:00:43. > :00:50.Good afternoon and welcome to Sochi. A summer resort on Russia's
:00:51. > :00:56.Black Sea coast. But thanks to over ?30 billion worth of investment,
:00:57. > :00:59.host to the Winter Olympics. With nearly 3000 athletes from 87
:01:00. > :01:06.countries, these will be the biggest Winter Olympics ever. But will they
:01:07. > :01:13.be the best? That evaluation remains to be made. Over the next couple of
:01:14. > :01:18.weeks. As far as Team GB is concerned, it may well be the best
:01:19. > :01:25.ever games. UK sport have said a target of a minimum of three medals.
:01:26. > :01:31.The upper estimation is seven medals, which would obliterate the
:01:32. > :01:37.previous number of four, which was in 1924 in Chamonix. Let's begin
:01:38. > :01:44.with a tour of the park. It is the first time there has been a -- and
:01:45. > :01:48.Olympic Park for a Winter Olympics. Behind me we have got the central
:01:49. > :01:53.area with the Olympic flame. This is where the athletes will receive
:01:54. > :01:59.their medals. There will be a ceremony every evening. Behind
:02:00. > :02:09.that, the fished Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held. There is
:02:10. > :02:14.the Bolshoi, where the ice hockey finals will take place. If the
:02:15. > :02:19.Russians were to win, it would be the moment of the games. We are more
:02:20. > :02:27.concerned about what happens in this arena. It is the ice cube. It is
:02:28. > :02:30.where curling takes place. Around to the right, we have something which
:02:31. > :02:36.looks like a velodrome. It is where the long track speed skating will
:02:37. > :02:45.take place. As a little aside, these funny bits of pavement, that is for
:02:46. > :02:50.the Formula one, that is in October. The final venue here is the Iceberg
:02:51. > :02:58.Skating Palace. Figure skating and short track speed skating. No snow
:02:59. > :03:06.down here in the Olympic Park. That is in the mountains, which look
:03:07. > :03:11.absolutely lovely. There is a new road that takes you there. It cost
:03:12. > :03:24.?4 billion. It will take you on a 60 kilometre journey. We have also got
:03:25. > :03:35.the cross country and the Alpine venues. Quite simply, none of these
:03:36. > :03:40.existed when Sochi was awarded the games in 2007. It is the most
:03:41. > :03:44.expensive Olympics ever staged, winter or summer. There is no magic
:03:45. > :03:52.without sport. This is what is coming up in the next couple of
:03:53. > :03:57.hours. Dutch legend Sven Kramer is looking
:03:58. > :04:04.to retain his 5000 metre title in the speed skating. In the Biathlon,
:04:05. > :04:09.Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has Olympic history in his sights. And we will
:04:10. > :04:16.catch up with the slopestyle action from earlier today with Jamie
:04:17. > :04:23.Nicholls and Billy Morgan in action. Lots to look forward to. You can
:04:24. > :04:28.keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter. We would love to hear from you. Our
:04:29. > :04:33.first action is going to take place in here. Long track speed skating.
:04:34. > :04:34.Expect it to be painted orange because the Dutch superstar is in
:04:35. > :04:55.the house. The Olympic record is in sight for a
:04:56. > :05:04.Sven Kramer! What a finishing time. A new Olympic record. The world
:05:05. > :05:08.record-holder, the world champion, is now going to become the Olympic
:05:09. > :05:16.champion. He won three gold medals -- he has
:05:17. > :05:21.cited three gold medals here. It should be quite a games for the
:05:22. > :05:27.Dutchman. Here is your guide to long track speed skating.
:05:28. > :05:33.In speed skating, the aim is simple. Race a defined distant as fast as
:05:34. > :05:39.possible. In the individual event, skaters race in pairs on separate
:05:40. > :05:46.tracks. They switch lanes every lap in order to skate an equal distance.
:05:47. > :05:52.There are ten individual distances from 500 to 10,000 metres from men,
:05:53. > :05:56.and 500 to 5000 metres for women. In the team pursuit race, two teams of
:05:57. > :06:03.three compete against each other, starting from opposite sides. The
:06:04. > :06:11.event takes place on a 400 metres oval track, almost four times larger
:06:12. > :06:18.than the short goals. -- course. Shani Davis won Olympic gold in 2006
:06:19. > :06:21.and 2007 -- 2010. You begin the first black athlete to win an
:06:22. > :06:36.individual gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.
:06:37. > :06:43.We are going to bring you our statistic of the day. This one is
:06:44. > :06:48.about speed skating. The first Winter Olympic gold was in speed
:06:49. > :06:57.skating. That was in the 500 metres. Let's go skating now in the present.
:06:58. > :06:58.We join this with four pairs to go. Wilfred O'Reilly and Hugh Porter are
:06:59. > :07:09.your commentators. Jonathan Kuck being introduced to
:07:10. > :07:14.the crowd. He will start on the inside, wearing the white armband.
:07:15. > :07:18.There is the defending Olympic champion, the world champion, the
:07:19. > :07:26.world record-holder, Sven Kramer. The Flying Dutchman. 27 years of
:07:27. > :07:28.age. The fans are here to support him. He knows the time to beat to be
:07:29. > :07:56.the leader. Heat ten of the men's 5000 metres.
:07:57. > :08:05.On the left of our screen is Sven Kramer. His opponent, Jonathan Kuck
:08:06. > :08:07.of USA. Kramer, the world record-holder and current world
:08:08. > :08:13.champion. He won that world title on this very ice in March of last year.
:08:14. > :08:17.He has been under immense pressure. He is starting the first of the last
:08:18. > :08:27.four appears in exactly the same situation that daddy started in
:08:28. > :08:33.Vancouver. -- four pairs. He is the man of the moment, the Olympic 5000
:08:34. > :08:37.metres record holder, moving on the inside lane, already skating away
:08:38. > :08:43.from Jonathan Kuck of the USA. Across the line there though. He has
:08:44. > :08:57.to be careful of that, Sven Kramer. Coming through the first lap. 29.04.
:08:58. > :09:02.A sub 32nd for Kramer. No Dutchman has ever won the 5000 metres
:09:03. > :09:07.back-to-back. Only one man in the history of the 5000 metres has
:09:08. > :09:13.achieved that. That was Thomas Gustafsson in 1984 and 1988. Cramer
:09:14. > :09:26.is arguably the greatest 5000 metre skater of all time. -- crammer.
:09:27. > :09:33.The strength of Sven Kramer is particularly in the last five laps.
:09:34. > :09:42.I can almost hear his coach doubting from here from the commentary box.
:09:43. > :09:52.He needs to pick up his game. Coming up to tidy another loop. This is not
:09:53. > :09:56.a particularly good start by him. He knows the time he has got to put
:09:57. > :10:04.down here. The other big guns will be watching him from the centre of
:10:05. > :10:10.the arena. I expected him to go quicker at the start. It is
:10:11. > :10:19.certainly surprising. We have talked about the ice conditions. 29.56. He
:10:20. > :10:33.is still 1.77 outside the leader time. He is getting encouragement
:10:34. > :10:34.from the coach. Sven Kramer has said the only money is afraid of is
:10:35. > :10:50.Berks. He needs to dig deep. It is getting
:10:51. > :10:54.near to to seconds. -- two seconds. This is the first time there has
:10:55. > :11:07.been some panic in the Dutch camp. Almost two seconds of side. He has
:11:08. > :11:08.only lost three 5000 metres races in his whole career. At the moment he
:11:09. > :11:21.is in second place. Jonathan Kuck is eight seconds shy
:11:22. > :11:37.of the time of the leader. Sven Kramer is going to have to dig
:11:38. > :11:44.deep and find something. 3000 metre mark. I thought he would be well in
:11:45. > :11:50.control of this contest at this stage. Just looking at this time
:11:51. > :11:55.schedule from the world championships last year, he went
:11:56. > :12:07.throughout this time of 3.45. Now he has gone through at 3.47. He is two
:12:08. > :12:11.seconds slower. Sven Kramer can find something in the closing stages. We
:12:12. > :12:20.have seen it all before. And there we are. He has ignited with four
:12:21. > :12:24.laps to go. He leads the Russian. He kept us waiting, the king of the
:12:25. > :12:31.discipline. Now he is beginning to please the crowd. Amazingly, the
:12:32. > :12:37.last three Olympic Games have been won in a time of 6.14. The world
:12:38. > :12:48.title on this very week was won by Sven Kramer last March with 6.14.
:12:49. > :12:53.Now it is nearly two seconds. His speed is somewhere around 6.17.
:12:54. > :13:04.Jonathan Kuck is well out of the racing. I still predict he will be
:13:05. > :13:12.looking at 6.12. The Olympic record is 6:14.16. 800 metres remaining. He
:13:13. > :13:21.is four seconds faster than the leader. The Korean is looking at the
:13:22. > :13:29.start of this event. The coaches happy. Just over a lap remaining.
:13:30. > :13:34.Sven Kramer coming back to the line. He will get the belt. His opponent
:13:35. > :13:39.is in the middle. He must realise this is going to be an astonishing
:13:40. > :13:46.mark. One lap remaining. Six point two seconds faster. This could give
:13:47. > :13:53.him something about 6.12. That would be a new Olympic record. Sven Kramer
:13:54. > :13:59.on his way now to the line and the concluding stages of his 5000 metres
:14:00. > :14:06.skate. The style of the King himself. The defending Olympic
:14:07. > :14:16.champion. He only comes. He hits the line. The time 6:10.76, a new
:14:17. > :14:18.Olympic record. He has put the marker down. And he has prodded them
:14:19. > :14:34.big time. What a skate that was. Jonathan Kuck still coming through
:14:35. > :14:41.after that slip. A disappointing time for him. There we have it. Sven
:14:42. > :14:46.Kramer has really thrown the gauntlet down to the best of his
:14:47. > :14:55.competitors. He has blown the opposition completely away. He
:14:56. > :14:58.frightened us in the early stages. He certainly did. He didn't panic in
:14:59. > :15:09.the beginning. I was getting nervous. The coaches of got total
:15:10. > :15:16.belief. He coaxed into the 5000 metres Olympic title in Vancouver
:15:17. > :15:20.and hopefully here again in Sochi. He becomes the first Dutchman ever,
:15:21. > :15:25.if he can clinch the gold, to win the gold medal back-to-back. He
:15:26. > :15:33.would equal the record of Thomas Gustafsson. Three key remaining. --
:15:34. > :15:39.three heats remaining. I think he is saying that he did everything he
:15:40. > :15:43.got. If there is anybody else who can beat him, it could possibly be
:15:44. > :15:55.these two skaters, particularly Jorrit Bergsma. This is the man that
:15:56. > :16:01.Sven Kramer has gone on record saying he fears. The Dutch
:16:02. > :16:05.commentators were telling me the Norwegian challenge, the best
:16:06. > :16:31.challenge, is likely to come from this person here. The 11th heat of
:16:32. > :16:40.the men's 5000m. You're at there, -- Jorrit Bergsma is going to have to
:16:41. > :16:47.skate out of his skin to knock Kramer out of top position. Both of
:16:48. > :16:55.these skaters have a similar personal best. Kramer had to do
:16:56. > :17:00.everything himself. These true will be eating each other away, making
:17:01. > :17:10.sure that they can draft in the exchange lanes, it is going to be
:17:11. > :17:15.close. Sverre Lunde Pedersen was fourth in 2013 so he is a good
:17:16. > :17:23.all-rounder and the distance will not say is Jorrit Bergsma. He is
:17:24. > :17:30.engaged to an American sprinter who will be competing in the
:17:31. > :17:39.Championships next week. At the moment Jorrit Bergsma concentrating
:17:40. > :17:52.and doing his inimitable style. It is early days. As he turned the
:17:53. > :17:57.screw to early? -- too early? You can see this gate, you cannot see
:17:58. > :18:06.the laces or anything. He tried briefly to make the team for
:18:07. > :18:16.Vancouver. He now has his place here. Silver in the 10,000m in the
:18:17. > :18:27.World Championships and Jorrit Bergsma got the silver last March.
:18:28. > :18:30.The man who beat him? Sven Kramer. Jorrit Bergsma is going in the
:18:31. > :18:38.second race after the resurface on the ice is going to be a little bit
:18:39. > :18:53.harder. You saw the line behind Jorrit Bergsma. This man is really
:18:54. > :18:56.impressive. The big question is, has he gone too early? He knows the time
:18:57. > :19:03.to beat at Kramer speeded up towards the end. He never really got
:19:04. > :19:17.involved in the contest until about four to go. Can the 28-year-old put
:19:18. > :19:24.the Olympic champion to the test? There is still a long way to go.
:19:25. > :19:31.Lovely style, flat back, aerodynamic. The crowd are watching
:19:32. > :19:42.anxiously. Two more rounds to go after this. Still very close. Sverre
:19:43. > :19:52.Lunde Pedersen is nearly five seconds off the pace but he is still
:19:53. > :20:01.doing a good time. 6.15 would put him in the front cluster. Jorrit
:20:02. > :20:11.Bergsma has slipped back. The challenge has evaporated. He is 0.38
:20:12. > :20:21.slower. Kramer is walking away, he does not like to watch these races.
:20:22. > :20:32.Were the early laps a little bit too quick? He is slipping back. It is
:20:33. > :20:40.going to be much slower. It is almost a second. We are going to
:20:41. > :20:49.have to focus on the time of Jorrit Bergsma. That is going to be reined
:20:50. > :20:58.about 6.12. He will be aware he is losing distance. As he comes down
:20:59. > :21:09.with three laps to go, Jorrit Bergsma crossing the line, will he
:21:10. > :21:19.go inside the 32nd lap time? 1.5 seconds slower than Sven Kramer. His
:21:20. > :21:28.coach edging him on. Jorrit Bergsma is still five seconds within Denis
:21:29. > :21:43.Yuskov's time so he is close to silver medal position. At the
:21:44. > :21:52.moment, good enough for silver. Can they maintain it? Keeping his upper
:21:53. > :21:57.body as still as possible. His opponent, they can maintain the
:21:58. > :22:04.pace, the amount of time he is trailing would be good enough to
:22:05. > :22:12.boots Denis Yuskov -- to put Denis Yuskov down at place and Sverre
:22:13. > :22:33.Lunde Pedersen could be in bronze. With two more heats to go. This is
:22:34. > :22:52.any later. -- a nail biter. He just does it. That puts them into second
:22:53. > :23:00.and third. Kramer leading on 6.10. Those are the three medal positions
:23:01. > :23:07.with two to go. Jorrit Bergsma was the major threat to Sven Kramer. We
:23:08. > :23:14.can see the shoes he was willing to try to cut down the wind resistance
:23:15. > :23:28.on his skates. You can already see the upper body moving from side to
:23:29. > :23:34.side, having to work a lot harder. Sverre Lunde Pedersen looking very
:23:35. > :23:48.comfortable, a good time for him. He has a personal best of 6.10. Both
:23:49. > :23:59.skaters stating very well. The last medal the Norwegians won was in
:24:00. > :24:19.1894. They would love to get one here -- 1994. The competitors being
:24:20. > :24:38.introduced to the crowd. To the left is Bart Swings. His opponent is Jan
:24:39. > :24:44.Blokhuijsen. I was mentioning about the challenge coming from Jorrit
:24:45. > :24:50.Bergsma, Jan Blokhuijsen is the current European champion, Kramer
:24:51. > :25:01.decided to set that one out, but he still skated very well indeed. In
:25:02. > :25:07.the 5000m he went 6:15.8 at sea level. That would put him in silver
:25:08. > :25:15.and it would boost Jorrit Bergsma into third. -- push. I hope they do
:25:16. > :25:20.not make the same mistake as Jorrit Bergsma. Already they are under the
:25:21. > :25:27.time of Kramer and they will pay the price for that. We still have 11
:25:28. > :25:33.laps to go. That was a really clever way to approach the distance by
:25:34. > :25:39.Kramer. It put everybody into a false position. They. , the Olympic
:25:40. > :25:51.champion is not going to deliver here. That was the second time that
:25:52. > :26:04.Jan Blokhuijsen is then -- went out of his lane. We might hear about
:26:05. > :26:13.that later. Bart Swings driving Jan Blokhuijsen out. That will save him
:26:14. > :26:25.energy for later in the race. This is not very smart. We still have
:26:26. > :26:38.nine laps to go. Look at the times. Watch this. Bart Swings drafting Jan
:26:39. > :26:48.Blokhuijsen. Going outside of their lanes. It will be interesting to see
:26:49. > :26:57.what the referee of the USA as to say about this. -- has to say.
:26:58. > :27:03.Meanwhile they are both inside the time of Kramer. Another interesting
:27:04. > :27:07.fact about Jan Blokhuijsen, he is going to go back to the Netherlands
:27:08. > :27:12.to finish his preparation because he wants to get away from the Olympic
:27:13. > :27:23.pressure. That is interesting indeed. They are still holding the
:27:24. > :27:34.time for Kramer. Great skating by the Belgian. Wearing the white
:27:35. > :27:39.jacket is the Olympic champion of 1982 at the 10,000m. He knows what
:27:40. > :27:48.it is like to be at this type of level. He seems to be totally
:27:49. > :27:59.oblivious of the role. He is just getting on with it. Both skaters
:28:00. > :28:20.slightly slower than Kramer. He needs to pick the temple up -- tempo
:28:21. > :28:26.up. Nearly a second off the pace of Kramer. The early impressions of
:28:27. > :28:29.being ahead have completely evaporated and they are nearly a
:28:30. > :28:35.second behind, but when you look at the times, if they maintain this,
:28:36. > :28:44.they could both move up into a medal position. Absolutely. If they have
:28:45. > :28:52.decided beforehand, I am not going to beat Kramer, but I am going to
:28:53. > :29:00.get on the podium... He would still be in a medal position at the
:29:01. > :29:06.conclusion of this. Jorrit Bergsma and Sverre Lunde Pedersen could both
:29:07. > :29:12.get pushed down. The gold medal position is out of reach. It will be
:29:13. > :29:20.interesting to see what the referee has to say about crossing this lane
:29:21. > :29:29.a number of times. It is getting critical. I bet Jorrit Bergsma and
:29:30. > :29:38.Sverre Lunde Pedersen cannot now to look. He knows how close it is going
:29:39. > :29:45.to be. He has to find something. He was over the line again. I think he
:29:46. > :29:58.has done that five times. It really is amazing. A very good lap by him.
:29:59. > :30:05.Just about clinging to a podium position, if they can maintain this
:30:06. > :30:20.and keep the gap at the strength you saw on the previous lap. What a
:30:21. > :30:25.cracking pair. He is still in the silver medal position. And Bart
:30:26. > :30:30.Swings is just about going to hang onto the bronze. The coaches are
:30:31. > :30:36.shouting to them. They have to give it everything now. They are totally
:30:37. > :30:43.committed. Are they going to put themselves onto the podium with one
:30:44. > :30:55.heat remaining? Approaching the line. 6:15.71. And Bart Swings just
:30:56. > :31:06.misses out on the third spot. He goes forth. With one heat remaining,
:31:07. > :31:11.the Dutch are first, second and third. It is looking like a clean
:31:12. > :31:24.sweep. Jan Blokhuijsen can just about stand-up. Got the silver medal
:31:25. > :31:33.in children at the 3000 metres. -- to Reno.
:31:34. > :31:45.At the moment we are looking at a clean sweep by the Dutch. Sven
:31:46. > :31:52.Kramer winning at the moment. There is the collision. He can must not
:31:53. > :31:58.control where he is scathing. Do you think the crossing of the line will
:31:59. > :32:01.prevent him from getting the silver? Normally what happens is it would
:32:02. > :32:06.probably be another country making complaints about it. Unfortunately
:32:07. > :32:17.now we cannot have the Dutch complaining about the Dutch.
:32:18. > :32:26.Swings, the Belgian, could complain. We are in the final heat. Onto the
:32:27. > :32:35.ice now is leash on Hong. -- Lee Sung Hong. The silver medal winner
:32:36. > :32:53.from Vancouver. He is racing against Patrick Beckert from Germany.
:32:54. > :32:59.The Korean, a very formidable distance skater. And a man that has
:33:00. > :33:12.got to be respected. He got the silver in Vancouver. He went 616.9
:33:13. > :33:20.at sea level. -- 6:16.9. Is it possible we could get a turn up with
:33:21. > :33:23.the final pair? Sven Kramer went out cycling yesterday and actually fell
:33:24. > :33:35.off his bike. There was some concern in the Dutch camp. Lisa Young who --
:33:36. > :34:01.'s Young Hooley... This is the final pair. The Dutch
:34:02. > :34:06.fans making them is on The Times. It is almost an anti-climax after the
:34:07. > :34:10.Dutch. But we have to respect the Korean. He is being led by the
:34:11. > :34:18.German. Patrick Beckert, his older sister, Stephanie, she skated in
:34:19. > :34:25.Vancouver and got herself a couple of silver medals. Fine family
:34:26. > :34:31.pedigree. It will be interesting to see what these skaters and their
:34:32. > :34:35.coaches have decided. Will they skate for the silver and the bronze
:34:36. > :34:41.time? Those are The Times to be beaten.
:34:42. > :34:49.They need to have looked at the schedules and worked out exactly
:34:50. > :34:57.where they need to deliver. Keep themselves in the comfort zone, if
:34:58. > :35:02.you can be in the comfort zone. At the moment they are two and a half
:35:03. > :35:23.seconds of Sven Kramer's time. They would be looking at 6.12 or 6.13.
:35:24. > :35:40.Full concentration for these two. Trying to stay as aerodynamic as
:35:41. > :35:44.possible. It is a pure time trial. Lead coming from the Short Track.
:35:45. > :35:51.Tried to make the Olympic Short Track team from Korea. That was in
:35:52. > :35:55.2010. He failed to make that team and then moved across to the long
:35:56. > :36:06.track. He prefers the longer distances. Patrick Beckert just
:36:07. > :36:12.crossing the line again. There has been a lot of crossover from skaters
:36:13. > :36:18.going from short tackle -- short tax too long attack.
:36:19. > :36:29.They will have to raise their game here if they are going to pressurise
:36:30. > :36:44.the times of Jorrit Bergsma and Jan Blokhuijsen.
:36:45. > :37:01.This will be the 100th medal for the Olympics in the long track.
:37:02. > :37:13.This event first held in 1924, actually. The 22nd time that this
:37:14. > :37:17.competition has been contested. Both of those skaters with those split
:37:18. > :37:21.times have drifted off the pace of silver and bronze. It looks like the
:37:22. > :37:27.Dutch are already beginning their celebrations. They are. Keeping an
:37:28. > :37:33.eye on the clock. But Lee of Korea on the outside that mag inside and
:37:34. > :37:42.Patrick Beckert on the outside. Almost neck and neck with three laps
:37:43. > :37:47.remaining. -- on the outside. If they keep those sort of lap times,
:37:48. > :37:59.they may be lucky enough to get sixth and seventh place. Three laps
:38:00. > :38:01.remaining. I said at the top of the commentary that no Dutchman had ever
:38:02. > :38:06.won the gold medal at this event back-to-back. That statistic is
:38:07. > :38:10.certainly going to be a raised here now on day one of the long track
:38:11. > :38:46.disciplines in Sochi. The concluding lap of the final heat
:38:47. > :38:51.of the men's 5000 metres. On their way around to the line to complete
:38:52. > :38:59.the distance. Patrick Beckert of Germany and Lee of Korea. Here we
:39:00. > :39:05.are, it is the German that is going to win. His time is going to put
:39:06. > :39:09.outside of the medals. Still a respectable time but not good enough
:39:10. > :39:18.to see him on the podium. Eighth position for him. The time for the
:39:19. > :39:26.Korean, Lee, puts in 12th. There are the official results. Sven Kramer
:39:27. > :39:32.takes the gold medal. Jan Blokhuijsen take silver and Jorrit
:39:33. > :39:36.Bergsma takes bronze. A clean sweep for the Dutch. The first time ever
:39:37. > :39:39.in the history of the lyrics. It was a compelling contest. We had to wait
:39:40. > :39:48.but it was worth waiting for. I said it looked a little bit like a
:39:49. > :39:55.velodrome. It has just turned orange, which is very appropriate.
:39:56. > :40:01.What a performance from Sven Kramer. Who is to bet against taking those
:40:02. > :40:06.three gold medals? The last time the Dutch got a clean sweep in speed
:40:07. > :40:16.skating was 1988. We are going to the Biathlon next. That is coming up
:40:17. > :40:28.shortly. First, a little bit of this.
:40:29. > :40:38.Original sporting drama. Brand-new this Winter Olympics. I know nothing
:40:39. > :40:58.about it. An event that will blow your mind. How will it do that?
:40:59. > :41:06.Imagine hitting one of these pipes? When they go, they go really big.
:41:07. > :41:17.The one rule is there are no rules. There cannot be no rules. That
:41:18. > :41:23.doesn't make any sense. We really have got to see it. I cant wait to
:41:24. > :41:30.see this. It will be an awesome ride. What am I doing here? I am
:41:31. > :41:34.off. I'm going to watch some. This really is not to be missed. It
:41:35. > :41:44.happened earlier today. Jamie Nicholls and Billy Morgan going for
:41:45. > :41:46.Britain. Here is your guide. Slopestyle originates from
:41:47. > :41:52.skateboarding and is one of two new Freestyle Skiing events adding to
:41:53. > :41:56.the Olympic programme for Sochi. The objective is to produce a run that
:41:57. > :41:58.makes the best use of all the rail sections and jumps, producing
:41:59. > :42:07.technically different tricks that link together. The judges mark each
:42:08. > :42:14.one on trick difficulty, execution and height. The course is 635 metres
:42:15. > :42:19.long. It starts with rails at the top before featuring three jumps
:42:20. > :42:23.which get progressively bigger, so riders build momentum and save their
:42:24. > :42:30.best jumps to the bottom -- for the bottom.
:42:31. > :42:36.This is Ron number one in the slopestyle final. If the semifinals
:42:37. > :42:42.were anything to go by, the final is going to be of the chart. We have
:42:43. > :42:48.got two runs. It will be the best score from those two runs that
:42:49. > :42:51.count. Sage Kotsenburg, his run in the semifinals this morning, was
:42:52. > :42:56.beautiful. A masterclass in diversity. He was grabbing the board
:42:57. > :43:04.in ways that other writers are not capable of.
:43:05. > :43:22.He is the snowboarder's snowboarder. He has left some in the
:43:23. > :43:25.tank year. -- here. There must be some speed from somewhere. All the
:43:26. > :43:39.writers seem to be going faster. Backside air double 40. A great run
:43:40. > :43:46.from Sage Kotsenburg. He has been building gently for this. You talk
:43:47. > :43:52.about some of these slopestylers who have not gone yet. Sage has got rid
:43:53. > :43:58.of his nose and he has laid down the Zenith run that he was looking for.
:43:59. > :44:04.With Shaun White dropping out, the weight of America is on This Boy's
:44:05. > :44:08.shoulders. It does not diminish anybody else's performance. I don't
:44:09. > :44:14.think Shaun White could point at this weight. I don't think so
:44:15. > :44:24.either. Look at that! I think they are calling that the holy Crail! Of
:44:25. > :44:28.the execution may get marked down, but he went so big there is nothing
:44:29. > :44:40.they can pull back. The highest score we have seen so far. The
:44:41. > :44:49.highest score today. We talk about confidence. It is about putting down
:44:50. > :44:59.a run. Billy Morgan and Jamie Nicholls going back to back. The
:45:00. > :45:05.coaches have done such a good job. Transformed British snowboarding.
:45:06. > :45:23.These boys are so calm and assured. Billy Morgan proved that today.
:45:24. > :45:50.Backslide rodeo. Landed backwards. He cannot believe it! Unstrapped his
:45:51. > :45:59.board. 1260. That was something totally new. We have not seen that
:46:00. > :46:07.from him. I am looking for excuses. I think the snow is a little bit
:46:08. > :46:18.soft. He is the only person going upside down off that canon rail. It
:46:19. > :46:33.will be interesting to see what he can score. Triple 1260. The next
:46:34. > :46:50.rider also from the UK, Jamie Nicholls. He did a backside triple
:46:51. > :46:55.in practice. Backside 270. 450, no one else doing that. Far more
:46:56. > :47:11.technical than anyone else in that part of the rail. One, two, three,
:47:12. > :47:30.four. He wanted the 1260. He has got it! Now the triple. I held my
:47:31. > :47:37.breath. Absolutely stonking. Beautiful. Very technical. A couple
:47:38. > :47:46.of small mistakes. We know how fast the the judges have been about
:47:47. > :47:53.execution. This gives him the freedom to really explore the
:47:54. > :48:08.possibilities on his second run. He has only done their four times
:48:09. > :48:18.before. -- done this. A tiny hand drag, but it is small. Look at the
:48:19. > :48:33.smile on his face. He is on cloud nine. It is the switch 900 in the
:48:34. > :48:50.middle. He has a score on the board. Sven Thorgren had a brilliant
:48:51. > :49:10.obligation run. -- qualification. He came off early. He has settled down.
:49:11. > :49:29.540 on the Russian doll. Massive 1260. Backside 40, 40. Lovely. That
:49:30. > :49:40.is easily first place. Those jobs were so clean. The judges are
:49:41. > :49:48.judging overall impression. He mistake does not get taken off the
:49:49. > :50:02.individual trick, it comes off the total score. My goodness. I am
:50:03. > :50:34.baffled. The judges have made us look stupid. Talk about pressure. It
:50:35. > :50:41.was his gold to lose. That is what everybody has been saying. The
:50:42. > :50:53.pressure has probably taken its toll. Is he going to rise to it?
:50:54. > :51:02.Looking clinical through the rails. You heard the clip as he went over
:51:03. > :51:20.the Russian doll falls. Really clean. Frontside double ten. He hand
:51:21. > :51:31.dragged on the snow. Mark McMorris has consistently said that his
:51:32. > :51:39.scores would be lower than expected. He has locked then all of these
:51:40. > :51:48.rails. The arms are a great indicator of control. He knew
:51:49. > :52:02.exactly where he was. He knows it is good. It is good enough for silver.
:52:03. > :52:16.He is in a medal position. Jamie Nicholls has been knocked down to
:52:17. > :52:29.third. The next rider is Sage Kotsenburg. A lot of snowboarders
:52:30. > :52:32.will be cheering Sage Kotsenburg because he champions creative
:52:33. > :52:44.spontaneous alternative snowboarding. He came off short. He
:52:45. > :52:59.needed to make sure he was nice and straight and he was not. A total 90
:53:00. > :53:23.degrees in the wrong direction. Beautiful frontside ten. Lovely.
:53:24. > :53:30.1260. Even the spectators. -- the spectators did not think it was
:53:31. > :53:41.going to beat his last score. He searched for it a couple of times.
:53:42. > :53:51.He had another go. That cost him ten points. That is how harshly they are
:53:52. > :54:07.measuring this. Billy Morgan, it is now or never. The snowboarders and
:54:08. > :54:21.skiers train together. 270 off. All going to plan so far. Backside
:54:22. > :54:33.rodeo. Switch triple. One, two, three. He put that down very
:54:34. > :54:44.cleanly. He will be distraught about that. If there is a weak point, it
:54:45. > :54:54.is that double frontside 1080. He was the first man to do a triple in
:54:55. > :55:00.the Olympics. His coach said to him, you need a front double then. He
:55:01. > :55:14.only learned that trick two weeks ago. So disappointing. He has made
:55:15. > :55:30.the finals but it is not over for Great Britain because Jamie Nicholls
:55:31. > :55:39.is in the start date. -- gate. He slipped off the side of the rail.
:55:40. > :55:49.The kickers could work for him. We are going to see the cap 14. It is
:55:50. > :56:06.as if the first rail has sent him back. Backside triple, no, backside
:56:07. > :56:12.seven. One of the traits of his riding is he is a perfectionist and
:56:13. > :56:19.to then sliding off the first rail, the fact he does not get that locked
:56:20. > :56:38.in, you can see his hand on his forehead. If he can recreate some of
:56:39. > :56:55.the magic we saw in qualifying, then it will be very special. No
:56:56. > :57:14.pressure! Everyone knows the run he delivered in qualifying is enough.
:57:15. > :57:36.He was a bit early. 270. Beautiful. Cap triple. He did well to save
:57:37. > :57:43.that. Frontside ten. My goodness! That was huge. Jamie Nicholls the
:57:44. > :57:56.first man in the finish area to raise his hand. This is the epitome
:57:57. > :58:11.of snowboarding spirit. He has the 270 onto the down rail. I love this.
:58:12. > :58:34.Watch the board vibrating. Jamie is out of the medals. Only two riders
:58:35. > :58:46.left. Staale Sandbech next. Let us see what the Norwegian has got. He
:58:47. > :59:00.rides with his left foot forward. Switch 270. Another switch. The
:59:01. > :59:22.entire top section of the cause is done backwards. -- course. 1260.
:59:23. > :59:37.Backside triple. First place. Has to be. He is happy with that. He knows
:59:38. > :59:47.that is first place. He holds onto that. His shoulders doing all the
:59:48. > :59:54.hard work. That is the only fault you can pick from that. The only
:59:55. > :00:15.thing you could say is it is not a big as some of the riders we have
:00:16. > :00:23.seen. Second place! My goodness. An it all comes down to this man, the
:00:24. > :00:30.former man. He has it all to do after falling on his first run.
:00:31. > :00:39.Maxence Parrot from Canada. Can he scrape gold?
:00:40. > :00:50.The Canadian coach will be a little bit concerned.
:00:51. > :00:59.Backside rodeo. Getting a bit deeper. Almost made the same mistake
:01:00. > :01:10.as Billy Morgan. Double on the first. Frontside double.
:01:11. > :01:26.He goes 1260! The first two jumps, both ten. It may be a medal. I think
:01:27. > :01:39.that is bronze. There are no mistakes. Technicality on the rails,
:01:40. > :01:49.I think the others were better. This is the rodeo where you fall of your
:01:50. > :02:00.heels and do 1.5 spins. Three spins with two flips through the middle.
:02:01. > :02:03.What kind of message are you going to send know about the kind of
:02:04. > :02:15.riding that you want to see? Fifth-place!
:02:16. > :02:24.Confirmation first Sage Kotsenburg. The first gold of Sochi 2014 goes to
:02:25. > :02:26.America. Starley Sand back in second. Mark McMorris in third. --
:02:27. > :02:49.starless Sandbech. Lead and Tim laying down an early
:02:50. > :02:55.marker for the gold medal winning performance for commentary. -- Ed.
:02:56. > :03:01.Somebody has suggested maybe slopestyle should not be in the
:03:02. > :03:07.Olympics. One American TV host said it was Jack has TV. I don't think
:03:08. > :03:14.anybody would agree with him. Now it is Biathlon. One of the toughest
:03:15. > :03:18.Winter Olympics boards. -- Winter Olympics sports.
:03:19. > :03:22.It is deemed as one of the hardest things in sport. We combine
:03:23. > :03:30.Cross-Country skiing with target shooting. You are skiing on multiple
:03:31. > :03:37.to rain at the heart rate of about a beats per minute. Then you put the
:03:38. > :03:45.ski down, hit five target with a rifle. You need the physical
:03:46. > :03:49.capacity to be able to ski hard and also the cam collectivist to be able
:03:50. > :03:56.to hit the targets. It has been called a tough sport for tough
:03:57. > :04:01.people. This is the ultimate test of a winter Olympian. It is the speed,
:04:02. > :04:06.endurance and fitness they fell runner, and the pressure of it darts
:04:07. > :04:12.player. You have to throw your darts with a heart rate of 170 or 180. We
:04:13. > :04:18.will find out just how hard it is when we go around the course. You
:04:19. > :04:24.have got very little time before you start your first climb. I can
:04:25. > :04:27.imagine when the altitude kicks in, as soon as you start making those
:04:28. > :04:39.extra demands, you are going to feel that. The incline got steeper. A
:04:40. > :04:45.sudden demand for oxygen. There is simply not enough there. The effects
:04:46. > :04:52.of the altitude is really what is getting us. 83% of the normal amount
:04:53. > :04:57.of oxygen. My pulse rate is doing about 170. It has not been therefore
:04:58. > :05:04.many years. When you go downhill, you go for nothing. It is a classic
:05:05. > :05:09.Olympic course. On the bottom of this downhill, if you get the line
:05:10. > :05:18.wrong or you lose your speed, you do not get any advantage. It is a
:05:19. > :05:24.really tough course. This is where the race will be won or lost. As
:05:25. > :05:28.soon as they entered the stadium, you have to come out of that racing
:05:29. > :05:35.head mode and bring the pulse down, focus on what is coming up. As they
:05:36. > :05:40.prepare for the shoot, they will be looking around. If the wind is
:05:41. > :05:45.coming from the site, it is going to send in all sorts of spins. They
:05:46. > :05:49.will have to look at the flags all the way down the range. Once they
:05:50. > :05:53.have done that and have decided they do not need to adjust the site, they
:05:54. > :05:58.get down to the business of hitting the target. The guys who come in
:05:59. > :06:04.first have the most pressure, the most expectation. If the guy is 30
:06:05. > :06:08.seconds ahead of everybody else, he knows that everybody is expecting
:06:09. > :06:11.him to win. But under that sort of pressure where everything is shaking
:06:12. > :06:16.and maybe he forgets his routine, that is where things go wrong. That
:06:17. > :06:21.is why you can never guarantee the gold belongs to you until you cross
:06:22. > :06:27.the line. That is why it is such a fantastic sport.
:06:28. > :06:31.Not surprisingly this event is very popular amongst the military. Our
:06:32. > :06:32.sole representative, Lee Jackson is a serving member of the Royal
:06:33. > :06:45.Artillery. Lee, made it to the Olympics. It is
:06:46. > :06:50.a beautiful venue. What has your experience been so far? It is a lot
:06:51. > :06:55.different to where we were this time last year. A lot of work was going
:06:56. > :06:58.on, conditions were not great. It was wet. The accommodation is great,
:06:59. > :07:04.the villages with a nice, the surrounding area is beautiful. The
:07:05. > :07:11.snow conditions are fantastic. What is that course doing? It is
:07:12. > :07:21.physically hard because of the altitude. You are out of the start
:07:22. > :07:25.block and straight into a climb. It is technically hard downhill. There
:07:26. > :07:34.is a lot of stress on the legs and the knees. Take you back three or
:07:35. > :07:40.four months, and the future of the British team was looking bleak? Yes,
:07:41. > :07:45.there was a problem with funding. We have a sponsor that will secure the
:07:46. > :07:49.future for the next few years. That is great for the sport and great for
:07:50. > :07:53.the athletes. It is a relief to know that come next year there is a
:07:54. > :08:03.future of training and preparation. The Olympics will be a reality for
:08:04. > :08:10.our athletes again. How difficult is this? The environment is different.
:08:11. > :08:15.There was so much going on in Vancouver. Sensory overload. Wedding
:08:16. > :08:21.in a bigger village with a lot more athletes. My first time at the
:08:22. > :08:25.Olympics. Being in the club of being an Olympian. This time I am more
:08:26. > :08:30.relaxed and I know what I need to do as an athlete to be able to go out
:08:31. > :08:37.there and deliver the performances I need to do. Enjoy the game is a bit
:08:38. > :08:42.more. -- enjoy the game is a bit more. I would be satisfied with top
:08:43. > :08:47.14. I am capable of more. But to walk away from this Olympics being
:08:48. > :08:54.able to say, that's OK, that would be top 14. If I get into the top
:08:55. > :08:59.aides, I would be really happy. Anything better than that it would
:09:00. > :09:05.be a dream Olympics. We will watch Lee Jackson with
:09:06. > :09:11.interest. This started a little bit earlier on. Here is the action from
:09:12. > :09:22.the start. We have already witnessed the first
:09:23. > :09:32.episode in the cross country story today with the women's skiathlon.
:09:33. > :09:40.Now it is the men's ten K skin. -- 10K sprint. Some tricky conditions
:09:41. > :09:47.coming down over the top were you see the cable car is moving up and
:09:48. > :09:51.down the mountain. Here is Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, a legend in this sport.
:09:52. > :10:00.Is this the day when he goes one better? The Russians in the crowd
:10:01. > :10:14.will be very excited about their man. Four times in the top six this
:10:15. > :10:24.year. There is a mess. He needs to really focus. Brilliant with most of
:10:25. > :10:30.his other shots. A little shake of the head from the Russian coaches.
:10:31. > :10:34.The mass start champion from a couple of years ago were now
:10:35. > :10:47.complete a penalty loop. That will cost between 22 and 24 seconds. He
:10:48. > :10:49.cannot afford another one. This is why this sport is so fascinating and
:10:50. > :11:13.so very unpredictable. It can all plenty of patriotic support for the
:11:14. > :11:22.Russian. He has got a tough job on his hands. Slazenger, his third
:11:23. > :11:39.games. He has been around a while. Seventh in the relay.
:11:40. > :11:49.It really is such an unusual combination of qualities required to
:11:50. > :12:02.make it in Biathlon. Two sets of skills that he would not necessarily
:12:03. > :12:03.put together. Cornel Puchianu made his international debut two years
:12:04. > :12:16.ago. A good number of people have turned
:12:17. > :12:22.out here on a fairly crisp, clear evening. No sign of the fog that
:12:23. > :12:27.sometimes causes issues here. Touch wood, we want a clean night because
:12:28. > :12:33.it should be a fascinating race. Here comes Emil Hegle Svendsen. The
:12:34. > :12:41.world champion. Silver medallist in this event four years ago. Kenny
:12:42. > :12:52.once again get the better of his big rival? If it flashes red he has had
:12:53. > :12:59.a mess. He had to dip the centre circle. -- he has two hit. Starting
:13:00. > :13:04.in the middle. Sometimes they go left to right, sometimes right to
:13:05. > :13:09.left. Whatever works. The pressure is on. He took a little bit longer
:13:10. > :13:18.with that. Excellent shooting. He is on his way. He will not go into the
:13:19. > :13:27.lead. The big names amongst the early starters. Here is Ole Einar
:13:28. > :13:35.Bjoerndalen. Early stages for the 40-year-old Norwegian. Norway have
:13:36. > :13:43.already tasted gold today with Marat Bjorgen in the skiathlon.
:13:44. > :13:58.Bjoerndalen trying to do his best to create a bit of history today. The
:13:59. > :14:11.clock is ticking. If Gainey used a golf enjoyed a penalty loop. -- the
:14:12. > :14:21.Russian endured a penalty loop. Bjoerndalen let -- yet to miss. He
:14:22. > :14:33.has won this title twice. Andre roster of projects. -- Andre roster
:14:34. > :14:45.GUI jets. Sweden's suit champion from four years ago. Watch how the
:14:46. > :14:52.elbow rests into the hip. It is the same distance. Anywhere in the black
:14:53. > :15:06.circle cans. A good start. Good shooting. Excellent. No penalties.
:15:07. > :15:13.And you have always got half a chance. He can ski his heart out
:15:14. > :15:18.now. Knowing that he has shot clean. It is simply a question of how
:15:19. > :15:38.quickly he can negotiate the last 3.3 kilometre loop.
:15:39. > :15:42.Can this competitor gets himself into contention for a medal? A
:15:43. > :15:50.really good season on the World Cup. Two more. And sometimes the
:15:51. > :15:58.last one is the hardest but he has shot claim. -- clean. Great work
:15:59. > :16:04.from a man from the Czech republic. Now we just wait to see whether he
:16:05. > :16:11.is coming out quicker than Lindstrom who also shot cleanly today. Yes,
:16:12. > :16:20.ten seconds. So Moravec will have a great opportunity here. This is
:16:21. > :16:24.crucial for John Dahlen -- Bjorndalen. The shooting has let him
:16:25. > :16:28.down at times but that is clear. So half of the shots have been
:16:29. > :16:33.successfully negotiated for Ole Einar Bjorndalen. That is the reason
:16:34. > :16:40.why he finished so far down the pecking order in 2006 and 2010, and
:16:41. > :16:42.look at that. His quickest so far. Can the Grand Master of old continue
:16:43. > :16:58.to turn back time? We know that he has the penalty loop
:16:59. > :17:01.that he has completed in the prone he needs to most certainly shoot
:17:02. > :17:06.clean here to have any chance at all of a good finish on the leaderboard.
:17:07. > :17:18.The crowd roaring. A huge Russian presence as you would expect. And
:17:19. > :17:24.that is better. And but for that mess, the first time round in the
:17:25. > :17:29.range, what might have been -- but for that miss. You can see how
:17:30. > :17:33.costly that this was, the cost of ticket for Ustyugov -- clock still
:17:34. > :17:59.ticking for Ustyugov. A massive time now for another
:18:00. > :18:13.hopeless venison -- NL Heckler Stenson -- Svendsen.
:18:14. > :18:21.Oh, yes, and this is good news for the new Wii gyms. An understated
:18:22. > :18:26.fist bump from the coach. Watch the clock. How close will he be to
:18:27. > :18:33.Bjorndalen's time as he exits the range? One second, so it is Norway,
:18:34. > :18:36.one and two at this stage but remember there are some world-class
:18:37. > :18:42.men who have yet to even start the competition. After shooting once,
:18:43. > :18:51.Svendsen leading, Bjorndalen in third, and Simon Eda in second, but
:18:52. > :18:57.the world leader, Martin Fourcade yet to get to this. His shooting up
:18:58. > :19:06.until this season has been sensational. They have been some
:19:07. > :19:14.cracks in his quality. And he may or may not know that Svendsen has shot
:19:15. > :19:19.clean. And he's going to have to do the same here. The man who pipped
:19:20. > :19:23.him to gold here at the World Championship last year. Massive
:19:24. > :19:35.moment at the range now. And there is the miss. With his
:19:36. > :19:41.second shot, he cannot afford another one.
:19:42. > :19:48.Svendsen coming across the line and I know there are guys quicker than
:19:49. > :19:53.him at the last checkpoint but Martin Fourcade instead of turning
:19:54. > :20:02.left and carrying on onto the course, endures the penalty loop and
:20:03. > :20:10.Svendsen's time is ticking away. Bjorndalen, the action just keeps on
:20:11. > :20:15.coming here. All of Norway will be holding their breath and he has
:20:16. > :20:20.missed with the first shot. He is a great skier and he will have to be.
:20:21. > :20:30.What a shame for Bjorndalen. That is going to add at least 20 seconds to
:20:31. > :20:35.his finishing time. Svendsen into the range once again. Bear in mind
:20:36. > :20:42.that Bjorndalen's time is taken after his penalty loop. Svendsen can
:20:43. > :20:46.give himself a wonderful, wonderful chance of upgrading his silver four
:20:47. > :20:49.years ago to gold this time round but it does depend on the next five
:20:50. > :21:10.shots out of his rifle. Oak noI can't believe that -- oh,
:21:11. > :21:13.no. It looked like it was going so smoothly but two and along with
:21:14. > :21:19.Bjorndalen, he has missed one in standings shoot. He will turn right
:21:20. > :21:27.and he will do a penalty loop. It will be fascinating to see where he
:21:28. > :21:35.is in comparison to John Dahlen -- Bjorndalen. Meanwhile, Simon Edo,
:21:36. > :21:47.10th in the World Championship last year.
:21:48. > :22:02.Good stuff from Simon. You cannot take anything for granted in this
:22:03. > :22:12.most predictable sports. So Fourcade cannot surely afford another miss.
:22:13. > :22:13.He already has a single one and this would end his aspirations of a gold
:22:14. > :22:32.medal. That's better from the overall World
:22:33. > :22:36.Cup leader, that is the quality of shooting that we have come to expect
:22:37. > :22:48.from him. And he is Bjorndalen coming across the line. He has
:22:49. > :22:53.beaten his deliberate the other time, how costly will be miss proved
:22:54. > :22:59.to be? Ole Einar Bjorndalen has gone into the lead but Svendsen, Martin
:23:00. > :23:05.Fourcade and a whole host of other world-class by athletes are making
:23:06. > :23:10.their way to the finish so it will be a long and agonising wait to the
:23:11. > :23:20.legendary Norwegian and look at that. How significant. He will not
:23:21. > :23:25.be quicker than Ole Einar Bjorndalen. The old man has talked
:23:26. > :23:33.the Young pretender to his crown. They both only missed one. So that
:23:34. > :23:39.means that the on Dahlen has shown significantly quicker speed on the
:23:40. > :23:44.skiing and Svendsen will be absolutely devastated with that.
:23:45. > :23:49.Over 30 seconds down and there will be no repeat of his silver medal
:23:50. > :23:58.four years ago. Or his gold at last year's World Championships. And now
:23:59. > :24:02.a real danger man, Anton Shipulin. And it is a big condition as we have
:24:03. > :24:13.seen so many times this evening, if you can shoot clean. This is huge.
:24:14. > :24:20.No! And so fun it is the fifth and final shot that is there on doing.
:24:21. > :24:26.Martin Fourcade's brother, Simon, crumbled under the pressure when he
:24:27. > :24:31.became the World Cup overall leader a couple of weeks before Vancouver
:24:32. > :24:36.and it did not go well for him in Canada. He just couldn't cope with
:24:37. > :24:44.the pressure. We are back with his brother. Looking at the time, Ole
:24:45. > :24:51.Einar Bjorndalen who is leading currently, surely the old man of the
:24:52. > :24:56.Norwegian team has not done it again.
:24:57. > :25:07.So, Fourcade's time keeps on ticking and the margin he has got too close
:25:08. > :25:12.keeps on going full the watcher Matic scenes here. He is almost nine
:25:13. > :25:17.seconds slower than Bjorndalen. The man who beat him to the gold at the
:25:18. > :25:22.World Championship is already out of contention. We know that Svendsen
:25:23. > :25:29.cannot get a medal. But what about Jaroslav Soukup question mark the
:25:30. > :25:34.athlete from the Czech Republic is inside Bjorndalen's time. Can he
:25:35. > :25:42.break Norwegian hearts here? What a performance this would be. Closing
:25:43. > :25:54.in on what he hoped would mean a really, really special moment.
:25:55. > :26:03.Every successful hit on the target for big we did with massive applause
:26:04. > :26:08.from this patriotic crowd. -- will be greeted with massive applause.
:26:09. > :26:12.They need to be patriotic here again like last night at the opening
:26:13. > :26:25.ceremony. Good stuff from the Russian, a
:26:26. > :26:35.little nod of approval and the crowd, very excited by this. His
:26:36. > :26:44.compatriot Anton Shipulin is also quick.
:26:45. > :26:50.That is surely game over for the Norwegian. A whole season's work and
:26:51. > :26:55.it is underhand in the space of about five seconds. -- and it is
:26:56. > :27:12.undone. That is such a shame. Other the floodlights, it creates
:27:13. > :27:17.the most amazing atmosphere here. -- under the floodlights. The Russian
:27:18. > :27:21.crowd will be hoping that Anton Shipulin will give them reason to
:27:22. > :27:31.cheer. A great couple of performances from the German. Coming
:27:32. > :27:36.into the range here, the time of Jaroslav Soukup just inside 70
:27:37. > :27:39.minutes and remember, these guys if they should quickly enough, be in
:27:40. > :27:42.and out of the range in about 25 seconds but this will have to be
:27:43. > :27:58.special if he is to exit on level terms with the Czech athlete.
:27:59. > :28:09.Fourcade, he has treated outside the time of Bjorndalen.
:28:10. > :28:14.How many more will come through and potentially deny him a place on the
:28:15. > :28:25.podium? Jaroslav Soukup could well take the
:28:26. > :28:31.lead here. Or has he jetted just outside the time of Bjorndalen? I
:28:32. > :28:35.think he has. The pace of Bjorndalen in the last mile must have been
:28:36. > :28:42.electric because Jaroslav Soukup was on course to beat him. There are the
:28:43. > :28:43.standings right now. The world champion, Svendsen, down in eighth
:28:44. > :28:53.place. Is it destined to be gold for Ole
:28:54. > :29:00.Einar Bjorndalen? One miss but he skied beautifully and the veteran is
:29:01. > :29:08.close to writing another chapter in this illustrious career which has
:29:09. > :29:13.not been matched. Rate performance from his opponent and the big
:29:14. > :29:18.Norwegian gave it the big fist pump when he crossed the line. This
:29:19. > :29:28.really would be cause for Norwegian celebrations back home. What an
:29:29. > :29:35.accolade, and it is the first event with the relay to come and other
:29:36. > :29:42.chances for golds as well. Is there an opportunity that Bjorndalen could
:29:43. > :29:49.get to 13 medals? They are talking and analysing. They are trying to
:29:50. > :29:55.ascertain whether Ole Einar Bjorndalen has secured... Wait for
:29:56. > :30:05.this, his seventh Winter Olympic gold medal and his 12th medal of any
:30:06. > :30:09.colour. His sixth consecutive winter Olympic games did not win a medal in
:30:10. > :30:15.Lily hammer but got beaks periods. He won this title in 1998, 2002,
:30:16. > :30:24.three Mrs putting down to 11th in Torino. 70 in Vancouver but just the
:30:25. > :30:33.one miss and it could well be that only missing one target has earned
:30:34. > :30:40.him an unbelievable miss. -- piece of winter Olympic history.
:30:41. > :30:54.What about the athlete in third? Final .7 seconds, denying the man
:30:55. > :31:01.from Russia a place on the podium. The Russian coming home. A pretty
:31:02. > :31:11.good performance from him. The crowd already know that his chances have
:31:12. > :31:14.gone. They were excited when his opponent crossed the line, but it
:31:15. > :31:30.was not quite to be. So, we are getting very close now to
:31:31. > :31:37.finding out if anybody can deny Ole inode Bjorn Dahlin, our debate the
:31:38. > :31:46.most impressive old medal of the seven, if he is to win. There were
:31:47. > :32:04.only 87 starters. Jakov Fak has shot clean. It is
:32:05. > :32:26.simply a question of how fast. Look of fact is on paper the only
:32:27. > :32:32.man who could have denied Ole Einar Bjorndalen, and you can see the
:32:33. > :32:36.finish line to his left. It is not going to be enough, he shot clean,
:32:37. > :32:43.but he has not been fast enough to match the 40-year-old. Jakov Fak the
:32:44. > :32:44.bronze medallist from four years ago and at the World Championship last
:32:45. > :33:07.year. A good performance from Jakov Fak,
:33:08. > :33:13.would have expected this from him, he is very consistent, come the big
:33:14. > :33:21.occasion, irrespective of what he has done that season, but he will
:33:22. > :33:26.not get on the podium this time. Every finisher crosses the line, as
:33:27. > :33:31.every minute ticks on, it is looking more and more likely as though it is
:33:32. > :33:35.going to be a seventh gold medal for Ole Einar Bjorndalen. The
:33:36. > :33:46.celebrations for the Russians, the good effort from them.
:33:47. > :33:52.The Italian is a really good athlete, great to see him getting
:33:53. > :33:58.his first World Cup victory, tied with Simon Schempp. Wanless has put
:33:59. > :34:11.paid to his aspirations of getting the podium. You can see him, he is
:34:12. > :34:13.parallel to the finish, and another contender and another athlete who
:34:14. > :34:21.could deny Ole Einar Bjorndalen comes and goes. All the way through
:34:22. > :34:27.the World Cup season, Ole Einar Bjorndalen has only been one or two
:34:28. > :34:32.Mrs away from winning these events, but all of the victories and
:34:33. > :34:39.plaudits have been taken by Martin Fourcade, and Emil Hegle Svendsen,
:34:40. > :34:50.who is down in ninth place at the moment, the reigning world
:34:51. > :35:00.champion. He was made to look ordinary by Ole Einar Bjorndalen. It
:35:01. > :35:04.would be great to see Ole Einar Bjorndalen's face in the next couple
:35:05. > :35:10.of moments. He is a true professional, and I wonder at what
:35:11. > :35:18.stage he will begin to start celebrating. A massive fist pump
:35:19. > :35:29.when he crossed the line and realised he was ahead. The Czech
:35:30. > :35:35.Republic athlete in third place. It does look very much as though that
:35:36. > :35:42.is going to be enough for the victory. Now, he starts to smile, we
:35:43. > :35:47.cannot see the face, but we can see the wrinkles, he has allowed a few
:35:48. > :35:54.wrinkles, and they are allowed the fist pump. Their all-time biathlon
:35:55. > :36:02.hero has done it again. Incredible, a seventh gold medal. He is now the
:36:03. > :36:13.joint most decorated Winter Olympian in history.
:36:14. > :36:27.The Ukrainian, coming towards the finish. The interviews have already
:36:28. > :36:32.started. The dozens of Norwegian journalists will already be
:36:33. > :36:35.rewriting their front page, perhaps they have the iron Lady of
:36:36. > :36:39.cross-country on different cover, but now they will have to make room
:36:40. > :36:50.for two of them, because Ole Einar Bjorndalen has won another gold
:36:51. > :37:00.medal. A staggering record. Seven gold medals, four silver medals, one
:37:01. > :37:04.bronze medal. Wow. Ole Einar Bjorndalen, good luck. It was not
:37:05. > :37:08.good looking needed today, it was skill and speed, and he produced
:37:09. > :37:15.both. Ole Einar Bjorndalen missed one target, that means he had to be
:37:16. > :37:21.so much quicker than the guys who shot clean, and he was. Emil Hegle
:37:22. > :37:25.Svendsen and Martin Fourcade only missed one. When it mattered, when
:37:26. > :37:32.it counted, Ole Einar Bjorndalen produced the speed of men ten and 15
:37:33. > :37:41.years his junior. A quite incredible story.
:37:42. > :37:50.Perhaps the Russians in the crowd will have their moment to cheer
:37:51. > :38:02.later on. They're athlete missing out on the bronze by 0.7 seconds.
:38:03. > :38:11.The Italian heading towards the finish. His third Winter Olympics.
:38:12. > :38:17.He was 26 in this event in cheering eight years ago. It is hard to
:38:18. > :38:25.believe that was eight years ago, where does the time go? We know how
:38:26. > :38:32.good Ole Einar Bjorndalen race, but in the face of the quality of Martin
:38:33. > :38:38.Fourcade and Emil Hegle Svendsen, it is an amazing achievement. 12 Winter
:38:39. > :38:46.Olympics medals, seven of them gold medals. If there is one more to come
:38:47. > :38:56.in the relay, it will be the most committed Winter Olympian in
:38:57. > :39:06.history. Not shared, two will have the accolade all to himself. Still
:39:07. > :39:12.pushing, still driving. The Belarus athlete coming across the line, head
:39:13. > :39:17.of the Italian. Plenty more opportunities for these men. They
:39:18. > :39:25.are at the beginning of what will be an exhausting couple of weeks. The
:39:26. > :39:32.Swedish athlete, his father won bronze medals in the biathlon, the
:39:33. > :39:47.20 K and the relay, so he comes from good stock. It is good support from
:39:48. > :39:52.the Russians in the crowd. It is safe to say that he is delighted
:39:53. > :40:16.with that. What a performance. Just watching the last few athletes,
:40:17. > :40:24.towards the finish. Just going over the stats, the silver medallist and
:40:25. > :40:30.bronze medallist shot clean, but Ole Einar Bjorndalen missed one and
:40:31. > :40:54.managed to beat the younger men. Simply sensational.
:40:55. > :41:00.Ole Einar Bjorndalen plays his cards close to his chest, and I wonder how
:41:01. > :41:10.much emotion we will see from him on the podium. The embrace for a seven
:41:11. > :41:16.time Winter Olympic champion, this sport may never see his likes
:41:17. > :41:23.again. Great celebrations from the Czech Republic athlete, a wonderful
:41:24. > :41:30.bronze medal. And somewhere in among the handshakes, the high-fives and
:41:31. > :41:37.the backslaps, the Austrian, who has managed to get himself a silver
:41:38. > :41:40.medal. The Slovenian, his fourth Winter Olympics, twice 10th in the
:41:41. > :41:53.relay. The Kazakhstan athlete comes across
:41:54. > :42:12.the line. The Bulgarian's father was an Alpine
:42:13. > :42:21.skier, grinding his way towards the finish. It promised to be dramatic,
:42:22. > :42:26.and there was an opportunity for Ole Einar Bjorndalen, as the holder of
:42:27. > :42:39.the subplot, to upset the party, and he did that.
:42:40. > :42:56.Great celebrations. The last man onto the field, the American, coming
:42:57. > :43:06.home. Brilliant celebrations. The Polish athlete still on the course.
:43:07. > :43:25.He will be coming home just outside 29 minutes.
:43:26. > :43:37.Thank you for keeping us company over the last hour. Apologies for
:43:38. > :43:38.the fire alarm interruption. You never know what is going to happen
:43:39. > :43:53.at the Winter Olympics! Order was restored in time to see an
:43:54. > :43:59.incredible piece of biathlon Winter Olympics history. The result that
:44:00. > :44:04.many people in Norway barely dared to dream about, Ole Einar
:44:05. > :44:09.Bjorndalen, despite the fact that he missed a target, he beat the lot,
:44:10. > :44:16.the 40-year-old securing his seventh Winter Olympics old medal, 12 medals
:44:17. > :44:19.in total, his status as the greatest biathlon has ever seen is now
:44:20. > :44:41.absolutely assured. The secretary-general will present
:44:42. > :44:47.the flowers. She must be delighted at how her sport has produced a
:44:48. > :44:56.truly historic race here, in a state-of-the-art facility. Jaroslav
:44:57. > :45:01.Suker, could he have dreamt of a moment like this? Earlier on this
:45:02. > :45:07.afternoon, when he was preparing himself to do battle with 86 of the
:45:08. > :45:12.very best by athletes in the world, bronze at the World Championship two
:45:13. > :45:16.years ago, but that pales into insignificance compared to this.
:45:17. > :45:22.This is the big one, the one that only rolls around every four years,
:45:23. > :45:29.and he has earned the right to call himself a Winter Olympics medallist
:45:30. > :45:30.in esteemed and historic company. A brilliant bronze medal for the man
:45:31. > :45:42.from the Czech Republic. What a moment for the big Austrian.
:45:43. > :45:48., he lunged for the line because he knew he had reduced a good race. He
:45:49. > :45:52.was the first of the big names to come home, he didn't know whether it
:45:53. > :45:54.would be good enough for gold but he knows now that it has been more than
:45:55. > :46:06.good enough for silver. He has been on the Olympic podium
:46:07. > :46:07.before but this one is just for him and it is richly deserved.
:46:08. > :46:23.APPLAUSE. How does this compare to the six
:46:24. > :46:28.golds he has won before? Ole Einar Bjorndalen has rolled back the clock
:46:29. > :46:34.and produce winter and the big history here, the seventh time he
:46:35. > :46:40.has stood atop the winter Olympic podium. A hat-trick of titles in
:46:41. > :46:47.this event alone. And he in this moment and on this day, joins his
:46:48. > :46:55.compatriot as it the most decorated Winter Olympian in history. What a
:46:56. > :47:01.story what a day and what a smile and does he dare to believe that 12
:47:02. > :47:07.can become 13? Many more chances over the next two weeks, but that is
:47:08. > :47:12.for another day. Tonight, the celebrations and the accolades
:47:13. > :47:16.belong to the greatest I athlete in history and everybody in the crowd
:47:17. > :47:22.including the Russians -- greatest biathlete, is saluting him. Bjorn
:47:23. > :47:27.Dahlen is in a class of his own and he has touched Winter Olympic
:47:28. > :47:31.mortality tonight -- immortality, Bjorndalen.
:47:32. > :47:34.JONATHAN EDWARDS: What the performers there from Bjorndalen,
:47:35. > :47:38.the oldest ever individual winner of a medal at a Winter Olympics. Less
:47:39. > :47:43.good for the Jackson from Britain, he ended up in 60 Seventh Place so a
:47:44. > :47:47.real disappointment there. We saw Sven Kramer any man's 5000 metres
:47:48. > :47:52.speed skating hoping to retain the title, this is what happened.
:47:53. > :47:57.COMMENTATOR: It will be in astonishing mark, one lap to go, 6.2
:47:58. > :48:01.seconds faster, this could give him something around about a 6.12 and he
:48:02. > :48:08.figures that, it will be a new Olympic record. Cramer on his way
:48:09. > :48:17.now to the line and the concluding stages of his 5000 metres skate, the
:48:18. > :48:21.style of the defending champion, and here he comes, Sven Kramer now,
:48:22. > :48:31.coming for the line and he hits the line. And the time, a new Olympic
:48:32. > :48:38.record. Cramer has put the marker down and put it down big time. What
:48:39. > :48:43.a skate that was and only just shy of the world record at low land sea
:48:44. > :48:48.level. JONATHAN EDWARDS: What a skate that
:48:49. > :48:55.was, he led a one, two, three for the Dutch team and I am joined by
:48:56. > :48:59.the chief Skating writer for a Dutch newspaper. Frank, what was it like
:49:00. > :49:05.from a Dutch perspective in there? One big party for the Dutch and he
:49:06. > :49:11.was still serious after the race and for him it was a bit like business
:49:12. > :49:19.as usual. It may sound strange, and after the race, he went down as he
:49:20. > :49:24.went to the hotel so to the village but for the supporters, it was
:49:25. > :49:28.fantastic. In terms of how he skated, our guys, Wilf O'Reilly was
:49:29. > :49:32.saying in commentary that he may be a bit slow at the start, what was
:49:33. > :49:39.your perspective? He knew what he had to do, he was not slow. He said
:49:40. > :49:46.he had to skate 6.10 for the gold and to do that, you have to skip lap
:49:47. > :49:52.times around 29 seconds, and all the others made a mistake, they started
:49:53. > :49:56.to fast. So I think that is the thing. In terms of the 10,000 metres
:49:57. > :50:02.which is coming up in a few days' time, a few bad memories from four
:50:03. > :50:07.years ago in Vancouver. Remind us what happened. People watching at
:50:08. > :50:13.home may not know. He made a huge mistake and it wasn't his fault, it
:50:14. > :50:19.was mainly the fault of his coach. The speed skaters had to change
:50:20. > :50:27.lanes every lap. And they know when to do that but the coach wasn't sure
:50:28. > :50:32.if he swapped lanes already said he said he had to go to the inner lane
:50:33. > :50:37.but he had already done that. So the thing was he went into the inner
:50:38. > :50:45.lane when he had to do the outer lane and he was disqualified and it
:50:46. > :50:52.was a big tragedy in Holland. It was dramatic for the coach especially.
:50:53. > :50:58.And he still coaches him question mark Eleanor Gass, he has had lots
:50:59. > :51:06.of success -- and he still coaches him? Yes, . It was. How much
:51:07. > :51:13.excitement would it be that home for this medal? For the ten kilometres
:51:14. > :51:17.grid at Know, for the ten kilometres consumer No, 45 kilometres.
:51:18. > :51:26.Everybody knows at this distance that he was going to win at his
:51:27. > :51:30.distance. The only question in Holland was whether it was going to
:51:31. > :51:35.be a one, two, three. The King of Holland was there to watch it as
:51:36. > :51:37.well. From one speed skating star to another and this man's journey to
:51:38. > :51:49.Olympic gold was something. Really something.
:51:50. > :51:59.Dan Johnson, the skater who could not win a medal. He tried in 1984
:52:00. > :52:02.but he tried in 1988. The American came to Calgary as well spread
:52:03. > :52:06.champion that on the night of the 500 metres, his sister Jane died
:52:07. > :52:14.from leukaemia. He fell at the first turn.
:52:15. > :52:22.He tried in the 1000 metres and fell.
:52:23. > :52:33.He raced in vain and Albertville in 1992, and he skated onto Lillehammer
:52:34. > :52:38.in 1994. He finished eighth in his favourite event, the 500 metres. He
:52:39. > :52:43.had one last chance, after seven attempts in seven events in four
:52:44. > :52:47.Winter Olympics spread over ten years after a decade of trying and
:52:48. > :52:51.failing, he had this - the 1000 metres.
:52:52. > :53:03.And at last, Dan Jansen was out in front. And there he stayed.
:53:04. > :53:09.COMMENTATOR: 1.12.43 and the world record has gone to Dan Jansen, a
:53:10. > :53:14.remarkable piece of skating. He has taken the world record and there are
:53:15. > :53:19.his parents, his father is standing there waving his arms. His fourth
:53:20. > :53:24.Olympic Games and could that be with that world record, his first medal?
:53:25. > :53:28.At last, ten years after losing his sister Jane, he celebrated with his
:53:29. > :54:02.daughter, Jane. A very moving story there and Frank,
:54:03. > :54:08.another American speaks skater we want to look at for, Shawnee Davis.
:54:09. > :54:13.Yes, he is quite a character. He does everything on his own. He is
:54:14. > :54:19.training outside the federation, he is preparing himself, he has no
:54:20. > :54:24.coach. No sponsors, but he is at the top and has been for a while so it
:54:25. > :54:30.is impressive. And looking for three golds in a row in the 5000 metres.
:54:31. > :54:38.Yes, that is unique. He has a good chance of achieving it. In terms of
:54:39. > :54:40.the women, another big hope for the Dutch, ten two. Yellow marker the
:54:41. > :54:51.same goes for the women. She can become the most success full
:54:52. > :54:56.female with athlete. She is aiming for four golds and in the three K,
:54:57. > :55:03.it will be the first tomorrow. She is up against the lady who has been
:55:04. > :55:07.called the queen of skating in Vancouver, two gold medals. You may
:55:08. > :55:20.not agree with that! What about Southwark over -- Sablokova? Yellow
:55:21. > :55:24.marker they did not really have to qualify because they are the only
:55:25. > :55:29.athletes from that level from our country said she was not too
:55:30. > :55:33.impressed with the last couple of weeks and Wurst has been on the top
:55:34. > :55:37.level for a long time. She is the favourite, I think. But Sablokova is
:55:38. > :55:42.always there on the big moments so it will be very exciting.
:55:43. > :55:47.The way the Dutch are skating, we will probably be speaking to you
:55:48. > :55:50.again, thank you for speaking to us. Still plenty of action from
:55:51. > :55:58.Sochi to come but here are the headlines so far.
:55:59. > :56:10.The USA says Katzenberg won the first in slopestyle. --. Jamie
:56:11. > :56:20.Nicholls finished a creditable sixth and Billy Morgan ended up in 10th.
:56:21. > :56:25.The first women's gold winning the ski Afon, her fourth old medal
:56:26. > :56:31.during her career after three in Vancouver.
:56:32. > :56:37.And we have witnessed history in the biathlon, Ole Einar Bjorndalen won
:56:38. > :56:43.gold to claim his 12th winter Olympic medal equalling the game's
:56:44. > :56:47.record. And speed skating star Sven Kramer that a Dutch one, two, three
:56:48. > :56:57.to defend his title and broke his own Olympic record by four
:56:58. > :57:00.microseconds. -- for seconds. I trust you are enjoying coverage here
:57:01. > :57:01.on BBC Two but it is not the only way to keep across the Winter
:57:02. > :57:12.Olympics on the BBC. Watch all the excitement of the
:57:13. > :57:18.Winter Olympics with BBC Sport. We are showing every sport live from
:57:19. > :57:22.Sochi. With up to six streams of live sport showing across your
:57:23. > :57:30.devices, you will be in full control of all the action from the Games.
:57:31. > :57:34.Check out our live updates, and catch up on any action you have
:57:35. > :57:40.missed on the BBC iPlayer so you can share in all the drama, wherever you
:57:41. > :57:45.are. The Winter Olympics - across the BBC.
:57:46. > :57:51.JONATHAN EDWARDS: So we have got the downhill tomorrow at 7am, don't miss
:57:52. > :57:57.that and then coming up at ten past five, of the final score, we have
:57:58. > :58:03.got women's moguls and the figure skating, Clare Balding is in the hot
:58:04. > :58:10.seat for that. So that is it for the first day here, lots to come still
:58:11. > :58:15.but back in 1934, the first gold medal was won by an American and
:58:16. > :58:21.here, the first gold medal of Sochi 2014 was also won by a American, in
:58:22. > :58:25.the slopestyle. What would they have made of snowboard slopestyle back in
:58:26. > :58:28.1924? It is certainly something they would never have imagined they would
:58:29. > :58:38.see full thanks for watching and we will be back at 5:10pm. Goodbye.
:58:39. > :58:47.COMMENTATOR: Sven Kramer will skate out of his skin here. He has ignited
:58:48. > :58:52.the burners, history being made here. Sven Kramer as defended his
:58:53. > :58:57.crown, gets a gold and the crowd loved it.
:58:58. > :59:02.Jamie Nicholls, 20-year-old from Halifax. Into 1260, yes, Jamie puts
:59:03. > :59:04.it down!