Day 14, Part 1 Winter Olympics

Good morning. I know you're rushing around this morning, but do you

realize what day this is? Yes, it's day 14 of the Winter Olympics. But

it's also the 21st of February. Why does that matter? On the 21st of

February 1980 Robin Cousins one figure skating gold. On the train to

1st of February 2002, Rhona Martin won gold. We will see the men's

curling final at 1:30pm this afternoon. If they win, we want a

national holiday on the 21st of February. I can see some bronze

medal winning curlers beside me. We've got a curling appetiser for

you in the men's bronze-medal play-off. Sweden's Niklas Edin

against China's Liu Rui, and that's on the ice very shortly. The French

scooped all of the medals in the men's ski cross final yesterday.

Today, could their compatriot Ophelie David become, at 37, the

oldest woman to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Games?

Weirdness and wonderment coming live from Rosa Khutor later. And these

are heady times for British winter sport, with silver or gold to come

in curling, and could short-tracker Elise Christie smash our record

haul? She looked awfully good in the heats. Now it's crunch time in the

1000m. I am not sure what a collective noun for a group of medal

winning curlers is, I am going to call it a born and. -- bond. Good

morning. What a couple of hours you have had. How much relief? How much

enjoyment are you taking? Lots. It has been a great couple of hours. We

did not get in until 1:30am. These are the moments you want to cherish.

It does not happen often and we are so happy. I do not think it has done

in yet. You were the first to shed the tears on the ice, can you

describe that moment? It was just pure relief. We had such a

devastating loss the day before and to go back and leave a tall and come

out and win the bronze medal showed the team spirit and the trust and

support we have with each other and I think we have worked so hard over

the past four years, and to get that medal was such a relief, so happy to

have brought home the bronze. The night before you had had that

devastating loss against Canada. When you think back, how did you

manage to turn things round? What was it like? It was a complete

whirlwind of emotions. The 24-hour period coming off the semifinal

having lost, but we regrouped, had a chat with our coaches and made sure

we bounced back. We had to make sure we had a good one. There was an

awful lot of support before you went onto the ice for the bronze medal

play-off and you got a lot of support from Kath Grainger as well.

What did she say? Catherine has been through a lot. She got three Silvers

before she finally got the gold and we took from her that if you keep

fighting you will get what you deserve and we took that as true

inspiration and now we were not going to home, go home empty-handed

to it gave us that little bit of fire. You have a degree of

objectivity watching your team-mates. It must have been a very

exciting time going out onto the ice, but what part do you think you

were able to play in terms of getting them up for this? Important

was it for everybody to pull together? I do a lot behind the

scenes. I was not playing myself. I have a night-time roll and I am

support for the girls. We had to pull together and these girls have

all experienced failure and success so they might have that bounceback

ability and we came out with the goal to have tears for the right

reasons. We are standing in the Olympic Park because you are going

to get your bronze medal this evening. You put Eve in a position

to have to draw to get this bronze medal. Was there any doubt she was

going to pull this off? No. Why? This is what we practice for. We

knew that if we did our job is easily and correctly, Eve as always

said, give me a draw for the win and I will get it for you -- has always

said. It put down what our whole week has been about and I believe we

deserved that medal. It comes down to you. Everybody is then, I am glad

it is not me. I much do you like it? That is what comes with being skip.

You have a lot of responsibility, a lot of pressure, if you make the

shot you get a lot of glory, if you miss, you get a lot of grief. It was

a team effort. The girls made their shots and left me a relatively easy

olive flower. -- shot. What a great team effort. I am Billy happy. --

really happy. What a fantastic win. Rhona, you went through this 12

years ago today to win the gold medal. We talk about emotions, but

it is as much about managing emotions as it is about skill. The

girls are used to a tight schedule game after game and the Olympics is

spread out, so it is the focus and concentration or a longer period of

time, so it is an emotional roller-coaster and it is being able

to handle that. The girls have done that really well and that showed

going into the bronze medal game, they had to be as focused and

determined to win, and they were. I do not buy some of this. There must

be times when you want to chuck teacups at one another. Who is the

tyrant and how do you then your frustrations? We spend so much time

together, we spent weeks in Canada together, so we know when somebody

has got out of bed on the wrong side. We are good at managing that.

Do teacups fly? Not very often. We are good at taking ourselves away

before anything like that happens. I have to turn my attention to the

gentleman this afternoon, Dave Murdoch, going for gold. Can you

describe the kind of things he will be going through with his team? It

is trying to keep everything the same that you have done every day

for the last four years, for your whole training. Everything has to

focus on this one game. You have 20 stones each to throw and that is

nothing compared to how many they throw DN, day out. What are your

thoughts? Canada have never lost to Great Britain in an Olympics and

Great Britain have not beaten Canada in a World Championships for four

years. I saw the guys this morning and Dave Murdoch was staring at his

cornflakes, rather than eating them! It is going to be tough. It is

not easy. Hopefully they will give it their all, and they do not have a

great record, but they will give it everything. You are the youngest

ring in the history of curling to win a medal. You must be very proud.

Surely this is not the end. How many more Games you want to do? We are

going to take a couple of days off and then re-focus, we still have two

competitions this year. We are going to go for Korea. We are so young and

focused and we have the same goals so we will be going for hopefully

another after that. Curling really seems to have taken the country by

Dawn. Apparently it is bringing your broom to work day. Previously it was

seen as an oddity. This is a full-time sport now. Previously it

was jokes about housewives and cleaning the kitchen floor, and now

the professionalism that has come into the sport is great. People know

it is a full-time spot for these guys and the amount of work they put

in. There is a fair bit of readiness. -- really controversial

calendars. Back in the day the image of the sport was slightly different

and I think it has moved on and had the different image. Looking at the

average age, we are the youngest, but eight out of the nine teams,

they each is law, and I remember watching and there were skippers

giving up at 16 because they were passed at. -- pass it. Thank you for

the years of dedication and the anxiety, tension and terror you have

inflicted upon the nation, but thank you for your bronze, you deserve

your medals denied and you deserve to enjoy the rest of the games. We

have the bronze match in the curling. We can say good morning to

Steve Cram and Jackie Lockhart. Thank you, Hazel. Mr February,

indeed. I have never appeared in any kind of calendar! That was a lovely

chat, great to see the girls in good spirits. They know what it is like

to come into a bronze medal match. They have been doing the rounds of

the various media outlets, everything they deserve. It is great

that they have had such a fantastic response. This match here between

two teams who do not want to be in the position of having no medal. A

bit like Mirjam Ott in the women's map, two Olympics in a row finishing

in fourth place. So really intriguing bronze medal match in

store here. And as Hazel was saying, the surprise package, the first end

blank, and Sweden have a hammer in the second end. China are very much

the surprise package, impressed everybody, particularly with their

early play. I think they won their first four matches without defeat,

obviously, and then they had some tough, almost beat Canada in the

round robin. And it was Canada to whom they lost in the semifinal. Liu

Rui has been leading his team very well indeed. The Canadian coach who

has been so proud of their performance have said that they come

into this match with no pressure. The pressure is all on Sweden. That

may well be true. There is certainly expectation on Niklas Edin and his

World Championship team, they certainly want some kind of medal.

It is how they will respond to defeat from Great Britain. If you

didn't see it, David Murdoch given the chance to win that match at the

very end, and did it brilliantly. We can go back a week. It was talking

about dates, Valentine's Day. It seems a long time ago. That was when

these two teams met in the round robin. An intriguing match in

prospect, Jackie. It is very difficult to predict, of course, but

I think China were well beaten by Canada in their semifinal, and do

they come into this in a better frame of mind? I'm not sure where my

thoughts lie at the moment. The Chinese did give Canada a good game.

They do give Canada a good game in the first half, but Canada pulled

away in the second half, and we have seen that quite often this week. It

has often been a game of two halves, the old cliche. Sometimes when they

go off, take a little break, it can be very good for one set of players

and not so good for the other. But we have started this game cagily, we

have just had a blank end, but something is starting to happen

here. A couple of short guards up there, and I'm sure there is a

Swedish yellow stone up on the left-hand side as I can see it. I

think they might try to split this if they get the opportunity. They

have been quite attacking. They certainly were earlier on in the

week. They had a couple of opportunities in that semifinal

which they didn't take. I think they forced a one in the very first end

in the semifinal, but they didn't capitalise on it after that. They

sort of change the style with which they had been playing.

There is the first little mistake from China. It is early, early days.

He has hit and rolled, and taken his back one out there. So here is

Niklas Edin, asking for an in-turn. And the Swedish women were beaten by

Canada in last night's final. A silver medal for them after they

have won the gold in the last two Olympics. The men had hoped to come

here to Sochi in the golden double match -- the gold medal match, and I

wonder if Niklas Edin is able to pick up his team. They have a real

job on their hands here. This new team from China continuing to

develop, and I think I am right in saying that the world championships

for the men is going to be in Beijing in April. Yes, the men go to

Beijing and the ladies go to Canada for their worlds. They are not

competing together any more. Two separate competitions. Imagine if

these Chinese men go home with the bronze medal. That would raise the

profile when April comes. Niklas Edin, I'm not sure if people

was listening earlier in the week, it is a pleasure to see this young

boy playing. He has gone through several back operations, and at one

point thought he wouldn't manage to play the game. But they have been

successful, and it is really nice to see him still competing at the

highest level. This one is just pulling too much, and it has caught

top guard there. He must have thrown that light. The Swedish support

staff, Eva Logar -- Lund, now the coach for the team. The men's game

is different from the women's in-turn is of the shot you are asked

to play. I haven't spoken to Niklas, but when

he was young, he was always impressed by what the women could

do. He watched these females and was inspired with what they have done,

and I think that is maybe where he will just get inspiration from Eva.

I think that is where it is coming from. We might have to ask. I think

it is intriguing. Eva has got lots of experience, has won at the

highest level. She maybe has an insight into the thought processes

he wants to go through. There are subtle differences between the men

and women's games, and more aggressive shots can be played by

the men. I just wonder where her default position would be in a

difficult scenario. And in her defence, the game is very

difference, the strategy is often the same but the aggressiveness of

the game and the strength that the men bring to it. But I did notice

yesterday that she will use Per Lindholm, and he has masses of

experience. For all of these curlers out there, there is a whole band of

people that are behind you that must take a lot of the credit going

forward. Talking about aggressive shotmaking,

Sebastian Kraupp doing a great job there for his skip.

Two exciting skips here, I think. They are getting to know this

Chinese team of Liu Rui. He is not frightened to take on the big shots,

either. So, three Swedish stones out front.

China just applying a little bit of early pressure, but that was a good

shot from Kraupp to relieve some of it. They are just trying to come in

around those stones. These early draws, just getting a feel from the

ice, how much it is turning. Yes, this sheet has got a nice draw in

it. That Stone has probably moved about three feet. We saw it

yesterday in the girls games. Once it gets close to that centreline, it

really does start to pull across. Niklas will see this by the time he

gets onto the other end. He was in here quite a long time after that

semifinal loss, and it was quite nice to see, having gone through the

media with the British team, the British men's coach and has worked

with Nicholas Eden in the past, he was one of those consoling the

Swedish skip, as he was in here quite a long time. The lights were

being turned off, practically. All of these players out here put in

such a lot of work and practice. And belief in what they are doing. And

sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn't, and he was

very disappointed yesterday. I have no doubts that he will bounce back.

He has youth on his side. And he is a very experienced curler.

That just got a tiny little bit of movement across there. Liu Rui will

only be able to see half, I think. Luckily for us, we are behind this

sheet. We can watch the monitor, but I can also see the sheets down

below. So he has to be very careful here

that he gets enough of the stone and doesn't jam it onto his back red.

So, Liu Rui, skip who is actually 31. It is not a young team this, but

gaining experience all the time. And if you think about going back to

four years ago, Niklas and his team finished fourth, lost a bronze medal

match. The Chinese team only 12-macro of their nine, so it just

shows you the progress they have made.

We have still got a long way to go in this game, but it could be very

interesting to see. Even and her team came in as World Championship

-- Eve and her team came in as world champions and finished third. Will

that happen to the Swedish men as well?

A straightforward shot there, played it delicately enough. Takes the one

for Sweden. The first score of this bronze medal match. A good steady

start from both teams. China has made a couple of nice shots, and

Sebastian Kraupp is particularly helping his skip out for Sweden.

Into the third end now. Pretty good crowd in here, a few Chinese flags

at the far end. The Swedish flags aren't in abundance but there are a

few around. The king and queen of Sweden were here earlier in the week

to watch the Swedish team. I'm not sure if they are here today.

Elvis was in the house yesterday. I was expecting Abba or someone today,

but no sign of them yet. There actually is a very good crowd in

today. I have been very impressed by the crowds here. It is a small

venue, but it does hold 3000 people. We have had some very good crowds,

very well-behaved. Not all of them experts in the game

of curling, I would say, but they generally cheer at the right times.

I'm glad to say, I think the curling competition is one which has

captured the imagination of people on television, and I know even in

other countries apart from Great Britain, it has been getting rave

reviews. The Olympics always does every four years, it gives curling

such a platform. The matches are long enough for people to get into

them, get to know the teams and the characters, and even if they are not

officially in our dose of the sport, they can pick-up the basis of the

sport very quickly -- afficionados of the sport. So, as Jackie said, we

have another good crowd in here. It is Friday the 21st of February, a

significant day for British curling fans, Rhona and her team winning in

2002. We will remind you of this later on, this afternoon, with the

British team taking on the Canadians. It would not be

unfettered to say that the Great Britain are the underdogs -- that

Great Britain are the underdogs. Canada with a wonderful gold medal

for Jennifer Jones, thoroughly deserved, even though it was not the

best of finals. None of the nerves that Eve Muirhead had to ensure to

deliver the bronze medal. I think it was the Swedish star, there was an

unfortunate pick-up, gave away two, Canada had a three shot lead going

into the final end. It was well-deserved, they were the team

throughout the competition. Jennifer Jones and the Canadian girls have

fought very hard all week. Jennifer herself was occasionally up against

it and she pulled every shot out of the bag. Delighted for them. We see

a lot of stones starting to gather up in this end. China have the

hammer. The yellow Swedish stone sitting there, it just takes one big

shot and that Swedish stone could go. Niklas Edin has to be careful.

You can take the auction, -- he can take the option, he can see most of

that red. Fredrik Lindberg throwing an

out-turn hit. Lovely shot. I think this is going to be a feature of

this game, Liu Rui does not mind putting shots in and I think we will

be seeing some big hits. They throw these stones so accurately. What

always intrigues me, the ladies and gents game is different because it

just takes one big powerful throw of the stone. The end is then

completely turned on its head. These guys will keep plugging away. Ba

Dexin, the Chinese second. Fredrik Lindberg and Sebastian Kraupp go

back a long way. Fredrik Lindberg used to play second and third for

Sebastian Kraupp when Sebastian Kraupp was the skip before they

joined up with Niklas Edin. That over curled. He got the shot but if

you are going to be trying to put pressure on you want to keep your

shooter in the house. Xu Xiaoming is married to the skip of the Korean

women's team, who we thought might have been a surprise package in the

women's tournament. They had a chance of getting into the

tie-break, but it was not to be for them. The next Winter Olympics is in

Korea. We were talking about the development of the game. I have seen

a few articles over the last couple of days about the right way to

develop your teams and to create medal winning teams and this idea of

a funded programme, the squad system, and certainly from a Korean

point of view, that is the route they seem to be taking. More and

more countries are following that pathway, creating funding from

somewhere and having youngsters be full-time athletes. This sport is

changing. Because it is an Olympic sport it adds a different dimension

to it. There is debate over whether some nations feel it is the pinnacle

of their sporting career. We have the world every year in curling will

. Some teams have focused on being world champions and have to change

their focus for the Olympics. It puts you on the same level, the

Olympics, as a great skier or cyclist or athlete, the Olympic gold

medal has its own currency. All sports have World Championships, it

is not that they are devalued... It is a platform here. It is so well

publicised that the platform allows you to emphasise your sport and to

get credit where credit is due, but it also brings its pressures. It

shows who can deal with that. If you have the World Championships every

year and it does not go well, it is not that long before you might get

another chance. With the Olympics it is four years. Mirjam Ott yesterday,

she cannot really think, what is she going to be doing in four years

time? You have to commit to a programme. I am not going to see a

sacrifice, but commits to your dream -- commit to your dream, it is not

for 12 months, it is for a three or four years. As we heard from the

girls, the age is changing in the sport and what I love about curling

is that anybody can play it. Young and old. But youngsters have the

time and the commitment. This is all getting a bit worrying for the

Chinese skip. They have the hammer. A couple of shots did not come off.

He has the opportunity to use the yellow and tap it onto the red. You

can guarantee that Niklas Edin will throw something heavy and blast him

out, that is what he is trying to avoid. He is trying to create his

two. I will not be able to understand

anything that anybody is saying! I am going to have to make it up. We

are trying to interpret not in a linguistic sense, but look at the

options they have. He is taking a little bit of ice so I think he is

going to try to play it into the pack, but it is where he wants his

shooter to lie that will be... He has to accept if he continues to

play this sort of game it is not always going to fall nicely for

him. He is always running the risk trying to create these scenarios for

himself. He could not do something on both

sides, I think that is probably the best he could do. The angle on the

yellow is going to go through the middle, but he can use this on the

right-hand side. He will try to catch the edge of it. Hit it right

there. They want Fredrik Lindberg to come down and have a look. You will

quite often find that there is somebody in your team who is good at

angles. He is bringing his protractor! I like that! I was never

good at angles. I hate to admit it, but I always used somebody else in

my team, you can guess who that was, she was a very good third when

I played with her. He has a great opportunity to make

it as hard as possible, but I guess if he loses a two, it is not a

disaster, I think it will only be a two, as long as he keeps his

shooter. I think he is worried about where his shooter will spend out to

-- spin. He is talking about it spinning out to ten o'clock as we

look at it. You do not want to leave an easy tap on the red at the top of

the house. Nicholas Eden coming down with plenty of weight. We were

watching that from behind. That must have missed the guard by

millimetres. Accuracy of the highest calibre from the Swedish skip. So

good at their angles, I had to put my microphone down to applaud, that

was so good. We were thinking it was going to hit the guard. The boys are

so powerful on the sweeping. So he's not going to do anything with the

red stone at the front there, because he can't. That was a real

savour their from Niklas. I think there is going to be good play in

this match, I am already enjoying it. I do hope the people back home

watching are enjoying it as well, because what we are seeing is some

really good play. And then a nice draw from the

Chinese skip to take his one. So we are tied after three ends, a very

good match so far. Three ends which resulted in both teams with the

hammer only getting one. Partly due to excellent play, particularly in

that end there, great shot making. This bronze medal match, just as we

hoped, providing some top-quality curling.

Just watching this draw, I would love to see that Nicholas Eden shot

again. Liu Rui doing what he had to do. -- that Niklas Edin shot. So, a

good atmosphere for this bronze medal match. And as we keep

reminding you, this afternoon, the match begins at 1.30, and we will be

over on BBC One at 1.45 for that match. David Murdoch against Rad

Jacobs -- Brad Jacobs, Great Britain taking on Canada, assured of a

silver medal at the very least. Can they surprise the team who certainly

consider themselves to be the best in this competition?

Viktor Kjall plays lead for Sweden. Both teams already shooting 90%,

good quality, good start to this bronze medal match. Let's hope they

keep it up. I think what we will see in this game is that somebody

desperately needs to win this medal. There is only one medal up for grabs

here. Yesterday's final wasn't the best game that we had commented on,

because there are two medals up for grabs. It is difficult to lose the

gold medal, but you still get a silver. In this match, the winner

gets everything, and for the team that finishes fourth, that is the

worst place to finish. I have been fourth at the Olympics. It is not

nice. Me, too. Not nice at all. So you can feel the dedication.

Not the best of shots from Zang Jialiang, the first hint of a

mistake, you might say. China here will be hoping to come in

and in turn. They won't want to bump too much. Otherwise that gives

Niklas the opportunity to follow it down and tap it through.

So these two second players here, very evenly matched. He is being

asked for an in-turn. And the break is coming now. It was sitting quite

high there for a while, but once it takes that draw, it really... Not as

much as they would have liked. It was wide for a long time. We have

seen that all week. The ice has been very good, and we haven't had many

complaints. There has been the old pick-up, but the ice has played the

same all week, and very weight dependent. If you put too much in

the delivery of the stone, it doesn't take the same poll. An

opportunity here for China to catch this and roll in. Just throwing a

delicate weight down here, he is not throwing heavy at it. That has

unfortunately just got too much right there. A nice attempt. He has

tucked his own stone against Swedish stone. Just about freezing on there.

I think most matches, we have seen at least one, most matches we have

done, certainly. We mentioned eve in the very first end against Canada.

It is very difficult to prevent it. It happens at most competitions. The

organising committees have put a lot of work into try to make it as

pick-up free as possible. Before the competitors come onto the ice, they

have to step across a sticky pad of paper, and that is supposed to take

off any debris on the bottom of their curling shoes before they get

on the ice. But there are carpets down the size, things come off

people's jumpers or a hair off the brush, and it can be really small

piece of debris that causes a major bit of discrepancy on the stone.

Could be a lot of hair product out there as well! These guys use more

hair product than a lot of the women do. As my husband would say, it's

not a fashion show. This is coming nicely now, they will

probably just finish it at the end. No, they are going to leave it.

Each time we come down here and freeze on these back stones, we are

getting closer and closer to the T-line, and at some point, somebody

will get that throw on, and it is impossible for the opposition to

follow it and better it. And Sweden with the hammer here, they want to

try to force the issue a little bit. That is looking pretty good. Just

get that to curl a little more. That has done well. And China will just

follow that down. If he gets a good stone in here, it will make things

difficult. So, and in turn draw. And in turn is

a clockwise rotation of the stone. It should move to three feet,

depending on the draw of the ice. A well laid stone would be about three

and a half times. Somebody asked the other day why'd they don't spin the

stone, but if you spin it, it holds the line straighter. Three or three

and a half rotations is good. Good sweeping there, so much of a feature

of the game with the men, just where that extra bit of strength can

affect the stone even more. Just couldn't quite get it tucked in, was

a little short, and that gives Sebastian Kraupp the chance to see

it. But this has got to be right. Another very accurate shot, very

accurate indeed. Lovely stone delivered. And cleanly taken out.

Obviously didn't want to hit his own. Sweden playing the yellows, of

course. Very good indeed. So again, plenty of stones in the

house here. Liu never frightened to ask questions of the opposing skip.

He will want to come back in their where Xu, his third, has just been.

It might just get by. Excellent! A well judged stone. I thought we were

going to catch the red at the top of the house there. Excellent shot from

the Chinese skip, Liu. And he has done that all week. He is not afraid

of all these stones in play. And as much as I have kept my eye on the

game we have been involved in, I have always had a look out of the

corner of my eye at how China have doing, and often there are many

stones in play. We have been pointing all week saying, look at

that. He is not perturbed by the chance that it could go horribly

wrong. He keeps putting the pressure on. And Niklas is going to have to

respond to that. Niklas I think is going to try to

throw a big weight down here and just kiss this out, the same as

Sebastien did before him, and the accuracy on this has to be so, so

good. Oh, he has done well again. That is

another nice shot. Anything you can do, I can do better. I can't

emphasise how difficult these shots are, the accuracy of that when you

let it go. And the confidence he has had from already making a couple of

those that have come off. He is not frightened to take it on. And still

lying two, Sweden. Hoping to draw in here, I'm thinking, and turn it

right in behind the guard. He can't leave an edge at all. He does know

what the wages, -- the weight is, he has just played it. But it is hard

to do these shop back-to-back. -- these shots.

He has got a chance again. You can see it taking the draw.

A really good shot again from the Chinese skip. It is great to watch

the two of them going at each other. So cool under pressure. So if Niklas

just comes down here and caps that, will it... ? It is always difficult

to tell from the camera. Are they lying second? I think the red is

beating the yellow at the back. He is not sure, and that will influence

the options he has here. He might leave it up to the measure. The

first thing he has to do is get rid of that Chinese stone. Kraupp is

suggesting maybe just draw in. That is another option. And if he was

able to follow the Chinese skip, the shot he has just played, then he

would certainly have his two. Yes, because if he tries to chip it, he

will lose the stone he has just thrown. This is a very difficult

shot. He has to draw pretty much onto it and move about four or five

inches. He only gets to play one. Once again Niklas Edin with a tough

shot. He has been up to it so far. He has played seven shots with 100%

accuracy. Can he make it with this one?

They are leaving this, watching it closely. This is going to be tight.

It has a chance. Has he done it? He would have loved to have moved that

another couple of injuries for the two, but he will be happy with that.

The team with the hammer has been limited to one either good play of

the opposition -- by the good play. A good match so far. I am hoping

this is an appetiser for the match tonight. We would love to have this

sort of quality. It will be important for Britain to hang onto

Canada and not let Brad Jacobs have an early lead because that will be

difficult to claw-back. We saw that with Jennifer Jones against the

British women, who played really well from the second end through,

but could not get back that early advantage that Canada had gained.

Eight height match here -- a tight match. Both skips not afraid to take

the match on. China with the hammer so will see a guard put in place by

Sweden. Zang Jialiang, the Chinese lead. The

coach is from Canada and was asked to go and coach, it took a while to

persuade him, the Canadian media were interested in the semifinal

match and putting pressure on and then, surely you are rooting for

Canada, and he said, my job is to make the Chinese team as good as it

can be. Deep down of course he will always want Canada to win, but he

said that that point -- at that point he was rooting for his guys.

It will be interesting to see whether he continues. I think his

contract is up until the end of the World Championships in April. Most

of the contracts finish at the end of the Olympic season and then there

is a lot of chopping and changing and a lot of interest to see where

top watches go and I guess who is offering the most for them.

They are going to have to work this really hard because it is starting

to lose line. They have held that well. That is a good shot. He was in

the team four years ago. This team is fairly new in terms of

experience. They were six in the World Championships which helped

them to get the ranking points they required to qualify. -- sixth. The

woman might be disappointed, although they have not been playing

quake as well recently -- white as well .

China asking to remove the front yard, Peel it out.

Do not want anything up in the front area that will add to protection. I

like the game of cat and mouse at this is. It would be such an easy

game without an opposition! If you have the hammer, you want to

try to put all your stones on the wing so you leave yourself an easy

shot at the end. If you do not have the hammer you want to make it as

difficult as possible for your opposition to get an easy shot to

play. This is the youngest member of the team, Ba Dexin, just 23. A

straightforward peel for him. Neither team in the first five ends

his heart too many opportunities -- has had too many opportunities. It

has been about getting one. China will be hoping to change that here.

Having to work less -- work hard. That is a mistake, a big mistake.

That is a shame. If the sweepers touch the running stone it has to be

removed. It is a bit like a pick-up, it can change the dynamics of the

end and the players. Nothing can be done about it, you have to forget

about it. The girls yesterday never showed one piece of emotion. Except

Maria Prytz who gave away the two. She did not show emotion, but we

knew she was feeling at. -- feeling it. I transfer Liu Rui to capitalise

on that. He is having a good look with his vice skip. This is the sort

of game he enjoys. He likes pushing these stones in, he does not mind.

He has played a delicate weight to create a little space, rumble them

about. The yellows that Niklas had put in are now looking pretty

dangerous. If you hit the top red, they will spin out of the house.

Sebastian Kraupp. After all of the hard work, they would not want to be

any worse than a two. That is not going to come in.

Liu Rui asking Zou Dejia to it and roll -- hit and roll.

He needs to hit and stick in here. This looks wide. If he rolls out, he

is giving the advantage back to Sweden. Not the best shot from Zang

Jialiang. He knows the angles are not good for him. If he puts

something up short... If you put it too close, these guys might run it

back into the pack. You might run it back anyway but that is a riskier

shot. I think he has to play that delicate weight again. Cap his own

yellow back eventually. Move the spacing is to make it harder --

spacings. If he was to play this with the right sort of weight, he

would be able to tap his own yellow, the bottom yellow. We have

decided on the guard. He is going to tempt him, not put his guard too

close. Sweden lying shot, but it looks precarious . The Swedish girls

are in watching the boys playing the bronze medal game. They have already

played their final, having lost to Canada, but they do have an Olympic

silver medal. Niklas with a guard. He needs to be close to the centre

line. He needs to be in the right place, not too close. That is pretty

good. Very good. A nice shot. You just see the Swedish stone that is

sticking out, maybe a quarter of the stone, or he can use the one that

Niklas Edin has just played, that is riskier. That is what I thought he

would do, run it back into the pack. He is going to take it on,

that is no surprise. Trust his judgement, his accuracy.

Liu Rui looking to run this back into the Swedish group of four. What

a great shot. The angles were difficult there, but he executed it

well. And he has actually left the guard there to cover them. What a

great result. Niklas feeding knew that that shot was on. -- Niklas

Edin. He knew that that shot was on, but not that it would be so

brilliant. You have to hand that the Chinese skip. I think if you get

half of this, you could take both of these reds out. That is how this

game is going to go. You play a good shot, I will play another even

better. A big shot here for Niklas. He doesn't have much to go with

here. Well done! Great shotmaking. And the Swedish women's team

applauding that, as most people here in the Ice Cube Center R. Some great

shotmaking here from both teams. Not a high-scoring match so far at

all. That doesn't tell the story of what has been an excellent match up

to this point. Of course, with that shot from

Edin, any chance of getting two is gone, so Liu protecting the fact

that they have got a hammer. We will be back in a few minutes for the

second half of an exciting match. Hazel

HAZEL: Thank you very much. A reminder that the men's gold medal

match is at 1.30 this afternoon. It is 12 years to the day after Rhona

Martin managed the same thing for the GB women. Is that a positive

omen? And we will also be seeing some short track speed skating, the

finale of those events. Elise Christie is in her favourite event,

an event in which she has had so much success, the 1000 metres. She

is trying to become the first British woman ever to step onto an

Olympic podium. Wilf O'Reilly will be commentating this afternoon. He

really helped put short track on the map in Britain.

I grew up with my mum, alone, so she played the roles of the Father and

the mother. She bought me a pair of in-line skates, where the 4-wheel

scoring the front. She was helping me from one side of the living room

to the other at her despair as the carpet slowly moved its way to one

side, so she kept saying, let's skate the other way, so it will move

back. I was able to in-line skate from my house to the ice rink in

about 15, 20 minutes, going down through all the underpasses, the

speeds and the bumps on the roads, it gives a terrific feeling of

freedom. So for me, it was a natural transition from in-line skating to

ice. I started figure skating. I remember watching John Curry winning

his Olympic gold. That was my first aspiration to even

take up the sport. Somewhere along the line, I realised I wanted to be

that little bit more competitive, the rough-and-tumble, if you like.

And even though figure skating gave me an incredible basic instruction

on how to learn to skate and use your edges, it didn't really give me

the thrill. There was a very good speed Skating club at Birmingham,

called the Birmingham mohawks. They have a time trial, and you had to do

three lap of the track, and you had to do it in under 40 seconds. I

remember the start calling me to the line. I was shaking in my skates. I

made the time, made the grade, and that was my first time of joining

them. I am now an honorary member. I remember after the first day when

I won the 500, going to bed that evening and putting my medal under

the cushion, and waking up the next morning, at the first thing I did

was put my hand under the pillow to make sure it was still there and I

wasn't dreaming. And then I went and did it all over

again, the second day. Winning the 1000 metres, that was

pretty amazing in itself. The sport has obviously given me an incredible

amount. I was this young lad living in Birmingham, and this has happened

to me. It can really happen to anybody.

And since then, only Nicky Gooch has managed to get himself onto the

Olympic podium. That was 20 years ago. We have Jon Eley and Elise

Christie going today, about 4.45 in Clare Balding's programme. We have

been discussing about how to get more people involved in short track

speed skating. There are a lot of figure skates available in ice

rinks, but perhaps we should put some speed skate available for

people to have a go at. Food for thought, but I'm sure that many

people will want to have a go at some of the sports you have seen in

the last 14 days. But no skates required in the ice cube arena this

morning, just one slip issue and one grippy shoe. Otherwise known as a

keeper, Jackie Lockhart. It is yes, the protective rubber

Soul that you put over your slider to protect it. We call it a keeper,

and don't ask me why! We think it is flat like a kipper. Yes, like a fish

that you put on the bottom of your sole. Sending a postcard. Showing my

age! It is social media now. Pigeons in my day.

Welcome back everybody. It has been some very good play out here. I

think that is what they will call us, grippy and slippy. Which one do

you want to be? I will be slippy. We have seen a really good game here. A

lot of excellent shotmaking from both sides. Both of these teams are

so keen to leave this competition with the medal.

Just in the break there, a quick word with one of the Canadian

commentators. I think we all agree that it is a great match. A lovely

appetiser for tonight's gold-medal match, Great Britain against Canada,

where we will not be speaking to our Canadian counterparts until it is

all over. Intense rivalry today. A nice roll behind the guard there

from China, but Sweden hope to come down here and take it out.

Always very difficult to hit and lie out in the wings there. So, at

half-time, if you are Marcel Rock, chatting to your Chinese team,

looking at the way they have played, and Niklas Edin stood up to it. They

are putting their own pressure on at times. Would you change the way you

are playing? No, I wouldn't. These boys have to keep doing what they

are doing. Nicolas is playing some really good shots, but one error

from them, catch the guard, and the whole end changes for these Chinese

boys, so no, I wouldn't actually ask them to change what they are doing.

A lot of these games come down to the last one or two ends. He had to

be high of the yellow stone is to make is difficult for Sweden. Again,

really good accuracy from Lindbergh. Squeezing past that Chinese corner

guard, and picking out the stone at the back.

It all got a bit raucous in here at half-time, jumping up and down in

their seats, lots of music playing. Quite a few people have taken the

chance to go off and get themselves a cup of tea, just coming back in.

They wouldn't want to miss too much here. You just get the feeling that

if one team were to let one of these ends get away from them, a mistake

at the wrong time, you could easily give up a three or a four, the way

this game has been playing. That is a better attempt at that stone, but

not great finishing here, I have to say.

I think Sebastien will be able to see an edge of that red.

I got all of that, by the way! I heard all of it. He is just asking

him to come down and catch it. And I think, roll across to the other

side. He is playing a nice delicate weight here.

This is taking a fair draw here, but he does want to roll. A good shot.

He wanted to live there, -- lie there. They are gathering up.

Yes, it may be was a slightly different tactic in the sense that

that corner guard they put up was maybe a little wide, and they

weren't able to come in behind it. We have a lone singer out in the

crowd there. They want to be sitting two here at

all times, try to force China back to their one-shot if possible.

That Swedish stone just lying above the T-line on the right-hand side as

we look at it. It is going to be very useful here for Niklas Eden. --

Niklas Edin. And if he can keep Liu away from that, as Jackie said,

limit them to one again. And of course, not give them the

opportunity to run this end through. That was interesting. It is one of

the few times that you would see both teams sweeping. From a Chinese

point of view, the fact it is tucked in is an excellent result. He will

be wanting to come down and sit right on top of this red. He has to

be very careful. We have seen a few Chinese stones come down here that

have not finished as much as we thought they would. He is shooting

100%, Niklas Edin, Liu Rui is shooting 96%. If you put a little

bit of weight on, we have watched these Chinese stones previously...

The first mistake from Niklas Edin. He has not had too many draws to

play. I can only remember one difficult one he had to make, not

that that one was that difficult. China will be hoping to sit another

shot across here. Quite far back, keeps it level, prevents Niklas from

trying for an easy double. Keep the stones level. It is interesting

watching the Chinese guys going back down the ice, sweeping, making sure

it is nice and clean. We have topped about pick-ups before. I am not sure

if that affected Niklas Edin or not, or if it was just his mistake.

It will not be too far away from where Jackie indicated he wanted it

to be. That is a nice stone. This end

changed again. I feel as if I need to fasten my seat belt, because this

is like a roller-coaster ride. One shot and it is looking good for

Sweden and another shot and it is looking good for China. It is a pity

it was a mistake from Niklas Edin. We have seen such high quality play

so far from both skips especially. A straightforward shot from Liu Rui

will emphasise the frustration you can see Niklas Edin is showing. It

is not unusual to see him being as annoyed as that, he does show his

emotions on occasion. He is really annoyed, but he has to pick himself

up, it is one mistake. Something went down the wrong way

for me! For the first time, two scored in one end. A mistake from

the Swedish skip let them in. Sweden with the hammer in the next.

That continues on the red button. We will bring you up-to-date with that

later, but for now we are going up a mountain. There will be a

37-year-old French woman. That is hardly ancient, but she could become

the oldest woman to win gold in the individual event at the Winter

Games. If she can keep her head together in the event that is the

scariest of all. The ski cross. It is time for the woman to descend

the ski cross track. It looks as if the Canadians might be attempting a

clean sweep today like the French did yesterday. The Canadians are

very strong. They won the gold four years ago. Her team-mate will be

desperate to get on the podium. They also have Marielle Thompson who has

been skiing very fast. Ophelie David is sandwiched between those two. The

French have a chance of picking up a medal. They had four medals

yesterday. Ophelie David, the elder stateswoman of ski cross, will be

hoping to take the final cross to add to her victories. Fanny Smith is

half English. She has an English mum. Do not put any hot liquid near

you for the next 20 minutes! Having worked with Graham Bell for

20 years or so, when he retired from downhill racing, add this sport been

on the Olympic programme I get the feeling he would have had a go, but

for now he is in the commentary box for the Forest Gump of winter

sports, you never know what you are going to get.

Georgia Simmerling was in the lead but over jumped it. She looks to

have hurt herself. It is Fanny Smith against Kelsey Serwa. These two

dominating the positions, but do not write off Anna Woerner yet. The

Canadian has gone. Georgia Simmerling has gone.

These two are looking very good. We could see this go all the way

through to the final. Smith is going to have to start working this out.

Kelsey Serwa has so much speed. Fanny Smith is a good racer. She has

two more rounds to do it. She will analyse it. She has a big plaster

over her chin. That is Anna Woerner. No, that is Georgia

Simmerling. She over shot the jump at the top. She is moving. She is

OK. Kelsey Serwa looking very pleased with the two performances

she has put in so far. There is Georgia Simmerling, working on

getting back up again. Something has happened to her pole. Fanny Smith

had such a good start. When we come into the first of these, Fanny Smith

clipped the knuckle, so you can take the inside lane but you do not have

enough height to make it to the landing. A huge hit for Georgia

Simmerling. That is not looking good. She lost her balance and gets

thrown into the compression. It is a yard sale of skis and poles. Look at

Fanny Smith, such good technique, looking for the inside line on

Kelsey Serwa. Looking to find the gap.

That is how the cookie crumbles, dramatically. Kelsey Serwa has the

power. This is Anna Woerner. She came down from around 20 metres. She

will get taken down in the stretcher. Here comes Georgia

Simmerling. Anna Woerner will come down in a stretcher. You can see the

medics working. It looks as if it is her right knee. All the work on her

leg. The right leg was the one that was bent. It would have been in the

Tomahawk as soon as she came to a halt. You can see the right ski. We

scan through all of the biographies of these skiers... It looked to me

as if Georgia Simmerling... Was winded? It seemed to me like she had

slowed right up. We are waiting for news on Anna

Woerner. It could be problems with her in the but we will keep you

up-to-date. -- hard knee. The top five did not get through in the

men's event. This is the nature of this unpredictable event. The only

guaranteed part of ski cross is that it is going to be unpredictable.

There is so little consistency. If someone has two or three podiums in

a row, you no they are on brilliant form, otherwise you will see a

spread, 16 men on the podium so far this season.

Having said that, the women's game is going a bit more to form.

These crashes look pretty dramatic. I was mentioning before I threw over

to you guys, that had this been available to you after you retired

from downhill, I'm sure you would have fancied this. This is your

thing, isn't it, Graham? IDE try my hand at Ski Cross for a season, but

I was also being paid money to sit in a nice warm commentary box and

commentate on Alpine skiing, and I worked out very quickly which was

more rewarding financially, shall we say! Indeed. And we see Anna

Woerner, often get some more attention from the medics. This is

probably the oldest form of downhill ski racing, thinking back to 1928,

the massed start from the top, and it does have its roots way back.

It is something we used to do as kids growing up in Edinburgh. We

would all go up for the last run of the day, wait for them to turn the

lights off and have what we would call a Chinese downhill, which is

everyone starts at once and you battle your way down, no holds

barred, pushing and shoving. And there are competitions that exist,

and we call them derbies, off piste Mountain races. Ski Cross is the

ultimate form of racing, because it is head-to-head. And these days, the

Inferno in Europe, it is restricted to 1800 competitors, and they go one

at a time. I have never had a chance to have a go, because it clashes

with another competition, but they set them off at such fast intervals,

you are overtaking guys the whole time all the way down.

I think it is back to business with the second quarterfinal.

Thank you, Hazel. Just as we were speaking, a band of fog seems to

have rolled in. We are looking up from the bottom, and we can't see

any other fog. It seems to be rolling over the hill. It is

literally just sat on the start line on the upper section of the course,

a tiny patch. We are waiting for it to go away. I was talking about the

Dickensian fog, and I modelled my words and talked about Darwinian

fog, and someone has sent me a picture of a dinosaur wandering out

of the fog. It would make it even more dangerous.

It looks like it has cleared, and we are preparing for the start. In gate

number one, Katrine Ofner, stamping her feet into the front of the

boots. Then Anna Holmlund, then Katrin Muller in the green bib,

looked very comfortable in the first round. And Stefanie Joffroy, an

awful seeding run but once she started, she made it count. She is

the unknown quantity in this, she could be good or she could crash

out. The camera searching for the start line through the fog. Under

starters orders. Reloading the skis into the gate. And they are out! And

a big hit from the Swiss skier there, has knocked her right back.

We had pretty much ruled Ofner out, but she has had the best start. A

big move from Joffroy after the first berm. They are barrelling

through the fog. Ofner looking very comfortable through that roller

section now, Joffroy working hard. Holmlund is making a move, and she

is going to have to make it quickly. Here she goes. She has the inside

line as they drift right to left. This will be a surprise. Two big

seeds have gone out. That is a crash! Her knee seems to have gone.

She flew so hard, and landed so hard, it seems to me that she is

carrying an injury, and she collapsed. A big jump there. Ofner

first, Holmlund second. Muller really threw her race away there.

She had been so good in the seeding, and just blew it out of the start.

We will have to wait and see how Joffroy is. Stefanie Joffroy went

down. I think that was exactly the spot she went down in seeding. I

can't believe that she has done it again, right there. She had such a

good race in the eighth finals. This is the really bad start from

Katrin Muller, where she tried to ride through the double after

knuckling on the first drop. Joffroy made the move there, carried so much

speed out of the first berm. She has the lead here over Holmlund. And

then the Austrian is kind of safely out in front, but look at this

enormous air. And just too hard on the landing, and the need just

seeming to collapse there. She was in the back-seat, desperately trying

to across to the right, just compressed the knee joint. If there

is any weakness in that joint, that is going to test it out, for sure.

Confirmation: She did enough to pressure Joffroy,

let her know that she was there. The Swedish coach talking her through,

analysing the run. Yet another crash, and another use of the

medical team. It does look like another knee injury. Different, this

one, though. When we saw Anna Woerner stretchered

off, she looked reasonably fit going in and had a Tomahawk of a crash.

But Joffroy, she came down very hard, and looked to just kind of sit

back and collapse. She had a crash in the seeding rounds, so

potentially was carrying an injury going into this competition.

So, to quarterfinals down, and already... Of the two that we have

seen, the winners from quarterfinal one, Fanny Smith and Kelsey Serwa,

look considerably better. It never goes to form, though, does it?

Katrin Muller probably should have done better out of the start, that

is what she will be kicking herself about. She blew it there. She is a

good skier. We have another very good race

coming up. Marielle Thompson, current World Cup leader, in against

Katya Crema, who I really rate. And Yulia Livinskaya. I think her days

are numbered. She is having to fight off the competitors and is not being

able to ski out of the league. I think the fact that she is prepared

to fight off other competitors is a good sign. A little bit of pushing

and shoving going on. Katya Crema in the yellow bib.

Marielle Thompson, one of the two Canadians left in this now. Kelsey

Serwa and Marielle Thompson could look very good. The Canadians have

lots to cheer about at the moment. I have to say, they are looking

strong. Serwa and Thompson. There will be no clean sweep on the

podium, though, because they have lost Georgia Simmerling. She crashed

out in the first of these quarterfinals.

The French, it is difficult to tell, isn't it, whether yesterday they

were working together or it was just the speed that they were generating.

Certainly there were enough challenges on them. It was the fact

that chap meet -- Midol was able to go through on the coat-tails of

Chapuis. Simmerling worked hard, as did Anna Woerner, to her credit.

Woerner, the big German, just making sure that she pushed them all in

that third place. And I think you've got to race your

own race. You can't hang around waiting for someone to make it into

second. The medics working very quickly here to stabilise Stefanie

Joffroy. I think it is another knee problem, landing in the back-seat,

compressing the knee joint down. It is that anterior cruciate ligament

that causes the problem when you have that compression injury. That

is how I tore mine, a backward seat in a fall. I managed to get away

with not damaging anything else in my knee apart from the cruciate

ligament. We saw the guy up at the top there

with his cordless drill, just structuring the base, and has a

really stiff brush attached like a drill bit and they just spin that,

and they are using that to structure the base. You have wax on the base

of the ski, it is a porous plastic. You melt wax into those paws, --

pores, and then you melt the wax, which then glides over the top of a

lay of water. The modern waxes include fluorocarbons, which is a

form of Teflon. People started to put them onto the skis as well as

wax. And some of those hydrofluorocarbons, you can pay up

to ?100 for a gram of the dust. So that is gone in the first 40 metres,

isn't it? Yes, that will give you your start, but the start is so

crucial in ski cross. They work particularly well when the snow is

wet, warm and wet snow, it works brilliantly for them, and there is

various different ways of putting that last-minute wax on. A lot of

the wax that you put into a ski will be built up over sessions of waxing

and skiing and waxing and skiing, and there is such a thing as a

hotbox now, where you can wax skis and put them in a hotbox, parks and

in a sauna for couple of hours. Like a coat of varnish. Marielle Thompson

qualified in third. Yulia Livinskaya is the lowest seed in the outside

lane. Marielle Thompson is in the lead. Sanna Luedi just behind her.

Yulia Livinskaya desperately trying to keep with the Canadian and the

Swiss out in front. Sanna Luedi has the inside line. We'll Marielle

Thompson make a move? Can she get close to Marielle Thompson? Sanna

Luedi leads. The person that Katya Crema will not want to see a head of

art is Marielle Thompson -- ahead of her. Closing the gap. Not enough.

She has the inside line, but she has dropped off a little bit. Sanna

Luedi is down. Marielle Thompson first, Katya Crema second. You have

to give it to Katya Crema because she forced that error with great

skiing. That put the cat amongst the pigeons. It was like two doormen

bearing down on a patron. Sanna Luedi has no one else to blame but

herself. When the pressure came, she could not handle it. Look at Katya

Crema, she is gunning for this. Brilliant racing. At this point

Sanna Luedi had it in the bag. This is where Katya Crema tried to make a

move on Marielle Thompson, but Marielle Thompson shut the door. I

think it was Marielle Thompson coming past her that caused the

problem. A brilliant move from Katya Crema. She went right inside Sanna

Luedi. One massive jump to the finish. She will progress to the

semi-finals. Good to see one of these quarterfinals, down without

the need for medical assistance. This is the final quarter. Jenny

Owens, fifth at the World Championships. Sandra Naeslund just

17. They are in order of their seeding times. Ophelie David is out

and moving well and flying. What an amazing start from the French

victory in. -- veteran. Jenny Owens is making a move and is

into second. Sandra Naeslund looking to make a move. Ophelie David

looking comfortable in the lead. Sandra Naeslund as the speed. Jenny

Owens is dropping back. Sandra Naslund is benefiting from being

behind Ophelie David. The 37-year-old Leeds the 17-year-old.

Sandra Naeslund followed Ophelie David, learning from the master.

Ophelie David in first, Sandra Naeslund in second. Here comes

Karolina Riemen-Zerebecka. Good to see her down in one piece. Ophelie

David had such a good start. Jenny Owens had a shocker. Jenny Owens, a

better start could have served her well. I am sure she is regretting

that. More than any of us. There goes Karolina Riemen-Zerebecka. A

huge jump from Sandra Naeslund. Ophelie David looking strong. Kelsey

Serwa also looking strong. Marielle Thompson had her work cut out for

her in her quarterfinal but she is looking good as well. I think we are

getting some really evenly matched seeds now. Katrin Ofner, not one of

the fastest, but she made it through with Kelsey Serwa.

Fanny Smith, the lowest seed because of her disappointing seeding run, is

forced into the outside lane, but it has worked for her so far.

A great start from Fanny Smith. She is working these rollers so well,

pulling her feet up to her chest. Kelsey Serwa pooled round behind

Fanny Smith. Smith is looking good. Kelsey Serwa

has work to do. A huge jump from Kelsey Serwa has

let Katrin Ofner back in. Smith is all over the place. Kelsey

Serwa has got it. Fanny Smith blew that. She had it in the bag and

messed up at the final turn. Absolutely distraught. You could not

meet a nicer girl on the World Cup tour. Absolutely gutted. Katrin

Ofner talking to the referee about what went on. Fanny Smith skis off

absolutely distraught. A brilliant start from Smith. Kelsey Serwa has

been so good, but she veered off the track. At this point it was Smith

and there was a pushing match between the Austrian and the Swede.

That is what Katrin Ofner is on about. The Canadian had the chance

to carry her speed through the corner. She was so composed. She

finds a line without killing too much speed. The Swede came through

cleanly and then we have Canada, Austria, Switzerland. Fanny Smith

screamed at that point, she knew she had lost it. What a semifinal that

was. That was incredible racing. Kelsey Serwa very pleased to have

come through that. She was so lucky. Again, you put the pressure on and

you see if it tells. Smith had not led up until that point. Fanny Smith

got out in front and looks so comfortable for the first half of

the race and then the pressure told, and Kelsey Serwa started to

exert pressure. If you cannot handle the pressure you are not going to

make the finals. Katrin Ofner and Fanny Smith will battle it out for

positions five and six. The second semifinal is going to be just as

tight. Final preparations being done. On paper, I would say Ophelie

David and Marielle Thompson, but the young Swede... I think it is about

Sandra Naeslund in the blue bib in rain -- Lane one. Marielle Thompson,

the current world cup leader. There really isn't a weak link here once

you get down to this stage. Can Sandra Naeslund make the inside

lane work? A good start from Ophelie David.

Thompson is right there. Those two in the lead experienced

racers. The younger ones are at the back. Sandra Naeslund is so

comfortable in traffic. And she has taken herself out! No, she is still

in. No, she has lost it. If you get pulled out of the slipstream, there

is very little way that you can catch back up. There is a lot of

race still to go, never say never in ski cross.

Ophelie David is a wily old fox, and she won't risk too much. Thompson is

not leading the World Cup for no reason. The 37-year-old Frenchwoman

Ophelie David, showing her experience there. The

whippersnapper, the 17-year-old Swede, snapping at her heels into

that third berm. A little patch of fog is there, but nothing serious.

The move was when the young Swede made an attack on the veteran, on

Ophelie David, and she just saw her off. She did.

It was the inexperience. The Swede had no patience there. She wanted it

all on the first berm. She could have waited it out. But maybe she

knew, maybe that was the game plan. Good start from Ophelie David, but

Marielle Thompson there. Ophelie David just holding the racing line,

she knew that she could do that, and shut the door firmly. Sandra

Naeslund took out her left ski, and Ophelie David effortlessly

transferred her weight to the right and carried on with the line. Very

impressive racing from David. I take it all back that not racing in

traffic might not have prepared her. When you are 37 and you have been

doing ski cross for this long, you know how to race in traffic. So,

Marielle Thompson and Ophelie David advance to the final, where they

will battle it out for the medals. Katya Crema and Sandra Naeslund will

race in the small final for positions five to eight.

So that is the line-up for the small final. Katrin Ofner, Fanny Smith,

Sandra Naeslund. And the big final, where the medals will be decided,

Anna Holmlund, Kelsey Serwa, Marielle Thompson and Ophelie David.

A very strong line-up. The Canadians still with plenty to

shout about down there. They have got two chances at a medal, Marielle

Thompson and Kelsey Serwa. We haven't seen them working together

the same way we saw the French yesterday yet, but they have been on

opposite sides of the so far. -- opposite sides of the draw so far.

That could change in the final. A few Brits down there. I saw a

union Jack. And I saw a Welsh dragon earlier, as well.

There is always a slight delay, as more and more skiers get eliminated,

it takes a little bit longer to get the racers back up to the start.

If you can hear the music coming out of here, you will be interested to

know that Lizzy Yarnold met him the other night. She couldn't believe

how small he was. Ophelie David will become the oldest

winter Olympian to win gold if she wins today.

A great atmosphere down at the finish, a real party atmosphere. I

know that everyone will be watching on the big screen set up in the town

there. As Ophelie David competes for the gold.

HAZEL: And as we wait for the start, let me remind you of the three

potential medal chances for Great Britain today. We already have four

in the bag. We're just not sure what the colour is gain to be from that

gold-medal match. David Murdoch and his men will be taking on Canada at

1.30 today. Make sure that you are in front of a screen somewhere,

whether it is at work secretly or at home. In short track, we have Jon

Eley, who carried the flag for Great Britain. He has chances in the 500

and is in the short track, and Elise Christie in the 1000 metres, looking

very strong and powerful in her heat the other day. She goes into this

having won a World Cup medal and a World Championship medal, the first

woman to do that for Great Britain, so has definite medal chances. Jon

Eley's best at the Olympics has been a fifth place. He is hoping just to

make that one extra step towards the medal podium today. So that is what

we are looking forward to over the coming hours, but it looks like we

are going to be in for a few fireworks in both of the finals

here. You were talking about traffic, Graham. What is the hardest

of this to master? We have seen the technical elements, but when you are

used to racing with no one else around, how difficult is it to keep

your composure when everyone else is jostling you?

GRAHAM: It is about tactical moves, as well. When you are skiing boot

clip to boot clip, it is about having experience of doing that,

because it can be a bit freaky when someone is cutting on the inside of

you or you are looking to try to fill a gap and get past. If you get

a good start, that is a great advantage, but you have to have an

all-round set of skills for ski cross. You have to be able to turn

well, job well, start well, and when it comes down to a final like this

when you are up against everyone who is of your level of ability, it

comes down to tactical moves and making the right move. And being

wily, not going to early, not making a rash decision, but just trying to

pick your moment to make the right move to overtake. You will often see

that even if someone gets out in front, they never really get away.

Katrin Ofner in the Bluebeard, Lane one. -- the blue bib. Sandra

Naeslund, the 17-year-old Swede. Katya Crema, the Australian. You

said that she was riding her luck to have made the semi. Let's see what

she can do here. Fanny Smith tried to compose herself after the

disappointment of missing out on the finals. She is kicking herself over

that. She had the race in the bag. It will be interesting to see if the

anger and frustration can manifest itself as speed in this small final.

Ofner, another great start there. The Austrian was flailing off that

John. And Sandra Naeslund tangling up the front there. Tangling with

Smith. From first to last in the space of 100 metres for Fanny Smith.

She has to pick herself up now and start fighting, get back in the

game. She has lost another place to Ofner, the Austrian racer. Sandra

Naeslund is so smooth on this course. She is sucking speed from

every single piece of Touraine. She is working her way through it, and

it is all that the others can do to stay with her. Here comes the

Austrian, Ofner. Another great move from her. She has been the silent

assassin of these knockout rounds. She will try to make a move on the

Swede. Sandra Naeslund didn't ski that particularly well, so it will

be tight as they cross the line. It looks like she has enough of a gap

going on to the final kicker. Fanny Smith has raced this almost

unconsoled ugly. It is as if she has been crying all the way round. You

watch her body language in the last two terms. Sandra Naeslund, the

young Swede, getting an incredible Olympic experience. Ofner chucking

away the gloves and the poles there. Frustrated by that. She should be

happy with her performance in this ski cross. Katya Crema with a huge

smile here. That was a great start from Smith. She had done so well

from that position. She had a week seeding run, fell over on this

obstacle. And from that position, she made the Lane work for her. She

had no business leading as many races as she has from the outside,

but she made it work. Going into these Olympics, the Swiss ski cross

team was one of the strongest, both on the men's and the women's side.

They just have unfortunately failed to deliver. Fanny Smith the best of

the bunch. It is the Canadians that are looking strong. So, Sandra

Naeslund has won this seat, and that will make her fifth overall.

No sign of Fanny Smith, she is away, she is off. She wanted a medal or

nothing, and unfortunately she has come away with nothing, and she has

no interest in places five to eight. Now it is time. All of this has

brought us to one race. Who is your money on? The Panther, David? Green

babe. Psyching herself up, in the zone

# Green bib. She is stood next to this woman, Kelsey Serwa. The script

has gone to plan so far. Anna Holmlund, in the yellow.

The two Canadians tucked in there together. Can they make the start

work for them? What can they do to shut out Ophelie David? She is such

a good starter. She will give them all kinds of headaches in this first

60 metres. Holmlund with another good line from the inside lane.

Ophelie David superb over the rollers. The contact is between the

two Canadians. They are out in front. David tucked in behind with

Holmlund in fourth. Marielle Thompson in the Bluebeard -- blue

bib, Kelsey Serwa in third. And here comes Serwa, making a move on her

team-mate. Ophelie David making a move as well. And that will slow her

down. Not too much, though. David is going to make a move. You can be

sure that she will not let this final go past and just ski down into

bronze medal position. And she has gone! Ophelie David, the Queen of

ski cross, is out. And now the Canadians have a clear run to the

finish. Will they sabotaged themselves by battling for silver

and gold? They will, you can guarantee that, because Serwa will

not allow her team-mate to just walk away with it. Marielle Thompson

claims Gold, silver goes to Kelsey Serwa, and Anna

It wasn't quite the one, too, and three for the French team, but one

and two, it is not bad. The Canadian coaches more than happy with that.

Canada in gold and silver. The veteran of the sport, anybody who

deserves an Olympic medal more than anything is Ophelie David and she

crashes out rose away her chance of a bronze. She will end her career

with no Olympic medal. We talked at length during one of

the injury breaks, here she comes, she finishes in fourth. About

exactly this. It is better to risk it all, and fall, than to settle for

what would have been a bronze, maybe? In her mind she had to race,

she had to attack. She did. That is why she is so well respected on the

tour. It takes courage to be prepared to fail. For that, she

should be applauded. Fantastic race, two Canadians working together

there. Ophelie David trying to apply pressure, pushed back to the left,

give herself the first line. I think Kelsey Serwa knew she couldn't get

past her team-mate. Through the step down. This is where David goes far

too big. Just ends up on the tails of the skis. Cannot let that

forward. Anna Holmlund keeping her nose clean. Ever so slightly

twisted, sitting back on the skis, didn't have the balance in the air.

Great slow motion over the negative hanging turn, both of them in

perfect tuck position. Beautiful. Hibs turned, good upper body, lower

body separation. Steaks tucked under the body. Look at that jump. Both of

them exactly the same technique. Hands inside so the knees can move

up past their shoulders. He don't get that chest hurt if you bring

your knees up on the outside. So interesting looking at the French

yesterday. Teams where you get trained together, we have seen it

with the Norwegians in slopestyle, ten men, it is like doing a masters

degree. The competition and shared level of ability pushes you up,

forces the level of progression. That has permeated the French ski

cross for the men, and it has done the same here for the Canadian

women. In physics you call it the critical mass, once it comes

together you have an expression of talent. They are doing a little

dance now. Anna Holmlund absolutely ecstatic. Here is the confirmation.

Marielle Thompson takes gold, Kelsey Serwa makes it one, two for Canada.

Anna Holmlund takes bronze. The veteran, Ophelie David, as to settle

for fourth. HAZEL IRVINE: Disappointment for the

old guard, seven World Cup titles, for X Games gold medals but it is

not to be an Olympic medal for one of the great ski cross races.

We have been in our winter Olympic bubble for almost three weeks. Stir

crazy? Just a little bit but very much enjoying it. We know other

sports are available, particularly this weekend.

There is plenty to keep you occupied out here as well. We are going

straight back to the Ice Cube because it is the men's bronze medal

play-off. We were watching it earlier on. Swedish against China.

The Chinese have looked very good all week. It was 3-3 when we left

them. Back we go to Jackie and Steve.

A lot of pressure for both these teams, nothing in it whatsoever. It

has been a good game. We have had if you ends where they have seen some

spectacular shots played, a couple where it has been pretty quiet. I

have no doubt these last two ends will be so, so good.

We have made the point on more than one occasion, the quality of the

match has been good. Very good at times. The only player who is not

shooting in the 80s, 90s, has been Sebastian Kraupp. One or two

mistakes have kept in from both of the third players. The two leads

have done particularly well. A little further than he might have

liked. The Swedish team spend so much time

over in Canada, both Viktor Kjall and Fredrik Lindberg have got

Canadian girlfriends. As far as the men are concerned,

much better known in the curling fraternity over in Canada.

Now is not the time to start making the shots. They have been very good

through this whole match. The last two ends, we have seen time and time

again. There have been one or two occasions where the last two ends,

we have seen time and time again. There have been one or two occasions

whether Chinese men have or an extra end. That might be something Niklas

Edin might have done his homework on, if he can just keep them close,

limit them to macro one, I think from their point of view, even if

they try to get their two here, they should not be despondent.

This is new territory for them. China here just asking to try and

open up the sport for it line -- this four foot line. That is a nice

shot. Ba doing an excellent job. Sweden

just going to replace that guard. They want to try and create

something here, no doubt they will probably tried to pull one in. Keep

on to his two. I am sure Sweden don't want to lose a two here.

It was interesting, making them think it is an 11 and much, their

coach. -- 11 and match. Another nice shot. That is clever, hasn't

panicked. He has decided he would like another read in the house. --

red. It does leave the possibility for a double takeout from Sweden

here. The rate is now in behind the red that we see out of the house.

Got some cover behind it. That will give him the opportunity to take his

two. Will he try a double takeout? Not without ice. He is asking to

come up onto it. Probably a little tap. Just ask him to come onto the

face of this. They have to be careful. It takes a huge pool. --

pull. Well swept. Did well there. I thought they had left that too late

because the minutes Acrobat minute it catches that red line it takes a

huge pull. This is back to the second, third

and fourth ends. He would have liked that more on the

other side, slightly high. He has left a yellow in the house.

Niklas Edin asking Sebastian to come round behind the red guard. He will

want to sit third shot. Just asked for a little extra ice

from his skip. This will curl along where he wanted

it to. A couple of times they have been

caught down here. It is not pulling as much as it has been.

He has nice weight there, just didn't have the line. That is the

same side as Niklas Edin came down earlier, no finish whatsoever on it.

They are working hard. They did OK. It started to look as if it would

slide a little. It has not taken Niklas Edin long to make up his mind

about this one. He needs to hit and lie. He wants to roll slightly

across to the right. Make it difficult for China to try to move

it because it is close to their own red. He must stay in the house.

These are nervous moments. Wiping their hands on the trousers, the

Swedish skipper. -- skip. That was trying to pull away, as

well, but it is OK. You can see how critical it was to hit and lie and

stay in the house. If he had hit, it would have been a free tap back.

He did stay in the house and that was just what was required.

I do not think he is too happy with that. What happened? I think

somebody has touched the stone. This is the second time... It might have

been the violation. The red light is flashing. It means he has not let

the stone go before the line. We spoke about it earlier in the week,

they have a sensor inside the stone and if you do not let it go before

the very front... It is hard to tell from the angle. You would think he

had let it go. In Great Britain, we use video analysis and many times we

have looked at it and it is difficult to tell but sensors are

built into that line as well as in the top of the stone and you must

have let your hand go before the front edge of the stone has got near

the line. I was just about to say, as he was releasing the stone, the

decision that they took to blank the eighth and take the hammer into the

ninth, he had every opportunity of getting the two. Now, suddenly,

Sweden have to work out how they can best take advantage.

You cannot legislate for that. You plan and you think ahead, strategic

thinking, and then you lose the stone. What you cannot plan for is

pick-ups, but that is a bad delivery. You should be well clear.

I would hate to think it was just a wrong movement from the electronics

of the stone, but they are very good and they have been tested a lot.

They are used in all international competitions. To be fair, they did

not question it. What would you do, if you were

Sweden. You can hear the discussion. Where do you put it? What do you do

with it? We know how well they can throw the granite. Where do you put

it so he does not leave the treble. Surely give them their one. I think

take the red out. We see in the white. He is forced to play against

three. Make him take his one. The big thing is where he wants to

lie the shot. Hit the red on the white of the circle. Force the one

and take the hammer. You have to trust yourself. If you have the

choice of going into the 10th, one down, with the hammer, surely you

would take that? Why risk anything else? Fair enough, if he played a

horrendous shot and gives you two, that is different, but,

I am not sure it mattered wedded to a seed input that. The Chinese skip

was going to draw. Was he looking to steal? That would have been a bad

call. One down with the hammer. He could have a horrendous shot and

pick up three, or even two. That is a different scenario. We have seen

this all week. There have been so many things happening in the last

ends. The end is never over until the last stone is thrown. A basic

error from the Chinese skip. It put him and his team in a lot of

trouble. He needs to make sure of his one. And then they will have to

cross their fingers and hope they can make something happen in the

final end. He did well. He did very well. It

was a good response from Liu Rui. Having blanked the previous end, not

what he would have wanted in terms of how the end panned out, but they

get one and they lead. As ever, we head into the final end

with everything to play for. The men's bronze medal match is hanging

in the balance. STUDIO: how tight was this end, it

needed the measure. After a few moments making sure, the Swedes have

the hammer in the 10th, they were just given the nod to make the

scores 4-4 after ten ends. And already tense match, palpably

ramping up the tension levels as we go into the extra end and China with

the hammer. The bronze medal is at stake.

The drama continues. It has been an enthralling ten, in 11 days of

curling. Who knows what we have in store tonight with the men going for

gold, Great Britain and Canada? But this is not over yet. Every single

time Sweden had the hammer, China managed to limit them to one. You

have to hand it to them. I'm not sure in that end anybody played a

bad shot. It was building up from the start. Liu Rui has never been

frightened to throw stones into the house and again did the same and

asked Niklas Edin to respond. The draw he brought in, if he had not

clipped... But he played a dangerous game. When you start pulling things

around the centre, it does not always work for the person who has

the last stone. Especially if you allow the opposition to get in

first. He got away with that one. He did not create the opportunity... We

play the free guard zone and that stone will be replaced. The white

area above the rings, you are not allowed to move the first four

Stones played. You cannot move your opposition's.

Sweden with the two guards in place after the mistake.

How are your nerves, China? You were asked by your coach, Marcel Rocque,

remember when he came to the time-out, and he said are you happy

to take it into an 11th? That is what they have ended up with and now

they have to trust themselves. They do have the hammer. They have to

have a winner. That is a steal for Sweden, all, the scenario which

China will be hoping for, when Liu Rui has the chance to draw for the

bronze medal. Can Sweden stop them? He needs to play a great stone here.

Right around the two yellow guards. He needed the weight to bump it

because the Chinese stone has sat high. That was very well played.

Both teams have played pretty well. There have been wayward shots, and

you have to expect that. The two skips, 93% for Niklas Edin,

Liu Rui, 92%. The 23-year-old playing second, Ba Dexin. Peeling

the guard away. Doing everything possible to allow his skip the

chance to draw for the bronze medal. They are choosing to shift the one

closest to the house. The first guard is quite high.

He will keep doing this, Niklas Edin. Not wanting to force the issue

yet, that will come. Sweden are just wanting to replace

another guard. You can hear the effort they are putting into the

sweeping. They want to get it as close as they can.

It has all gone very quiet in the Ice Cube, the tension may be getting

to the crowd as well. They know there has to be a winner in this

end. No real mistakes from either side in

this end. What has happened there? Goodness me. I just said there had

been no mistakes. That is twice now into ands, China have burnt the

stone. Another hog line violation. It was well over the line there.

Errors like that just shouldn't happen.

My goodness me! The errors on the last couple of ends really not

necessary. A Swedish time-out. There is an extra end, they get the chance

of another time-out, both teams. This league this is still heading

towards a scenario where Rui Liu has some sort of short to play --

obviously. The only thing Sweden can do, they know China have the hammer,

they have got to make this so difficult.

The coach has come down to try and help with the discussion. Eva Lund.

When the opposition hand you the advantage, if you like, it is still

not an easy scenario for Sweden. Of course they would have been hoping

that they had the chance, they have got to steal this to win it,

essentially. They have got to find a way to force a mistake out of the

Chinese skip with his last stone from their point of view, that

leaves them lying shot to win it. The big discussion there is where to

put the stone, went to comment, how quickly to comment. -- when to come

in, how quickly to, in. Sweden don't have the hammer here. They really

want this to come right round. Right into the four foot. Just working

this, trying to bring it right in. A good shot played by Sebastian

Kraupp. A lovely shot. China have to respond now, pick

themselves up after that mistake again, basic error. I am not sure

how many of those hog line violation is we have seen in the whole of the

round robin and the medal matches, but we have had two in the ninth,

and now in this extra end. Basic errors. That can only be down to

nervous, and nothing else. -- nerves. Hoping to hit this, he is

going to throw some heavyweight down here. Not too heavy. He will want to

get this on the nose. That one has gone back, as we can see it from

here. That is not what he wanted. That almost went back on the center

line. Just when you're skip needed his 30 has come up with a couple of

horrendous shots, maybe that were not as bad as the hog line

violation, but nevertheless, we were sitting behind us and we could see

it was never quite on the line. With the weight it went down with, it

wasn't going to move off. So now we can only see the yellow of Sweden.

Of course, they are lying shot, there are two guards out there. This

end, with China, they will have the last stone, they will have the

chance to draw in, and what Niklas Edin as to do is block the route in

as much as he can. I wonder where he will put this,

Jackie. Difficult to know. If he puts it too high, there may well be

the possibility for leaving China to get a better draw into that one

foot. I think this will just be outside of the rings. He is also not

wanting to set up an easy double peel either. Halfway, it is looking

at, right on that center line if he can get it. That is a nice shot. As

we look down the ice, one thing we can see, even though you might

think, that is shot that he can draw round, come in, it is very

difficult. And judgement would have to be absolutely perfect. He is

looking at the other side. Looking at coming round the other side so he

can tap it, push it back. That still leaves the out-turn draw that Niklas

has got to come back. It has been an excellent match. It

is a pity there is a pity those two basic errors from China have

certainly put a little bit of a blot on their copybook. There has been

high-quality from both sides, particularly the two skips. They

have it in their own hands, literally.

Watching this closely and intently, it will need to curl quite a bit at

the end. Is that enough? That is another advantage to Sweden here.

Just slides by. Niklas cannot cover both sides here. We know there could

be a draw in them but he has tapped it ever so slightly. I don't think