Day 1, Part 2 Winter Olympics

Good afternoon and welcome to Sochi. A summer resort on Russia's

Black Sea coast. But thanks to over ?30 billion worth of investment,

host to the Winter Olympics. With nearly 3000 athletes from 87

countries, these will be the biggest Winter Olympics ever. But will they

be the best? That evaluation remains to be made. Over the next couple of

weeks. As far as Team GB is concerned, it may well be the best

ever games. UK sport have said a target of a minimum of three medals.

The upper estimation is seven medals, which would obliterate the

previous number of four, which was in 1924 in Chamonix. Let's begin

with a tour of the park. It is the first time there has been a -- and

Olympic Park for a Winter Olympics. Behind me we have got the central

area with the Olympic flame. This is where the athletes will receive

their medals. There will be a ceremony every evening. Behind

that, the fished Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held. There is

the Bolshoi, where the ice hockey finals will take place. If the

Russians were to win, it would be the moment of the games. We are more

concerned about what happens in this arena. It is the ice cube. It is

where curling takes place. Around to the right, we have something which

looks like a velodrome. It is where the long track speed skating will

take place. As a little aside, these funny bits of pavement, that is for

the Formula one, that is in October. The final venue here is the Iceberg

Skating Palace. Figure skating and short track speed skating. No snow

down here in the Olympic Park. That is in the mountains, which look

absolutely lovely. There is a new road that takes you there. It cost

?4 billion. It will take you on a 60 kilometre journey. We have also got

the cross country and the Alpine venues. Quite simply, none of these

existed when Sochi was awarded the games in 2007. It is the most

expensive Olympics ever staged, winter or summer. There is no magic

without sport. This is what is coming up in the next couple of

hours. Dutch legend Sven Kramer is looking

to retain his 5000 metre title in the speed skating. In the Biathlon,

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has Olympic history in his sights. And we will

catch up with the slopestyle action from earlier today with Jamie

Nicholls and Billy Morgan in action. Lots to look forward to. You can

keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter. We would love to hear from you. Our

first action is going to take place in here. Long track speed skating.

Expect it to be painted orange because the Dutch superstar is in

the house. The Olympic record is in sight for a

Sven Kramer! What a finishing time. A new Olympic record. The world

record-holder, the world champion, is now going to become the Olympic

champion. He won three gold medals -- he has

cited three gold medals here. It should be quite a games for the

Dutchman. Here is your guide to long track speed skating.

In speed skating, the aim is simple. Race a defined distant as fast as

possible. In the individual event, skaters race in pairs on separate

tracks. They switch lanes every lap in order to skate an equal distance.

There are ten individual distances from 500 to 10,000 metres from men,

and 500 to 5000 metres for women. In the team pursuit race, two teams of

three compete against each other, starting from opposite sides. The

event takes place on a 400 metres oval track, almost four times larger

than the short goals. -- course. Shani Davis won Olympic gold in 2006

and 2007 -- 2010. You begin the first black athlete to win an

individual gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

We are going to bring you our statistic of the day. This one is

about speed skating. The first Winter Olympic gold was in speed

skating. That was in the 500 metres. Let's go skating now in the present.

We join this with four pairs to go. Wilfred O'Reilly and Hugh Porter are

your commentators. Jonathan Kuck being introduced to

the crowd. He will start on the inside, wearing the white armband.

There is the defending Olympic champion, the world champion, the

world record-holder, Sven Kramer. The Flying Dutchman. 27 years of

age. The fans are here to support him. He knows the time to beat to be

the leader. Heat ten of the men's 5000 metres.

On the left of our screen is Sven Kramer. His opponent, Jonathan Kuck

of USA. Kramer, the world record-holder and current world

champion. He won that world title on this very ice in March of last year.

He has been under immense pressure. He is starting the first of the last

four appears in exactly the same situation that daddy started in

Vancouver. -- four pairs. He is the man of the moment, the Olympic 5000

metres record holder, moving on the inside lane, already skating away

from Jonathan Kuck of the USA. Across the line there though. He has

to be careful of that, Sven Kramer. Coming through the first lap. 29.04.

A sub 32nd for Kramer. No Dutchman has ever won the 5000 metres

back-to-back. Only one man in the history of the 5000 metres has

achieved that. That was Thomas Gustafsson in 1984 and 1988. Cramer

is arguably the greatest 5000 metre skater of all time. -- crammer.

The strength of Sven Kramer is particularly in the last five laps.

I can almost hear his coach doubting from here from the commentary box.

He needs to pick up his game. Coming up to tidy another loop. This is not

a particularly good start by him. He knows the time he has got to put

down here. The other big guns will be watching him from the centre of

the arena. I expected him to go quicker at the start. It is

certainly surprising. We have talked about the ice conditions. 29.56. He

is still 1.77 outside the leader time. He is getting encouragement

from the coach. Sven Kramer has said the only money is afraid of is

Berks. He needs to dig deep. It is getting

near to to seconds. -- two seconds. This is the first time there has

been some panic in the Dutch camp. Almost two seconds of side. He has

only lost three 5000 metres races in his whole career. At the moment he

is in second place. Jonathan Kuck is eight seconds shy

of the time of the leader. Sven Kramer is going to have to dig

deep and find something. 3000 metre mark. I thought he would be well in

control of this contest at this stage. Just looking at this time

schedule from the world championships last year, he went

throughout this time of 3.45. Now he has gone through at 3.47. He is two

seconds slower. Sven Kramer can find something in the closing stages. We

have seen it all before. And there we are. He has ignited with four

laps to go. He leads the Russian. He kept us waiting, the king of the

discipline. Now he is beginning to please the crowd. Amazingly, the

last three Olympic Games have been won in a time of 6.14. The world

title on this very week was won by Sven Kramer last March with 6.14.

Now it is nearly two seconds. His speed is somewhere around 6.17.

Jonathan Kuck is well out of the racing. I still predict he will be

looking at 6.12. The Olympic record is 6:14.16. 800 metres remaining. He

is four seconds faster than the leader. The Korean is looking at the

start of this event. The coaches happy. Just over a lap remaining.

Sven Kramer coming back to the line. He will get the belt. His opponent

is in the middle. He must realise this is going to be an astonishing

mark. One lap remaining. Six point two seconds faster. This could give

him something about 6.12. That would be a new Olympic record. Sven Kramer

on his way now to the line and the concluding stages of his 5000 metres

skate. The style of the King himself. The defending Olympic

champion. He only comes. He hits the line. The time 6:10.76, a new

Olympic record. He has put the marker down. And he has prodded them

big time. What a skate that was. Jonathan Kuck still coming through

after that slip. A disappointing time for him. There we have it. Sven

Kramer has really thrown the gauntlet down to the best of his

competitors. He has blown the opposition completely away. He

frightened us in the early stages. He certainly did. He didn't panic in

the beginning. I was getting nervous. The coaches of got total

belief. He coaxed into the 5000 metres Olympic title in Vancouver

and hopefully here again in Sochi. He becomes the first Dutchman ever,

if he can clinch the gold, to win the gold medal back-to-back. He

would equal the record of Thomas Gustafsson. Three key remaining. --

three heats remaining. I think he is saying that he did everything he

got. If there is anybody else who can beat him, it could possibly be

these two skaters, particularly Jorrit Bergsma. This is the man that

Sven Kramer has gone on record saying he fears. The Dutch

commentators were telling me the Norwegian challenge, the best

challenge, is likely to come from this person here. The 11th heat of

the men's 5000m. You're at there, -- Jorrit Bergsma is going to have to

skate out of his skin to knock Kramer out of top position. Both of

these skaters have a similar personal best. Kramer had to do

everything himself. These true will be eating each other away, making

sure that they can draft in the exchange lanes, it is going to be

close. Sverre Lunde Pedersen was fourth in 2013 so he is a good

all-rounder and the distance will not say is Jorrit Bergsma. He is

engaged to an American sprinter who will be competing in the

Championships next week. At the moment Jorrit Bergsma concentrating

and doing his inimitable style. It is early days. As he turned the

screw to early? -- too early? You can see this gate, you cannot see

the laces or anything. He tried briefly to make the team for

Vancouver. He now has his place here. Silver in the 10,000m in the

World Championships and Jorrit Bergsma got the silver last March.

The man who beat him? Sven Kramer. Jorrit Bergsma is going in the

second race after the resurface on the ice is going to be a little bit

harder. You saw the line behind Jorrit Bergsma. This man is really

impressive. The big question is, has he gone too early? He knows the time

to beat at Kramer speeded up towards the end. He never really got

involved in the contest until about four to go. Can the 28-year-old put

the Olympic champion to the test? There is still a long way to go.

Lovely style, flat back, aerodynamic. The crowd are watching

anxiously. Two more rounds to go after this. Still very close. Sverre

Lunde Pedersen is nearly five seconds off the pace but he is still

doing a good time. 6.15 would put him in the front cluster. Jorrit

Bergsma has slipped back. The challenge has evaporated. He is 0.38

slower. Kramer is walking away, he does not like to watch these races.

Were the early laps a little bit too quick? He is slipping back. It is

going to be much slower. It is almost a second. We are going to

have to focus on the time of Jorrit Bergsma. That is going to be reined

about 6.12. He will be aware he is losing distance. As he comes down

with three laps to go, Jorrit Bergsma crossing the line, will he

go inside the 32nd lap time? 1.5 seconds slower than Sven Kramer. His

coach edging him on. Jorrit Bergsma is still five seconds within Denis

Yuskov's time so he is close to silver medal position. At the

moment, good enough for silver. Can they maintain it? Keeping his upper

body as still as possible. His opponent, they can maintain the

pace, the amount of time he is trailing would be good enough to

boots Denis Yuskov -- to put Denis Yuskov down at place and Sverre

Lunde Pedersen could be in bronze. With two more heats to go. This is

any later. -- a nail biter. He just does it. That puts them into second

and third. Kramer leading on 6.10. Those are the three medal positions

with two to go. Jorrit Bergsma was the major threat to Sven Kramer. We

can see the shoes he was willing to try to cut down the wind resistance

on his skates. You can already see the upper body moving from side to

side, having to work a lot harder. Sverre Lunde Pedersen looking very

comfortable, a good time for him. He has a personal best of 6.10. Both

skaters stating very well. The last medal the Norwegians won was in

1894. They would love to get one here -- 1994. The competitors being

introduced to the crowd. To the left is Bart Swings. His opponent is Jan

Blokhuijsen. I was mentioning about the challenge coming from Jorrit

Bergsma, Jan Blokhuijsen is the current European champion, Kramer

decided to set that one out, but he still skated very well indeed. In

the 5000m he went 6:15.8 at sea level. That would put him in silver

and it would boost Jorrit Bergsma into third. -- push. I hope they do

not make the same mistake as Jorrit Bergsma. Already they are under the

time of Kramer and they will pay the price for that. We still have 11

laps to go. That was a really clever way to approach the distance by

Kramer. It put everybody into a false position. They. , the Olympic

champion is not going to deliver here. That was the second time that

Jan Blokhuijsen is then -- went out of his lane. We might hear about

that later. Bart Swings driving Jan Blokhuijsen out. That will save him

energy for later in the race. This is not very smart. We still have

nine laps to go. Look at the times. Watch this. Bart Swings drafting Jan

Blokhuijsen. Going outside of their lanes. It will be interesting to see

what the referee of the USA as to say about this. -- has to say.

Meanwhile they are both inside the time of Kramer. Another interesting

fact about Jan Blokhuijsen, he is going to go back to the Netherlands

to finish his preparation because he wants to get away from the Olympic

pressure. That is interesting indeed. They are still holding the

time for Kramer. Great skating by the Belgian. Wearing the white

jacket is the Olympic champion of 1982 at the 10,000m. He knows what

it is like to be at this type of level. He seems to be totally

oblivious of the role. He is just getting on with it. Both skaters

slightly slower than Kramer. He needs to pick the temple up -- tempo

up. Nearly a second off the pace of Kramer. The early impressions of

being ahead have completely evaporated and they are nearly a

second behind, but when you look at the times, if they maintain this,

they could both move up into a medal position. Absolutely. If they have

decided beforehand, I am not going to beat Kramer, but I am going to

get on the podium... He would still be in a medal position at the

conclusion of this. Jorrit Bergsma and Sverre Lunde Pedersen could both

get pushed down. The gold medal position is out of reach. It will be

interesting to see what the referee has to say about crossing this lane

a number of times. It is getting critical. I bet Jorrit Bergsma and

Sverre Lunde Pedersen cannot now to look. He knows how close it is going

to be. He has to find something. He was over the line again. I think he

has done that five times. It really is amazing. A very good lap by him.

Just about clinging to a podium position, if they can maintain this

and keep the gap at the strength you saw on the previous lap. What a

cracking pair. He is still in the silver medal position. And Bart

Swings is just about going to hang onto the bronze. The coaches are

shouting to them. They have to give it everything now. They are totally

committed. Are they going to put themselves onto the podium with one

heat remaining? Approaching the line. 6:15.71. And Bart Swings just

misses out on the third spot. He goes forth. With one heat remaining,

the Dutch are first, second and third. It is looking like a clean

sweep. Jan Blokhuijsen can just about stand-up. Got the silver medal

in children at the 3000 metres. -- to Reno.

At the moment we are looking at a clean sweep by the Dutch. Sven

Kramer winning at the moment. There is the collision. He can must not

control where he is scathing. Do you think the crossing of the line will

prevent him from getting the silver? Normally what happens is it would

probably be another country making complaints about it. Unfortunately

now we cannot have the Dutch complaining about the Dutch.

Swings, the Belgian, could complain. We are in the final heat. Onto the

ice now is leash on Hong. -- Lee Sung Hong. The silver medal winner

from Vancouver. He is racing against Patrick Beckert from Germany.

The Korean, a very formidable distance skater. And a man that has

got to be respected. He got the silver in Vancouver. He went 616.9

at sea level. -- 6:16.9. Is it possible we could get a turn up with

the final pair? Sven Kramer went out cycling yesterday and actually fell

off his bike. There was some concern in the Dutch camp. Lisa Young who --

's Young Hooley... This is the final pair. The Dutch

fans making them is on The Times. It is almost an anti-climax after the

Dutch. But we have to respect the Korean. He is being led by the

German. Patrick Beckert, his older sister, Stephanie, she skated in

Vancouver and got herself a couple of silver medals. Fine family

pedigree. It will be interesting to see what these skaters and their

coaches have decided. Will they skate for the silver and the bronze

time? Those are The Times to be beaten.

They need to have looked at the schedules and worked out exactly

where they need to deliver. Keep themselves in the comfort zone, if

you can be in the comfort zone. At the moment they are two and a half

seconds of Sven Kramer's time. They would be looking at 6.12 or 6.13.

Full concentration for these two. Trying to stay as aerodynamic as

possible. It is a pure time trial. Lead coming from the Short Track.

Tried to make the Olympic Short Track team from Korea. That was in

2010. He failed to make that team and then moved across to the long

track. He prefers the longer distances. Patrick Beckert just

crossing the line again. There has been a lot of crossover from skaters

going from short tackle -- short tax too long attack.

They will have to raise their game here if they are going to pressurise

the times of Jorrit Bergsma and Jan Blokhuijsen.

This will be the 100th medal for the Olympics in the long track.

This event first held in 1924, actually. The 22nd time that this

competition has been contested. Both of those skaters with those split

times have drifted off the pace of silver and bronze. It looks like the

Dutch are already beginning their celebrations. They are. Keeping an

eye on the clock. But Lee of Korea on the outside that mag inside and

Patrick Beckert on the outside. Almost neck and neck with three laps

remaining. -- on the outside. If they keep those sort of lap times,

they may be lucky enough to get sixth and seventh place. Three laps

remaining. I said at the top of the commentary that no Dutchman had ever

won the gold medal at this event back-to-back. That statistic is

certainly going to be a raised here now on day one of the long track

disciplines in Sochi. The concluding lap of the final heat

of the men's 5000 metres. On their way around to the line to complete

the distance. Patrick Beckert of Germany and Lee of Korea. Here we

are, it is the German that is going to win. His time is going to put

outside of the medals. Still a respectable time but not good enough

to see him on the podium. Eighth position for him. The time for the

Korean, Lee, puts in 12th. There are the official results. Sven Kramer

takes the gold medal. Jan Blokhuijsen take silver and Jorrit

Bergsma takes bronze. A clean sweep for the Dutch. The first time ever

in the history of the lyrics. It was a compelling contest. We had to wait

but it was worth waiting for. I said it looked a little bit like a

velodrome. It has just turned orange, which is very appropriate.

What a performance from Sven Kramer. Who is to bet against taking those

three gold medals? The last time the Dutch got a clean sweep in speed

skating was 1988. We are going to the Biathlon next. That is coming up

shortly. First, a little bit of this.

Original sporting drama. Brand-new this Winter Olympics. I know nothing

about it. An event that will blow your mind. How will it do that?

Imagine hitting one of these pipes? When they go, they go really big.

The one rule is there are no rules. There cannot be no rules. That

doesn't make any sense. We really have got to see it. I cant wait to

see this. It will be an awesome ride. What am I doing here? I am

off. I'm going to watch some. This really is not to be missed. It

happened earlier today. Jamie Nicholls and Billy Morgan going for

Britain. Here is your guide. Slopestyle originates from

skateboarding and is one of two new Freestyle Skiing events adding to

the Olympic programme for Sochi. The objective is to produce a run that

makes the best use of all the rail sections and jumps, producing

technically different tricks that link together. The judges mark each

one on trick difficulty, execution and height. The course is 635 metres

long. It starts with rails at the top before featuring three jumps

which get progressively bigger, so riders build momentum and save their

best jumps to the bottom -- for the bottom.

This is Ron number one in the slopestyle final. If the semifinals

were anything to go by, the final is going to be of the chart. We have

got two runs. It will be the best score from those two runs that

count. Sage Kotsenburg, his run in the semifinals this morning, was

beautiful. A masterclass in diversity. He was grabbing the board

in ways that other writers are not capable of.

He is the snowboarder's snowboarder. He has left some in the

tank year. -- here. There must be some speed from somewhere. All the

writers seem to be going faster. Backside air double 40. A great run

from Sage Kotsenburg. He has been building gently for this. You talk

about some of these slopestylers who have not gone yet. Sage has got rid

of his nose and he has laid down the Zenith run that he was looking for.

With Shaun White dropping out, the weight of America is on This Boy's

shoulders. It does not diminish anybody else's performance. I don't

think Shaun White could point at this weight. I don't think so

either. Look at that! I think they are calling that the holy Crail! Of

the execution may get marked down, but he went so big there is nothing

they can pull back. The highest score we have seen so far. The

highest score today. We talk about confidence. It is about putting down

a run. Billy Morgan and Jamie Nicholls going back to back. The

coaches have done such a good job. Transformed British snowboarding.

These boys are so calm and assured. Billy Morgan proved that today.

Backslide rodeo. Landed backwards. He cannot believe it! Unstrapped his

board. 1260. That was something totally new. We have not seen that

from him. I am looking for excuses. I think the snow is a little bit

soft. He is the only person going upside down off that canon rail. It

will be interesting to see what he can score. Triple 1260. The next

rider also from the UK, Jamie Nicholls. He did a backside triple

in practice. Backside 270. 450, no one else doing that. Far more

technical than anyone else in that part of the rail. One, two, three,

four. He wanted the 1260. He has got it! Now the triple. I held my

breath. Absolutely stonking. Beautiful. Very technical. A couple

of small mistakes. We know how fast the the judges have been about

execution. This gives him the freedom to really explore the

possibilities on his second run. He has only done their four times

before. -- done this. A tiny hand drag, but it is small. Look at the

smile on his face. He is on cloud nine. It is the switch 900 in the

middle. He has a score on the board. Sven Thorgren had a brilliant

obligation run. -- qualification. He came off early. He has settled down.

540 on the Russian doll. Massive 1260. Backside 40, 40. Lovely. That

is easily first place. Those jobs were so clean. The judges are

judging overall impression. He mistake does not get taken off the

individual trick, it comes off the total score. My goodness. I am

baffled. The judges have made us look stupid. Talk about pressure. It

was his gold to lose. That is what everybody has been saying. The

pressure has probably taken its toll. Is he going to rise to it?

Looking clinical through the rails. You heard the clip as he went over

the Russian doll falls. Really clean. Frontside double ten. He hand

dragged on the snow. Mark McMorris has consistently said that his

scores would be lower than expected. He has locked then all of these

rails. The arms are a great indicator of control. He knew

exactly where he was. He knows it is good. It is good enough for silver.

He is in a medal position. Jamie Nicholls has been knocked down to

third. The next rider is Sage Kotsenburg. A lot of snowboarders

will be cheering Sage Kotsenburg because he champions creative

spontaneous alternative snowboarding. He came off short. He

needed to make sure he was nice and straight and he was not. A total 90

degrees in the wrong direction. Beautiful frontside ten. Lovely.

1260. Even the spectators. -- the spectators did not think it was

going to beat his last score. He searched for it a couple of times.

He had another go. That cost him ten points. That is how harshly they are

measuring this. Billy Morgan, it is now or never. The snowboarders and

skiers train together. 270 off. All going to plan so far. Backside

rodeo. Switch triple. One, two, three. He put that down very

cleanly. He will be distraught about that. If there is a weak point, it

is that double frontside 1080. He was the first man to do a triple in

the Olympics. His coach said to him, you need a front double then. He

only learned that trick two weeks ago. So disappointing. He has made

the finals but it is not over for Great Britain because Jamie Nicholls

is in the start date. -- gate. He slipped off the side of the rail.

The kickers could work for him. We are going to see the cap 14. It is

as if the first rail has sent him back. Backside triple, no, backside

seven. One of the traits of his riding is he is a perfectionist and

to then sliding off the first rail, the fact he does not get that locked

in, you can see his hand on his forehead. If he can recreate some of

the magic we saw in qualifying, then it will be very special. No

pressure! Everyone knows the run he delivered in qualifying is enough.

He was a bit early. 270. Beautiful. Cap triple. He did well to save

that. Frontside ten. My goodness! That was huge. Jamie Nicholls the

first man in the finish area to raise his hand. This is the epitome

of snowboarding spirit. He has the 270 onto the down rail. I love this.

Watch the board vibrating. Jamie is out of the medals. Only two riders

left. Staale Sandbech next. Let us see what the Norwegian has got. He

rides with his left foot forward. Switch 270. Another switch. The

entire top section of the cause is done backwards. -- course. 1260.

Backside triple. First place. Has to be. He is happy with that. He knows

that is first place. He holds onto that. His shoulders doing all the

hard work. That is the only fault you can pick from that. The only

thing you could say is it is not a big as some of the riders we have

seen. Second place! My goodness. An it all comes down to this man, the

former man. He has it all to do after falling on his first run.

Maxence Parrot from Canada. Can he scrape gold?

The Canadian coach will be a little bit concerned.

Backside rodeo. Getting a bit deeper. Almost made the same mistake

as Billy Morgan. Double on the first. Frontside double.

He goes 1260! The first two jumps, both ten. It may be a medal. I think

that is bronze. There are no mistakes. Technicality on the rails,

I think the others were better. This is the rodeo where you fall of your

heels and do 1.5 spins. Three spins with two flips through the middle.

What kind of message are you going to send know about the kind of

riding that you want to see? Fifth-place!

Confirmation first Sage Kotsenburg. The first gold of Sochi 2014 goes to

America. Starley Sand back in second. Mark McMorris in third. --

starless Sandbech. Lead and Tim laying down an early

marker for the gold medal winning performance for commentary. -- Ed.

Somebody has suggested maybe slopestyle should not be in the

Olympics. One American TV host said it was Jack has TV. I don't think

anybody would agree with him. Now it is Biathlon. One of the toughest

Winter Olympics boards. -- Winter Olympics sports.

It is deemed as one of the hardest things in sport. We combine

Cross-Country skiing with target shooting. You are skiing on multiple

to rain at the heart rate of about a beats per minute. Then you put the

ski down, hit five target with a rifle. You need the physical

capacity to be able to ski hard and also the cam collectivist to be able

to hit the targets. It has been called a tough sport for tough

people. This is the ultimate test of a winter Olympian. It is the speed,

endurance and fitness they fell runner, and the pressure of it darts

player. You have to throw your darts with a heart rate of 170 or 180. We

will find out just how hard it is when we go around the course. You

have got very little time before you start your first climb. I can

imagine when the altitude kicks in, as soon as you start making those

extra demands, you are going to feel that. The incline got steeper. A

sudden demand for oxygen. There is simply not enough there. The effects

of the altitude is really what is getting us. 83% of the normal amount

of oxygen. My pulse rate is doing about 170. It has not been therefore

many years. When you go downhill, you go for nothing. It is a classic

Olympic course. On the bottom of this downhill, if you get the line

wrong or you lose your speed, you do not get any advantage. It is a

really tough course. This is where the race will be won or lost. As

soon as they entered the stadium, you have to come out of that racing

head mode and bring the pulse down, focus on what is coming up. As they

prepare for the shoot, they will be looking around. If the wind is

coming from the site, it is going to send in all sorts of spins. They

will have to look at the flags all the way down the range. Once they

have done that and have decided they do not need to adjust the site, they

get down to the business of hitting the target. The guys who come in

first have the most pressure, the most expectation. If the guy is 30

seconds ahead of everybody else, he knows that everybody is expecting

him to win. But under that sort of pressure where everything is shaking

and maybe he forgets his routine, that is where things go wrong. That

is why you can never guarantee the gold belongs to you until you cross

the line. That is why it is such a fantastic sport.

Not surprisingly this event is very popular amongst the military. Our

sole representative, Lee Jackson is a serving member of the Royal

Artillery. Lee, made it to the Olympics. It is

a beautiful venue. What has your experience been so far? It is a lot

different to where we were this time last year. A lot of work was going

on, conditions were not great. It was wet. The accommodation is great,

the villages with a nice, the surrounding area is beautiful. The

snow conditions are fantastic. What is that course doing? It is

physically hard because of the altitude. You are out of the start

block and straight into a climb. It is technically hard downhill. There

is a lot of stress on the legs and the knees. Take you back three or

four months, and the future of the British team was looking bleak? Yes,

there was a problem with funding. We have a sponsor that will secure the

future for the next few years. That is great for the sport and great for

the athletes. It is a relief to know that come next year there is a

future of training and preparation. The Olympics will be a reality for

our athletes again. How difficult is this? The environment is different.

There was so much going on in Vancouver. Sensory overload. Wedding

in a bigger village with a lot more athletes. My first time at the

Olympics. Being in the club of being an Olympian. This time I am more

relaxed and I know what I need to do as an athlete to be able to go out

there and deliver the performances I need to do. Enjoy the game is a bit

more. -- enjoy the game is a bit more. I would be satisfied with top

14. I am capable of more. But to walk away from this Olympics being

able to say, that's OK, that would be top 14. If I get into the top

aides, I would be really happy. Anything better than that it would

be a dream Olympics. We will watch Lee Jackson with

interest. This started a little bit earlier on. Here is the action from

the start. We have already witnessed the first

episode in the cross country story today with the women's skiathlon.

Now it is the men's ten K skin. -- 10K sprint. Some tricky conditions

coming down over the top were you see the cable car is moving up and

down the mountain. Here is Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, a legend in this sport.

Is this the day when he goes one better? The Russians in the crowd

will be very excited about their man. Four times in the top six this

year. There is a mess. He needs to really focus. Brilliant with most of

his other shots. A little shake of the head from the Russian coaches.

The mass start champion from a couple of years ago were now

complete a penalty loop. That will cost between 22 and 24 seconds. He

cannot afford another one. This is why this sport is so fascinating and

so very unpredictable. It can all plenty of patriotic support for the

Russian. He has got a tough job on his hands. Slazenger, his third

games. He has been around a while. Seventh in the relay.

It really is such an unusual combination of qualities required to

make it in Biathlon. Two sets of skills that he would not necessarily

put together. Cornel Puchianu made his international debut two years

ago. A good number of people have turned

out here on a fairly crisp, clear evening. No sign of the fog that

sometimes causes issues here. Touch wood, we want a clean night because

it should be a fascinating race. Here comes Emil Hegle Svendsen. The

world champion. Silver medallist in this event four years ago. Kenny

once again get the better of his big rival? If it flashes red he has had

a mess. He had to dip the centre circle. -- he has two hit. Starting

in the middle. Sometimes they go left to right, sometimes right to

left. Whatever works. The pressure is on. He took a little bit longer

with that. Excellent shooting. He is on his way. He will not go into the

lead. The big names amongst the early starters. Here is Ole Einar

Bjoerndalen. Early stages for the 40-year-old Norwegian. Norway have

already tasted gold today with Marat Bjorgen in the skiathlon.

Bjoerndalen trying to do his best to create a bit of history today. The

clock is ticking. If Gainey used a golf enjoyed a penalty loop. -- the

Russian endured a penalty loop. Bjoerndalen let -- yet to miss. He

has won this title twice. Andre roster of projects. -- Andre roster

GUI jets. Sweden's suit champion from four years ago. Watch how the

elbow rests into the hip. It is the same distance. Anywhere in the black

circle cans. A good start. Good shooting. Excellent. No penalties.

And you have always got half a chance. He can ski his heart out

now. Knowing that he has shot clean. It is simply a question of how

quickly he can negotiate the last 3.3 kilometre loop.

Can this competitor gets himself into contention for a medal? A

really good season on the World Cup. Two more. And sometimes the

last one is the hardest but he has shot claim. -- clean. Great work

from a man from the Czech republic. Now we just wait to see whether he

is coming out quicker than Lindstrom who also shot cleanly today. Yes,

ten seconds. So Moravec will have a great opportunity here. This is

crucial for John Dahlen -- Bjorndalen. The shooting has let him

down at times but that is clear. So half of the shots have been

successfully negotiated for Ole Einar Bjorndalen. That is the reason

why he finished so far down the pecking order in 2006 and 2010, and

look at that. His quickest so far. Can the Grand Master of old continue

to turn back time? We know that he has the penalty loop

that he has completed in the prone he needs to most certainly shoot

clean here to have any chance at all of a good finish on the leaderboard.

The crowd roaring. A huge Russian presence as you would expect. And

that is better. And but for that mess, the first time round in the

range, what might have been -- but for that miss. You can see how

costly that this was, the cost of ticket for Ustyugov -- clock still

ticking for Ustyugov. A massive time now for another

hopeless venison -- NL Heckler Stenson -- Svendsen.

Oh, yes, and this is good news for the new Wii gyms. An understated

fist bump from the coach. Watch the clock. How close will he be to

Bjorndalen's time as he exits the range? One second, so it is Norway,

one and two at this stage but remember there are some world-class

men who have yet to even start the competition. After shooting once,

Svendsen leading, Bjorndalen in third, and Simon Eda in second, but

the world leader, Martin Fourcade yet to get to this. His shooting up

until this season has been sensational. They have been some

cracks in his quality. And he may or may not know that Svendsen has shot

clean. And he's going to have to do the same here. The man who pipped

him to gold here at the World Championship last year. Massive

moment at the range now. And there is the miss. With his

second shot, he cannot afford another one.

Svendsen coming across the line and I know there are guys quicker than

him at the last checkpoint but Martin Fourcade instead of turning

left and carrying on onto the course, endures the penalty loop and

Svendsen's time is ticking away. Bjorndalen, the action just keeps on

coming here. All of Norway will be holding their breath and he has

missed with the first shot. He is a great skier and he will have to be.

What a shame for Bjorndalen. That is going to add at least 20 seconds to

his finishing time. Svendsen into the range once again. Bear in mind

that Bjorndalen's time is taken after his penalty loop. Svendsen can

give himself a wonderful, wonderful chance of upgrading his silver four

years ago to gold this time round but it does depend on the next five

shots out of his rifle. Oak noI can't believe that -- oh,

no. It looked like it was going so smoothly but two and along with

Bjorndalen, he has missed one in standings shoot. He will turn right

and he will do a penalty loop. It will be fascinating to see where he

is in comparison to John Dahlen -- Bjorndalen. Meanwhile, Simon Edo,

10th in the World Championship last year.

Good stuff from Simon. You cannot take anything for granted in this

most predictable sports. So Fourcade cannot surely afford another miss.

He already has a single one and this would end his aspirations of a gold

medal. That's better from the overall World

Cup leader, that is the quality of shooting that we have come to expect

from him. And he is Bjorndalen coming across the line. He has

beaten his deliberate the other time, how costly will be miss proved

to be? Ole Einar Bjorndalen has gone into the lead but Svendsen, Martin

Fourcade and a whole host of other world-class by athletes are making

their way to the finish so it will be a long and agonising wait to the

legendary Norwegian and look at that. How significant. He will not

be quicker than Ole Einar Bjorndalen. The old man has talked

the Young pretender to his crown. They both only missed one. So that

means that the on Dahlen has shown significantly quicker speed on the

skiing and Svendsen will be absolutely devastated with that.

Over 30 seconds down and there will be no repeat of his silver medal

four years ago. Or his gold at last year's World Championships. And now

a real danger man, Anton Shipulin. And it is a big condition as we have

seen so many times this evening, if you can shoot clean. This is huge.

No! And so fun it is the fifth and final shot that is there on doing.

Martin Fourcade's brother, Simon, crumbled under the pressure when he

became the World Cup overall leader a couple of weeks before Vancouver

and it did not go well for him in Canada. He just couldn't cope with

the pressure. We are back with his brother. Looking at the time, Ole

Einar Bjorndalen who is leading currently, surely the old man of the

Norwegian team has not done it again.

So, Fourcade's time keeps on ticking and the margin he has got too close

keeps on going full the watcher Matic scenes here. He is almost nine

seconds slower than Bjorndalen. The man who beat him to the gold at the

World Championship is already out of contention. We know that Svendsen

cannot get a medal. But what about Jaroslav Soukup question mark the

athlete from the Czech Republic is inside Bjorndalen's time. Can he

break Norwegian hearts here? What a performance this would be. Closing

in on what he hoped would mean a really, really special moment.

Every successful hit on the target for big we did with massive applause

from this patriotic crowd. -- will be greeted with massive applause.

They need to be patriotic here again like last night at the opening

ceremony. Good stuff from the Russian, a

little nod of approval and the crowd, very excited by this. His

compatriot Anton Shipulin is also quick.

That is surely game over for the Norwegian. A whole season's work and

it is underhand in the space of about five seconds. -- and it is

undone. That is such a shame. Other the floodlights, it creates

the most amazing atmosphere here. -- under the floodlights. The Russian

crowd will be hoping that Anton Shipulin will give them reason to

cheer. A great couple of performances from the German. Coming

into the range here, the time of Jaroslav Soukup just inside 70

minutes and remember, these guys if they should quickly enough, be in

and out of the range in about 25 seconds but this will have to be

special if he is to exit on level terms with the Czech athlete.

Fourcade, he has treated outside the time of Bjorndalen.

How many more will come through and potentially deny him a place on the

podium? Jaroslav Soukup could well take the

lead here. Or has he jetted just outside the time of Bjorndalen? I

think he has. The pace of Bjorndalen in the last mile must have been

electric because Jaroslav Soukup was on course to beat him. There are the

standings right now. The world champion, Svendsen, down in eighth

place. Is it destined to be gold for Ole

Einar Bjorndalen? One miss but he skied beautifully and the veteran is

close to writing another chapter in this illustrious career which has

not been matched. Rate performance from his opponent and the big

Norwegian gave it the big fist pump when he crossed the line. This

really would be cause for Norwegian celebrations back home. What an

accolade, and it is the first event with the relay to come and other

chances for golds as well. Is there an opportunity that Bjorndalen could

get to 13 medals? They are talking and analysing. They are trying to

ascertain whether Ole Einar Bjorndalen has secured... Wait for

this, his seventh Winter Olympic gold medal and his 12th medal of any

colour. His sixth consecutive winter Olympic games did not win a medal in

Lily hammer but got beaks periods. He won this title in 1998, 2002,

three Mrs putting down to 11th in Torino. 70 in Vancouver but just the

one miss and it could well be that only missing one target has earned

him an unbelievable miss. -- piece of winter Olympic history.

What about the athlete in third? Final .7 seconds, denying the man

from Russia a place on the podium. The Russian coming home. A pretty

good performance from him. The crowd already know that his chances have

gone. They were excited when his opponent crossed the line, but it

was not quite to be. So, we are getting very close now to

finding out if anybody can deny Ole inode Bjorn Dahlin, our debate the

most impressive old medal of the seven, if he is to win. There were

only 87 starters. Jakov Fak has shot clean. It is

simply a question of how fast. Look of fact is on paper the only

man who could have denied Ole Einar Bjorndalen, and you can see the

finish line to his left. It is not going to be enough, he shot clean,

but he has not been fast enough to match the 40-year-old. Jakov Fak the

bronze medallist from four years ago and at the World Championship last

year. A good performance from Jakov Fak,

would have expected this from him, he is very consistent, come the big

occasion, irrespective of what he has done that season, but he will

not get on the podium this time. Every finisher crosses the line, as

every minute ticks on, it is looking more and more likely as though it is

going to be a seventh gold medal for Ole Einar Bjorndalen. The

celebrations for the Russians, the good effort from them.

The Italian is a really good athlete, great to see him getting

his first World Cup victory, tied with Simon Schempp. Wanless has put

paid to his aspirations of getting the podium. You can see him, he is

parallel to the finish, and another contender and another athlete who

could deny Ole Einar Bjorndalen comes and goes. All the way through

the World Cup season, Ole Einar Bjorndalen has only been one or two

Mrs away from winning these events, but all of the victories and

plaudits have been taken by Martin Fourcade, and Emil Hegle Svendsen,

who is down in ninth place at the moment, the reigning world

champion. He was made to look ordinary by Ole Einar Bjorndalen. It

would be great to see Ole Einar Bjorndalen's face in the next couple

of moments. He is a true professional, and I wonder at what

stage he will begin to start celebrating. A massive fist pump

when he crossed the line and realised he was ahead. The Czech

Republic athlete in third place. It does look very much as though that

is going to be enough for the victory. Now, he starts to smile, we

cannot see the face, but we can see the wrinkles, he has allowed a few

wrinkles, and they are allowed the fist pump. Their all-time biathlon

hero has done it again. Incredible, a seventh gold medal. He is now the

joint most decorated Winter Olympian in history.

The Ukrainian, coming towards the finish. The interviews have already

started. The dozens of Norwegian journalists will already be

rewriting their front page, perhaps they have the iron Lady of

cross-country on different cover, but now they will have to make room

for two of them, because Ole Einar Bjorndalen has won another gold

medal. A staggering record. Seven gold medals, four silver medals, one

bronze medal. Wow. Ole Einar Bjorndalen, good luck. It was not

good looking needed today, it was skill and speed, and he produced

both. Ole Einar Bjorndalen missed one target, that means he had to be

so much quicker than the guys who shot clean, and he was. Emil Hegle

Svendsen and Martin Fourcade only missed one. When it mattered, when

it counted, Ole Einar Bjorndalen produced the speed of men ten and 15

years his junior. A quite incredible story.

Perhaps the Russians in the crowd will have their moment to cheer

later on. They're athlete missing out on the bronze by 0.7 seconds.

The Italian heading towards the finish. His third Winter Olympics.

He was 26 in this event in cheering eight years ago. It is hard to

believe that was eight years ago, where does the time go? We know how

good Ole Einar Bjorndalen race, but in the face of the quality of Martin

Fourcade and Emil Hegle Svendsen, it is an amazing achievement. 12 Winter

Olympics medals, seven of them gold medals. If there is one more to come

in the relay, it will be the most committed Winter Olympian in

history. Not shared, two will have the accolade all to himself. Still

pushing, still driving. The Belarus athlete coming across the line, head

of the Italian. Plenty more opportunities for these men. They

are at the beginning of what will be an exhausting couple of weeks. The

Swedish athlete, his father won bronze medals in the biathlon, the

20 K and the relay, so he comes from good stock. It is good support from

the Russians in the crowd. It is safe to say that he is delighted

with that. What a performance. Just watching the last few athletes,

towards the finish. Just going over the stats, the silver medallist and

bronze medallist shot clean, but Ole Einar Bjorndalen missed one and

managed to beat the younger men. Simply sensational.

Ole Einar Bjorndalen plays his cards close to his chest, and I wonder how

much emotion we will see from him on the podium. The embrace for a seven

time Winter Olympic champion, this sport may never see his likes

again. Great celebrations from the Czech Republic athlete, a wonderful

bronze medal. And somewhere in among the handshakes, the high-fives and

the backslaps, the Austrian, who has managed to get himself a silver

medal. The Slovenian, his fourth Winter Olympics, twice 10th in the

relay. The Kazakhstan athlete comes across

the line. The Bulgarian's father was an Alpine

skier, grinding his way towards the finish. It promised to be dramatic,

and there was an opportunity for Ole Einar Bjorndalen, as the holder of

the subplot, to upset the party, and he did that.

Great celebrations. The last man onto the field, the American, coming

home. Brilliant celebrations. The Polish athlete still on the course.

He will be coming home just outside 29 minutes.

Thank you for keeping us company over the last hour. Apologies for

the fire alarm interruption. You never know what is going to happen

at the Winter Olympics! Order was restored in time to see an

incredible piece of biathlon Winter Olympics history. The result that

many people in Norway barely dared to dream about, Ole Einar

Bjorndalen, despite the fact that he missed a target, he beat the lot,

the 40-year-old securing his seventh Winter Olympics old medal, 12 medals

in total, his status as the greatest biathlon has ever seen is now

absolutely assured. The secretary-general will present

the flowers. She must be delighted at how her sport has produced a

truly historic race here, in a state-of-the-art facility. Jaroslav

Suker, could he have dreamt of a moment like this? Earlier on this

afternoon, when he was preparing himself to do battle with 86 of the

very best by athletes in the world, bronze at the World Championship two

years ago, but that pales into insignificance compared to this.

This is the big one, the one that only rolls around every four years,

and he has earned the right to call himself a Winter Olympics medallist

in esteemed and historic company. A brilliant bronze medal for the man

from the Czech Republic. What a moment for the big Austrian.

, he lunged for the line because he knew he had reduced a good race. He

was the first of the big names to come home, he didn't know whether it

would be good enough for gold but he knows now that it has been more than

good enough for silver. He has been on the Olympic podium

before but this one is just for him and it is richly deserved.

APPLAUSE. How does this compare to the six

golds he has won before? Ole Einar Bjorndalen has rolled back the clock

and produce winter and the big history here, the seventh time he

has stood atop the winter Olympic podium. A hat-trick of titles in

this event alone. And he in this moment and on this day, joins his

compatriot as it the most decorated Winter Olympian in history. What a

story what a day and what a smile and does he dare to believe that 12

can become 13? Many more chances over the next two weeks, but that is

for another day. Tonight, the celebrations and the accolades

belong to the greatest I athlete in history and everybody in the crowd

including the Russians -- greatest biathlete, is saluting him. Bjorn

Dahlen is in a class of his own and he has touched Winter Olympic

mortality tonight -- immortality, Bjorndalen.

JONATHAN EDWARDS: What the performers there from Bjorndalen,

the oldest ever individual winner of a medal at a Winter Olympics. Less

good for the Jackson from Britain, he ended up in 60 Seventh Place so a

real disappointment there. We saw Sven Kramer any man's 5000 metres

speed skating hoping to retain the title, this is what happened.

COMMENTATOR: It will be in astonishing mark, one lap to go, 6.2

seconds faster, this could give him something around about a 6.12 and he

figures that, it will be a new Olympic record. Cramer on his way

now to the line and the concluding stages of his 5000 metres skate, the

style of the defending champion, and here he comes, Sven Kramer now,

coming for the line and he hits the line. And the time, a new Olympic

record. Cramer has put the marker down and put it down big time. What

a skate that was and only just shy of the world record at low land sea

level. JONATHAN EDWARDS: What a skate that

was, he led a one, two, three for the Dutch team and I am joined by

the chief Skating writer for a Dutch newspaper. Frank, what was it like

from a Dutch perspective in there? One big party for the Dutch and he

was still serious after the race and for him it was a bit like business

as usual. It may sound strange, and after the race, he went down as he

went to the hotel so to the village but for the supporters, it was

fantastic. In terms of how he skated, our guys, Wilf O'Reilly was

saying in commentary that he may be a bit slow at the start, what was

your perspective? He knew what he had to do, he was not slow. He said

he had to skate 6.10 for the gold and to do that, you have to skip lap

times around 29 seconds, and all the others made a mistake, they started

to fast. So I think that is the thing. In terms of the 10,000 metres

which is coming up in a few days' time, a few bad memories from four

years ago in Vancouver. Remind us what happened. People watching at

home may not know. He made a huge mistake and it wasn't his fault, it

was mainly the fault of his coach. The speed skaters had to change

lanes every lap. And they know when to do that but the coach wasn't sure

if he swapped lanes already said he said he had to go to the inner lane

but he had already done that. So the thing was he went into the inner

lane when he had to do the outer lane and he was disqualified and it

was a big tragedy in Holland. It was dramatic for the coach especially.

And he still coaches him question mark Eleanor Gass, he has had lots

of success -- and he still coaches him? Yes, . It was. How much

excitement would it be that home for this medal? For the ten kilometres

grid at Know, for the ten kilometres consumer No, 45 kilometres.

Everybody knows at this distance that he was going to win at his

distance. The only question in Holland was whether it was going to

be a one, two, three. The King of Holland was there to watch it as

well. From one speed skating star to another and this man's journey to

Olympic gold was something. Really something.

Dan Johnson, the skater who could not win a medal. He tried in 1984

but he tried in 1988. The American came to Calgary as well spread

champion that on the night of the 500 metres, his sister Jane died

from leukaemia. He fell at the first turn.

He tried in the 1000 metres and fell.

He raced in vain and Albertville in 1992, and he skated onto Lillehammer

in 1994. He finished eighth in his favourite event, the 500 metres. He

had one last chance, after seven attempts in seven events in four

Winter Olympics spread over ten years after a decade of trying and

failing, he had this - the 1000 metres.

And at last, Dan Jansen was out in front. And there he stayed.

COMMENTATOR: 1.12.43 and the world record has gone to Dan Jansen, a

remarkable piece of skating. He has taken the world record and there are

his parents, his father is standing there waving his arms. His fourth

Olympic Games and could that be with that world record, his first medal?

At last, ten years after losing his sister Jane, he celebrated with his

daughter, Jane. A very moving story there and Frank,

another American speaks skater we want to look at for, Shawnee Davis.

Yes, he is quite a character. He does everything on his own. He is

training outside the federation, he is preparing himself, he has no

coach. No sponsors, but he is at the top and has been for a while so it

is impressive. And looking for three golds in a row in the 5000 metres.

Yes, that is unique. He has a good chance of achieving it. In terms of

the women, another big hope for the Dutch, ten two. Yellow marker the

same goes for the women. She can become the most success full

female with athlete. She is aiming for four golds and in the three K,

it will be the first tomorrow. She is up against the lady who has been

called the queen of skating in Vancouver, two gold medals. You may

not agree with that! What about Southwark over -- Sablokova? Yellow

marker they did not really have to qualify because they are the only

athletes from that level from our country said she was not too

impressed with the last couple of weeks and Wurst has been on the top

level for a long time. She is the favourite, I think. But Sablokova is

always there on the big moments so it will be very exciting.

The way the Dutch are skating, we will probably be speaking to you

again, thank you for speaking to us. Still plenty of action from

Sochi to come but here are the headlines so far.

The USA says Katzenberg won the first in slopestyle. --. Jamie

Nicholls finished a creditable sixth and Billy Morgan ended up in 10th.

The first women's gold winning the ski Afon, her fourth old medal

during her career after three in Vancouver.

And we have witnessed history in the biathlon, Ole Einar Bjorndalen won

gold to claim his 12th winter Olympic medal equalling the game's

record. And speed skating star Sven Kramer that a Dutch one, two, three

to defend his title and broke his own Olympic record by four

microseconds. -- for seconds. I trust you are enjoying coverage here

on BBC Two but it is not the only way to keep across the Winter

Olympics on the BBC. Watch all the excitement of the

Winter Olympics with BBC Sport. We are showing every sport live from

Sochi. With up to six streams of live sport showing across your

devices, you will be in full control of all the action from the Games.

Check out our live updates, and catch up on any action you have

missed on the BBC iPlayer so you can share in all the drama, wherever you

are. The Winter Olympics - across the BBC.

JONATHAN EDWARDS: So we have got the downhill tomorrow at 7am, don't miss

that and then coming up at ten past five, of the final score, we have

got women's moguls and the figure skating, Clare Balding is in the hot

seat for that. So that is it for the first day here, lots to come still

but back in 1934, the first gold medal was won by an American and

here, the first gold medal of Sochi 2014 was also won by a American, in

the slopestyle. What would they have made of snowboard slopestyle back in

1924? It is certainly something they would never have imagined they would

see full thanks for watching and we will be back at 5:10pm. Goodbye.

COMMENTATOR: Sven Kramer will skate out of his skin here. He has ignited

the burners, history being made here. Sven Kramer as defended his

crown, gets a gold and the crowd loved it.

Jamie Nicholls, 20-year-old from Halifax. Into 1260, yes, Jamie puts

it down!