Day 14, Part 2 Winter Olympics

The Ice Cube will be rocking today as the first

The Ice Cube will be rocking today believe in fate lust and Britain won

four believe in fate lust and Britain won

games in Chamonix and the British men took

games in Chamonix and the British it is 12 years exactly to the date

Men's ice hockey semifinal date with a couple of friendly rivalries on

the agenda, Finland play Sweden then later it is the USA versus Canada.

The final day of the women's Alpine ski programme with a slalom, Tina

maze looking to become the second person to win gold in three games.

Dave Murdoch and his boys go for gold in the curling.

In terms of the timetable, so you can plan your afternoon, this is

what it looks like. The first run of the women's slalom at 1245. The big

aim at 1:30pm. First we are going to the ice hockey.

This is where the fate of the Russian national team will be

decided. He scores!

Absolutely incredible. Wonderful finish. He silences them all. Canada

has advanced to the semifinals. Finland are on their way to the

semifinals as Russia crash out. Sweden will move on in their

semifinals. Canada will play America.

It was Finland who broke the Russians Hearts knocking them out in

the quarterfinal stage. They are up against that quarterfinal rivals,

Sweden. Canada came back from the dead last night to beat the United

States in overtime. USA versus Canada at 5pm for top without any

further ado let's head over. COMMENTATOR: Almost three minutes in

as we see an opportunity for Daniel Sedin. That man in the centre of

your screen, he starts this game, that is a big blow for Finland

because their main man was taken ill overnight. He is not included. He

has been a key component of their successful . They will have to turn

to their number two if they are to have success against the Swedes who

are yet to lose. How big an impact does that have?

I don't think it does as much as you might believe, even though losing

the number one goal-tender would seem it, as you see the shock coming

in. There is Kari Lehtonen taking the say. If the Swedes were to lose

Henrik Blomquist, that would be a bigger blow.

This is a repeat of the final in 2006, where Sweden won both 3-2,

this is held on by Kari Lehtonen, under pressure. They had to come

from behind in that game in order to win it.

Good work again, they get pressure in front. He shimmies that one. To

the side of the net it goes, safety first from Kari Lehtonen who will

hang onto that one. And there you look at Granlund. He

played in his first winter in the games in 1992. -- winter Olympic

games. We will have a two-minute penalty

for hiking. -- looking. Sweeper will find themselves killing a penalty.

It allows the Finns a chance to get themselves in the offensive zone.

Aaltonen, quite a bit of physicality. A quick whistle,

setting the screen out in front. This finish campaign has been built

on discipline. They know what the coaching staff want from them. That

is absolutely crucial. Teemu Selanne , again, just wide. Two great

chances for Finland. He has the control of his skates. Away it goes,

down the ice. Granlund. Teemu Selanne comes into the zone. Shows

some good confidence there. The Finnish team are very confident and

calm, particularly on the power play. They are right there all the

time. That foresees Kari Lehtonen to

handle it again. That was a nice pass. Get it back.

Pretty close. Trying to find the range here. It may well allow the

Swedish team to have a chance, they come forward.

He had a chance there, Loui Eriksson.

Sami Lepisto already has a goal in this tournament. Finland will

continue to come forward. That was pretty close, Lundqvist's left post.

Good spell by the Finnish team to carry some offensive momentum and

put some pressure back against the Swedish side who have come out here

and try to lay down dominance. A strong shot. That is claimed well

by Kari Lehtonen. Just nicely getting himself involved

in this one, coming up to six minutes gone in the first period, he

has felt the pup a few times, he has been able to secure the puck. He has

made sure that his defences remain calm.

He doesn't find Daniel Alfredsson. Erik Karlsson has been quiet so far.

Good interchange of passes. Tipped all the way down, high stick, going

to be called if Alfredsson touches, which he does. We have a whistle

here, a break in play, you are not allowed to play a high puck with the

stick. It means you get a whistle to try to present players getting

smashed in the face with the stick. That silly offensive zone. Teemu

Selanne, an incredible statistic. The oldest to score a goal in the

Olympic Games tournament. He is the leader in Olympic scoring and has 41

points. He is the oldest to do it. He will be the oldest as he is

looking away again to potentially win a medal. If they do not win

today they will have a crack at it in the bronze medal match.

Getting it done at his age. And having fun as well. Fantastic to

see. When he has a goal-scoring opportunity, when they come his

way, he fires them hard at the nets. Not a full building as yet. The fans

seem to drift in very late. Potentially the appetite for the

hockey has gone out of the competition with Russia are being

taken out by Finland in the quarterfinal stage. There has been

great attendance throughout the tournament for the women. This is

probably the less sexy of the two semifinals. However, it is an

absolute cracker and some would back the winner to come from this.

The pair are working on the right side. That was a nice pass. It was a

good touch by Jonathan Ericsson. Could not get enough power on it to

cause a big problem for Finland. Finland have had to work hard. They

have conceded three times in the power play. They do not take many

penalties. They have taken eight in total. They have conceded three

times. It is like a chess match watching

these two. There is so much excitement, in the past 24 hours, in

the women's tournament. The men have a lot to live up to. I am not sure

they could have handled the excitement the women were generating

if they played for the entire tournament will stop they only

played for one day and blew the lid off.

These sides do not look nervous. They look extremely disciplined.

Daniel Alfredsson. A real leader on the Swedish side. He is contributing

with two goals, two assists will stop another in the 40 years plus

club. He moved in his attempt to try to

win a cup. It has taken him away from his roommate, Eric Carlson, who

still plays in Ottawa. He could be a key to success. That was tipped. It

was a high stick from Alexander Steen. A moment of little danger.

He went with the one time. Henrik Lundqvist was there. Alexander Steen

has started well. That would not have counted. It was above the line

of his shoulders. The shoulders and the crossbar, the benchmarks. He

asked who he wanted to be assigned against in the Swedish team and he

asked, who are the Swedes? A little bit of mind games. We know how close

it will be. It should be a very tight game. Battling hard on the

boards. Trying to get something done.

That was a good shot. Leo Komarov. A glimpse of an opening. That was

tipped by Loui Eriksson. A good save. Tremendous saves at both

ends. The deflections are difficult to respond to. That was a

point-blank shot. Henrik Lundqvist hat two double attempt that.

Finland 's deep inside their own zone. That was double clutched

again. Henrik Lundqvist did not look too solid, but there he looks a

little better, as he throws the catching glove out to make the save.

That was much more convincing on the second attempt. Jokinen, feeling he

was dumped. Leo Komarov, Russian born, playing for the Finland

national team. It was taken off what they call a cheater on the glove.

Just protecting the wrist. Leo Komarov, more of a defensive player.

An effective part of their defensive approach against the Russians. This

is the other end. Loui Eriksson. He gets a touch. Lehtera comfortably

making the save -- Kari Lehtonen. They miss Henrik Sedin without a

doubt, Sweden. Daniel Alfredsson is the elder statesman. He will be

counted on to lead the offensive line up.

The face-off is in the Swedish zone and neither side has yet to trouble

the scorers. This man could do that. Erik Karlsson.

Icing will be called. It has been a little bit ugly so far. Not

free-flowing and not as end-to-end as we would like up here, from a

neutral standpoint, but they are sticking to their game plans. The

Finland and Canada game was probably the best I have seen in the

tournament, not necessarily the most compelling. The nature of how it was

played and how tight it was and how they skated. So few mistakes in that

game. Sweden tried to create something.

That was the lines man coming in, suggesting. Since 1988, no team has

gone undefeated has gone on to won the metal. That is a strange to to

-- strange statistic. Niklas Kronwall Al Gore as the --

Niklas Kronwall, he was one of the scorers last time. If you talk about

the biggest legends in Swedish hockey history. Very clinical the

goal that day. Inside the third period, a dropped pass will stop it

was a one time. This man came in from the blue line and was in a

tight space. He was able to slice it in and release an 18 foot shot to

get the second. It was a big momentum swinger on the day.

It is good offensive play, to cause the turnover here. Sweden trying to

create. But another penalty. Very interesting, he got fed up with the

player on him. Finland-not seen them in a game where they have -- I have

not seen where they have been challenged to maintain possession in

their own zone. He was like a bad rash all over him, not letting him

get anywhere. He took exception. We remember him for the goal against

the Czech Republic when the Swedes were on fire in the first period and

he ripped one from the short side. Showing the Swedish pedigree on the

day. Finland go on the power play, playing with one extra man for the

next 1.45. It is their second of the period. Did that catch a Swedish

player? He turns around and fires. Coaches in training sessions, they

expect coaches to wear helmets during training. You need your

safety on the bench also. I cannot imagine too many coaches would enjoy

that. I would not have thought they would. That was a huge elbow on

Teemu Selanne. This is going to be another penalty against the Swedes.

They are losing discipline. His arm came up and it appeared to connect.

But Niklas Kronwall does not like the call. He went right into him to

compete, as soon as he lost his stick. Teemu Selanne uses his mind,

Niklas Kronwall uses strength. They are trying to feed Teemu

Selanne. Mikael Granlund, with a past that is

blocked and after getting quality possession they have to reset on the

blue line. That was a chance. The deflection

was too much. That was a great save. Henrik Lundqvist, he somehow got his

pad to that and kept it out. He came across and got the right pad down

early. Teemu Selanne did not receive it cleanly. Henrik Lundqvist with

age amend a save. -- with a tremendous save. Long rebound. Five

four remains. He winds up, deflects off the skates. The Swedes have

woken up in a bad mood. They are blocking shots, getting in the

shooting lanes and disrupting a couple of great opportunities, as

this is the one where Teemu Selanne didn't get quite what he wanted on

it as Lundqvist gets his pad behind the post and Teemu Selanne ends up

pushing it towards the goal rather than fire it through the shooting

motion. A wonderful piece of netminding.

From King Henrik as he is known in New York. Sweden are back to full

strength. They have killed off this penalty. They have done it pretty

well. Plenty of pressure. The real good chances, only one of them

forced a big save out of Lundqvist. That was important.

A very impressive penalty kill. Lundqvist, the best penalty killer.

They were right on it. Finland tried to build out of their

own zone. He puts the pressure on the Finns.

Silfverberg, he snaps this one in. There are still no goals here.

Sweden are reasoning their way back in. We haven't seen as much of Erik

Karlsson in this period as we have throughout the tournament. He has

been outstanding. He is leading his team in the overall point in this

tournament. There has been so much offensive scoring from the blue

line, as we mentioned on the onset. Those two players have been leading

from the back. Erika Westall and, he was part of a coaching team. Head

coach as well that day. Five players still remaining from

that squad in Turin. That 2006 line-up. Although they have faced

each other in Vancouver, it wasn't for a medal, it was in the group

stages. The Swedes also winning on that day. Calm character on the

left-hand side. He is allowing his assistance to make an emphatic point

with the referee and linesman. The American official, had a good

tournament. Sweden are doing a great job. They

will put pressure on hard here. The assertion from the Swedish coaching

staff the defence don't move well enough, they need to put the

pressure on and see what happens. They have Olli Maatta.

Alexander Steen. Sami Salo can make plays but he is

on the backside of his career. Kimmo Timonen can equally make mistakes.

They are better to play at pace. That is the style, when they played

against the Canadians, it suited them quite well. The Swedes will

draw you out, where you out, take them out of their comfort zone.

They will be quite calm if it remains 0-0 at the end of the first

period. Jonathan Eric one -- Jonathan Ericsson sends this to his

team-mate. And now Loui Eriksson. She Nicklas Backstrom.

Plenty of traffic just in front. Finland are finding it so hard to

clear their lines, that is credit to Sweden who have played so well as

Teemu Selanne East spins off. Stop start move.

Here is Olli Maatta, kept that really well. Kept it for foreigners.

-- far enough. He plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, a superstar of

the future. Two goals to assist, very much emerging as the number one

defence player with the Finnish team.

Working hard to get it out of the corner. Here is Olli Maatta again.

Doesn't get it out of the zone. They go on a line change. That is held in

again, workrate very impressive. Very impressive from Kari Lehtonen

as well. He is wanting to get up piece of Teemu Selanne if he can.

It is a hard-working game between these two sides. It opens all the

way up, maybe cut the post as that one went by from the man who opened

up the Russia game. Yulia Matty Aaltonen. Of the ball he goes. That

was their best chance. They must do better with it. We will see on the

replay whether or not Lundqvist gets a piece of it, but Aaltonen, he

really missed a chance there. Into the final 30 seconds. Lundqvist

stretches. Antti Pihlstrom again. He is a

firework out there. , Roth is offside, that will be intentional.

Leo Komarov. Aaltonen, we will watch that again. Lundqvist does make the

save, it goes off his arm. Maybe he had a little bit more groom Acrobat

room to go up top. Aaltonen denied by Lundqvist.

Back it goes, Alexander Steen with a shot. There is a bit of push and

shove between them all. Patrik Berglund got hit with a puck. He got

hit in the side of the head, it looks like. It is in the mouth area.

He is OK, but a puck in the mouth never feels good. There you see it,

on the side of the head. He thought the play was finished. You see him

just checking to see for blood, whether or not he has all his teeth

still in his mouth. May well be in his mouth guard. And the first

period, 0-0, blood being spilled on ice, but no goals.

STUDIO: They will be back for the second period life. You can follow

that on the red button. These things are useless. Wonderful

shot. Are you familiar with this game? Very familiar. I was the only

one in San Diego who used to cover kerning. -- curling. I know it was

developed in Scotland. Would this be an oh my moment? Write down on the

face. Lovely shot. Are you ever allowed to put a foreign substance

on the ice, likes olive oil? No. I am getting a lot of bad advice. That

was excellent curling. STUDIO: It was invented in Scotland,

that was one burgundy at the real Canadian Olympic trials. You can see

what a huge event it is in Canada. Just by way of marking your cards

about how good this Canadian skip is, he went through those Canadian

trials, the first skip over to do it unbeaten. 1:30pm, that final. I

understand there is a bit of a phenomenon happening back in the UK.

Bring a broom to work day. You have been sending in your pictures. I

will show you one of them. I did try but unfortunately housekeeping

caught me red-handed. If you can see, the army boys doing a great

job. If you go onto the website you can see the best. Continue to send

them in. We will head up to the mountain is

now, the final ladies event in the alpine skiing, it is the slalom.

Here is our experts to set the scene.

Final day 's racing here for the ladies. It is the slalom, the tight

turns, the quit feet. -- quick feet. It rained most of the morning but

luckily it is not raining now. The conditions will be soft underfoot,

they will look use salt to draw the Meister out of the snow to bind it a

little bit. -- draw the moisture. It is a Canadian call setup with 61

turning gates. I would sit day it would favour the likes of Mikaela

Shiffrin, she trains and races in New Hampshire, she is used to these

kind of conditions. She will be used to rain, that will not affect her.

Who else? Let's not forget Tina Maze of Slovenia, she comes into this

event with damage confidence after head two golds so far. And Frida

Hansdotter has been on absolute fire and peer their home will be in the

mix as well. We are in for a really exciting slalom race.

We have a total of 88 due to start the first run. The top 30 are

reversed for the second leg. That is Tina Maze. The younger sister,

Bernadette Schild is starting. Her sister, Marlies Schild, will start

at number seven. Bernadette Schild into this pattern of gates. A total

of 61, set by a Canadian coach. Off to a little bit of a shaky start.

Conditions on this course, they have worked hard, but I think we will see

it rut up very quickly. She is settling down, wild with the upper

body than her sister. Bernadette Schild has had the best season of

her career so far in 2014. Still looking for her first World Cup win.

Going in the first ten will be a certain advantage on this soft heel.

A lot of Austrians here, to watch the slalom quartet go tonight. A

lovely picture from behind. The left-hand guard on the snow. We will

see a lot of that will stop when you watch the skis, they are always

smooth. Michaela Kirchgasser will be starting number 13. Number two,

Maria Pietila-Holmner. She got her skis locked up and did well to

recover. This is a tight set. It is not the

steepest slalom. You have to move quickly. I think that must have been

a straddle. Her slalom comes to an early end. Sending the skis either

side of the spring-loaded red gate and is obliged to stop. It is a

cruel discipline. She must have been two centimetres too far to the left

of the gate and you cannot continue. If you continue and go through the

finish, you get a fine. That was a short day for her. Another Maria,

Maria Hoefl-Riesch, the defending champion. She won the slalom and

super combined gold medals in Vancouver and has already won the

super combined this time in Sochi. She has another medal to add to the

collection because she picked up the silver medal in the super-G. She sat

out the giant slalom with a touch of the Louvre. Let's see if she has

fully recovered. -- of the flu. She is tall, but it looks as if her hips

are way behind her feet. Very calm with the upper body. It is a great,

strong run so far. No mistakes. She is racing pressure free, having

picked up a couple of medals. Now she is looking for her second gold

medal and she has started positively. Three tenths quicker

than Bernadette Schild. The Germans enjoyed that.

A beautiful slow motion of the skis. Not a turn, she moves her feet from

side to side. If you overturn, you will lose a lot of speed here.

The second of the Swedes. Frida Hansdotter. She has had close calls

in slalom races in the past couple of seasons and finally, in the race

before the Olympic Games, the World Cup slalom, she took her first World

Cup win and richly deserved. She is not always the most textbooks gear,

a little bit wild with the upper body, but I love watching this kind

of skier. She breaks the rules. The skis on the salted course will react

differently from the normal winter snow they are used to. She is 28

years of age. The second-ranked slalom of the World Cup season

behind Mikaela Shiffrin, who will be racing at number six. The American

teenager and the best slalom skier at the moment. She trails the leader

by just under a second. I think she will be disappointed with that. We

can expect a big charge from her for the second. Tina Maze is the next.

She has already taken the giant slalom title. She shared the Olympic

downhill title with Dominique is -- Dominique.

What a ten days it has been for has so far. Smooth skiing. Maybe round

and cautious on the top part, the steeper part of the course. She

looks like she is hesitating. She has to get the skis moving from

behind her and forward through the gate. Now this is better. Look at

the difference. That was a big amount to pick up. She looked

hesitant at the top and now coming into the last, steeper section and

these are good terms. -- turns. Considering she was more than half a

second down, that is a superb recovery. It was strange from Tina

Maze, almost like she had to test the snow and feel how salted snow

fell and when she got one third down, she felt she could let it rip.

-- the snow felt. Mikaela Shiffrin is next. All eyes of the American

ski racing fans are on the teenager from Colorado, who went to school on

the east coast, where she could only train slalom, day in, day out. 15,

20 slalom runs each day. This is what it has produced. The finest ski

racer, in slalom, that we have seen for a long time. She is making it

look easy. It is not just the Americans watching her, I think

everybody wants to see what she can do. She skis as if she has no

pressure on her shoulders and there are no mistakes so far. The skis are

driving, the upper body is relaxed. She has really put one down. The

world champion, World Cup champion, leads the Olympic slalom first run

by just under half a second. That is how to do it. We often see Mikaela

Shiffrin with a second run like that, but it is not often we see her

put the hammer down like she did. The hip was almost on the ground,

she was so low, but it means she can get great angles. The ski them

propels into the next turn. Marlies Schild, who took the bronze

medal in 2006 and the silver in 2010. She comes into what is

potentially her final Winter Olympics at the age of 32, with a

quest to win the gold medal for Austria, but she is up against it

now because the teenager, Mikaela Shiffrin, has raised the bar. She

was in the back-seat, heavy edge to checks on the section. She is into

it now. It seems they are testing the snow, not sure how the skis will

react. There has not been a straightforward top section from any

body apart from Mikaela Shiffrin. She has two wins under her belt,

just before the New Year, since then the focus is on winning the gold

medal. Look at the time difference. 1.34 seconds. Marlies Schild will

have two launch one of her trademark second run charges to get in among

the medals this evening. She finished a lot of the turns in the

back-seat. The gold medal seems a long way off as we head back to the

top. Potentially the best of the French slalom skiers. Originally

from Nice. Nastasia Noens. Not a bad start. A few errors. We have not

seen many keen runs. It will get more tricky with the ruts from here

down. Third in Borneo, another fourth, but Mikaela Shiffrin is the

leader. She pushed hard through the hairpin.

But another mistake as she came onto the flat section. Desperate to make

the line and be involved in the second run.

There was quite a bit of damage done. Mikaela Shiffrin is leading

with Maria Hoefl-Riesch second and Tina Maze third. The conditions are

unforgiving. Anna Swenn-Larsson is the third of the Swedes to go and

this is not a good start. She is all over the place on the top section.

It looks like her skis are almost too sharp for the snow. It is not

icy, it is firm. I would say the skis are too sharp. She was really

struggling. It is different. It has been raiding. They put salt down. --

it has been raining. The best of the Swedes at the moment, Frida

Hansdotter, but she is last of those who have finished so far. She is not

enjoying this. She fought her way to the bottom of the hill and is the

slowest so far. It looks like hard work. That is a horrible feeling,

but it looked like the ski was not reacting. She is stuck on the ski.

She could not get off the edge. It is grabbing and grippy and a

horrible run. Something went very wrong. It looked like the ski needed

more bevel on it but obviously she has skied on it many times. The

Swiss flags waving. Wendy Holdener is the first of them this evening.

She has had a good slalom season with four top ten results on the

tour. It is not the end of the world if you are off the gate, but the

skis must charge through it. It is evil, slalom is so cruel. The second

skier to make an early exit and that is the Olympics done for Wendy

Holdener. It is not the fastest discipline but a tiny error, your

ski might be two centimetres to the wrong side of the gate and with

these conditions, the skis are sometimes grabbing quicker than they

expect. The 18-year-old American, Mikaela Shiffrin, leads the way.

Wendy Holdener, seeking solitude at the side of the slalom Hill. Dark

thoughts going through her mind right now. She is young, just 20

years of age, she might have three more Olympic Games. This skier

dislocated her shoulder in the super combined, but put the injury behind

her. She has worked hard to get fit. She has amazing physical strength.

The injury was on this course, so you can understand why she is

apprehensive. A lot of upper body movement going on. She has been

close to getting a World Cup win. She did win in the super combined

just before the start of the games. Marie-Michele Gagnon of Canada, the

course has been set by head coach. She has skied reasonably well. She

is happy to have made it. There are some Canadian supporters here to

welcome her. Next are the Austrians, Kathrin Zettel, let's see what

damage she can do. She has made a pretty solid start here, in

deteriorating course conditions will stop if you listen closely, you can

see that scratchy noise. She will be looking to put one down today.

The aim now for the later starters, only 11 have gone and the course is

already deteriorating. This has got to be a place in the top five. Nice

calm upper body. Everything textbook for the Austrian. Shiffrin's time,

52.62. She lost a few more tenths of a second on the last eight turns.

Just a little bit scrappy at the end, very smart through the middle.

A beautiful, textbooks slalom. As she came into that final six gates

she made a couple of big mistakes. The top one is that one, Mikaela

Shiffrin. She leads the way with Maria Hoefl-Riesch second. The

Austrians, Michaela Kirchgasser. Nice relaxed looking start, good so

far from Kirchgasser. Heavy again there. Coming towards the first

split. It costs you so dearly. Very unforgiving snow. She was the silver

medal behind Mikaela Shiffrin at the World Championships on home snow

last February. This is still looking quite positive for Kirchgasser.

Holding her nerve, looks like she will feature in the second run.

Little skid sideways but she is almost home. The last four gates.

She is in ninth position. An early start might not be such a bad thing

in the second run if conditions remain like this. You can hear how

hard that is. Skiing slalom race is like going round of running track a

couple of times, it is flat-out, no relaxing, tough on the lungs and

legs. It is a long one, 61 gates, tough course, steeped in places.

Difficult snow conditions underfoot. The former world champion, Sarka

Strachova. She finished on the podium in Whistler four years ago in

the Vancouver games. Not a bad start. Look at the snow when it

sprays up. Mikaela Shiffrin took this cue from behind and pushed

through the turn and stayed strong with the upper body. A lot of the

times when the girls push the ski through the gate they end up on the

back seat. When Sarka Strachova won her bronze

medal in the Olympic slalom Mikaela Shiffrin, our leader, was only 14.

That is extraordinary. Shiffrin looks unlikely to be beaten in this

first run. That makes her the slowest of the finishes so far.

It is a fight today. Very few turns, I would say, underscores that will

fill mice. The girls are used to the proper winter snow. -- feel nice. It

has been raining for most of the day. Thankfully no precipitation at

the moment. She is miles off the pace. Michelle given getting ready

to go, the sister of Dominik gives an. It is Nina Loeseth from Norway.

Always exciting to watch. Another mistake there. Her body is right

inside. She gets massive angles but it is a risky way to ski. Especially

if conditions are the way they are today. She struggled. That ends the

slalom for Nina Loeseth. Her sister will be starting in the 20s but it

all ended ritually for Nina Loeseth. -- prematurely. Disappointment

again. Mikaela Shiffrin has the Starts and stripes tattooed,

temporarily I have, on her neck. She is pretty cool, and she has skied

beautifully this evening so far, leading Maria Hoefl-Riesch by half a

second. This is the one they will all be

chasing in the second round, if it stays like this. She never tries to

race, she just tries to do her best. She takes the two runs as if they

were two different races. She is not going to be thinking, I am in the

lead, I could win an Olympic gold, she is keen to go off, relax,

sometimes she has asleep, the jewel comeback set up for a new race. In

Hades at the Mountain Academy in Vermont, on the east coast, although

she hails from Colorado, her parents moved to the east where she could

train on slalom courses, they spent a lot of time with her working on

other balance sports, in-line skating, she is amazing on a

unicycle as well. This will help her along, with her balance over the

skis. Some of the lesser-known racers

waiting for their chance to go. More than 80 due to start. The top 30

will go in reverse order. The next skier is from Finland,

former training partner of Emma Carrick-Anderson, Tony Pitea nine

and -- Tanya Peter Tynan. She has never won Olympic gold. She has not

had such a great season so far, not a bad start. Had to make a quick

manoeuvre she is such a strong woman mentally, very little faces her. She

will be looking at pushing hard today. Sometimes she does push too

hard. She is aggressive through the ski. Silver medallist in giant

slalom back in 2000, -- 2006. I think the conditions are really

deteriorating. The girls, not quite take the ideal line they would like

to. -- they cannot take. Not quite the slowest, but not far

off. She leaves herself an awful lot to do in the second run, where she

will be one of the early starters. You see the ski drifting out there,

bouncing around. She tried her best to keep things calm. If you push too

hard in this note it is very aggressive. Mikaela Shiffrin keeps

smiling. She is heading off for some warmth, she has done her time in the

leaders enclosure, time to on the second run. The next of the Germans

is ready to race. Christina Geiger. Good skiing so far. She is ready

into the next one. Slalom is all about the differences in rhythms.

She is making absolutely sure of giving herself a crack at the second

run and a chance to move up through the rankings. It is a hefty margin

but not a bad run. Pushing hard, trying to be as clean as she can. It

is impossible to get close to Shiffrin's time. A massive mistake

as she comes through the finish. The last three gates. Reminiscent of

what happened to her compatriot who straddled the last gate in the first

one of the men's giant slalom. She hadn't got quite as far as Stefan

Lutz. She can see the red line that signifies the end of the course will

stop this is where it all unravelled.

More sadness, disappointing scenes there. Not here, Shiffrin giving

interviews to everybody. Everybody will want a piece of her. Ciara

Costanza for Italy. Tall, talented, little inconsistent. She gets pushed

forward. All over the place. Another massive mistake and another one out.

She is carrying on that she had to start from a standstill. She will

definitely be at the bottom of the pile if she does finish. He can look

so great when the course is right, and the terrain and snow are right.

I don't think it is a bad course set, I just think the conditions are

tough out there. The first run has been said by one of the Canadians. A

Swiss coach setting the second run. Another hat. We have seen a few this

week. The Italian stumbling forward and

having to jam on the brakes to make sure of making the next turn. I

wonder if she will be in the top 30 for the second run? Getting her feet

cord together. She got caught on a few turns. Erin Mielzynski from

Canada, on a course set by her coach. She became the first Canadian

since 1971 to win a World Cup slalom, that was a long gap.

It was a great top section. Seen a lot of the girls up there,

confident, not sure about how the skis will work, she is having a

cracking run so far. Watch how quick and smooth she is. This is terrific.

She doesn't stay on her feet. What a shame. She goes out. She was skiing

towards a place in the top five right there.

That is a huge disappointment was I love it when you see some body come

through and the conditions are difficult and she nailed course

until there. This is where it ended, skis either

side of the gate, the straddle, race over four Erin Mielzynski of Canada.

Very close to achieving something robust and solid to give the

Canadians a chance in the second run, heartbreak. She was looking so

strong. Back to the top. Denise Feierabend

of Switzerland is ready. A former junior world champion in slalom.

She has not enjoyed this top section so far. I can see the flags going

crazy. This is the nice thing about the slalom, unlike the downhill,

when you do not hear the crowd cheering until you are almost home,

you can pretty much hear them the whole way down. She will need that.

She is not really enjoying the run today. Denise Feierabend, fighting

against the deterioration underfoot. There is a rut massive, forming, you

cannot really see it. They are here in numbers, the Swiss ski racing

fans. And another one who was straight through the gate at bottom.

Did not want to wave to the crowd, she just wants to get out of there.

Emelie Wikstrom will be the next of Sweden. Look at the scene

surrounding Mikaela Shiffrin. Everybody wants a picture, a

signature, wants her to put a mark of a hat, a helmet, a glove,

anything. And this is after the first run. Emily Wick striven for

Sweden. -- Emelie Wikstrom. The hairpin is just moving your feet

quickly from side to side, not trying to overturn. If anything, you

want to be ready for the next turning gate. The top was ragged,

but she is into it now. She has a wild upper body movement, similar to

the skier from the Swedish men's slalom team who we will see tomorrow

night. It can be effective at times. This is a respectable run.

Pushing, potentially, for a place in the top ten. How close can she go?

11th. Mikaela Shiffrin is the one to watch.

We are going to leave this on BBC Two, I think you know why. It

continues on the red button. Run number two is live also on the red

button. The simple beauty of some on the

waters of a Scottish loch. And when winter turns the water to glass,

beauty comes with silence. And born of this silence, this ice. A sport.

The harsh. -- hush, broken by the rumble of granite. With its

soundtrack of silence, the growl of granite and sweeping frenzy of the

slaves to the stone. And the crack of precision. The sport of a silence

beautifully broken. CHEERING. The sport of a silence. Let the silence

be golden. Back in 1924 when the British men

took the gold medal in curling they were represented by the Royal

Caledonian curling club, beating Sweden in the final. 38-7. It will

be closer today. Behind me, the British boys are out on the sheet.

The Canadians have been practising already. We are close to the final.

By way of context, it would be fair to say the Canadian start as

favourites. Given their form. And also the relative paths of the two

teams to the final. It is played on the smoothest of

surfaces but Dave Murdoch's journey to the match today has been a bumpy

ride. On paper, five wins from six matches was a comfortable start, but

they rode their luck, not least in the 7-6 win over Germany, where they

needed a dreadful error in the final stone to seal a lucky win. Those

early games were cagey, but we had not seen anything yet. With

qualification seemingly in the bag, they lost their next three matches,

including a 7-5 defeat against Canada, today's opponents. A 6-5

reverse against China in the final round robin provided more drama and

another game, because Britain needed a play-off to make the semifinals.

No matter, Dave Murdoch held his nerve with the final stone, sending

Britain into the medals shake-up. There was no letup in the

semifinals. Once more, he held his nerve. A final stone, no problem.

The British team have played so well and they are in the Olympic final.

While Dave Murdoch made a meal of qualifying for the knockout stages,

Brad Jacobs was strolling into the semifinals. They took a while to

flex their muscles, losing to macro of the first three games.

Thereafter, their brand of curling was on song. They went into the

semifinals with confidence sky-high. China stood between them and a shot

at the gold medal but the Canadians qualified at a canter, 10-6.

Jacobs' rink had a tough act to follow given that Kevin Martin led

them to the gold medal on home soil for years ago. Two contrasting

journeys but a singular objective today, Olympic gold.

And the Tartan Army already sinking. Curling fever is endemic. No cure

has been found since 2002 -- singing. Dave Murdoch has the chance

to take his team into the Olympic final for a guaranteed medal. Dave

Murdoch has done it. And the British crowd, they are jumping up and down.

Great Britain are in the Olympic final. What a match. It has been a

long and hard journey, two campaigns that did not go to plan. We missed

out in Italy by not very much. And in Vancouver we expected more. It

put me into a dark place after that. And now, to finally be here, after

putting in so much work with these guys, it is a dream come true. What

do you know about the support at home? It has been fantastic. After

the game last night, the phones were going crazy for hours and I want to

thank everybody at home has a support. I know the whole nation is

talking about curling and that is great for the sport. That does not

add pressure? We are focused on winning a curling match. Knowing you

have the nation supporting you is a great feeling. You came up against

Canada in the group stage, how do you visualise playing them in the

final? We are confident and we are throwing really well, we missed out

by a millimetre in the round robin and if we have that chance again it

could go in our favour. That is a Victor Reva Canada. It was so close.

-- victory. What will the final take as a team? It will take great

concentration, and just take each shot at each end as it comes and

hopefully come away with a win. You have arguably the toughest job of

all, waiting for one of these guys to injure themselves and you get to

have a go. Watching is the hard part, playing is the easy part!

There is nothing he can do now. Is he right? He has done it. A

brilliant shot. Hopefully, we are six up in the last end. Can it be

like that for once, please? Probably doubtful, but it would be nice. You

have had two matches that have gone to the last stone. Can you prepare

for the eventuality that an Olympic gold medal might go back to the last

stone? That is the actual thing you hope for, to be honest. We have had

a couple of nice games and trusted making that shot to win and that is

what the guys talk about, we will do everything we can, we will fight to

the last. A great group and alongside me is

Eve Muirhead and Rona. Many congratulations -- Rhona Martin.

Much sleep last night? I was absolutely shattered. But I did not

sleep at all. We did not get back until one in the morning, after more

media, and I was thinking how can I not sleep? I was shattered, but I

have been buzzing since the game. These are the moments you want to

cherish. You have been a high school, but a big reaction when you

finally won -- ice cool. It is mentally tough. I have to think for

those two and a half and three hours and one wrong decision can cost the

match. At the end, it was a massive relief, to let it go and knowing we

had put in so much work. To throw the last stone and make it was a

massive relief. Rona Howie was saying how proud she was of you all,

how you turned around from the devastation of losing to Canada in

the semifinals. That was probably one of my toughest defeats of my

career so far. As a team, we played fantastic. Canada were far too good

on the day. It was tough to take and I would like to thank Dave and Rona

for the kind words. I knew we had a chance to get a medal and in a way,

what great athletes we were to bounce back and come out firing a

game in the bronze medal game. I bet you did not think a bronze medal

would feel so good? I think you are right. A bronze team medal is

probably the toughest to get. You are always coming off the back of a

defeat, losing the semifinal and to come back and get the bronze medal

was extra special. I am super proud of the girls. It is a massive team

effort and they put me in the position to play the last shot. And

the coaches have a massive impact. You had breakfast with Dave Murdoch

this morning. How is he feeling? I saw him at breakfast and he had a

bowl of cornflakes and they were not going far. He was staring them. I

asked if he had a few butterflies. It is natural, he is going to be

feeling the nerves. He plays fantastic under the pressure. They

will be feeling it, but they have a good shot at the gold medal. Dave

Murdoch has been through a tough journey at the Olympic Games,

winning everything else, but at the Olympics, fourth and fifth and up to

-- after Vancouver he was devastated. He was, but he is in the

final and he has everything to play for and they will be fired up. What

about Canada? They have a match shows style of curling. What do they

have to do -- macho style. They have to keep it simple and be in control

of what they do. If he plays his game and concentrates on what they

do, he will get them riled. This is your guide to curling. Kelling

originated in 16th century Scotland and appeared in the first Winter

Olympics aims of 1920 41 Britain won gold. Between 1928 and 1994 it was

not in the Olympic programme but Britain was thankful for its range

reduction in 98 as Rhona Martin won gold for years later.

COMMENTATOR: You will never see a better stone under Great Britain.

The aim is to get one or more stones closer to the centre of the house

than your opponents, and sweeping is a key part. It affects the distance

and direction stone travels in. There for players in each team,

known as a rink, who to turns each end -- who curl two stones each end.

Most matches are over ten ands. Tactics are crucial, in particular

retaining last stone advantage, known as the hammer.

They can come into this with a great attitude, they have gone very well

to get to the final. When you have a chance to win something like this

you have got the attitude to come here to win the gold. If you have

got the attitude, haven't we done well to be in the final, they might

get steam-rollered by Canada. They have got to be ready for this, ready

to take them on. They gave them a great match, a very close match, in

the round-robin competition. And yes, Canada or the favourites, and

yes, they should win on paper, but it is not on paper, it is on ice. It

can be unpredictable. We hope it will be exciting, but we also hope

it will go right down to the wire and for Great Britain it has already

been a curling competition which has brought us the success of the Bronze

medal for the women, and this, the huge opportunity for Dave Murdoch

and his team. Greg Drummond, Scott Andrews, and Michael Goodfellow.

Everybody watching as they are introduced to the crowd. And for

Jackie and I, we have been through 18 British round-robin matches, we

had a tie-break match, an extra one, little bonus, against Norway. The

two semifinals, and the women's bronze medal match, and are you and

I delighted to be sitting here for the men's final with the prospect,

we have certainly got a medal, but the prospect of a gold medal. It

would be an upset, most people think Canada should win this, but in

turning anything can happen. It doesn't matter what has gone off

before, your reputation, who is supposed to be the favourite, we

could have any result here. This is a one chance came, winner

takes that gold, shiny medal. The loser takes the Silver, it will be a

consolation at the end of the day. Both these teams desperately wanting

that gold Olympic medal. Looking forward to what should be a very

exciting game. Let's hope we see some fantastic playing. We saw some

fantastic shot making an early run with the Swedish and Chinese boys. I

am really hoping to see something better here.

Here we go. Don't go anywhere for the next two and a half hours or so.

This should be a thrilling ride. It will have its peaks and troughs. It

will be slow at times and it will have its dramatic moments, I am

sure. Canada will start with a hammer, they have first stone, last

stone advantage in the first end because they are the higher ranked

team coming into this. Britain have to face the team that

were top of the rankings in terms of the round-robin competition, that

was Sweden. Whatever happens here we will have the same three teams

winning the medals in the men's competition as have done in the

women's, Canada, Great Britain and Sweden.

The leads, with such an important job, we talked a lot about this

Canadian team, let's just go through them. The brothers, they are cousins

of their skip, Brad Jacobs 's. Already a little shake of the head.

Just relax. And a man who they brought in recently, a couple of

years ago, Ryan Fry, 35-year-old from Winnipeg to play third for

them. He was what they described as the missing ingredient to form this

team that took the Canadian trials by storm and got the chance to

represent their country here at the Olympic Games.

I am just going to return things out. Canada have one all five

previous matches in the Olympic Games with Great Britain including

the round-robin. They have won their last five world championship matches

against Scotland, and they expect to win the gold medal having won it

last time as well. Those are not statistics in our favour.

They aren't, but they are not allowed to win it all the time. I

think our boys down here are up for taking that title. This Canadian

team, they haven't had the best championships, I know they are in

the final, but they started off Ruby, lost a few games there were

not expecting to lose. -- rupee. There are weaknesses on the team. I

just think this game, they are going to be a little bit shaky. Once the

Canadians get themselves to the finals, they grow about six inches

taller. It is crucial for Britain to start

well here, because I think Canada get out to the start, in the same

fashion Jennifer Jones did against Eve Muirhead Acropolis team in the

semifinal, they are going to be really difficult. A team that works

on the intensity, confidence, they have got to try and eat away at

that. They don't want to go three or four down, three down even, to

early. Yes, OK, they have the hammer early on, but let's keep it close,

let's keep them, stop them getting carried away, stop them getting into

a position where they can control the match all the way through.

We cannot afford to give them a couple of shots as a head start. For

our boys, they had to play the shots they are asked for, keep the head in

the game, keep as close as possible. For those of you who have been on

this journey with us over the last 11 days, and you have got to know:

Well all for those of you who might just have decided to tune into day,

it is a sport which can be cruel at times, rewards great shotmaking, but

every now and then the tension that is created out there, particularly

as we move towards the end, even the best players in the world make

really basic errors. We saw that in the match earlier today. Let's hope

this is a match which is one with great shotmaking, and not lost with

errors that come down to individuals concerned.

He is taking over from his brother Ryan, and now they have come out at

this very first end, sometimes we see them sending stones through to

get themselves used to the ice, but they have put their guards up,

responded. That was a nice shop there. -- shot.

Canada have the hammer here. I wasn't sure whether we were going to

see an edgy start, nobody going to take the game on. They have run the

first end through and started in the second. But the Canadians have taken

this on right from the word go. This is Greg Drummond. His parents

are here. He has had a great Olympic Games. You cannot really pick out

individuals, there tends to be those of us in the media who will keep the

playing the big shots from Dave Murdoch. It is these sort of shots

from Greg, Scott Andrews, Michael Goodfellow, all working together as

a team that gives Dave Murdoch the chance to get the big shots. Brad

Jacobs and his team, not sure they have one too many friends in this

Olympic campaign. The intensity which they play, their style, I

wouldn't say a war of words, as we see Ryan Fry, their third, with his

first sown. The coach has been chipping in in the media with some

comments about the style of the Canadians. That was very well

swept, I thought it would catch the top yellow. We watched the bronze

medal game earlier on this sheet. If you play a little too much weight

you get no movement but if you are down weight and anywhere near the

centre line it pulls really big. Dave is choosing to ask Greg to come

on and in turn. Canada sitting in there with three

shots. The first end here already with some stones in the house, there

are -- they are added to fearful of Dave Murdoch and his team. They

cannot really afford to do that very often, particularly early on for

stop they do not want to let Canada jump out to a big end at the

beginning. And also they cannot keep relying on

Dave Murdoch to dig them out of trouble. If you are doing that end

after end, it will begin to tell and he will not be able to do it every

time. Ryan Fry with another shot. Just try to follow that one in. He

has got it perfect. Really impressive sweeping. Both teams have

got very strong sweepers on them. Just a little bit unfortunate Greg

has caught the top guard. They have been playing exceptionally well.

Although we are still lying second shot, that British yellow stone is

not in a great position. Looking pretty fungal bought sitting back

there. This isn't the best of ends at the moment -- vulnerable. It just

takes one big shot to remove several stones. Just not sure they are

sitting that well. Dave will be using that front yellow, run that

back into the pack, trying some damage limitation. They need to move

these stones around, they may end up with one of them jamming on to the

yellow at the back. Cannot afford to leave them like this. Just going to

run his own yellow back into those for, see how they fall.

At this point we asked switching to BBC One. You will not miss a stone.

Press the button and we are already there. And we will