Day 2, Part 2 Winter Olympics

Here in Russia, they are justifiably proud of the arts and culture. This

is a nation that has furnished us with some of the greatest music and

most beautiful dance. Tchaikovsky, the Bolshoi Ballet, newer never, a

combination of athleticism, grace and choreographed story telling that

is quintessentially Russian. There's a prize that through the years, the

Soviet Union and Russia have excelled at that winter sport that

so embodies these qualities. That was a perfect programme. That was a

breathtaking performance. A figure skating tradition that means a home

nation expects. Once again, Gold medal goes to the Soviet Union. So,

a sell-out crowd are expected here at the mag visit Iceberg Skating

Palace, where later today, the medals will be one in the inaugural

team Olympic competition. New stars in that most beguiling of Winter

Olympics spectacle is. John Curry did not put a foot wrong. Robin

Cousins, a great round of applause. Olympic gold for the greatest ice

dancers of all time. Hello and welcome back to Sochi. Britain has

its first medal of these games and its first-ever medal on snow,

courtesy of Jenny Jones in the slopestyle. What a performance it

was. Here, at the iceberg palace, Russia is hoping for its first gold

medal. It is a significant moment for a host nation, and they are

expecting it in the team figure skating on petition. It is sedate at

the moment, but in an hour's time, when Evgeny Plushenko takes of the

eyes, this place will go mad. He is skating in the men's free programme.

We will see that live and catch up with any Jones. And there is all

this to come as well. Petter Northug from Norway is

defending Olympic champion in the men's skiathlon and says he will

only be satisfied with gold, despite fitness concerns.

The Dutch will be looking for more success in the speed skating

following the men's clean sweep yesterday. Ireen Wust is their big

hope in the women's 3000m. Can anyone stop Felix Loch in the

luge? The defending champion from Germany has a commanding lead after

the first two runs. And we will see the men's free

skating programme in the team event, with Plushenko set to take centre

stage once again. I am delighted to be joined by Robin

Cousins, Olympic figure skating champion in 1980 in Lake Placid.

Take that hat off for a minute, because you will be commentating for

us, and put on your Team GB ambassador hat and talk about Jenny

Jones 's. Amazing. I was in my room, jumping up and down, watching her

form. So calm and controlled in that second run. I did every jump with

her. The nominal. And they follow Bristolian. Really important for

Team GB. It is. Everybody wants to kick-start the campaign, and it was

not one we were expecting to take. Hopefully, it will start the

avalanche. It is not just a big night for Russia, but over the

course of the next two weeks, what are you looking forward to? I have

to see what Plushenko can pull out of the bag. He has to compete in the

team event. But has he got the stamina against all these young

whippersnappers? There are maybe five or six men who could podium

here, and none of them will let him have it easy. Do you think he will

still be hungry? Absolutely. This is his home territory. The Russians are

good and they want their medals. It is going to be red hot in here. We

are going to head to the mountains now to the Lawro Centre for

skiathlon and also for the biathlon and cross-country skiing. It is the

men's 30 kilometre skiathlon. Norway won this for the women yesterday.

What could Petter Northug do today? Here is a guide to the event.

Petter Northug, on the right frame, poised and ready.

Nine time world champion. Has the virus taken too much out of him?

Four loops of classical, and then three five: Mrs is it is a freestyle

to finish things off. -- three five kilometre circuits in freestyle to

finish things off. We are used to seeing the Norwegians all in red,

but the right leg just below the thigh is all-white. Number four is

Alex Harvey, the Canadian. Number two has got a red bandanna on. How

this crowd would be electrified and ignited if the big beast was able to

produce something special here. That was a big burst from the Finnish

athlete. He started in number 17 on the second row, but he wanted to get

up front. He is a good, classic skier. We have not seen him really

fulfil his potential. The Finns have been short of metal over the last

few championships. Northug is the master tactician, and we he will try

to play the tricks we saw him play in Vancouver. He got a bit unlucky

in Vancouver. A competitor skied over the base of his pole and ripped

the basket off. A poll without a basket is not good for the sort of

sprint finish that Northug generates. He knew that, and gave up

the ghost. They have only got 400m to go before they switched the long,

classic skis with wax on for the short, skating skis that are purely

waxed for speed. These guys need to make sure they get in and out

cleanly, with no problems. The snow looks a bit firmer than it was for

the women's race yesterday. We have not had as much sunshine today here

at Laura. Richardson in second. Last, the other Swede in third. We

are just looking to see if anybody runs into any technical problems.

Most people seem to be in and out fairly quickly. We are coming up to

the two kilometre to go mark, and look at how many men are still very

much in the hunt. The defending Olympians are in that group. At a

Norfolk, one of the greatest of all time, is number five. -- Petter

Northug. We have two Frenchman. Crucially for the home crowd, we

have got some useful Russians in there. How they would love to secure

their first medal on home turf here. That would ignite their campaign.

Final percent before they come into the stadium. They come down for

around 250 metres along a little flat section over the bridge, and

then decline starts. The steepest parts of the climb the first 100m

and the last 200m. That is where this race could be won. They are

about to take on this monstrous assent for the last time. Cologna is

in number 21. The coaches are roaring instruction. This will be

really hurting. It is even harder than it looks, this section of the

course. The Olympic champion and world champion are right up the

front. It is still too tight to call. Petter Northug is hanging on

that group as best he can. I don't think anyone would have predicted we

would have so many men fighting for the podium positions. Bearing in

mind that this part of the track is open, one of them has lost a poll.

That is desperately sad. At any other stage of the race, it would

not have been a problem, but he has lost some 20 metres. There is a

narrow part of the course as they work -the stadium. The two order ski

winner is trying to take the inside line. He has the defending champion

alongside him wearing 11. Now they are starting to sit red. Crucially

for the Russians, they have two very much still in the hunt. These four

are away and clear. How much excitement will be generated in the

stadium. The defending Champions League. The world champion is in

second place. Sundby is in third. This is the bid for glory from

Hellner, and Sundby is not beaten yet either. All four men are pouring

their hearts out on this most brutal of plans. Cologna is trying to come

in from the outside. Can Sundby latch back onto the group using

Hellner? Dario Cologna lost most of this season with an ankle injury.

Could he produce an extraordinary performance here for a season that

has so far brought him virtually nothing? He has got the advantage.

This is the tricky turn. Needs to make sure he stays on his feet, but

does not lose too much ground. It could be a battle royale for bronze

here for top Cologna leads, Hellner in second, Sundby in third. But the

Russian is getting himself in the hunt here, and the crowd are

responding. This is so tight to get on the podium. What a performance

from Dario Cologna. The big, strong man has made his move at executive

right time. The defending champion is trying to close him down, but it

looks as though Cologna is going to taste glory here in the skiathlon,

as he did four years ago. Cologna takes it, a brilliant win. Hellner

has to settle for silver. And Sundby has denied his opponent a medal by

one tenth of a second. It promised to be a great race. It was a great

race. And from nowhere, a season that promised nothing, Cologna has

once again delivered at exactly the right time.

Time now for the start of the day. You can see the big queues here for

the iceberg palace. 38 of the 39 winners of Olympic gold medals in

the luge have been German speakers. Don't expect that a change in

Russia. We had now to the Sanki Sliding Center, where our

commentators are standing by. Welcome, everybody, to the Sanki

Sliding Center. It start high on the hill behind us, sweeps down 2013

metres. Down below us, slightly counterintuitively, it comes up

through the finish line, and the athletes in the luge will be coming

off the ice and through the mixed zone beside us. Amy joins us. What

do you think of the track? The track is amazing, the best I have seen.

They have done an amazing job building it. The ice is fantastic.

All the athletes are saying it is keeping its temperature. The whole

track is covered full of the lights are all on, so it is lighting up the

track for the athletes. There is consistent lighting the whole way

down, so you don't have shadows. I would love to be sliding here. Ice

conditions are crucial for any of the sliding events. Really crucial.

The athletes and coaches are at the top, taking temperatures the whole

way down, so you can tell how quickly it is going to frost up. You

get frosting on the top, so that is a key thing. It has also kept its

conditions. It is artificial, so it is all refrigerated. So they put a

fine layer of water on the top which freezes so that it is beautiful and

smooth, perfect for the sliders. I have heard that bobsleigh athletes

think the skeleton lot are nuts, because you go headfirst. In

skeleton, you are supposed to look at luge and think they are nuts!

Each of the sliding sports thinks the other is crazy. Luge is the

fastest. They can go up to 140 kilometres per hour. Maybe about a

here. -- 130 here. We all think they are not evil is I would never go on

a luge, feet first. I think that is crazy, and they think the same about

skeleton! How much time do the athletes spend repairing mentally?

How many slides do they get on the track in the build-up? They have

been given a few extra days training and in official training you get six

runs. And then you are here, Olympic races are over two days. The fastest

come through to the final, like today. Today we are seeing runs

three and runs for of the men's luge. Dominated over the years by

the Germans, by? It is hard to say. They have four tracks in Germany to

practice. They can perfect their skills. They have so much money

going into research and development with equipment, probably more than

any other nation. It is practice time, perfecting the steers. Who

knows? Felix Loch, will he bring home gold? I think he will do it

tonight. But the Russians, so close and the Italian close behind that.

Thanks very much. Over into commentary. We will start with Felix

Loch. Here are Colin Bryce and Paul Dickenson.

Factory much. You can see -- thanks for a much. You can hear the

atmosphere, it is at saluki brilliant. We are looking at the

course and I will bring in Colin Bryce. 17 corners. The first, a big

right-handed corner. Corner nine is 4.5 J. Big pressure. Down, very

steep -- 4.5 G. Felix Loch hits 140 kilometres per hour yesterday, the

leader, 87 mph, that is really fast, down the bottom. And that is the man

in the lead. Felix Loch. He is preparing. Albert Demchenko is in

second place. He is one to watch. Armin Zoeggeler, destined to become

the man who has won six Olympic medals. This is the start list.

Later today, as far as medals are concerned, the top five of the ones

to watch. Three Norwegians. A couple of Canadians, including

Mitchel Malyk. And the last page. It is all about Andi Langenhan... I am

sorry, it is about Felix Loch, Albert Demchenko and Armin

Zoeggeler. Six feet three, 90 five kilograms, the big German. Albert

Dem Genco -- Albert Demchenko is behind by three tenths of a second.

Tonight, the next two macro runs. It is an aggregate of four. Felix Loch

said you have to be perfect. No mistake tonight. Felix Loch, the

first man we see at the top of the run. The start is so important.

That looks pretty useful. It is more than useful, it is outstanding. He

upped his game. Back uphill, very unusual, that, but

with so much body weight, he has great momentum down the track. Felix

Loch is flying. You cannot imagine anybody moving faster on this track.

16 degrees up the hill. 140.4 is a track record speed. Absolutely

fantastic. Felix Loch has laid down a marker. That is fantastic.

Unbelievable, he has taken three tenths of his own track record. The

rest of the world have their work cut out. It was nigh on perfect.

Shooting up the hill. It has a high apex. You are virtually facing

upside down before you can see the exit of the corner. It is tricky.

This is the man in second. It is down to him and no doubt a nation is

holding their breath at the moment. Albert Demchenko, the man who has

the tag of the Siberian tiger. He goes the Russia, the home nation. He

is not a great starter, but it is not bad. That is his best start so

far. Well done. I was worried about his back, he is the oldest man in

the field at 42. Some people said this track was built for him. With

these uphill sections, he is so heavy. He said he is 96 kilograms,

he is more like 106. That was a good slide. He is still over. Four tenths

of a second behind. He needs to make this up at the bottom. It is quick.

It is going well. Staying in the middle of the track is the important

thing. Oh my goodness. A new lifetime best for Albert Demchenko.

That was quick. 88 mph. The fastest we have seen anybody slide. If only

he could go quicker at the start. This is his seventh Olympics. He

started in the bobsleigh in the 1980s. That leaves him over a third

of a second behind Felix Loch with one run to go. It is not often that

you see somebody whose other member of the family has Olympic

aspirations, but his daughter has Olympic aspirations. She did not

make the team this time. Armin Zoeggeler of Italy. He is after a

medal. And for a very good reason. This will be six Olympics in a row.

That he will have won a medal at. He took a bronze and since then to

Olympic golds. Hat to accept a bronze in 2010. He is in a great

position. About three tenths of a second behind Albert Demchenko. For

him, it is about maintaining the bronze medal position and may going

forward and attacking Albert Demchenko for the silver. It is

brave sliding. At the moment, he is going after Albert Demchenko, after

Felix Loch, as well. This is good sliding. Two big right hand to go.

That was slower than Albert Demchenko. But he holds his third

position. He will have to see how Andi Langenhan goes next. And then

Reinhard Egger. Those three are in danger of creeping ahead of

everybody else by some margin. Armin Zoeggeler has set the standard. He

has won six World Championships, ten overall World Cup titles. He has

just won the European Championship will stop he has done it all. The

feeling is we have one more slide out of him. And then he will retire.

That is what we have heard. Andi Langenhan in contention. He has

it all to do. This could be a blistering start, it

is a powerful movement. He took a shift to the left-hand, back to the

right. That is a new start record. The ice is in perfect condition. The

air temperature about zero degrees, the ice temperature -2.5. He does

not carry the momentum that others do. He is quite a light man. He has

to nail every corner perfectly. A tap on the wall would be disastrous.

Head right back, trying to get the top speed. 1.34 and increasing to

1.38. Not as fast as the others. But not a bad third run by this man. His

fastest time comes on run three. It looks like he is destined to finish

outside the medals. He is going quicker than the first run. He

improved by a few tenths and now again. Armin Zoeggeler cannot afford

to make a mistake in the final run. Andi Langenhan might be behind him,

but he could make up the four tenths. He is improving. You have

just seen the perfect line by Felix Loch and the line followed by Andi

Langenhan. Reinhard Egger. Riding number five. He had a disappointing

second run. The only man to go slower in the second run when the

ice was cooler. You should have been going quicker but he faltered. That

is the third fastest start we have seen so far. The difference between

him and Felix Loch will be enormous here. 1.17. The important thing is

if he can attack the likes of Armin Zoeggeler in third. It looks like

Felix Loch and Albert Demchenko are well away from everybody else. Armin

Zoeggeler is there to be attacked. Andi Langenhan is pretty close.

Reinhard Egger is getting closer. That still is slower than the rest.

It is his personal best time. 1.5 seconds behind third-place.

Everybody jumped forward three tenths, four tenths from yesterday.

The ice is not that much colder. I do not know what the Icemeister has

done. He must have polished it up overnight to make it more

interesting this evening. He does not quite have the start yet. A

little bit sideways. Corrections. The right foot pulling. Every time

you steer, you are cutting the ice and it slows you down. What can

Pavlichenko do about that? We will soon find out. The medal race is

certainly not over by any stretch of the imagination. It looks as though

Felix Loch will win with Albert Demchenko in second. Pavlichenko has

it all to do. I like this man, Pavlichenko. He has really moved up

over the last couple of days in Sochi. He is performing under

massive basher on home ice. How close is he to Reinhard ergo 's --

Reinhard Eggert? That is a solid slide from the

Russian. The speed here is crucial up the hill. It certainly is good.

What is the speed coming down through the final corner? That is

good. He has jumped up to fourth place. Goodness me. Wow, that gets

the Russian crowd going. Certainly does. Imagine if he got ahead of

Armin Zoggeler in the final run. They have still got one more to go,

the aggregate of all of them. They could have the silver and bronze

medal here. It will need Armin Zoggeler to have a mistake and for

him to have an ace of a run in the final run. Wow. We have certainly

seen a bit of a landmark performance here. He believes he has got a

chance of making third place. So Aleksander Peretyagin has to follow

Pavlichenko. Peretyagin is going for gold. It sits 17th in the overall

world rankings. That is the home ice advantage for you. It is a solid

enough start, but not amazing. It is the seventh fastest start we have

seen so far, and he is the seventh man down the hill. Absolutely

hurtling down and gaining momentum all the time. That speed is close to

absolute capacity. He has gone ahead of the Austrian. He is in sixth

place. The Russians are in second, fourth and sixth position. This is

going to be a fascinating fourth and final run, especially for the

Russian crowd. The Icemeister has got it right. Between you and me,

the Icemeister was told to leave in a couple of bombs, which may well

help the Russians -- a couple of dumps. Or it may help everyone, if

they can see them. Peretyagin's best time. Dominik Fischnaller now. I

wonder if he has got a chance of making it into the medals. He will

be expecting in excess of his best start time. This is a good athlete,

a young man. He could be an Olympic champion of the future. He has

improved astronomically over the last season. Even if fourth in the

overall World Cup rankings. The Russians have a big advantage in

that they have seen this track hundreds of times. As Amy said, the

rest of the sliders have had six official training runs. This speed

is actually pretty good. It is. He moves up to fifth place. Armin

Zoggeler is watching, almost like a father figure. Let's see how similar

the airlines are. Wolfgang Kindl goes next. The second

Austrian we have seen. Reinhard ergo was the first. He had a poor run.

Wolfgang Kindl has got to get his fastest start time. That is the same

as his best spot time so far. He is not a great starter. He is not a big

guy either. He can't afford to make a mistake. This drops away heavily,

then up the hill. Going well so far. This is a loan top speed. That is

the eighth fastest run we have seen so far. Drops him into ninth

position, behind his compatriot, Reinhard Egger.

The rest of run three will be live on the red button. And then from

4.30, again on the red button, it will be run number four, Felix Loch

again trying to defend his title. Now, if the Germans are owning the

luge, what about this venue here, the Adler Arena firm on speed

skating? It is probably the Dutch. Tonight, one of their big superstars

goes in the women's 3000m. I suspect she will be inspired by what her

team-mates died yesterday in the five K. -- what her team-mates did

yesterday. Heat ten, the men's 5000m.

Cramer is the man. That is the classic style of arguably the

greatest 5000m skater of all time. Sven Kramer has defended his crown.

The crowd loved it. So, Kramer yesterday. Will it be

Wust today? The skaters are called to be Mark.

Left a vast green, there she is, the American skater, with her opponent

on the inside, from Russia. Just listen to the support,

resonating around the arena here for the Russian. They are both shy of

the leading time, but there is plenty of time to put that right.

Both skaters have very different styles. The American in the balloon

has a much more slow technique. The Russian is almost dancing across the

eyes, much quicker with her strides. The American, Rookard, was 12th in

Vancouver in this event. And she was eight in the 5000m. At the moment,

Rookard is the quicker and nearer to the time of the skater from the

Netherlands. Rookard, on the outer lane, at Graf comes in on the

inside. The radius of the curve is a lot smaller. A very tight tuck

position from the Russian. And her left arm is very relaxed, allowing

the body to flow from left to right. Graf has now gone ahead of Rookard.

The Russian has committed herself now in a bid to try and get to the

top of the leaderboard. Let's look at the time here. Has she got

closer? Yes, she has. 30 years of age, this Russian, and now beginning

to use their experience. That was a very good lap by Graf. Just three

laps to go. Ill looking very comfortable technically. The crowd

are really lived getting behind her. What is Graf going to finally

finish up with? They are going ballistic in the arena. Graf looking

very good indeed, trying to put down a serious message here. And she is

right on the time of Van Der Weijden of the Netherlands. Timing her final

delivery to perfection. Van Der Weijden looks at the clock and

suddenly realises that the leaders -- leader of the competition could

no longer be hers. What is the clock going to tell us this time? There it

is. She is flying. She is going to end up with a time of about 4.4. Has

she still got some power left in the legs? Look how far ahead she is of

the leader's time, powering her way to the line, all go Graf of Russia.

The new leader! The crowd are going absolutely wild. She has really

thrown the gauntlet down to the others. And there is the jubilation,

both arms in the air. Pair 12 of the ladies 3000m. On the outside is the

Polish skater. And on the inside, Sablikova. The first marker.

Bachleda-Curus, she has gone off the mark quicker. She got a personal

best time of 4.02. I think the tactics of Sablikova, not going to

click at the moment, is probably a little bit better. -- not going to

quickly. Sablikova, she is content to tap out the rhythm and wait until

the closing stages. She got a good skate in Vancouver in the 1500

metres, digging up the bronze. And a good performance in the World

Championships at this distance, finishing sixth. You can see how

close it is. Still in the early stages. Martina Sablikova is finding

her rhythm. Not having to pay the price in the later stages of the

races, the Polish athletes just drafting, and that will help her

Almensch Belete. The Polish team have improved over the past four

years with a view to a medal in the team pursuit. Bachleda-Curus, she

won a bronze medal in Vancouver for the team pursuit.

Martina Sablikova has also competed in the world cycling road time trial

championships. She was a competitor when the Championships took place in

Holland a couple of years ago. Experience is reflecting. Martina

Sablikova has moved into the lead. Just over one second quicker than

Olga Graf. In the middle, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands. She is watching

closely because this is her nemesis. Martina Sablikova is so often the

skater Ireen Wust hast to beat. Sablikova, you could see, sitting

deeper. A fabulous time. 1.19 seconds in front of Olga Graf of

Russia. 4.0243, that is the track record. It could go here if Martina

Sablikova comes through. Look at the encouragement being given by the

coach. Coming around the bend and lining for the run to the line. The

clock is ticking. Approaching the line. Martina Sablikova goes into

the lead in the competition. That is a new draft record by Martina

Sablikova. Ireen Wust, the current world and

European champion. Ireen Wust already at the Olympic gold

medallist for this race in Italy and already blazing her way out of the

blocks. She said in interview earlier that she wanted to skate a

technically good race. She was not too concerned about the time. It was

more important to skate technically well. But she seems to be flying.

Ireen Wust with the emphatic style that impresses so greatly. 1.75

seconds ahead already. She is in the groove. The coach is encouraging

her. The coach of Sven Kramer. He knows what it is to be one of

Holland's best all-time coaches. And the Queen of the ice, Ireen Wust,

coming down with five laps to go. 2.21 seconds ahead. If she can

maintain this, she would be inside four minutes of the distance. Only

one woman has ever gone inside the four-minute barrier and you are

looking at her. Ireen Wust has done it twice. This is at sea level. It

is important we have two records, one at sea level and one at

altitude. She is the only woman who has gone twice under the four-minute

barrier at sea level. The Olympic record has been achieved at

altitude. But she is flying. Again, the coaches encouraging her. The

Dutch Gold Rush looks like it will continue. They had gold in the 5000

metres with Sven Kramer. They did a teensy -- clean sweep. It does not

look like a clean sweep here. Ireen Wust is really delivering. The

speculation about her form is beginning to unfold. What a talent

she is. A monumental effort. Sending out a massive message to the rest of

the skaters, coming down the finishing straight again. Two laps

to go. Take a look at the split time. 2.7 seconds. Almost three

seconds ahead of Martina Sablikova. This will be something like three

minutes and 59 seconds. She looks comfortable. Almost not grasping for

oxygen. Looking very good. The last lap would almost be one of her

fastest laps. Could this be a gold-medal lap? What will the time

the Abbey" smack the Dutch are on their feet and the applause is

resonating around the arena. This will surely be a gold-medal skate.

What will it be? No, it has just slipped away, but that must surely

be the gold-medal skate. It was a superb bit of skating. I think that

could be the gold-medal salute. Just to confirm, Ireen Wust took

gold. Martina Sablikova for the Czech Republic. And Olga Graf.

More gold for the Dutch in the Adler Arena. Just around the corner, where

the athletes' entrance is, there is a bicycle park and it is full of

orange bikes. The Dutch always bring their bikes. But because of

security, they had to bring them in a container months ago. They have

been sitting here, waiting for the Dutch to arrive. There are lots of

ways to watch the Olympics on the BBC.

Watch the excitement of the Winter Olympics with BBC sport. We are

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action. Check out the live updates. Catch up on any action you have

missed. So you can share in the drama where ever you are. The Winter

Olympics across the BBC. John Curry did not put a foot wrong.

Robin Cousins, the gold medallist of 1980. Olympic gold medals for the

greatest ice dancers of all time. It has been quite a day already but

as far as the Russians are concerned, there is only one place

to be as Russia go for gold in the team figure skating competition. At

the moment, it looks good for them. They stand in first place, six

points clear of Canada. It is for the Russians to lose. I

can hand over to the commentary team, Sue Barker and Robin Cousins.

It is Russia's Toulouse and this is the man they will be looking to

first. Evgeni Plushenko. We thought his Olympics had ended after

Vancouver but he decided to come back. You are about to hear a huge

cheer because he has just been introduced. Robin, we are going to

be interested tonight to see if he can last. Whether he has the

stamina. He said it was difficult to perform his programme all the way

through. He felt the pressure of the crowd. He said, by the end, he loved

it. I am worried whether he can contain that stamina. We know he is

in good shape, but can he put it all together? He has not had many times

out this season, if any. We know he has great bravado and can deliver

under pressure and this is what everyone is waiting to see. He will

start and then the 15-year-old Russian who was so impressive

yesterday, she will be carrying Russia's hopes in the ladies. Russia

very much the favourites for the gold medal. That is what they came

here for. Canada might be -- might have been a slight favourites, but

it is all about Russia. First, the skater who finished 10th, below

Britain's Matthew Parr. He had made mistakes in an overambitious

programme on Thursday. Now for the free programme. In the Italian

championships, he failed on the court, but landed triples. -- quad.

It was a core -- quadruple salchow that failed him. Feet crossed. Not

able to get any exit on that. A mandatory one point deduction for

the fall. The second of his triple axles. And

again, does not get the posture stance right on the landings.

Another one point deduction. MUSIC CHANGES TO "BOHEMIAN

RHAPSODY". Double axle, double salchow in that

combination. After his triple jumps, triple

lutz. Just a double. Just not his night. We know he can

do the programme. He has landed the triples before, but may be getting

overawed by sharing the ice with Evgeni Plushenko, a legend in

skating and a hero to so many of the skaters here. He just seemed

overawed, with a number of mistakes. Not what he would have wanted, but

he has more time to come before the individual in the men's event to get

the jitters out of his system. Absolutely, just use the time and

experience. He can do the jumps with ease. He can certainly rotate

nicely, but was slightly off-kilter from the beginning. Not over his

blades on the take-off enough. I also did not think he particularly

used the gorgeous arrangement of that Queen Symphony. It was not well

horrid graft and laid out for me. -- not well choreographed. Gave himself

time to prepare for the double toe loop.

Italian skating is really growing. They have Carolyn Kostner, the

European champion. And another as well. What marks with the judges

give? A new season's best, despite that

two point deduction, so the Italian camp are very happy. So, for the

moment, he is in the lead. But of course, this is all about the team,

and they are announcing that they are in third place at the moment.

Still four to skate. I have so been looking forward to

seeing this young man skate here. Jason Brown, nine years of age.

Burst onto the scene at the US nationals. He wowed the judges and

the crowd to claim second place and his first trip to an Olympic games,

his first major international at senior level. His joy on the ice has

made him a crowd pleaser. His upbeat programme and music from Riverdance

has captivated many new fans. There are no quadruple jumps for

Jason Brown. Everything including the triple axles are in combination.

It is the overall performance that comes together as one. Let's hope it

works for him again tonight. The double axel to open, but now he

needs the triple axel, preferably in combination. Triple axel, triple toe

loop. Very nice indeed. He pushed up the level to a level

four. Extra credit for the difficult entry

into that second triple axel. Triple looks half loop, triple

salchow. He overcooked the salchow take-off. A1 point mandatory

deduction for the fall. Triple flip a double toe loop.

Again, an interesting entry into the relatively easy double axel. And the

same into the triple lutz. The last of his triples, triple

loop. Very, very nice. What a great

Olympic debut. Yes, of course, he has got to have the difficult in the

jumps and he has got to find the quad, but boy, does he understand

the power of performance. His performance lead, and that was

obvious in the way the routine was put together. Yes, the double axel

is all need to be triples and we need a couple of those triples to

become a quad, but the package was wonderful. There is much to be proud

of and to work with. One of the triples I am going to question and

would want a replay if I was a judge to make sure there was not a two

foot touched down. He will lose a point for the fall. But what an

amazing few months he has had. That US Championships, he really did

burst on the scene. Nobody really knew him before. He was not expected

to make the US team, but he delivered a great performance, and

he has done it again here. Lovely lift on the triple axel. The free

leg is so close to the ice on the landings.

Just making the rotation on that second one. He has great flexible

tea as well within the spin and could pick up extra points for

difficult entry is going into the jump, like a spiral lift going into

the triple lutz. The lutz was good. Just did not have

as much speed as he needed. Again, you see how close to free foot is.

He crossed over on the landing and does not get where he needs to be to

get a free flow and running out out of that. So often, they have the

jumps and not the performance, but he has got to find the height and

those jumps. It is fingers crossed for America.

Not a season's best, but a wonderful component score for the

presentation. He needs to work on the technical score, but the judges

appreciated the presentation. No wonder he is smiling. At the

moment, the USA are in second place. Now we are going from a skater who

does not have a quad to one who has landed five in competition in the

short and the long programme Tom and he is planning three tonight, Robin?

Three quads from Kevin Reynolds tonight. Had an amazing last season.

He finished a strong fifth at the World Championships, but he has been

talking here about having trouble with his boots. He has not found

boots that fit him. His feet are too narrow. You must know how important

boots are. They have got to fit, but that is something you take care of

at the beginning of the season. It depends how quickly they break down

within a season. You only have one pair going at once. It is not like

you have a future choose from all stop so if your favourite pair

started a wrong, we know with Javier Hernandez, he is wearing his skates

with duct tape on. Kevin Reynolds of Canada. Three quadruple jumps are

planned. Two toe loops, and one salchow. It is the salchow that he

plans to open this performance with. The quad, toe loop, triple toe.

Wonderful. Triple axel, triple toe loop

combination he would like to get. There was just too much of a throw

from the arms and shoulders to control the rotation on the triple

axel. He does have another planned. Will it be quad number three? And

yes, it is. The triple lutz. Just the triple

salchow to go. And he has it with a double toe loop.

APPLAUSE APPLAUSE three very nice quadruple jumps.

Just a shame about the one missing triple axel. But, goodness me, for

such a slight frame, he has great power.

Just comparing him with Jason. They are both tall men. But he gets such

height on his jumps and he rotates so fast. It is the rotation and

timing of the take-offs. Jason's jumps are probably bigger, but Kevin

has such a quality about the way he jumps. His timing. He is quite

unique. Exactly the same every time, which is why the quadruples

seem so easy to do. Four rotations and a light comic easy exit. The

same thing with the toe loop. Easy. -- light and easy. He throws the arm

too much effort, for me. He overcook sits slightly. You want to try to

land the toe onto the ice, with the free leg at the same time. He got it

together for the second quarter toe loop. We will try to concentrate on

the marks. The crowd are concentrating on the person on the

ice, because the great Evgeni Plushenko has taken to the ice.

We'll Kevin be able to close the gap on Russia? They have such a lead in

the competition. Six points before today, but it is ten points for the

first verse in and nine points and so on. If Kevin can finish above

Plushenko, he will close the gap. A wonderful technical score. 78 is not

to be sniffed out for a second mark. The spins were of quality and very

clever. It is not just the jumps. Team Canada are celebrating. The

crowd only have eyes for who is on the ice. And there he years, Evgeni

Plushenko. -- he is. He is feeling the pressure. He came here are

untested, but undaunted. Others may have doubted him, but that did not

cross his mind. He is one of the great show men. The talk before the

games, at the age of 31, is he ageing, all, is he ageless? He was

back to his best in the short programme. The question is, does he

have the stamina for four and a half minutes?

He will want to macro quads and two triple axels. -- two. He wants it in

combination with a triple. Quadruple toe loop.

The second quad, if he does it, has to be in combination. No a triple

lutz. A triple axel, double toe, double

loop. It landed on the ice before he had taken off!

The triple lutz, triple toe loop. That is the combo he needed. Double

salchow. APPLAUSE AND CHEERING full a

standing ovation. They love to see him back competing. And for the

first minutes it was vintage Plushenko. It ran out of energy

towards the end. That does not matter. He has come here, he has

performed, and he will help Russia take this gold medal. He will not

fall too far behind out of this group of five. He is soaking this

in. One of the great show men on the ice. He has hardly skated into years

and he took to the ice and he owned it. It was a very clever programme

because he did what he needed to do and just enough. It fell short at

the end with the double salchow, the double loop and a double axel. This

is not a routine he will be able to repeat next week, if he wants to get

on the podium. He will need to lay everything down because as wonderful

as the quads and triples are and the bravado of the upper body

performance, what defeat do in the step sequences and in the spins, not

as strong. He came back to skate at his home Olympics. He has won

everything, but wild jam pits, the Olympic gold medal. He wanted to

come to win a gold medal for Russia in Sochi. He opened with a solid

quarter toe loop. He knew he did not need the combination, going in. It

was easy into the rotation on the triple axel. The second triple axel.

The double toe loop, double loop jump. He jumped in the wrong

direction and landed before he had taken off! He wanted the triple

salchow. It was just the double and the same with the loop. The spins

are not of the ilk that they used to be. 16 years ago he made his debut

at the World Championships. And he is at the Olympics in 2014. Russia

in the driving seat for the gold medal. The crowd do not like the

score, but it is what we expected. That puts him just ahead of Kevin

Reynolds. Robin, you don't agree? I am very surprised. It is the

component score that has helped him. It is a lot more than Reynolds

had. They liked the presentation and skills he showed, and that was why

they gave him the mark. So at the moment, he is leading, meaning

Russia leads in this competition, with just want to go.

And the Japan 20 three-year-old Tatsuki Machida, second in the

national championships to the one who won the short programme. But he

is rested, and Machida comes in. He has had a strong season, including

skate America. And he has booked his place here on a very strong Japanese

team, three incredibly strong skaters. He has three times been a

grand prix gold medallist. He completed in the four condoms twice

-- the four continents twice. It is the Firebird, by Stravinsky. I

have to say, I am a big fan of this programme.

Would have been a second quad in combination.

I love the fact that so far, through every movement, step sequences

within the spins, the arms have reflected the birdlike movement to

go with the music and the choreography. Triple loop.

Very quick and easy into the triple lutz. Triple flip, double toe.

Triple salchow. And what an ending. A beautiful

routine, the same routine he had last year, but when it works, used

equip it. He has a beautiful style. It sits on him very well. It had

been planned out perfectly. The jumps are where they need to be. He

usually has the two quads back-to-back, but the triple axels,

the footwork, the camel spins, everything was there. It is a lovely

piece of work. He has not been too consistent of late, but he made it

happen when he needed to in the Japanese Championships, and that was

not a bad showing tonight. And at the Russian Grand Prix as well, but

at the Japanese Championships, how strong was that?

There was great depth in the men's and ladies' in Japan. I can't stress

enough that all these skaters are having a chance to get on the ice in

the team event, because Japan don't really have a chance of getting on

the medal podium, but it is great for these skaters to get out and

soak up the atmosphere. Glorious rotation, look at that order

position on the exit of the jump. Absolutely textbook. Not so on the

second attempt at the quad. Triple axel. Double toe loop. So,

Robin, where will you put him? Interestingly enough, I have got

Kurt Browning, the former world champion, sitting behind us, and he

gave me that quizzical look over the marking of Plushenko as well. We

will talk about that. Again, I have got to look at the overall

performance and quality. Whilst I have to applaud what Plushenko does,

I feel there is a certain amount of smoke and mirrors in a bit of that.

This one, I would say for me but I don't thing it is going to happen. I

think he will go below Reynolds as well. He has indeed. Well, he is

happy. But that has him in third lace. So once again, it is Canada

and Russia that lead the competition. They stay out in front,

and Russia extend their lead over Canada, because against all the

odds, Evgeni Plushenko has come in to win this free programme. And of

course, he will be back for the men's competition, if his body can

hold up. He is 31 years old and he has had 12 back surgeries as well.

He may have won that tonight, but that performance will not get him on

the podium in a week's time, not even close to it.

JONATHAN EDWARDS: as Sue said, the ladies are coming up shortly.

It will be live on the red button. Only the most determined, the most

resilient, the most impervious to pain, only the best, climb back up

the mountain and fly straight off the edge. All over again.

Yes, you have guessed it, it is Jenny Jones' time. But before we get

into that, I have to draw your attention to the Russian folk music

going on behind me. We had Evgeni Plushenko giving it his all, try to

take the gold medal. And on the big screen, we had Russian folk dancers

and this music. I don't know what the organisers were thinking, but

back to Jenny Jones. I can't help wondering about the conversation

between our Ski Sunday presenters. How long have our skiers been trying

to win a medal on the snow? 90 years. The snowboarders did it first

time. This was how she did it. We are ready for the second round

here of the women slopestyle. It is all on the line now. A slight clip

on the rail catching her edge ever so slightly off the canon. Cab 720.

Clipped the knuckle again. This is not going to improve on that score.

No. It is harsh to say. That is really unfortunate. Silje Norendal

is such a progressive rider and she can really throw down, so that is

really unfortunate. Next up, Jenny Jones. Jenny's experience will come

to the fore here. She has been in these high-pressure situations. Nice

and solid on the first rail. Great rail. Great execution from the

Jones. We talk about confidence as well, doing little trick is. Coming

in switch to the first jump. Beautiful, solid to the feet. Wright

grabbed, looking very solid for Jenny Jones. The backside 360

grabbed well. Is she going for the front nine 's let's see it. She went

for the seven! Solid! That was the second run of semifinals, but it was

laid down very cleanly. That was a very good looking one. Go on, Jones,

look at the smile on her face. It is key that they have shown this

replay. She slid all the way to the end of the rail. Everything was

really clean here. She is daring the judges to mark her down. Check out

the grab as well. Our girl, Jones. She does let go a bit early in order

to crank round that final 360 full up that was very solid. There is

that smile on the face! We saw a 360. You compare that to Jamie

Anderson who has 540s and 720s. The rails were brilliant. Anything above

72.5 will put her in the medals. We talk about judges looking for

execution. She is into first place! Whoo! Jenny Jones is in gold

medal... She cannot believe it. Jenny Jones, doing it the Great

Britain. We have to be realistic. A lot of women are serious threats to

the gold medal position. Sina Candrian is one of them. She has a

720. Calm down, Tim. I cannot feel my left leg. Is that normal?!

If you're looking for comparisons, this is standard at the moment. The

judges have rewarded consistently. It sent out a clear message to the

other competitors. Go big and go clean. My goodness. She did not

realise she did that. I need to chill out, this is mental. Jenny

Jones may have occupied the gold medal spot for one run. She let go

of the grabber early. That is a hand down on a trick we have not seen

before. She did not bring it all the way around. We will see the judges

coming under intense scrutiny. 87. That is only good for silver. Jenny

Jones still has a gold medal position. There are nine still to

go. We are seeing a message from the judges that execution is key. In my

book, she landed cleanly. She missed the grabs. We talk about execution.

Go big. Experience wins every time. The pressure will increase. There is

a screen that the girls can watch. Sarka Pancochova. Dropping onto the

box. The boxes are judged as a little bit easier than the rails.

They are easier to balance on. She did not opt to hit the features.

That was the worst way to go. She caught a heel edge. That is a

concussion. I think she is OK. That was a good hit to the head.

Everybody is going for it, going for broke. Going for the cab 720, that

is a super technical trick. Seeing her going down like that is not a

pretty sight, I am glad she looks like she is OK. The helmet is it

completely smashed. It is split into. That is why you wear a helmet.

It is important, anybody riding on the slopes, get that helmet on. Enni

Rukajarvi. We have spoken about the style and technicality of this

Finnish rider. They are consistent. They learn on sheet ice in Finland.

It is easier to come out and start riding on proper snow. That was very

nice. Just a little bit of a wobble on the way in. This is a big run.

720. That was spectacular. Backside 542 a switch 720. You would have to

say that is first place. This is the switch 720. Taking off backwards,

landing backwards. Enni Rukajarvi, looking to better Jenny Jones'

score. 92.5. She moves into the gold medal position. Jenny Jones is in

silver. Sina Candrian is in the bronze position. Now, it is

America's Karly Shorr. Another American, the youngsters, they get

the next... The Young ones coming up. When she gets to the next

Olympics, this experience will do have the world of good. Aimee

Fuller, how good is it to experience the Olympics as an event? It is

spectacular just to be here. The opening ceremony was unreal, to be

part of such a strong team. I liked that grabber, it was pretty unique.

She held onto it that time around. At the moment, snowboarding in Great

Britain is in a very new plays. Jenny Jones is sitting in the silver

medal position. It would not only be the first Olympic medal for

snowboarding, also Britain's first Olympic medal on the snow. Spencer

O'Brien from Canada. Just on 30 points. Such a technical rider, we

can see anything happen. The box was not quite perpendicular. 180 at the

cannon rails. Switch backside 540 will stop very clean. Good control.

Oh, she sat down. That is it. Her day is done. The riders at the

bottom... Breathe a sigh of relief. Enni Rukajarvi in the gold medal

position and Jenny Jones of Great Britain in the silver, awaiting the

descent of the last five riders in the first women's Olympic slopestyle

contest. I do not know whether I can handle this any longer, the

pressure. This athlete had a good qualifying run, but struggled with

the first run. Just 24.5. It is game over. Down on the rail. The biggest

threats to the medal positions are on their way down. We still have

Jamie Anderson, Torah Bright, arguably the woman with the most

board control, and also Anna Gasser. Torah Bright has a lot of work to

do. She has the experience, this is her third Olympics. She got gold in

the halfpipe in Vancouver. She has opted to go with three medals here.

The switch grind. That is so technical. It is brilliant. The

trademark of her riding. Oh, she sat down. She did exactly the same as

she did in the first run. Hearts are racing in the finish area. Nerves

are running very high. Great Britain is in line for a silver medal, as it

stands, but there are three talented riders yet to drop. Most of all this

woman. This is a huge moment in Jamie Anderson's career. You can

hear the buzzing of the helicopter camera. It will not distract her.

A lot of speed needed that jump and then a straight cab seven knows. --

nose. Massive. It comes down to this. A frontside seven. To be

fair, that was a belter of a run. Super technical combos. 95.25, an

emphatic score to take Jamie Anderson into gold position. Jenny

Jones, still in the medals. Two riders yet to drop.

Isabel Derungs, from Switzerland. She is the real deal.

Oh! That was a terrible fall. Hearts are in mouths, now. I do not think I

have felt like this in my entire life. Anna Gasser. The Austrian. The

final rider. I reckon we will see her play it safe. If she lands the

safe run, she has what it takes to get up on the podium. She is so

fluid through the jumps. It was a cab under Philip and she is playing

it safe. She is looking for another medal after the downhill success.

Oh! Jenny Jones has just taken Britain's first ever Olympic medal

on snow. This is the crowning glory to one of Britain's finest snow

athlete's careers. We have seemed breathtaking snowboarding from the

women. The standout rider was Jamie Anderson. Enni Rukajarvi, the

Finland. But look at that, Jenny Jones, Great Britain. Ron 's

medallist. -- bronze medallist. Jenny Jones collect is the first

snowboarding medal for Britain. I cannot believe this. It is an honour

to have witnessed this. Jerry, you are Britain's first

Olympic medallist on the snow. It feels amazing, absolutely amazing. I

cannot believe it. The guys in the commentary box were crying, we were

crying, have you had a cry yet? Not yet. I cannot believe it. I knew I

would drop down, but I did not know how far. I am so happy right now.

How difficult was it, waiting with the runners coming behind you? It

was difficult. I was like, OK, it does not matter, you did your best

run. Whatever happens now, it is not up to me, it is out of my control.

And the second run, about as good as it could have been? With the course

the way it was I did the best run I could have done. What would you say

to your mum and dad? I have a feeling they are here somewhere. I

am going to go and find them. We have found them for you. LAUGHTER.

You did it. You did it. You have never, ever disappointed us. We are

not allowed here, really. We will have to be quiet. We do not do that

well, do we?! Them or use are going mad at home. -- the boys. The boys

are going mad. Are we live, now? We are going! I will come and see you.

Are you laughing at my mum and dad? My mum is very northern. It brings

home to everybody how much this means. I know, and I had an inkling

my parents were here. I just do not like to know they are here. You do

not like to compete in front of your mum and dad. Afterwards, it is OK. I

know that everyone at home would like to say congratulations, we are

proud of you. Can I say thank you to everyone who supported me? It has

meant so much to me. Thank you so much everyone back home.

There will be plenty more emotion at 4.35, when Jenny Jones gets a bronze

medal. Yesterday, there was a bit of Olympic history on that stage as

Bjorndalen took his medal. Today it was the turn of the women. Tora

Berger, another Norwegian, was the one to look out for.

Biathlon originated in the ancient hunting practices of northern Europe

. The race is made up of laps and competitors must stop at the

shooting went on each circuit to fire at five different targets with

five lets from a distance of 50m. There is a standing shooting

position, with a target measuring 100 and millimetres, and a prone

shooting position which has a smaller target of 45 millimetres.

Competitors try to avoid a one-minute penalty or skiing and

extra lap for any missed shots. The aim is to complete the course in the

fastest possible time. However, the key to winning does not necessarily

mean speed. It requires strategy, strength in skiing and composure for

shooting. The Norwegian star is the most successful by athlete at the

Winter Olympic Games with 11 medals, including six golds.

Welcome back to the Laura biathlon centre for day two of a sport which

crowned its shining star last night here in this brand-new stunning

facility. Ole Einar Bjorndalen turned back the clock in style in

the men's ten case print, sweeping aside the two prerace favourites to

secure a record equalling 12 Olympic medals. He has laid the foundation

for what should be a fascinating competition here. Today it is the

women's turn to taste the atmosphere in their 7.5 kilometres sprint

event, as Tora Berger prepares to start her campaign for glory in the

mountains of Sochi. Six medals at the world championship last year.

Two of them were silver and one of those came in the sprint. She is the

World Cup leader, and she has been roared out onto the course.

She has really laid down the gauntlet. She skied beautifully on

this first loop. Will her shooting match, and can she get out onto that

second loop of 2.5 with any advantage over her rival? Oh, the

first one to miss! Two missed! Disses en route to being a

disaster. She skied beautifully, but the shooting has not matched it.

That is an absolute disaster. Three penalty loops. That could be the

equivalent of just under a minute and a half. What a shame. The

defending champion, I hope the crowd will give her good support. Now,

Tora Berger. She conceded a bit of ground to her rivals with the first

kilometre. She is reading hard, she needs to control that. She has

missed with the first one. Can't afford another, surely. Well, what a

shame for Berger. Berger, incidentally, down at 12

after the first shoot, the World Cup leader, because of that penalty

loop. And Domracheva has missed with her first. She is just adjusting her

rifle. So, one missed the Berger and one missed the Domracheva. This is

the defending champion. So far so good. Wow. No one has ever

successfully defended this title. This is good. If the Ukrainian can

shoot clean, it will be ten out of ten and she will have a chance to,

the world champion. Three seconds to compose yourself could be the

difference. Look at the speed. Oh, no! Her first miss. Took her time

with that last one, but she is going to have some real work to do here.

She has got a minute, if she can shoot clean. Last one. This is huge.

Oh yes. A clean shoot from Kuzmina, and they are celebrating because the

defending champion is going to exit the range with a huge advantage on

the current leader. Berger, driving for the line, the World Cup leader,

retiring at the end of this season. She's not going to be first. Can she

get herself into second place? Yes, she can. A brave effort from Berger.

Many people fancy that this one has a chance. Very strong cross-country

skier look at the concentration in the eye.

So much noise in the arena, it must be hard to concentrate. Oh,

Domracheva has just come across the line two seconds behind. She is in

second place at the finish, Berger insert. But the defending champion

headed out of the shooting range 32 seconds clear of her rival. Now,

Kuzmina. The cameras are focusing on her to see whether she has extended

that advantage. Kuzmina is smashing it at the moment.

Pidrushna, coming in to the finish. The number three world champion is

not going to get on the podium this time. Wishing all the way to the

line. Every second counts here, because it will be a deciding factor

when we get to the pursuit. She is in eighth place at the moment, but

we are still waiting for the defending champion, Kuzmina, to get

to the line. Here she comes. She is way clear of the one who will be

occupying second place, not first. That is a staggering performance

from the Russian who now represents Slovakia. No woman has ever defended

this title, and she has just had herself in pole position to do just

that. Valj Semerenko, really good. She has put herself in position to

finish second. The Russians may well have a medallist. Kuzmina was born

in Russia and now represent Slovakia.

So, Valj Semerenko. Can she get herself around this last corner and

into a medal winning position? Anastasiya Kuzmina leading. She is

not going to beat that time. She is going to do it. Semerenko

pushes Oba Hove down into fourth, and now she realises she has a great

chance of joining Anastasiya Kuzmina on the podium. She has barring

something happening out on the course. I am just checking the times

of athletes leaving the shooting range for the second time, and there

is nobody out there at the moment anywhere close. Anastasiya Kuzmina

has created history here by becoming the first woman to successfully

defend this sprint title. The icy weather has called -- caused

schools to close, but many of you have taken advantage of it to take

part in our new national obsession, curling.

And the curling gets underway tomorrow. The men are on ice at 5am.

So, great hopes for both the men and women. Eve Muirhead is the skipper

for the woman. Gabby Logan went to see how preparations were going

ahead of the games. It is rare to find British athletes

who will travel to a Winter Olympics not just as contenders, but as

favourites for gold. Eve Muirhead and her team won the curling world

title in March, and for them, it was not is a price. They are dedicated

to being the best, and they are getting ready for what Sochi has in

store. It is about tried to replicate a competition environment

so that you can practice decision-making. Exactly. There are

always little things that we like to change. Nothing too technical,

though. You are going in as world champions as well. That must have

another effect on the expectations. The other teams must be looking to

you as the ones to shoot down. There is a big target on our back going in

as world champions, but if anyone asked us if we would like to go in

as world champions or bottom of the table, you know what you are going

to pick. We are looking forward to it. We know how to deal with the

pressure . We now have to win major tournaments.

It is fascinating to see even's composure and authority on the ice.

She's still only 23, but commands the total respect of her team-mates.

She is a great leader. She has a very experienced head for such a

young person. She plays an aggressive game and she has no

fear, which is great. We have every confidence in her because of that.

In general, she is a good all-rounder. She is good at making

the pressure shots. We were rivals for a long time. But the saying is,

if you can't beat them, join them, so I joined Eve three years ago.

Since then, it has gone great. What are you expecting in Sochi? You have

not had the Olympic experience. The main thing is to treat it just like

any other competition, like we are going out to play a normal

championship like we do all the time. But at the same time, it feels

like the opportunity of a lifetime, so we want to make the most of it.

Eve and the rest of the team spent hours training here, and the hard

work has paid off. Their success has proved that. Over the last few

years, curling has moved on. If you can imagine the stamina you need,

you can be on the ice for up to three hours and you can play two or

three games a day in a lot of tournaments. You need to be

physically fit for that. As well as the strength training we do and the

conditioning, stability is key. You want to be consistent with every

release and every shot. Your Olympic experience from Vancouver did not go

the way you planned or wanted. When I look back, you think, chilly I did

not train or practice hard enough or do enough gym work, so those are

things we have stepped up with the new team. It is good for me to know

I have three girls behind me who are willing to put in as much work as

each other. These girls are 100% committed. They train as hard as

each other and we all have a clear goal at the end of the day.

And your name is? John Humphrys. And your specialist subject? Curling.

How many ends of curling will be played in the Sochi Winter Olympics?

Pass. Hopefully, you are enjoying your

coverage on BBC Two, but there are lots of ways to keep across the

Winter Olympics on the BBC. Earlier in the Iceberg Skating

Palace, we saw Plushenko win the men's free programme in the team

competition, putting Russia in a dominant edition. Now, live on the

red button, it is the ladies' free programme, so turn over there if you

want to catch up. It has been quite a day in Sochi. Here is a reminder

of the headlines so far. Austrian Matthias Mayer was the

surprise winner of the men's downhill, with the prerace favourite

failing to earn a medal. Dutchwoman Ireen Wust won the speed

skating to claim a third Olympic gold of her career.

The USA's Jamie Anderson turned on the style to win gold in the women's

snowboard slopestyle. But more importantly, Jenny Jones

won and historic bronze in that final to claim Britain's first ever

medal on the snow. Well, it certainly has been quite a

day. At 4.35, Jenny Jones will be getting her bronze medal. The

Austrians were bombing in Vancouver with no medals. And the Russians

over there will be hoping for their first gold medal of the games. From

me, it is goodbye. It is Clare next. See you next time.

It was only for a second or two but I know -

You're dragging up the past and into our house. She's my family.

MUSIC: "Flight Of The Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov