first gold medal. Yes, and a

great start. The lines look smooth.

There is .0 one seconds in it, less

than the blink of an eye. -- zero

.01 seconds. The light has gone

Green so years in front. That was

perfect. He could not have been any

closer to the wall. He is sliding

around the corners on the exits but

he is still pulling away. It is

obviously working for him. You did

not see the mistake that has just

happened from the athlete prior to

him. That is a big margin he has

pulled out on them. He is stamping

his authority on the Olympics.

What

a big run, to come from behind. At

the end of run two, Felix Loch pits

himself nearly 0.2 seconds ahead of

the leader on the first run, David

Gleirscher. That is about applying

pressure. To mega runs down for

Loch, and the defending Olympic

champion is in a wonderful position.

-- two runs. It is like he said he

would take it easy on them in the

first run, to lull them into a false

sense of security. He opened up on

the second run, to show his

authority.

Did you notice any

mistakes?

On a few of the corners he

is sliding off rather than coming

straight out and using the pressure.

But he is fast, so it is working for

him. He will potentially be a

three-time Olympic champion the way

things are going at the moment.

That

was a sparkling run from Loch. Now

we have Dominik Fischnaller from

Italy. Fischnaller is in the top ten

after run number one. He is a really

consistent top ten performer this

year.

year. The legendary Italian 16

medals in six different games. He is

now the man inspiring encouraging

these young Italians. How is

Fischnaller looking, John Jackson?

He is looking good. He made a little

mistake on the first run which has

cost him time. He will be looking to

put that right as he comes to the

exit. He was tempted. You could tell

that he had to steer high. You could

see the ice kicking up on the

entrance to 12. That will cost him

speed. As he came into the chicane,

then the living, the end of it, he

wanted to pull away from the wall.

You could see his feet twitching. I

am going to hit the wall. You could

see the ice. Hopefully we will see

that on the replay. Little mistakes

like that are costing these

athletes.

You saw the way from Loch.

Whoever is leading at any given

stage stays on the podium. You will

see on a regular basis. I hope Loch

will wrap up warm. He will need some

awkward because he will be standing

there for a while, analyse the likes

of Johannes Ludwig are the world

champion, Wolfgang Kindl, can

improve their positions in a few

moments time.

For those guys it is

about fighting for the lesser medals

rather than the gold. I do not think

they will catch on.

That was Dominik

Fischnaller for Italy. Loch stands,

and he is about to see his

compatriot, Johannes Ludwig. This is

his second run. This is a big moment

in these Games in the luge. He was

third, Ludwig, after that first run.

He has got to go and replicate what

Loch bid, to keep tabs with his

great rival and he made.

Definitely.

In the first run, perhaps, some of

these guys put a little bit of

pressure on the great German

himself, but he has just put the

pressure right back on them, to put

in a good run. These guys have got

to be perfect to have any chance of

catching him, even the guys in

second and third. He came on to that

corner too early. This will cost

him. Hopefully he can get up as

drops down into eight. To catch the

second and third guys he has to be

perfect. He is playing about with

this dealing with legs. Things are

not quite as good as the first run,

looking at the way he is doing. He

has good speed, over 80 mph, but it

is whether he can close in on the

final stage.

He has lost ground on

Loch. Quite apart from gaining it,

you 0.4 seconds behind. That is a

massive gap. Loch, just in these

last four minutes, he has got a vice

like grip on this competition.

Definitely.

like grip on this competition.

Definitely.

Sorry to cut off John Jackson. These

are the scenes at the ice hockey.

They were a few moments ago. A

moment of history as the unified

Korean team takes to the ice. Kim

Jong-un's sister is in the crowd.

She is watching for the first time

at their Winter Olympics. Certainly

in recent years, since they were

divided. North and South Korea have

taken to the ice together. They are

taking on Switzerland. It is

goalless at the moment. That matches

live on the red button. Just to

recap on the luge, Felix Loch,

trying to win his third consecutive

luge title, he is in the lead after

the second run. We will let you know

how the British lugers have got on.

We will switch back to short track

speed skating. We will see the final

of the 1,500 metres.

of the 1,500 metres. I will be

cheering for the Hungarians sit --

the Hungarian skater.

He is Elise

Christie's other half. Yes, I am

really excited.

Hopefully everyone

will get behind them. Earlier on, we

signed crash out of qualification.

He was advanced to the final lap to

the equivalent of the steward's

enquiry.

Yes, we have adopted him,

Team GB. Fingers crossed for him

that he does really well.

There will

be nine skaters in this 1,500 metres

final. Does that not mean chaos?

It

will be intense. Medals on the line.

Everyone will want to get as far

forward as possible so there will be

less overtakes at the end of the

race. These guys are used to it,

they have raced with nine people in

the race. Olympic medals on the line

so it will be intense. Let's show

you the crash of Sandor Liu in

qualification.

On the straights, and

they are not long, you can go inside

the barriers, the little markers,

but only corners you have got to go

around them.

Very much so. On the

corners, there are clear track

markings. On the straights, you can

cut inside. That is where you can

overtake. You can go as far as you

like inside the track but you've got

to get back for the corners.

That

shot is in waiting to find out if he

had made it through or not. The

relief must be great. We'll Elise

Christie be watching or is she and

her called on routine?

I think she

will watch, but if it interferes

with her called on, her preparation,

she will get on with what she needs

to do. -- her cool down.

Is this the

actual lane order?

to do. -- her cool down.

Is this the

actual lane order? Yes. So he is

second from the outside. That will

go in their times from the previous

round.

It does not matter too much

at this distance. There will be lots

of jostling.

How much are you

allowed to use your elbows?

As long

as there is no elbowing motion, you

can use your arms to protect

yourself.

How do you define an

elbowing motion?

As long as it is

part of the natural arm swing. We

have to Korean skaters in this so

there will be lots of excitement in

the stadium. I think so. This is

their main event in the men's. They

do love a 1,500 metres. I have a

feeling that they have moved it at

the early from previous Games for

that reason, so they can get the

medal.

Elise Christie is through in

qualification. Charlotte Gilmartin

had a bad crash but she is all

right. Kathryn Thomson also crashed

out. It is heart stopping, watching

this.

Yes, you know they are all

exceptional athletes. They are

physically as good as each other but

I am learning from the others. It is

a psychological game, tactics. How

much do they study the tactics of

individuals? Does one athlete always

do a certain thing? If so, you can

think, they are going to do that, I

will therefore do this is my tactic.

In our team we have a performance

analyst. She will be in the crowd

making sure she is capturing the

video. All the preparation will be

done with her beforehand.

Similar to

rugby, you will have performance

analysis, going through every single

detail.

They are introducing the

athletes to the crowd. Let's head to

Wilf O'Reilly and Simon Brotherton.

Thanks, water final this will be.

There is the Olympic champion from

four years ago. The world champion

from 2014 has been introduced to the

cloud as well. -- to the crowd. Lim

Hyojun, a big exciting talent.

The Netherlands in fifth position.

De Laet. And another favourite, the

winner of four European titles.

Knegt.

Facuconnet of friends stayed out of

trouble and worked his way into the

final.

final. And from Hungary, the world

500 metre champion and Samuel Girard

from Colback, world silver medallist

last year. Crashed out of the semi.

But it was ruled not to have been

his fault and he has advanced to

this final.

his fault and he has advanced to

this final.

And what a final this is

going to be. 13.5 laps. An Olympic

final.

What an action packed 13.5 laps

lying in front of us here.

Off they go. Who is going to make a

good start? Charles Hamelin bidding

to become the oldest ever Olympic

champion at age 30 three. Canada at

one and two.

one and two. The two Korean athletes

following in behind.

following in behind. Towards the

back of the field is De Laet.

Charles Hamelin in second place

behind his team-mate. Not

particularly fast. 9.7 laps. The

Canadians are one and two. Moving up

to first

to first place Elistratov.

The

Koreans moving into the lead now.

Reading this Olympic final with half

a dozen laps to go.

The Koreans know

it is such a long way. Moving around

the outside with five laps to go.

What a race this is going to be.

They just managed to stay upright.

Knegt being followed down the home

straight. With three laps to go,

Knegt at the front. It will be a

desperate struggle.

Third here now is Elistratov with

one lap to go and Korea leading the

way.

way. Lim Hyojun takes it. And the

Olympic athlete from Russia

Elistratov taking the bronze and the

hosts take the gold medal in the

Gangneung ice Arena. They have

lifted the roof. We have a win for

Lim Hyojun of South Korea.

A superb

bit of skating from the Koreans.

Interesting to see what the final

outcome is. There was so much

pushing and barging. I'm not sure

about that will remain the final

result.

result. So many of the big hitters

made it through, so many world

number ones of recent years. Charles

Hamelin the Olympic champion from

four years ago was out of the

running at the end. Of course we

wait to see whether there are any

penalties applied in this final. And

looking at it here, the time of

2:10.5. If that is ratified it would

be an Olympic record time as well

for Lim Hyojun. And on the

for Lim Hyojun. And on the outside

you can see Knegt making that

mistake, superb piece of skating and

the Koreans once again, the blue

ribbon event. Winning the 1500

metres. In an Olympic record time as

well. There is the win. 86

centimetres. It may as well have

been a mile.

And of course still

waiting for the official results.

And we have seen on this first day

of competition in the short track

racing that it is not over until

they have checked the video review

downstairs. So we will just hang on

to make sure it is a new Olympic

record and the result is as it

stands provisionally. But yet again

they are looking at everything and

doing it as quickly as they can. But

so much is going on during these

races that there is quite a bit for

them to work their way through.

Early in the race it could be that

something has happened. Now Lim

Hyojun was the winner of the first

World Cup meeting of the season and

then he missed the rest with a back

problem. So we were not sure what

his form was going to be but we know

now.

We certainly do. And the

Olympic record is being ratified. It

is being confirmed.

is being confirmed. Lim Hyojun will

send the home crowd happy, yet

another gold medal for South Korea.

22 out of 49 if that stand. We wait

to see if it stands. The atmosphere

will sour inside this arena I think

if there is any change. Or a ruling

that would penalise the hosts.

Interesting to see what will happen

now, is it just on the intranet with

the Korean in third place...

Slips...

Slips... Almost got a bang in the

face, Fauconnet.

I think the issue

is what is going to happen now with

Fauconnet.

Fauconnet. Samuel Girard from Canada

of course was fourth. He is waiting

to see, if someone gets a penalty

everyone would move up. No wonder

he's waiting to see, just in case he

can take the bronze ahead of

Elistratov. It looks as if reaching

a conclusion to their deliberation.

Better to try to get the decision

right no matter how long it takes.

And there is a penalty. They have

not announced who it is for. So it

is Charles Hamelin who is penalised.

It confirms that Lim Hyojun in

Olympic record time is the winner.

Now silver for the Netherlands. And

Elistratov the former world

champion, Olympic athlete from

Russia, taking the bronze. So the

young Canadian just out of the

medals. Charles Hamelin the Olympic

champion from four years ago

disqualified. And a first medal of

the Games for Korea, the home core

-- home crowd

the Games for Korea, the home core

-- home crowd smiling from ear to

ear.

Almost the perfect start for the

short track action, nothing like the

home nation taking the first gold

medal in their favourite sport.

I

think they had that on the first day

because they were confident of the

men bringing home a gold medal. So

great for the home nation and again

for the atmosphere of the short

track, really getting the crowd

going.

And the final of nine

athletes, not all of them of course

would finish.

I expected it to be a

bit messier. We did have few crashes

but I expected a lot more of that.

Looks like the French skater got

kicked in the face actually when he

went down. Hopefully he's OK. It is

a dangerous sport.

Oh, my word.

And

also a great message for any young

short track speed skaters out there

about staying close to the front of

the race.

It is difficult to be

prepared for a race like this. It is

rare to get so many skaters in the

same race so your tactics would have

been disrupted by that.

And the guys

who are at the front, six laps to

go, they stayed at the front. Let

the other guys message other up

behind them.

Lim Hyojun taking the

gold medal and that was the result.

Everyone in that stadium, certainly

the Koreans, but was the result they

wanted.

We saw Elise Christie just watching

in the background.

I think he will

be happy with that, setting him up

for the next round, the 1000 metres

on Tuesday.

on Tuesday.

It proves how Rolex

Elise Christie is, just happy to

watch. And her performance in

qualification earlier this morning

was almost perfect.

Definitely. And

as she said in her interview she had

been practising on the start and

just getting out in front makes it

so much easier.

And she admitted

afterwards that she was very nervous

before that. Probably as nervous as

she had been in six years. And she

also said I'm not even fully fit

yet.

She is always fully fit! I

think that she was holding back a

bit, she did not put everything out

on the track because she has a lot

of races to come. So she did not I

think gives everything.

And we have

seen what can go wrong, Charlotte

Gilmartin, we thought that she might

have a chance of that least

advancing to the quarter finals but

she is at the back and she got taken

out, penalised.

And we can just see

Charlotte, that is tough going into

the corner, the referee made the

call and again she has two more

distances coming up so fingers

crossed she is fully fit.

She cannot

go round the corner with her arm up,

so that is a shame for her.

Well we

can get her reaction because she

spoke to David McDaid after that.

It seemed to be going so well for

you and then the crash.

Yes, I think

from the start I have had, I was

injured so for the last three weeks

I had a brand-new start and I said

if it was a false start I would not

be confident. But I was pleased that

I committed and stayed with the new

start because it was faster. So it

started well, I was feeling good and

just needed to get past the person

in front foot up but then someone

took my sprays and I was in two

minds, if I step out now, I could

get back to fourth. Try to commit

and told my ground and attack the

next corner. So yes, I'm devastated

to come away with a penalty. I

trained every day to try to get it

right. And what could have been but

just unfortunately did not happen

today.

It is short track and

anything can happen but the penalty,

you just will take it on the chin or

are you annoyed at getting it?

I

thought it was a 50-50 cool, I

thought I was ahead but you cannot

fight the decision. So yes, I just

upset I did not get to continue. And

just grateful for the support I know

I will have from my team. And all of

the UK lottery ticket buyers and

anyone else that has boosted us. I

will try to make up for it in the

next couple of distances.

Well when

he tried to give up using to be in a

bit of pain.

But you're OK? I have a

sore rib but my legs are fine which

is the main thing.

A few days now to

get back on track and get out for

the next races.

I have a few days as

you say to do that. My legs are

still in good condition and I did

have a lot of speed.

So look at the

positives, well done.

It seems the best quality to have is

the ability to click -- to pick

yourself up and just get out there

again. Unbelievably and hopefully

Charlotte will be fine.

I think what

came out of that interview was that

positivity. Because she is caught up

so much and she probably had the top

speed of all the top girls in the

world and that is a great sign.

And

it helps when the team is strong and

you can keep which other motivated.

yes, being an outsider, you can feel

the chemistry and

yes, being an outsider, you can feel

the chemistry and the team for the

short track.

They're all behind each

other. If one has a bad start, the

rest rally around. When one is doing

well, the others want to be there

and behind. Clearly that is why the

all succeeds so well.

I think we

have always had that as Team GB, in

the house, they all support each

other. There is lots of support from

everybody.

Yes, that is the thing.

You're all very separate sports but

once in the Olympics, you come

together under the Team GB banner.

You have the Olympic rings on your

chest and your one big family

supporting each other. Not everyone

has great days. Her snowboarders

have just crashed out, but you're

still there are supporting. You

might have another chance, another

distance. It is the ability to

psychologically put it in the past.

That is done, matter-of-fact, it did

not go well, but I have another

chance.

We can see the psychology to

be able to do that. Britain has the

strength to be able to have good

contenders and lots of different

sports. You tend to find there are

certain sports for certain nations.

The Germans are dominant in the

luge, the Austrians like the double

luge. The Koreans like the short

track speed skating. The Dutch are

very good at lots of thing, but long

track speed skating. Against the

clock, Horsley two skaters on the

ice. One of the skaters has won four

medals in Sochi. More than any other

athlete. We will catch up with the

action that has been happening with

Steve Armitage and Kristina Groves,

a four-time Olympic medallist

herself.

The Dutch skater on the right. The

Polish skater, the teenager, the

17-year-old, on the left. 7.5 laps,

the women's three km. The time to

beat by the Japanese skater.

She has

nothing to lose. Bosiek. This is the

first opportunity for the Dutch to

show what they have. We remember

from Sochi, 21, was E21 medals? 23.

Lots of them have said, we do not

think we're as good as we were then.

The rest of the have come. The Dutch

will be cheering for their first

skater of the game.

Those are pretty

good opening times. They are both

below the times set by Sato of

Japan. They are off to a quick

start. This is the fifth of 12 heats

in the women's 3,000 metres.

You can

see there is more energy compared to

the race before. There is more

energy in the skaters. They are more

fresh. They look like the timing is

good.

Getting back to that Dutch

domination in Sochi, 23 from 30

medals, eight gold medals, and they

swept four races. In other words,

they finished one, two, three, and

for. That had never been done in

Olympic history. That is quite

something. I do not think it will

happen in Pyeongchang. The

Norwegians are tougher, the Japanese

have come with a better team, the

Canadians have a slightly better

team.

There are lots of Russians

that have not been included in the

team, as well as the Americans who

were shutout in place to Mac who are

looking to redeem themselves. -- in

Sochi.

We should get back to the

race. It is a good one. We look like

we will get a new leader from the

young Dutch star. I say young at 28.

She has been around but she has not

been able to crack the top. Right

now, the number in the green is the

one you want to watch. Right now,

she up by four microseconds.

It is a

beautiful raise she is putting

together. Lots of shoulder movement

but it seems to be working for her.

You usually want to see the shoulder

is not moving from side to side but

she has nice read. You can see her

weight going from side to side, the

shoulders swinging, which I do not

like, but it is working for her.

She

is increasing the lead on Sato of

Japan.

She is still doing 31 second

lap times. It is a very flat race.

She started out as the hair but she

has not turned into the tortoise.

She is not dropping off, which is a

good sign. She is coming up on one

lap to go. She has a group of

friends who have saved up for six

years to come and cheer her so she

is putting on a good race for them.

When Ireen Wust on the world's

singles championships last year, she

did 3.5 nine. If she can get down to

the law four, or perhaps below, she

has a real positive chance at the

medal.

This is the first big

surprise for me at this competition

so far, the raise she is putting

down. Very strong.

She has the last

50 metres. She has the finish line

in sight. Achtereekte of the

Netherlands. There is the time. That

is a good time. The Dutch coaches

love it. Coming in across the line,

the 17-year-old from Poland,

Caroline Bossi act.

Caroline Bossi act. -- the

17-year-old from Poland, Bosiek.

That is not just a good time, that

is almost out of nowhere. I knew

that the Dutch had the potential

like any Olympics, any competition,

to put in anyone they want and they

will have these kinds of results.

They have so much depth but that was

a beautiful race. I am really

impressed by that. I think that time

will scare a lot of skaters still to

come.

come.

Wust likes to grow very

quickly in the 3,000 metres. I do

not think she will be changing her

game plan at this point, with that

time already on the board from

Achtereekte.

Absolutely. Wust always

started fast when I raced against.

She likes to get the first couple of

laps, money in the bank. Weidemann

needs to make sure she does not get

thrown off by the fire start from

Wust. She's doing her own thing. She

is one of the tall skaters in the

circuit. She is the third tallest of

the Canadian team, including the

men.

Ireen Wust, doing what she

always does, with the quick start,

establishing herself as the dominant

skater in the pair. She is now up by

0.4 seconds.

Wust has been

unpredictable this year, she has had

a few injuries to deal with. She

arrives at races at the right time.

She has stepped back and went back

to training, to prepare for the

Olympics. I can see that she is on

it. You can see it in her eyes. She

is focused. She has a clear vision

of where she wants to go. She looks

like classic Wust at this point.

Look how relaxed she is. Look out

smooth and relax she is. That is the

difference between her and the

skaters we've seen so far. She makes

it look easy, she has the rhythm,

even in the corners.

It is critical.

There is the virtual leader line

behind Wust. She is ahead of the

time put up by her Dutch team-mate,

Achtereekte.

This is the Wust I was

hoping that would show up at the

Games. But she is putting down is

incredible. In the past, she has

been known to flag in the last few

laps, but she has so much in the

bank now. Those first three laps

were 30 seconds. She can afford to

die off and still take the lead.

Is

it possible she could go under 3.5

nine. That would be really tough to

beat for the likes of Pechstein and

Blondin.

Also Sablikova. This is the

advantage of going early. She can go

out and not worry about what the

other skaters have done. She can do

run thing, and see anyone can beat

her.

her.

She is putting on a clinic.

There are athletes who thrive in the

Olympic spotlight, and Wust of the

Netherlands is certainly one of

them. Eight Olympic medals. The all

time is Pechstein, with nine. A

medal retire with Pechstein,

providing that Pechstein does not

win another medal in the 3,000

metres.

She's looking good. Let's

not forget about Weidemann. She's

having a good raise farm level. She

has got to keep it in mind that this

is not about her losing this, but

this is where Wust needs to hang on.

The margin is getting smaller.

In

232 second laps. Ireen Wust of the

Netherlands. She is ahead of the

virtual leader line. She is pouring

it on. She's coming out of the final

turn. She has the finish line in

sight. Here comes Wust, in search of

medal number nine. Some good skaters

still to come.

still to come. You can see her time.

She goes to second spot, behind her

Dutch team-mate. She lasted over the

last few metres.

last few metres.

I have to say, my

heart breaks for her just a little

bit, to be so close. That shows you

how Achtereekte's race was

phenomenal. A very different race as

Wust started out on 32nd laps, which

is extremely fast, then 31 seconds.

She paid the price at the end,

dropping to 33.7 for her last lap.

She went for it. You have to give it

to. She went for the gold medal and

that will not be case today. For a

Weidemann, that is a very

respectable time.

Takagi of Japan in the black and

white. In the Dutch orange,

Antoinette De Jong. 7.5 laps, the

women's 3,000 metres.

The second to

last group. Takagi is said that goal

for the Olympics is to win a gold

medal. She has more chance in the

1,500 metres than in this race but

she is one of the contenders this

race. She is someone who can break

the Dutch dominance that we have

seen already. Wust and Achtereekte

already in the top of the podium.

They all have a chance to get onto

the podium. These are the best

skaters in the world.

Those numbers

are in the red, which means they are

behind the leaders at this point in

the race. You want to see green,

green is good.

Green is good, but

Fred is not necessarily bad. It

depends on the race profile, whether

you start hard and hang on as much

as you can or if you go out at the

slightly more even pace, and try and

keep it as flat as possible. So far,

De Jong looks like she's going

faster. Takagi, so smooth.

faster. Takagi, so smooth. She is a

perfect little skater. So relaxed

and Smith. Look at her shoulders.

Her upper body does not move at all.

She is almost like a statue.

You

want to relax. De Jong is ranked

number four in the World Cup circuit

in the 3,000 metres. She had a

second in Calgary, with one victory.

She has had a good World Cup season

so far. The World Cup final is

coming up in Minsk after the

Olympics.

Both of these skaters

starting a little bit slower than

Wust did. That is probably a good

thing. The key for these girls in

the middle of this race is to keep

the momentum going, and keep the lap

times at 31 seconds range. Both

looking strong and even so far. This

is a nice painting.

is a nice painting. -- pairing.

Shias two time world junior champion

the 3,000 metres, De Jong. Takagi is

coming back a little bit. De Jong

has the advantage with the draft,

she can get back in there and start

building in the inside lane. We talk

about building the terms in speed

skating. That is something I try to

focus on. You can build so much

speed in the turns.

Two laps to go. 3:59.21 the time to

beat to get the silver medal

position, and I think one of these

is going to better at the time set

by London.

These races can be so

fun, you can really build off each

other and use the switching of the

lane to just put yourself through

the race. But de Jong will have

advantage going into the last lap.

Almost dead even.

It is going to be

a good finish between the pair, they

are very close. De Jong will have

the advantage and will finish and

take full advantage of that inner

lane finish. She takes the lead.

Remember that time to get to third,

for .1 point four. And here comes de

Jong, going into third place.

Jong, going into third place. Takagi

of Japan going to fourth place.

Just a quick look at her face

against the race, looking a bit

disappointed. I think that she

expected more. She got tied up a

little bit in the last lap, the

shoulder starting to move, almost

trying a bit too hard. But we have

one parent to go. And three Dutch

first, second and third. Happening

again. Already sweeping the podium

with just one race race to go.

Probably the only one who could

unseat them is Sablikova.

Sablikova

on the left. 7.5 laps and the final

pairing.

pairing. 3:59.21 the time to beat.

Sablikova is so tiny and she can

just keep going and going. 3000 a

bit too short for her, she needs to

get her speed up. She can hang on

very well at the end.

Sablikova has

been plagued by back problems since

2012 but somehow she always seems to

rise above the pain. And to skate

through whatever is causing the

difficulties. And this year she

really had to back off because of

those back issues.

I raced against

Sablikova in 2006 and I think she

has had back problems since then.

She would come out and win the race

the next day so we never knew what

the case was with her. But coming

into these Games they came in early

before the track was even opened.

Kind of an unusual approach but they

wanted to come in and get settled.

They were training in local gyms and

going for runs in the first.

Not too

far off the pace. But they will have

to pick it up and maintain this

phase in the women's three K if

they're going to crack that Dutch

one, two, three. They have gold,

silver and bronze.

I liked the way

Sablikova is skating now, so smooth

and relaxed. Her top end speed is

not very fast. She does not have the

sprint but she can do these lap

times almost all day. But that lack

of training because of back problems

could affect her. Natalia Voronina

does not look quite so smooth to me.

But it does not matter what you look

like crossing the line. It is about

your effort. And how that will

affect you towards the end. Some

really nice skating from Sablikova.

She looks a lot better here at the

Olympics than she did in the last

World Cup event in Germany back in

January.

The thing you notice, the

difference between these skaters is

how far the knee is sticking out

over the toe. With Natalia Voronina

it looks like Ernie is getting

straight up. You want to get it over

the front and Natalia Voronina does

not really have that. So it is

harder to build the pressure.

Sablikova widening her margin over

the Olympic athlete from Russia,

Natalia Voronina. At 23-year-old who

did not skate in Sochi and therefore

is not tainted anyway by the doping

scandal. One lap to go in the

women's three K. The last pair and

they will have to pick it up if they

plan on getting to the podium.

Well

this will be tight. Looking towards

another Dutch suite I would think.

Sablikova the only one left who

could beat them.

She needs to beat

for minutes and zero to second.

Sablikova is driving, coming to the

line and she has not done it,

finishing in fourth place. So the

story in the women's three K, a

continuation of what we saw in Sochi

four years ago. The Dutch continued

their domination. They finish one,

two and three in the women's three

K. The top Canadian finishing in

sixth spot. Her team-mate finishing

in seventh.

Well you could see the

disappointment in the face of

Sablikova. Just devastating for her

and I feel for her. So hard to come

in fourth place. But she was just

off the pace today by enough that it

was not able to get into the top

three. Her she must be disappointed

with that. This could be her final

Olympics. She has dominated this

event for so long. Maybe those back

problems have finally caught up with

her. Fourth is a tough spot. Really

she would've wanted to be on top of

the podium today. And already one,

two, three Dutch, an amazing start

already for Dutch.

two, three Dutch, an amazing start

already for Dutch.

Kristina Groves and Steve Armitage

with the commentary and it is a

Dutch one, two, three. They did so

well in Sochi as well, extraordinary

how dominant they are. With the

silver medal, Ireen Wust so that now

is her ninth Olympic medal. And

brings a level with the German

athlete for the most decorated in

big speed skater. But out in

big speed skater. But out in front,

Achtereekte. But Ireen Wust was one

second up on it only to lose. But a

Dutch one, two, three in the 3000

metres. Just to give your idea of

what is coming up in the next couple

of hours. Still plenty of action out

there in Korea. Highlights of the

second run of the men's luge on BBC

One and then we go to the men's ski

jump and that will be sensational.

We will catch up with the

snowboarding qualifying later and

that historic match between the

unified Korean team and Switzerland

in the women's ice copy also coming

your way.

your way. We have some really

interesting conversations to come.

Johnny has a brain full of facts

about speed skating and in fact his

actual skates. Elise Christie showed

me, the blade is just a little bit

off centre to help you balance

around the bends.

As you see we

skate only in one direction so it is

all set up to turn left around the

corner. So you're making sure if you

look down the line of the camera,

you will see it is offset and not

completely in the middle. So making

sure that actually you can turn in

the right direction.

Or the left

direction! If you stood still and

just glided down it would take you

to the left.

Got it. And how stiff

is the actual route?

Very stiff, you

can barely flex it.

It is

fibreglass.

Just be careful of that

blade! Amy your closer than me.

The

runners, we have a bowl as well in

our runners but the difference

between your skates and a long

track, you can hear them clicking as

they go around.

There skates would

come away at the heel. Almost trying

to keep as much contact on the ice

as possible. And when the blade

recalls that is when that sound but

for us such close contact racing,

you cannot have anything coming away

from the boot. That is part of the

rules.

We get scratches and you do

not really realise that broken ice

can actually scratch and tiny specks

of debt so how do you polish them.

So the guys would have them

sharpened up every training session,

keeping them as sharp as possible.

They do that themselves? It depends

on the time between the races. At

the latter stage of racing, the

turnover is pretty quick. So the

coach or blade technician would sort

that out. Sometimes the athletes

would like to do it themselves, it

would take their mind off the next

race, they find it quite soothing.

Hours and hours the night before a

race polishing your runners. It was

a pain but that is just what you

did, to spend time bonding with your

equipment. And also you said

earlier, I was interested in whether

you get your foot moulded, if

they're really individual.

These are

custom-made and again yes, as we

said, proper solid fibreglass and

moulded around your feet. But the

blades you change pretty regularly,

three or four players per year. But

your boots you would probably change

every three or four years.

Elise

Christie said she has not changed

hers for years, they are heard Lucky

boots.

I think she had another pair

and then went back to her old

favourites.

Their handmade soap made

to mould around your feet. --

handmade. The sport does come down

to a lot of the deal in the corners.

You need to be happy with your

equipment.

And it takes a long time

to get used to them as well. You do

not want to take the time to get

used to them and for that to slow

down your training.

Well talk about

technical details, with the luge,

you could see those spikes on the

gloves that they use to power off.

Well the start in the luge is all

about power in their upper body and

literally gripping with their

fingers, those spikes. You could see

them taped around on the gloves. So

the power literally coming from

their fingers. Digging into the ice

and then lying down into position as

quickly as they can. So straight

into that first corner. It is all

about that power at the start.

Pushing off the handles and then

paddling away at the ice.

And we

will see more luge shortly over on

BBC One. In the ski jumping it is

the normal hill for the men, the

first competition and that will be

sensational. Very cold for the

spectators but well worth watching.

It always gives us great headlines

whether they are very good or very

bad!

Just exceptional watching them.

I have sat at the top of the speed

heel and it is frightening.

Well all

that over on BBC One in just a