Day 4, Part 4 Winter Olympics

we are going to be seeing history in the women's ski jump. If you are

curious about curling, you can ask any questions you want to. Let's see

what is coming up. Superstar Shaun White is the one to watch. He is

aiming for his third excessive halfpipe gold. We will witness

Winter Olympic history for the first ever women's ski jump final. And we

will be back in the ice cube as the British women continue their

campaign for a curling medal. This is how the afternoon looks.

You can ask any questions or make any observations on the social

media. Use the hash tag. Also on the red button is figure skating and it

is the pairs short programme. Stacey Kemp and David King go in that. The

dancing is still going wild here. I have no news, I will watch. Today

saw the debut of women's skiing slopestyle and it was a British

representative we were keen on. Katie Summerhayes, who is only 18,

one of the youngest members in Team GB. Let's find out what she did.

The levels are ramping up in this commentary box. Devin Logan, one of

the confident Americans. A safety grounds. A big 720 and hold onto it.

First place. Now, Katie Summerhayes, here we go. Bring it

home. She is going backwards. A switch 1260. Oh, she has dropped it.

One skier left at the top. Dara Howell. Nice and solid. A switch

720, very nice. Beautiful stuff. Into a big 540. You have got to say

that is well deserved. This is Katie Summerhayes. She needs the run of

life. She needs the switch 1260. Yes, she has put it down. It is nice

and simple. There is that switch. It is third place. Your Olympic gold

medallist, Dara Howell, takes the gold. A clean sweep for the North

Americans. Katie Summerhayes ends up in seventh position. It was Canada,

USA, Canada in the medals. Katie Summerhayes said afterwards she was

gutted because she had qualified in third place. That gave her hope she

could win a medal. She said she thought she could do it. We are

going to go live to the Extreme Park. There was a very nasty fall.

The skier who went be for Katie. Was she OK? There has been a statement

from the Canadian team and she fractured her jaw and she hit her

head on to her chin, and at least she was wearing her mouth guard. She

is OK and her spirits are high and she is in hospital, but will make a

full recovery. That demonstrated how dangerous this sport can be and the

conditions are very difficult. It slowed everybody down. If you do not

have speed, you do not get the hype for the jumps. There is an old

phrase is snowboarding in that speed is your friend. You watch the

halfpipe and you watch the women's ski slopes down this morning and

these athletes make these boys look as effortless and as easy as they

can. That is what style is. But you get reminded every now and then just

how brutal the crashes can be when these riders get it wrong. That is

what makes this spot so difficult. What did you make of Katie's effort

in the final, or her effort to get to the final? That is it. The effort

to get to the final. She was the only the girl to do 450 off that

rail. She did it every time. She rode with so much confidence in the

rail section and we knew she had to do something bigger on the jumps.

She did the switch 1260 which was almost her Achilles' heel. She put

it down clean. On the commentary I said, do something simple, but she

went for the 900, and that is what cost her. But do you know what? She

has come here and made a good account of herself. If those jobs

had gone off, we could be talking about a medal. She is so young and

she has got a couple of games left in her and this is valuable

experience. She is only 18 and her younger sister Molly is only 16 and

she wants to join her in four years time. Talking about the halfpipe.

Conditions are very difficult again and we have seen some nasty falls

off the top of the pipe. After the course last week and the slopestyle

which was given so much stick, the real problem has been at the

halfpipe with heavy, wet snow. It was raining yesterday, the pipe

shape was all wrong and it is no soft and rutted and a lot of the

riders are struggling. I heard the coaches asked for it to be called

off they were that concern. One guy who has not had any trouble is Shaun

White. He is defending his title and is going for a third gold. He looked

pretty good. This is him in qualifying. He writes best when he

is under pressure. Look at the height. He is above the trees

almost. It is stratospheric. He is comfortable under pressure when he

has to perform. He constantly does it. Yet again he has qualified with

the highest scorer going into the final and he is running last. If he

puts down a good run in the final, he will have won an Olympic gold

with one run to spare. I cannot see him making a mistake, he was

flawless in qualifying. He may be the old man of the sport, but may be

his biggest danger is a 15-year-old from Japan. Ayumu Hirano. He can do

to Sean exactly what Sean did in 2003 to the old guard. He is just 15

years old and there is a good chance he will destroy the rest of the

field. He has got a precocious air to him. He looks like he does not

care and he can go as big as Shaun White. He has the triple. It is so

audacious to try an incredibly difficult trick on your first trip.

Whether or not he will do it, I do not know, but he has got no shortage

of flair. When he takes his goggles off, he gives you a Clint Eastwood

style spare. Nice stuff. Talking about Hollywood, Shaun White is so

famous he has appeared in all sorts of films. I saw him in a Justin

Timberlake film. He used to be known as the flying tomato but he has cut

all his hair off and he does not like that name, so we will not

mention it again. We will be back at the halfpipe final at 1720. But we

are going to build up to a moment of history because women's ski jumping

makes its debut at these Olympic Games. It has been a fight for them

to get here. Not many people say they can fly over 100 metres in the

air. I love that feeling, I love the adrenaline. This evening at the

RusSki Gorki centre, they will be competing for the first time. The

29-year-old American has never represented her country in the

games, in fact no one has. That makes this evening special. I am

very excited for our sport to be in the Olympics. We have waited a long

time to be here. I cannot wait to show everybody our sport. She is a

pioneer and has been spearheading the long battle to gain women's

inclusion into the programme. But she did not do it alone. The US team

were backed by a woman who did not take no for an answer. Prior to the

Winter Olympics of 2002, the Mayor of Salt Lake City decided to pick a

fight. I assumed in 2002 we had a gender equal Olympics. I was

flabbergasted. I had no idea women could not jump. Women were barred

from competing in the ancient Olympics and were only allowed to

enter events in the summer Olympic Games. At the first Winter Olympic

Games in Chamonix in 1934, there were only 12 female Olympic

competitors. There were only two medals on offer for women, both in

figure skating. 90 years on we finally welcomed ski jumping, but it

was not straightforward. There were moments when I thought it was going

nowhere, but there is a silver lining to everything. The media was

all over it and we had editorials saying, let them job, it is

discrimination. We have decided to introduce women's ski jumping. It

was so emotional to finally make it. Finally, that long and emotional

battle has been won and now it is part of the Olympic programme and

women's ski jumping has a star. Standing under five feet tall and

weighing less than seven stone, Saratoga gnashing of Japan is set to

become one of the biggest names of the games. I had always hoped it

would come to this. It is thanks to all of the female ski jumpers who

have built up our sport in the past that I am able to find myself in

such a happy position today. Saru Takahashi will not have it all her

way because the American team is very strong and it includes the

World Champion, Sarah Hendrickson. I have struggled with nerves in the

past, but showing up and being the best is the best feeling in the

world. You could be the best leading up to it, but you have to beat the

best that day. How proud are you to be representing this board and how

much of a statement do you think it makes for gender equality? I think

it is huge, I am humbled and thrilled to be here and excited to

be representing team USA, but I am also very excited to be representing

women's ski jumping. There is huge interest from across the world's

media. We have got journalists from Japan and America and from the UK,

from Russia, from right around the world. This is a big story around

ski jumping. With any new sport you are taking baby steps. I really

appreciate we are here and we have our event and I really hope in the

future we will have a big hill event and a team event. Three events

surely is only a matter of time. The women who have campaigned

passionately for so many years did so because it was the right thing to

do. This is more than a story about ski jumping, it is a woman's right

story. An inspiration to all women and two teenage girls like Saru

Takahashi who has looked in imperious form. One of the spurious

reasons for not including women was that their build was not up to it.

Would it not be ironic if the gold medal was won by a featherweight

teenager half the size of her skis? It should be wonderful to watch and

Saru Takahashi is one of the favourites. We will be live for the

final round later on on BBC Two. To watch the Winter Olympics we have

got all angles covered and this is how you can access our new digital

service. There is a comprehensive text commentary and summary page to

keep you up to date. Catch up with a range of highlights and features

OnDemand. I have played against a few sweepers back in the day. If I

were a curler, I would be the one who does the brushing at the end.

Let everyone else to all the legwork and have a little brush at the end.

Take the glory. I love those. The curling is happening over there in

the Ice Cube. We are going to be going there very shortly to catch

up. First an update on what happened earlier to date with David Murdoch

and the Great Britain men. It was a narrow victory for them over

Germany. They were behind for most of the match and came right back.

This was not terribly good stone from Felix Schulze which gave David

murdered's men their second win. Sometimes a bit of luck is all you

need. It is important in Britain get the win here. I know it is easy to

start talking about. There are nine matches, let's not get too carried

away. But they really want to beat an American team that is

struggling. You would not want to give the match to them and everybody

else beat them. You would hate for this game at the end of the week but

this game to come back and haunt you. They have the strength on paper

to beat this team. These girls have put in all the hard work and the

preparation. If they believe in themselves, it will come through.

You do not get to that position without luck and hard work and

dedication. All the full-time curlers train every day on the ice

and in the gym. They are changing the dynamics of the sport.

The line is perfect. The weight is perfect. There is a curling club

down near Lockerbie. Do you know every club? I think there are 22 ice

rinks in Scotland and I will not name them all here or you will be

bored to death! Some of the main ones are in Perth and Stirling.

There is a lovely ice rink in Aberdeen where I live. It got some

nice lottery funding. We raised the profile of the sport. A few ice

rinks were given funding to help profile of the sport. A few ice

rinks were build eight of the art ice rinks. -- state of the art. This

is the one platform we have two really sell our sport. And what

better place here, than at the Winter Olympics. A huge honour for

these girls to be representing Great Britain. The chance of an Olympic

medal. We were talking yesterday about the

next Winter Olympics, the funding but into curling in South Korea as

well, this week they have qualified to be here. But the emerging

nations, how that might affect the traditional nations, including

Scotland, Great Britain in the Olympics, and whether or not they

can match that going forward. The traditional notions of this

sport, they cannot rest on their laurels. -- nations. Other countries

are piling money into the sport and they are performing just as well, if

not better, than some of the nations we would expect to be playing well.

As you say, there is a lot of money being put in the sport. A lot of the

teams will travel to Canada. Canada is a huge curving nation. It is just

because the numbers they have a cross there, and the amount of

experienced players. If you go to a tournament in Canada you are playing

high-level games. We struggle sometimes to get that in our

country. Or in Europe. A lot of these teams have got houses in

Canada and they send them over there to live for six months of the year.

That is where they have increased their game.

Nice shot there from Vicki Adams. She is happy enough with that.

Any of you out there listening today and would like to ask us a question,

you can send your question into us. We don't always get the questions

quickly, but we will try at some point and answer them if you have

got anything you would like to ask. We have had several questions

earlier on. That was about the brushes. There are several kinds of

brushes they can play with. The girls down have a pad, that is a

synthetic pad. You can also see some of the teams playing with brushes,

brooms, with actual horsehair. You will quite often find the teams

slide with a brush and play with a pad, sweet with a pad. What we have

to be very careful, if the horsehair breaks off, and if we have any hair

left on the ice is it can cause debris and will take the stone away

in the wrong direction. A huge part of stone management, looking after

the line of the stone. This is a nice shot here, they don't want to

take it too far but want to curl it in behind the centre yellow at the

top of the house. The opportunity is being opened up by another poor shot

from Jessica Schultz just before that. Nobody wants to see your

opponent really struggle, you want to keep control of the game, you

want to win, but the Americans seemed to be struggling all over

now. I will say the same thing again,

Erika has two know when there is a clear at the front to make life

easier for herself but she is constantly still trying to play the

perfect shot there. One is on the T-line, the other is behind, and

that shouldn't be a danger if you have got a clear entry into it. Not

sure she is tactically playing the right game at the moment.

You explain to me, I am thinking Britain got the hammer here,

obviously the way the stones are lying and the way Erika Brown has

been playing, what is the strategy here?

I am not really sure what she is playing, she is foxing me. Great

Britain have got the hammer here. Is that right? We have got the hammer?

Yes. Just not sure she is thinking this came through. Anna will want to

catch this. On the nose if possible. A nice little rub of the top yellow

there. And that really has secured that front. Hasn't left very much

for Erika Brown. The Hop -- the two yellows we see at the top of the

house, the only yellow she has got to promote as the left-hand side.

She really has two clear this front up if she wants to even get the

chance to remove these two roads in the centre of the house. Just a

different atmosphere. Office Lee Erika Brown herself hasn't played

very well -- obviously. If you want to start the skip's

decision-making, she is not being challenged on too much, first time I

have seen the four of them discussing the shot. By contrast,

the British team tonight, all harmonious.

Debbie is going to try and drive this centre red onto the back road,

so at least split a couple of them. She appears worldwide at the moment.

-- well wide. This team are not looking happy.

That is a pretty poor shot. If they had been a bit quicker they

could have possibly swept it back, caught an edge of the yellow that we

see on the left-hand side, that would have just been enough. At

least they would have had a chance. There is not much communication

going on. And even is asking Anna to tap up

her red stone here. She has asked her to play T wait. Really putting

the pressure of this US team. I think Eve Muirhead is sensing what

is going on. Play your game, make sure you get at least two here.

Perfect, apparently. She has just got an edge of that red, to take a

promotion of it. And a little curl in behind the yellow. That is a

pretty good shot. The danger for the Americans, the weight they are

playing here, they could be out of this in this end, lose three or four

here. Erika Brown is now facing five British stones here.

It is OK seeing the shot, they have seen a shot to play, Erika Brown has

not been quite able to deliver the shot required.

They are looking to play a really difficult draw here. Potentially

come through. That is a narrow gap. She is looking to come down through

here, a very difficult shot, not as easy as it looks. She has just

watched Anna's shot come down the same path. She has seen two shots.

Anna has ended up pretty well in the end. The shop before from McCormick

-- shot. It is a difficult one. Look at the difference there. A huge

difference in their statistics. There is no sweeping at all. It must

be a little bit high. She really is leaving herself absolutely nothing

here. And we have last stone. What do you do? When it is going as badly

as this, you were a World Champion skip, you have had lots of

experience, is that anything on a personal level you can do? She has

put herself in this bad position and that pressure is starting to tell

and she is not playing the shots. What do you do? You would have to

reassess. The teams generally meet together after each end. They will

have to say, let's go right back to the basics. Play the simple game.

They need confidence to be brought back into this game. Eve Muirhead

has been on her game here tonight. This end is building nicely.

The only shot I see from where I am sitting at the moment. I think she

has to go damage limitation and hit some of these reds. This could be a

huge end for Great Britain. There is another call and it is a big call,

and that would be a draw. She is going to have a draw for three or

four. Stating the obvious. Damage limitation surely. I think so. She

has got to start thinking that they have to come out of the end if they

lose two, fair enough, if it is pre-order four it is a scenario

which will be difficult to come back from. She has got to accept that.

Choosing the right shot is one thing, but then playing it so far

has proved to be more difficult. This is Erika Brown's last stone.

But this is the sort of shot the skips have to play. Debbie is

putting the pressure on her. She has to make the decision to throw some

heavy granite at these stones to remove two or maybe three. There are

a couple of options. Debbie is suggesting she comes down here and

sit in here and makes it harder for her. The other option is you fire

right in here and hopefully clear some of these. I would have thought

the first of those options you at least put one in there. If she plays

that shot with a lot of weight, she could end up with three or four

stones sitting in there. Playing that draw at least puts one of

theirs in there. If it gets into a position it can be taken out, it

can. That on paper is the short a skip is going to have to pay. On

paper she is 46%. He has played six and only scored on half of them.

Tactically that maybe the shop to do -- the shot to do. But I am not sure

she is confident. They are calling on the line is good. Now they need

to sweep this to take it right in. That is not a good position to be

in. That is sitting out there for Eve Muirhead. It is a tempting

target. If she could sit in there that would be seven. That would be a

huge score at this level in international curling. I have not

got much experience, but seven? That is the kind of stuff you see in club

curling. Erika Brown was not far away with that shot. This should be

a simple shot for Eve Muirhead. You are not going to see that too

often. Take a picture of that, people. Almost embarrassment for the

USA. It means all smiles for Great Britain. It is and 9-1 lead after

four ends. Surely there is no way back for the United States after

that? That is a new Olympic record. The previous record was five in one

end. Seven is absolutely extraordinary. We are going to

rejoin the match at the start of the sixth end. Great Britain are now 9-3

ahead. Ann Swisshelm gets underway. Six

ends is the minimum. If Britain were to score here, it would be

interesting to see whether the USA would carry this match on. The guard

being placed at the front. Claire Hamilton has quietly gone about her

business. You should never underestimate the importance of the

lead putting in the right shots. Very much so. The position of the

lead stones will dictate the game. It is crucial they play where they

are asked. That was a bit heavier, but it is not a disaster. It shows

you how easy it is, one little error, when you are so far up. You

have to keep your concentration all the time.

Just wait, the line is good. Seven. The line is real good. Clear

delivering a lovely draw here. It is T high as we say, sitting above the

T-line. That is a lovely draw. It is important the lead places the stones

where she is asked to. The USA will want to follow this stone in. They

will not want to bounce off it. Eight did not quite get there. Eve

Muirhead will not take any heed of the stones in the house. The ones in

the front will bother her, so she will want to clear up the front. I

think potentially Eric -- Erika Brown was causing so much trouble

upfront and she had to clear up so she had the way in. If I was

analysing this game, early goes by the tactics of these girls have been

playing too. Even in the first two ends when Britain had the hammer, it

was a similar story. I know she did not set herself up in the penalty

shot, but she got herself in that situation. Her stones were at the

front and when you are playing really well, you can utilise those

stones, that Erika Brown was not playing well enough to utilise the

stones at the front. Keep it simple, keep it clean. It is the

only way she was going to keep this game close. She will quite happily

try to clear off his front guards. We saw a shrug of the shoulders from

Debbie McCormick at the break between, after the fifth end. They

have pretty much resigned themselves to a defeat here. Just a question of

when they decide they have had enough. Do you stay out there, try

and find your game a little bit? It is very difficult if you are in this

situation because you are not really playing the end, the opposition

isn't playing the end it would be if it was a close game. The girls still

look like they are trying, out there doing their best, but there will be

questions asked, if Eve Muirhead scores here, will they continue? I

think she just feels lost at the moment. I am not sure she knows what

to do. Anna coming down trying to peel out these to yellow stone 's,

sitting outside the front of the house. That is a fantastic shot,

clearing the house. That will make you feel a little better. In their

previous end she played the one that went straight through. That is a

double peel, a great shot. Cleared all of these stones out of the front

of the rings. Leaves it open and simpler for Eve to try and score a

two here. Just trying to replace the guard

that was taken away, almost a full and hope -- forlorn hope. Just going

through the motions. Same again. The same through.

It is a great situation for Great Britain to be in, they have got this

match in their pocket. Americans, nothing really they can do at the

moment, to alter the destiny of this match. McCormick and Brown. They

have just not been at the races. I think I would like to see the USA

girls here are just sitting another yellow right on the face of the

yellow they have got there. Eve will be wanting to move the granite.

Erika feels she wants to try and push the red out of play. There is

the question. I think she is going to peel it, I am not sure if she is

going to guard it. Eve Muirhead wants more than one shot here.

Although she is potentially a lot of shots up. That is another thing

about the strategy, each player is trying to guess what the opposition

will do. Those are statistics you will not enjoy reading. It is more

what has been going on in our head, rather than on the paper, on the

computer screen. Not quite what you ordered. Eve is

going to try the double takeout here. This is all a good situation

for Eve Muirhead. She has to be very careful where she hits this. The

yellow behind the front yellow could potentially force itself onto the

back red. It is nice, she has still got to play her shots, be accurate,

but she is a bit relaxed about the situation. Not too often she is

going to get the chance to play this way at the Olympic Games here. Just

giving her a chance to get in the groove, find her form.

Girls sweeping hard to try and hold it. She has only removed the one.

Difficult to tell here who is lying shot. It might be USA. Erika Brown

having a close look. She has made the decision, adding she is right.

-- I think she is right. It is very close. At the beginning of the game

it was these decisions. She went down the other end of the ice, had

an opportunity, didn't deliver the shot, gave up a couple of steels.

They seem to be confident it is their shot. Just going to draw in

for a second shot. The last stone for Erika Brown. The

second end, trying to resurrect at least an opportunity for them. --

six. Really is digging in. It is turning.

It is just dying at the front of the house there.

Eve is just checking, Anna is agreeing. She has left a bit of a

planned on here. The red should hit the yellow behind it. If that red

stays in and one at the back there, will pick up to. -- two.

So far, so good. Very much in control, right from the very

beginning. Eve Muirhead here with the last stone of this end to try

and completely shut this came out. -- this game out. She has been right

on the button all the way through this evening, another great shot.

That is the handshake, game over. Total dominance for Great Britain

over USA, right from the beginning. Admittedly the Americans didn't play

well at all. Eve Muirhead and Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton, Anna Sloan,

they know they were much better tonight, they put the pressure on

the Americans right from the beginning and they have been

rewarded with an easy victory. And an early night. They have got their

first victory here at the Olympic Games. That is just the start they

were looking for. That will definitely give them the confidence

to go into tomorrow's game against Canada because they were going to

have to bring their a game to the can again -- Canada game. The great

result for Eve Muirhead. She seems relaxed. That was just what the

doctor ordered. Did you think it would go that

easily? It was great to play like our usual selves and get the

victory. Right from the very beginning the pressure was on, a

couple of steels in the first two ends? We came out firing, but the

pressure on, make them play the hard shots. We put the pressure on them

to make them miss them, we were playing a lot better. I had Jackie

Lockhart sitting next to me, she is not sure that she saw seven in a

major competition. We were just told that might be an Olympic record.

Again, it was good. We all came out firing, and that was the key end, we

all made key shots in that end and set it up well to get there. It was

a good stepping stone for us and builds us with a bit of confidence

to go on for the next games. Was there anything said after yesterday?

I note you were maybe a bit disappointed with the way things had

gone, maybe for yourself personally? Did you just put that behind you?

I think that is more like team your head out there today for stop a few

areas we struggled on yesterday. We had a chat with our coach and nailed

down what we didn't do well and today we change that, came out

strong. Really firing from the start. Didn't give them much of a

chance, to be honest. If we can keep that going, things still not

perfect, as the week and hopefully we can get and better.

It was interesting because the guys this afternoon were talking about

keeping the pressure on. Theirs is a much tighter game. The pressure did

tell towards the end. The pressure told from the beginning. That is

key. If you thank you pressure on them constantly, they are not going

to keep making all the big shots and saving themselves. If we can keep

converting these shots, it was all was going to take a game or so to

get in. We are feeling relaxed and looking forward to our big game

tomorrow against Canada. And you go into that now as Olympic record

holders. Steady extra measure map -- steady! CLARE BALDING: They have two

Olympic records, the seven is a record all on its own, but the

scoreline, 12 equals the current Olympic record. What a match.

Jackie, you are a world champion, how much does that ripple around the

other teams, because everybody is out there on the ice, they must have

looked at the school called -- scoreboard, 12-3 X commission mark

what is the mean in terms of confidence?

It is a great confidence booster. They came out, played a solid

performance, put a lot of pressure on USA. USA did not bring their game

to that, but the girls should take every positive from it and move

forward into what will be a tough game tomorrow against Canada. What a

fantastic result. And that seven, that was just wonderful.

It was amazing. I should think you were surprised to be commentating on

that in a sense that you must have known that was something that is so

rarely seen, and you think, what? Yes, and to be honest, I have got to

follow Jackie 's guide little bit, but when that end was building, we

have seen the stones at the top of the house, so many in, nearly all

bread, given how poorly run had been playing, you felt as though she

hadn't been giving herself too many options -- Erika Brown. It left a

fairly easy straightforward take-out. They are bubbling down

there. Everybody is very happy. They have all got an early night. The

best thing is it is Canada tomorrow. Canada is a tough match. They have

had two victories. Their confidence is sky high, they can find a better

time to play Canada. Jackie, I was down there with you guys yesterday

watching their opening match. Quite a lot of tension in that team, so

different today, to see their shoulders relaxed, everybody smiling

and laughing. The other thing is the reaction at home, certainly people

watching that and really getting involved.

You heard even in the interview saying they went back, analyse the

game. They spoke to their coach, Rhona Martin, their fifth player,

that is what the whole game is about. They have got to use the

support staff, analyse the game. They have put years of hard work and

practice in. They know they can perform well, they just have to

believe in themselves and that is what they did today. They went out

there and had the strongest performance I have seen. They can

play a bit better than that but it was worth watching.

Presumably, how does it work in terms of, is that the equivalent of

goal difference? Does a score like that help?

No, it is very straightforward, your match situation, if there are ties

in terms of matches one versus matches lost which often is the

case, if there are ties to get into that top four there is a day set

next Tuesday for tie-break matches. If the records or equal in terms of

setting this tie-break matches in place, we have been watching the

last stone drawers, they come into play. They are what each skip gets

to play between each match to determine who has the hammer so that

record could be important for stop the so far both Eve and Dave Murdoch

have been playing pretty well in the last stone floor as well so it is

backing up their performances. They have played some fantastic draw

shots, so that was down to them in good stead as well. Many thanks to

Jackie and to Steve, for once they can get a relatively early and to

their evening. It builds an aura around Team GB, and that always

helps, whether it is tennis or golf or curling, the more people look at

you and think, that is somebody who is difficult to beat. And Rhona

Howie is part of our advising team, and she knows what it takes to be

part of a winning team. Rhona Martin, one last delivery for

Olympic gold. Is it on its way. So much depending on 1's stone. It

needs to be absolutely perfect. And it is looking good.

She's done it! Olympic gold for Great Britain. Curling is just a

great social sport. In our club, Greenacres, the youngest is 14 or

15, the oldest is in their 80s. You can have Olympic champions playing

with your normal curlers, in one team. At school, I played the usual

hockey, badminton. It was when I left school, I wanted to do

something different. My brother did quite a bit of curling, and he said,

give it a go. To be honest, the first time I did it, I kept falling,

I was freezing, but he persuaded me to come back. It wasn't an Olympic

medal sport when I started playing, so I couldn't see at that point that

that was my dream. I was just playing for fun. As curling

progressed and became an Olympic sport, I thought, this is what I

want to do. The demands on your time became greater and greater. We never

really got to see you. You came in, and it was like, hello, goodbye. I

had to stop working and the children were young, so it was juggling

children and training. Throughout the journey, it changed as to the

amount of training you had to do, and I changed my lifestyle

accordingly. Before I went away, I also had to make sure that

everything for the children was left in an order that they knew what was

happening, and there was always an itinerary on the fridge. But once

you were away, your focus was on performance. We knew if we went and

played well, we could beat any team that was there. I have never

actually watched the whole final right through. Switzerland just

wouldn't take a song. They were cagey the whole way through the

final. Uncertainty from the Swiss about their tactics. We had that

last stone advantage, so I thought it was coming down to me, if I don't

make it, the team will never speak to me again.

After all this, it has come down to such a close margin. We weren't

aware of what was happening back home. It was only after the final

that we understood what was happening back here. This is the

stone for glory. It is on its way. She's done it! I just thought, oh my

goodness, what have we done? The media were everywhere.

In the history books now. A distant memory. But a fantastic experience.

And the amazing thing is, that was 12 years ago. Nearly 6 million

people stayed up late at night to watch, Steve Cram and I were

presenting. Just a stunning success, and that is when curling really took

off with the British public. And now you are all talking about it, and it

looks as though Eve Muirhead and her British team have put down a

marker, and they will be up there among the contenders tomorrow. They

play Canada. Let's have a look now as we travel around the Olympic Park

with my trusty trolley. GB's men made it two wins from three

in Sochi, but only just. They sneaked a 7-6 win in the final end.

Belarus only missed two targets in the biathlon ten kilometre pursuit.

Finally, someone has won a speed skating gold who isn't wearing

orange. Lee Cyrus bar, -- Lee Sang Hwa is well on the way to winning

the first medal for career. -- South Korea. Norway are out in front with

Canada, four gold medals each. Great Britain now down to 20th place, with

just the one bronze medal from Jenny Jones, but hopefully more to come.

Norway's tally has been helped hugely by their skill in

cross-country skiing. Commentary from Rob Walker and Patrick

Winterton. They are under way, and it is the

fourth time today that they will have completed this circuit. In just

a few minutes, we will have a new champion. Falla leading at the

moment, Fabjan on her inside. Three Norwegians, a Swede and an American.

Half of them will get medals, but who will it be? Now we get to the

crucial part of the race, a hairpin. Very carefully around there, and

Falla still leads. Ostberg is in, can anyone else close the gap? She

can't shake off Fabjan. Falla has been brilliant today. One more turn,

one more straight, she has to keep it going. Fabjan is money aside, she

wants to upgrade to gold. But she is not going to do it. They are trying

to close her down, but it is glory for Norway once again. Very close

between Ostberg and Fabjan. My goodness, there is a toenail in

it, and Dominic aside, that was Ostberg of Norway. Falla is roaring

with delight. She is the Winter Olympics sprint champion.

We get away, and everyone using the Pellegrino start to try to

accelerate themselves out of the blocks, but it is Hattestad who is

into his stride. He switches the skate, a little loss of balance

there. That is the first sign of weakness from him, and Peterson

seizes the opportunity to lead into the first corner. Hattestad of

Norway leads into the downhill. This is a right-hand turn as the speed

builds, 40, 50, 60 kilometres per hour. And we have freefall is there,

so it is a two-way race for the title here now. Teodor Peterson

voided all the mayhem on that corner. Hattestad looking tired, but

it is no wonder after four times round the course. It is not a day's

work that most of us would opt for. Now we see the burst from him, and

he winds up his frame, but Teodor Peterson is closing with 50 metres

to go. That Hattestad is just too good on the way, and the gold medal

goes to the world champion from way back in 2009, . And Joensson is

going to get the easiest ride to a bronze medal but we have ever seen

at the Olympic Games. What disappointment for Russia, but what

a spectacle. What a spectacle indeed, for Norway

in the end. We are now going over to the pairs programme for the figure

skating. We will see the short programme, and Stacey Kemp and David

King of British contenders. Next for Great Britain, Stacey Kemp

and David King. Second appearance on the ice here in Sochi. They didn't

start well in the short programme in the team event. They had a fall and

finished 10th. They now have to put that behind them. They finished

sixth at the world Championships. For Britain, Stacey Kemp and David

King. The opening element is the triple

twist. A little tight on the landing, but I think they made the

rotation. No triple jumps in their arsenal,

but they do have the double axels, and that is what they want to make

happen now. David made his, but Stacey's will be

downgraded. That must have felt like a very long

2.45 minutes. They seemed to lose a little bit of speed towards the end,

and that is when mistakes came in. Apart from the obvious ones we saw.

You can tell from their reaction they are not happy with that. Yes, I

could see the tension in Stacey right from the very beginning. I saw

it was tight on the Exeter the triple twist, really tight for her

missing the double axel, and it was building towards that third triple

flip, which is really quite secure for them. She almost ran into him in

the footwork sequence, so not the best performance for them.

May be her confidence was dented after the short programme.

Definitely not at their best. I have seen them skate better than that.

That was good height of the twist. He caught her while she was still

rotating. That could be a downgrade from triple to double. The

side-by-side double axels. David's was good.

And a bit around the corner on the throw, she started to rotate

slightly early. Unfortunately, taking rather a long time to

recover. Which maybe suggests that there was an injury. It was like

with the Italian boy, you are not all the way down, not all the way up

and it is difficult to control a fall like that and not put your

hands down. She was trying not to put the whole body down. Where will

the judges put them? They are looking to be in the top four to go

through to the top 16 but it is doubtful they will have the marks,

very disappointing. It is a long way below their season's best. I think

they know it is not going to happen. They will not be through to

the free programme of the Olympics. Last place at the moment. Not what

they came here for. It is sad to see you.

What a shame. If you want to carry on watching the figure skating, the

pair 's programme continues on the red button. The Canadian celebrating

a little more than our pair. These are the scenes at the ski jumping.

The very first Olympic women's ski jumping takes place tonight and we

will show it later. The spectators are getting in the mood. They know

they are about to witness history. It should be a wonderful

competition. We have good jumpers from America and also a young

Japanese jumper. We are going to head to the halfpipe final very

shortly. It features one of the biggest names in winter sport. It is

this man. The wonder boy from California. Shaun White. The

reigning gold medallist. He cannot be touched. This is the world's best

snowboarder in the world, ladies and gentlemen. Has he got it? Yes. Such

is his supremacy in halfpipe snowboarding. Shaun White, the best

snowboarder on earth. That is what he is like on his snowboard. What is

he like in person. Before Christmas, Ed went to talk with Shaun White.

MUSIC: have you ever felt like it is lonely up at the top.

I went professional at 13. I had sponsors since I was seven. All the

competitors I had were ten years older. I was setting the bar pretty

high, I happened to be better than the fully grown men, the

professional riders. I love being out here, but I feel like I do other

things. I live at the beach in California. I do not live in the

mountains. I cannot be here too long. I kind of lose my mind. I like

to see friends and family. I like distractions. When I get back to my

sport, I am so happy to be there. It is refreshing. You seem to be one of

the first people to come to the sport and say it is acceptable to

want to win, is that fair? It is fair enough to say I want to win.

When you get to the bottom, people ask how was it today? I am having a

great time with my friends. I am so stoked to be here. If you enter a

competition, you want to win. I started to speak the truth. His

second gold medal, the best snowboarder on earth, right now. One

of the hardest things is you have two access that losing is OK. Will

you be able to? I wish I could truthfully say it would be OK. The

only time I am OK with losing is if I put everything on the line. If

somebody beats my best run, they deserved to win. They are usually

the best moments in my career because what happens after is

amazing. I wish I could tap into it all the time. I would be the most

ridiculous snowboarder ever if I could harness that. Reality check,

you are! It is so interesting listening to

him. We are going to the Extreme Park where we find Ed and Graham

Bell. Ed, you spent a lot of time with him. I bumped into our halfpipe

athletes and talk to them about Shaun White and they think the

American press and team are hard on him. They think he is great. I guess

when you are so successful, you do not have friends all over the

place. They feel he does not get the credit he should.

Potentially not. He has isolated himself and that has not ingratiated

himself with the community. And pulling out of the slopestyle after

the training. The Olympics are about competing and not concentrating on

the event you have a good chance of winning.

What do you think of his chances this evening? He is clearly in the

mood to create history. If I am right, he will be the first

American, if not Olympian, to retain the same gold medal three times in a

row and his chances look strong. There is a fly in the ointment, the

15-year-old snowboarder who is so powerful, who is in a position to do

what Shaun White did to the professionals when he arrived on the

scene. Graham, what are conditions like? There have been complaints.

How is it looking? It has got colder and the halfpipe is beginning to

freeze. They have not been able to shape it and so the bumps they made

in qualifying are still there. They have now frozen quite hard. As Ed

will tell you, it is not the most pleasant thing. No, it is not

running smoothly. The level of these riders, the calibre of the riders,

they will plough through. There may be mistakes but the top five will

land their runs, I think. The most dangerous thing is that if

you have a fall on the flat section on the top of the pipe, that can be

dangerous. The most dangerous part is landing

on the edge. If you hit the platform, then you bounce in.

Thankfully, most have landed on the platform. If you see someone hit the

deck and bounds in, it gets nasty. You for three metres onto the

platform and eight metres into the bottom of the halfpipe.

We will let Ed make his way to the commentary box. If you have been

watching the snowboarding, it is a new language. This is a guide which

will hopefully help you. If you watch slopestyle, you most

certainly would have heard this. Backside 180 with a melon grab.

Switch 540. Backside 180, which ever way you want to look at it. If that

let you be mused, do not panic, we will help. The halfpipe is going to

be filled with plenty of terminology, but we will do our best

to break it down for you. The halfpipe is called that because it

is a pipe chopped in half. It has the platform on the top of the

pipe, two curved walls, which are called transitions. They are

separated by the flat bottom. On a snowboard, you stand sideways. The

way you do your tricks, you approach the obstacle and show the front

first, frontside, all, you can show your back, the backside. You have

your frontside wall and your backside wall.

Not every rider stands the same way, some have their left foot forward,

regular, some stand naturally with the right foot forward. This is

goofy. Named after the character when he was depicted surfing and

standing with that foot forwards. We know riders have a preference,

right or left legs forward. If they travel in the opposite direction, or

backwards, this is riding switch. It is much harder. If you land a

trick, switch, you instantly get more points.

Spins a broken down into 180 degrees increments. You have the 180, the

360, 540, 720, 1260, 1440, and may be even a 1620. For the half

rotations. As well as spinning on a horizontal axis, riders can cork the

spins and the clue is in the title, a cork 's spin is like a corkscrew.

When the head goes under the board, they add a cork to the spin. Double

corks are standard. But, the triple cork, that is something else.

This is a taster and there are no hard and fast rules to the

dictionary of tricks. But hopefully you know your 360 from your 1080 and

your frontside from your backside. Shaun White, Conway to see him.

They are the men in the commentary box as we joined the final.

box as we joined Hello, welcome to the men's halfpipe

final. This is the starting list. The two Chinese men starting, debut

Olympics, they have made it to the finals. Kent Callister, a fantastic

run. Greg Bretz, the American, Danny Davis, another American. Going last

will be the reigning Olympic gold medallist, Shaun White. He is here

to win an historic third consecutive medal. The second placed qualifier

could spoil the party, Ayumu Hirano. Practice between the semifinal and

final was ridiculous. Shaun White did the cab double 1440, into

frontside, into double McTwist. It is safe to say that this man is out

for the gold medal. That is what he wants and he has done the right

thing by qualifying in first position. Number 19, sitting at the

top. Tim Kevin Ravnjak. He had to qualify in the semifinals and hat to

work hard to get here, but getting into this, the standard of pipe

riding, I would say it is broader and higher than slopestyle. To make

it to an Olympic halfpipe final, you have to say, these boys, they are

the 12 best in the world. They have had powerful teams working with them

for 16 years, Tim Kevin Ravnjak opening up the Olympic final for the

halfpipe with a big backside air. They are looking for technical runs

that are well executed. That was a beautiful backside 540. And what was

that? Suite 720 to finish. Tim Kevin Ravnjak adopting the same approach

he did in the qualifiers. The format here is two runs, and the highest

will count. It is not combined. So on the first run, it is so important

to lay down a solid marker. Let's look at this frontside 1080. It is

as big as your house. No reversing the flat bottomed between the

transitions. You need the mindset of a fighter pilot to react quickly and

hit that next hit. The replay their showing some very smooth landings.

Perhaps a couple of easy tricks down at the bottom, but he will be

looking to fill those in with more technical tricks now that he has a

decent score on the board. Absolutely. The Chinese started

entering young riders, this is fascinating. 14-year-old. Now they

have entered men into the halfpipe, and they have both entered the

finals. This is a subjective sport, but in the history of snowboarding,

they are not traditional grabs. Not at all. We described them as wearing

socks with sandals. That was a beautiful frontside air there. His

attitude straight back. And that was huge. He struggled to stop at the

bottom, but he put it down on the bolts. We were able to watch

training last night in that finish area, and it isn't big when you are

coming into it at speed! You want to hope that the glass in the front of

the judges Bruce is bullet-proof. You can see the adrenaline in his

eyes there. You can see him grabbing in front of his route but not on the

actual nose of the board. Backside stalefish. You want to try to grab

between the feet or up on the nose and tail. The cameraman struggling

to keep up with him because he went so high. He did so well not to drag

his hands, great edge control there. 81! I thought that was going to be

just a little bit higher. The judges want to make sure that these riders

are landing at the tops of the transitions, and using them to

generate speed into the next hit. But they know that they should leave

a little space at the top of the scoreboard, as well. And now the

second Chinese border, Zhang Yiwei. He unveils the backside air into the

1080. He is riding switch, spins another 1087 years going forwards

now. And right at the top of the transition on that. A double barrel

roll, if you well, and 980. Goodness! Hang on, let's take stock.

The Chinese have just turned it up to 11 in that one. If anyone was

watching the qualifiers and the semis, we would have seen people

struggling with this. It seems to have just ridden in, and they seem

to be able to get higher. This pipe is 6.7m deep, so he is 10.1m off the

ground. I had a really interesting conversation with Lesley McKenna at

the last Olympics, when she said that when the Chinese riders started

to turn up, they were coming from gymnastics background, but now

snowboarding is rubbing off on them. And you realise that there is a lot

of snowboard culture. So the score there, 87.25. Now, the

single Australian, Nathan Johnstone. Kent Callister, we have enjoyed

seeing his methods. A lot of grabs are very similar, it is like a

fingerprint. The method everyone does it differently. You are going

to see it on the first hit here, and this one is like a soaring eagle.

This is a thing of pure beauty. Liquid snowboarding right here.

Jurassic Park. The tale of that board is higher than his head.

Oh no, he has gone too big. I have used my quota of Alan Partridge

quotes on one run. That is like taking a body blow from Mike Tyson

and getting up smiling. A couple of deep breaths there. Let's really of

this. The frontside ten, and then he winds up to the switch should. When

you call a spin, it is like a corkscrew. The head spins underneath

the board. And here is that landing, two flats, too far into the

transition, and his front leg buckled. I think no matter what

happens, he is winning the style pointer at the moment. 40 points,

but it is the best of two runs. Now it is the turn of Brett, -- Greg

Bretz, the only man to beat Shaun White in Breckenridge.

Shaun White had his best game that day, but he is even better today.

There is a lot of riding still to go. A big 1080 to kick-off. He

seemed to travel quite far down the pipe there. Halfpipe is all about

board control. You have to be able to get onto your age and cut across

the pipe as soon as you land your trick to generate speed into the

next jump. And Greg Bretz looks like he might

have injured himself there, he is just holding his knee and his hip.

If you have ever slipped on ice and gone down hard, you will know what

Greg Bretz is going through there. So he takes this one cleanly, and

doesn't get his weight over the toe edge. You can see how much loose

snow he is bringing up there. Chunks of ice on the face. That would have

hurt. Just under rotating, landing on the

back of the tail and sitting down into the transition. Do not adjust

your set, his roots are slashing! -- flashing. Now, Iouri Podladtchikov.

Aka iPod. Russian by birth. He is now a professor in zero and took

Swiss citizenship. He has been the bridesmaid Shaun White's bride. Just

trying to get rid of a little fog out of his lenses there. He seems to

be one of these riders that is getting more and more comfortable

with everyone. I double twist, a 1080, a cab

double. That is a week run! He has only gone and done Shaun White's

trick there, the double McTwist. That is how much it means to him.

And remember he has the yolo Flippin there, he hasn't used it. And I have

to say, he did that better than Shaun White does. And the

truckdriver, and the switch double. It goes back under his order again

here, his head. I hope those judges have got some Panadol in there,

because they are going to have a headache sorting this out. It is

night-time here, 9:30pm. 86.5! I was just about to say, he is wearing all

black comedy looks like a ninja. It is going to be hard for the judges

to pick out his double grabs because you can't differentiate the hands

and where the grabs are. He has got the yolo flip to fall back on. Iouri

Podladtchikov back-up at the top of the pipe. We are waiting for the

Swiss rookie. I have never come across him before. Just 17 years

old. David Hablutzel from zero. They have

a lot of elite riders using the halfpipe. There are fewer big super

pipes like this around the world now. But they have won, and if he is

training every day, this is what he gets too. You can go to the top of

your list, and a super pipe will be waiting for you. So he drops in now.

Move out the way! Save yourselves! A good run from the youngster. This is

going to be a good score to mark at Iouri Podladtchikov, because for me,

the judges have been marking height out of the pipe, on slopestyle and

here in halfpipe. And Iouri Podladtchikov's run was really high.

That wasn't just the height on a straight air, straight air you don't

spin. He is close on 11 metres in the air. That was the seat belt,

where you grab across your body. You don't see many of those. You don't.

It is like an alligator giving birth, very rare. They are reptiles,

they lay eggs. David Hablutzel waiting patiently for his score. The

17-year-old has a very bright future. 80.75. He has got somewhere

to go there, as well. Still the front ten to finish, and he could

perhaps be a little tidier at the top of the run, perhaps even fit in

another hit. We talked about Sage Kotsenburg being the snowboarder's

snowboarder. This is the halfpipe equivalent. Some really difficult

technical tricks and Danny Davis is your man. He does not conform to

everybody else. He is not pushing double corks. He stays true.

Travelling backwards but going for the switch. Patrick is so difficult.

The double crippler. And that was the biggest we have seen. That is

the pipe that we have seen in qualifying and the semifinals. From

nowhere, it takes him down. He falls victim of the snow snake. He will be

gutted. The height on the twist was absolutely beautiful. It was such a

good run. Weise -- we spoke about the trick method. The switch method.

Most riders would rather try a double-cork 1080. Switches

backwards. It is insanely difficult. The McTwist. They call it the big

chicken wing. Stretches out. He landed perfectly on the transition.

Tucking in nice and tightly. More weight on his front leg. He was

fine, he was balanced. Look at the faces. If he does that again in the

second run, he will still be smiling at the end of it.

Christian Haller. I saw him getting second place behind Iouri

Podladtchikov. And now he is in the Olympic final. He is a technical

rider. He is so confident. Rotating backside, turning your back

on the halfpipe. And a double-cork 1080, to switch 720.

It was a huge backside air, but a little out of control. This is the

most telling time, when they let the run go and they show what they can

do when they are messing around. The football equivalent, Paul Scholes

training. The double-cork 1080, he put that down nicely. And the

backside air. We call it a dead sailor, when you falling off the end

the plank. He did not go over the handlebars. And the frontside. You

could see the kink. He had got to the complete point of calling the

spring ready to wind into the rotation and then the edge, bucked

when he ran through. As frustrated as he will be, he will know it was

the conditions. I said this pipe was riding in but the last two, we have

seen glimpses of the pipe, it is pushing riders a little bit. Taku

Hiraoka from Japan. Prequalified for the finals very strong run. We have

been concerned about having not read in the pipe regularly. It was a

massive McTwist. He stalls the frontside 1080. He

held onto it for a second. A 1080 degrees spin. Three rotations. Had

been his head under his snowboard. You are rolling the dice in this

pipe, it does not care who you are, what you have won, where you have

come from. And look at that. 4.8 metres. He is almost 12 metres off

the ground. That is ridiculous. You want to make sure your feet hit the

floor first on that! They are high stakes, with the pipe in the

condition it is in. They are not holding back. They cannot hold

back. You have to get a score on the board. The other two riders, they

will see what has happened to Danny Davis and Greg Bretz and to Taku

Hiraoka, and they will be thinking, I hope that does not happen to be.

This lad, 15, he does not show nerves. Imagine, at 15 years of age,

riding on the biggest stage of Earth. Ayumu Hirano, the owner of a

trick arsenal that could blow Shaun White's Olympic hopes out of the

water. Think of the audacity at 15 years of age, knocking out a

triple-cork. Rumours that we could see it on the first hit. Hold

tight. No, just a backside air. How on earth did he land that?

Somebody give him a rescue boat. We need a lifeguard. Incredible. He

rescued that trick from certain death. He is a cat dressed in human

skin. Ayumu Hirano. The 1440 double-cork, the double

McTwist, he has not laid those down. Potentially, this is a marker.

Double grabs. He got a good solid grab on Matt. Searching for the

landing as he opened up. He is a precocious talent. He has a stare

that could pick all onions, in the words of Edgeley. -- Ed.

Ayumu Hirano has taken the lead. Shaun White, the stage is now yours.

Imagine the pressure on Shaun White. The man who gave up slopestyle for

this gold medal. He is now standing at the top with everything to prove.

Such a distinctive look. He has turned his American team pants into

drainpipes. He has a 25 and a quarter inch stance, massively wide,

but it gives him incredibly solid landings.

You cannot fault him. A double-cork 1080. Cab 14. He dropped it. That is

the first time he has dropped a trick in an Olympic final. He will

be all right. Well, Shaun White is human after all. This is huge. Shaun

White has won every other Olympic gold medal win his first run in the

finals. Now, he is in unfamiliar territory. It comes down to the

second run. The young pretender already has a score on the board.

5.3 metres! The board control needed to go that high is insane. I saw the

trick in practice. The Switch double 1440. He missed the grab, he looked

for his boot with his hand. He was holding the shins to speed up the

rotation. The core strength was not enough to hold him in that spin.

That was the second slam, having let go of the run, he decided to come

in, put the double-cork ten down. That will be a dead leg tomorrow.

Shaun White, the pressure is on. All 12 riders in this final have dropped

for the first run. He has a slight limp. If you can walk it off, you

probably have bought yourself 20 minutes. My pulse is racing. This is

drama. We have confirmation of the standings. The 15 year Japanese

rider at the top. Over to you, Clare Balding.

That was extraordinary to watch. We can cross over to Graham Bell and

get his reaction, first of all, to the teenager, Ayumu Hirano, what a

performance. What an incredible recovery for the

15-year-old on that run. He used all of his snowboard skills to keep him

on his feet. I thought he was going down. I think the crowd thought he

was going down. He managed to keep the edge carving. Amazingly, he

carried the speed through onto the next hit. The atmosphere in the

stadium is actually electric. You have to give it to Shaun White, over

the past eight years, he has made men's halfpipe snowboarding perhaps

the new blue ribbon and event of snow sport. -- riband. Last time, it

was the highest viewing figures worldwide of the Winter Games and it

is probably going to be the case this time. Everybody is watching

this halfpipe as it is incredible. Does Shaun White go for a run he

knows he can land and make certain of a medal, or does he go for it and

try to get gold and if it goes wrong, he leaves with nothing? Shaun

White will go flat out to try to win. You saw the interview before,

he will not ride within himself. The only way he will be happy with being

beaten is if he commits acts and lately everything to the run. This

run -- absolutely everything. This is the first time we have seen him

go down in a competition in the Olympics. Every time he has written

last in the final and won it on the first run. This time, he is going to

have to work for that medal. It is amazing to watch the gymnastic

ability. Ayumu Hirano, his recovery, he was so loose in his body, still.

The action is commencing. We will head back to Ed and Tim.

TK Ravnjak going down on the second hit. He managed to lay down a marker

with the first run and gave himself the freedom to let go on the second

run. 17 years of age, we will see you in South Korea. What a bright

future. It was a mature ride throughout the contest. He is

currently in sixth position. Just getting caught out. He went for the

double grab and he got it. 72.25. That is the score from his first

run, and that is the one that will count. Now, the first of the Chinese

riders who have come in at their first Games and not so much upset

the apple cart is stolen the wheels off it.

He is going to be hitting the frontside wall first, and he starts

things off with a big 1080. Three times round, landscaping forwards

again now, but he has missed that grab and clipped the lip there. That

is what we talked about. And the frustration! Who throws his arms up

to the sky. So frustrated. He knows what he could have done there. Got

away with what could have been a much nasty slam. If you land on the

lip of the pipe and bounced six metres down to the bottom, you can

do yourself some damage. I don't think it is the last we've seen of

him. These boards are really quite stiff, and he got right on the tail

of the board to power it off on take-off.

When you are doing a straight air like that, you know almost from

take-off that you were going to hit that lip. It is a really common

injury to get your knee punched back up into your face, or your head into

your chin. 25 for Shi. It is his first run score of 81 that will

count. And now it is Zhang Yiwei. He just killed a bit of the speed

there, went to vertical up the wall. He is having to work so much harder

for these spin is now. He has read gained a bit there. The higher up

the transition they land, that is perfectly landed. And that is exact

way what we saw Shi do. As so many riders before him at

these games have, Zhang Yiwei is going to have to sit it out and see

if anyone can best his 87.25 score. He is currently set in the silver

medal position, but there is so much talent left to drop. They have more

than enough firepower to knock him off his perch. You can see they're

just how big he was going further down the pipe. I double twist in

there, and he does so well to hold that. This pipe is set on quite a

steep incline here, probably about as steep as a red run you would find

in most resorts. They point downhill all to generate more speed. And this

is in the last we have seen of this boy, either.

21 years old. 87.25 will be his final score. 58.5, the throw away

there from the second run. So Zhang Yiwei has now got to sit there and

wait for everybody else to do their run.

And now we are back with the king of the method, Kent Callister. A great

start to these Olympics. He is still a youngster, as well. We are

definitely going to be seeing him. There was a chance we were going to

see his team-mates Nathan Johnstone in the finals as well, but he just

missed out. So all of Australia's hopes lie on Kent.

Every time, this has been perfect. He lands down the pipe, opens up

quite a lot, went really deep. A big double, and he landed so flat. A

lesser man's legs would have popped from their hips there. I think he

crossed the line now. The judges might let him cross that. If you

initiate a trick above the line, you have to count it, but anything that

happens after the last blue line there won't be counted.

Incidentally, all of the other blue line is, they are just there to help

the riders' vision. It is an indicator of whether you are out

over the platform or have drifted back into the pipe. The transitions

or the curved walls go almost to vertical at the top, and your margin

for error if you float away from the wall, you will go to war three

metres down. You only need to get it slightly wrong, and you will drop

back and have to deal with an incredible impact. 68.50 for Kent

Callister. He will be upset that he didn't manage to lay a whole

rundown, but he can hold his head up high for the style on those methods.

He can go home and changes e-mail signature to winner of the best

method at the Olympics. Now, Greg Bretz. 12th in Vancouver.

The confidence that comes with being one of only three men to ever beat

Shaun White, which he did in the build-up to these Games.

A double court 1080, very low there, and he is down. That is a real

shame. This is getting very tense now. There are not many riders. We

have only got six so far who've actually locked in a good solid

score. Half the field. But varies an immense. Look at that, a beautiful

handplant to finish there. They look so good and stylish, but they are

actually so hard. Yes, and they actually score about 0.01 points.

These riders work so hard. He was at Vancouver four years ago. He has

trained for four years to do better than 12th place that he got there.

It is hard, and he will get 12th place again here. It is a cruel

world. He was in 12th when he started, and I don't think that run

was any better. Absolutely gutted. 26.5 for the second run. If you

could bottle disappointment, ladies and gentlemen, it is right there.

Iouri Podladtchikov had a blinding first run, and he gave us the signal

as he walked out of the finish area, he lifted his finger. Look at

the focus in his eyes. He wants this. It is the yolo as he named it.

The double cork 1440. He is gained to relish this chance.

And he put it down so clean! What a run from the Swiss rider! Iouri

Podladtchikov! He has created history! And look at the Swiss

coaches up there. They are absolutely ecstatic, as is Iouri

Podladtchikov in the finish area. He saw a chink in the armour of Shaun

White, and he has attacked. He said before they started, you said there

could be one man to best Shaun White, and this man could do it. And

look at this. Shaun White, the pressure gauge has just gone through

the roof. Let's break this down, backside air, four metres. This

could be... The head goes under the board twice. There are the two

corkscrews, and then you have 1440 degrees of rotation. There is so

much going on in that trip. He gets the grab, manages even to add a

little bit of style by pulling the board behind him. He absolutely

can't believe it. That is the best he has ever done that trip. That is

unbelievable. We know the judges want to see height. And if there is

one thing may be that they will pick... He also only had a 540 in

there. 94.75! That is first place. So Ayumu Hirano goes down to second,

and Zhang Yiwei is down in bronze medal position. Iouri Podladtchikov

has a glimpse of a medal here for the first time in his career. He is

getting mobbed by volunteers. He has worked so hard, as well. It is not

over yet. It is far from over, but you could say we are only just

coming to the boil here in the halfpipe kitchen. What was Shaun

White's qualifying bronze score. Let me double-check that. You take care

of David Hablutzel while I look that up. Shaun White is capable of a

94.75. We have seen it from him already today.

But first, the 17-year-old David Hablutzel from Switzerland. He has

nothing to lose here. Well, that's not a bad start. He is

travelling a long way down the pipe each time. Three doubles. And again,

huge height there. That could be a podium. That was huge, look at the

Swiss! Could we have a Swiss lock-out on the podium? It is a big

ask. But certainly at the moment, you have got to say, the Americans

are not looking healthy. Shaun White is in 11th and Danny Davis in

eighth. That is ridiculous. The biggest names in the game have been

rocked. The American stranglehold on the halfpipe podium looks in serious

danger here. And there we see that beautiful there, pulling the front

leg. Good style. It is easier to add style to smaller rotations, but on a

big 900, two and a half spins like that, to have the time and presents

to be able to think about styling that trick out. He has a lot to be

happy about. 88.5, a podium place! He makes it into the podium

position. Let's not forget you have still got Ayumu Hirano, Christian

Haller, Danny Davis and Shaun White to go. Whatever happens, he can feel

very proud of the way he has ridden tonight. Look at that. Switzerland,

we have talked about how they have created some good pipe riders. There

is the proof. Now, Danny Davis, his stunning first run marred by a fall

in the flat bottom. Just before his last trip. He is such a relaxed

rider. Stylish and creative. He is such a favourite within the

snowboard community. He broke his back in the run-up to the 2010

Olympics having beaten Shaun White in late 2009. And look at the

height! That trick bit him. Oh, and he has

done it again! Danny Davis, 25 years old, it is unlikely he will get

another chance. Injury stole the Vancouver games from him and now two

falls here. That sees him finish out of the medals. Such a shame. There

has been so much focus about snowboarding, riders hooking triples

and doubles and having no soul, but when you talk about soul, that is

phenomenal. And the Switch 1080 with free spins. -- three. And the double

ten. He comes over the front foot. He straightened his leg to get

himself into the back seat and right through the compression. It was

almost like his back leg gave way. You have to wonder whether there was

an element of not having ridden the pipe in the semifinals, which

both... Which Iouri Podladtchikov did definitely. And the third Swiss

rider. There cannot be a Swiss lock-out because we have the

Japanese sandwich around Ayumu Hirano. But Christian Haller is

capable. His sister will be riding in the ladies' .

He held onto that nicely and generated Speedwell. -- speed well.

He sits down on the front nine at the end. I was holding my breath. I

was. He was running right on the edge of control. Right from the top

of the run, because of that, I do not think he would get a bigger

score. We can take a look. The tail grab, grabbing on the end of the

board. I did not think he would let go, he held onto that so long,

landing on his fingers. The front hand between the legs on the toe

edge. And that is his coach. Never far from a smile and there it is.

The Swiss coaches will be disappointed for him. But, at the

same time, at the moment they have a little bit of Swiss gold, whether

they can keep it, remains to be seen. Iouri Podladtchikov at the top

of the standings. And now for Japan. The pressure is on. 18 years old.

Taku Hiraoka. Unbelievably he is one of the senior riders of the Japanese

team at 18! Backside 900 with a frontside 1080.

He waited a second. The front double ten. Back-to-back

doubles. He has laid down a storming run. When you look at what has gone

before, with a trick that has only been pulled a couple of times before

from Iouri Podladtchikov, and a run that, quite frankly, from the

15-year-old Japanese rider was in the stratosphere, I recommend is a

good chance we will see Ayumu Hirano coming out with an oxygen tank for

the second run! This is building to the most perfect crescendo. Shaun

White is in unfamiliar territory, having not landed his first run. He

has to try to jump from 11th place into the medals. We know he can do

it. Can he handle the pressure? Shaun White has been training on the

new tricks and he wants to unveil them. The run he put down in the

semifinals did not have the new tricks, it had big tricks. In the

qualifying semifinals. It was good enough. Will he play safe, but down

the run he did? Oh, my goodness. Ben Kilner thought that was a fourth,

and I did not think it was that high. But, second place! You have to

feel heartbreak the David. David Hablutzel is not doubt of the

medals. He does look heartbroken. I do not think he thought it was good

enough. He is looking back at the scoreboard again and again, as if it

is a mistake. He has been knocked into the bronze medal position. If

that is not an incentive to lay down an incredible run, nothing is. Ayumu

Hirano. We know he has been working. The gestures of the

coaches, looked as if they might be... If the coaches are starting to

pray, he is going to go for it! It will be massive. Look at the

power he generates. The frontside 1080 was very nice. And that huge

double was absolutely perfect. That was a massive finish. I am

standing up. It was huge. There was a front nine that lost height on the

frontside wall, but, the rest of them were huge. You have to say that

is bigger than the 92.5 of Taku Hiraoka. That is where the judges

want to see the tricks landed. I think the judges might have made a

mistake. I am not trying to put words in your mouth. I think the

judges have over scored and not left themselves anywhere to go. This has

to be 96, 90 sevens will stop look where he landed on the transition.

That was the one mistake he made. Everything else. The double grab

landed so cleanly. There was no switching between their hits. They

know it was a really good run. He is staring again! 15 years of age, a

stare that could curdle ice cream. Iouri Podladtchikov came up with a

trick that only a couple of people can do. Will the judges go with the

new trick, all with the amplitude? Oh, my goodness. They have gone with

the YOLO flip. 93.5. Iouri Podladtchikov is still in gold medal

position and his arch nemesis of the last two Olympics cycles is the only

man left to drop. This is ridiculous. Everybody in the

grandstand are on their feet and all eyes, all eyes of the world are on

this man. I think you might be premature in booking an aeroplane to

take him straight to New York as soon as this is finished. The king

of snowboarding. Under threat. Shaun White. He gets encouragement from

the man who has stood by his side through every Olympic cycle. Can he

handle the pressure? He has gone down. It was good, it

was really high. He has landed the double McTwist. Enormous backside

rodeo. How did he land Mac? That is against the laws of physics. --

lands that? The replay is key, because it is not clear-cut. The

judges do not get a chance. They do not have the luxury of the replays.

Shaun White is claiming this. He deserves to claim the fact he

survived the run. I do not think it was clear-cut. It is not a clear-cut

decision. I think that was his attempt at swaying the decision of

the judges. He looked into the judges' booth. How badly did he sit

down? He got the grab. The strength required in his legs to pick that

up. It is undeniable how talented he is. This was more like magic and

snowboarding. How he got away with this I have no idea. There are a lot

of boot grabs. It was not a clean landing. In my opinion, it is not

enough. 92.5. Shaun White has missed out on

a medal. Not just a gold medal, he has missed out on a medal and he has

been magnanimous in defeat. He walks over to congratulate Iouri

Podladtchikov. The man who fake years has stood in his shadow. --

eight years has stood in his shadow. Shaun White is the consummate

competitor. That would have stunned him. As he said in the interview we

showed, if I lay my best down and it is not good enough, I will access to

defeat. The podium, in bronze medal position, Taku Hiraoka. Ayumu

Hirano, the 15-year-old Japanese rider in silver, but, with the gold

medal, Iouri Podladtchikov. He makes history in Sochi. What an incredible

performance. It has not sunk in yet for him. He is speechless. An

incredible competition. The script has been written and followed for

two Olympics cycles. And now, on the very first runs, the script was torn

up and thrown out of the window. He cannot believe it. The Japanese

riders, as well. For that exact reason, Shaun White, by

determination and willpower has won these events, no matter how bad it

has seemed, he has always managed to pull it out of the bag, and

suddenly, in Sochi... We can see him on his own on the side of the pipe

and he will be hurting. He dropped his head. He risked so much on the

halfpipe contest. He has lost. He pulled out of the slopestyle.

The first of the Chinese riders in sixth place and so much more to come

from them, I guarantee. In seventh position... TK Ravnjak had a fairy

tale day. What are final. Ladies and

gentlemen, you have witnessed history. And we have a new champion,

Iouri Podladtchikov, the man they call iPod.

Unbelievable that Shaun White comes away without a medal. We will

reflect more on that later today when we bring you our highlights

programme at seven o'clock. But now we are moving on to winter Olympics

history with the awarding of the first ever medals in women's ski

jumping. Daniela ever Roscoe Stoltz has

jumped higher in training, and we will see the two rounds now with

highlights from Rob Walker. Yes, that was good. A big smile.

98.5. That is the best we have seen so far. We are in the theory moving

up the World Cup rankings as we go through the leaderboard.

Evelyn Insam continuing her birthday celebrations from yesterday. She is

into the lead. Colene Mattel was world junior

champion. 99.5. She is closing in on three

figures. She has jumped 100 metres in the training round. Her uncle,

Bruno, was the French junior champion. She is another one in this

field who has winter Olympic history in her family. She has moved into

the lead. The 18-year-old Frenchwoman has laid down a

brilliant platform. Iraschko-Stolz is not 100% happy

with that. The margins between first and fifth are tiny, just as they are

in the men's ski jumping. Trying to pull those skis together

to maintain symmetry on landing. She has moved up to third.

Carina Vogt from Germany has had eight podium finishes this season.

Can she keep that going? Yes, the index fingers are raised to the

skies. She is delighted with that. 103 metres. She jumped 100 in

training just a roundabout and hour or so ago.

What sort of marker has she laid down here? Ahead of seeing the

favourite, Takahashi. Carina Vogt Has more than played her role so far

at the halfway stage of the competition.

She has gone into the lead. Fifth in the world Championships last year,

but she has given herself an amazing opportunity. The tiny figure of Sara

Takahashi with the weight of a nation on those little shoulders.

Can she deliver? Where will that place her in relation to Vogt? It is

three figures, but the German who we have just seen taking the lead will

not be intimidated, having seen this job from Takahashi. She has won ten

events this season. Such is the extent of her dominance around the

world this year. She is in third place. It is good, but she has got

to produce more, you suspect, if it is to be the gold the Japanese are

so desperately hoping for. So that was the first round. Sara

Tucker now she in -- Takahashi in third. They go in reverse order now

in the second round. After many years of battling to get women's ski

jumping into the Olympics, it is finally happening, and the medals

will be awarded after these jumps. Rob Walker commentating. We have a

tremendous atmosphere here in the Gorky jumping Centre.

Such a sense of anticipation. And such a sense that history is rightly

being made here. Julia Clair Lying in 18th place after the first round.

The story unfolding here is that the overwhelming favourite Takahashi,

the 17-year-old from Japan, is under pressure to produce something

massive here to try and secure the gold that everyone back home in

Japan is hoping and expecting that she will do. There has been a

tremendous atmosphere here over the last couple of hours, and it has

been great to see that some of the women who have campaigned so hard

for this event to be included have come out of retirement and hung on

through injury to try and enjoy the occasion they have worked so hard to

produce. We are going in reverse order, as

Claire said, so as we get closer to the end, the drama will start to

crank up another notch. It really has taken such a long time for this

event to be included. There have been three additions at the world

championship. The World Cup circuit is now up and running and very

competitive. This was the last piece of the jigsaw missing. And tonight,

here in this state-of-the-art facility in the mountains above

Sochi, the missing link is completed. And Pozun is into the

lead, but that will probably be temporary, no disrespect to her,

because there are plenty of quality girls at the top of the John Still

waiting to go. -- at the top of the jump waiting to go. Traditionally

regarded as a masculine event. The crowd are really enjoying this.

Well, that wasn't quite as good as we know she can produce. She has

beaten Takahashi this year. She was ragged on the outrun, and they are

judged on the inn run, the take-off, the symmetry and smoothness of the

flight, the coordination of the landing and the outrun. It is not

purely about the distance. And that cost the Russian in the first round.

Second place at the moment, but there are still quite a few girls to

go. And Pozun leading for Slovakia. She came out of retirement because

she wanted to have a go tonight. The allure of the Winter Olympics

brought her back when lack of funding had driven her out of the

sport. 98 metres, consistent with what you produced in the first

round. She said she knew so many talented female ski jumpers who quit

because they just couldn't face the uncertainty and the lack of

financial security, and more importantly than all of that, the

lack of opportunity. She has come back. At the moment, she is into

second place. It is unlikely to be a medal for her. Hopefully she has

enjoyed her comeback. Watch Kykkaenen's unusual style.

Both her brothers jump, and she joined because she was old waiting

for them. Almost as strong a love affair is

the Japanese enjoy with this sport. Tents at the world Championships

last year, Kykkaenen. A little bit of a wry smile there from the

19-year-old. Lunby war jacket number one -- she

wore the jacket with number one on it in the world Championships. She

jumped 97 metres in the first round. This looks better. It is about

leaning into the jump and maintaining almost a straight line

down the back and through the calves. Look at the focus on the

face. That looked big. That was definitely

better. Looking up. She hit three figures, 100 metres. That was three

metres better than her first round, and the Norwegian moves into the

lead. Next ago, Jessica Jerome, one of the

key figures in fighting so hard for this sport's inclusion. She

sacrificed a lot for this sport, lacerated spleen knee surgery.

And that is another great one for distance, but you can see they're

how difficult it is when they get a big score on the distance, it is

hard to maintain the smoothness and the technique coming out. 99

metres. She was part of a group of women who sued the Vancouver

organisation because the IOC approved women's ski jumping in

2009, but it was claimed that wasn't enough time to turn it round in the

short number of months they had between the decision and Vancouver

beginning. Well, she really has been on such a huge journey, Jessica

Jerome. She should be delighted with her contribution tonight, and how

the sport will grow. Lumby is in the winners enclosure at the moment.

Lindsey Van, the sport's first world champion in 2009. She has undergone

so much in Nice surgery just to stay in the sport. Arguably passed her

best, but she wanted and deserved to be part of this occasion. She is

contributed admirably there, just a little way short of what you

produced in the first round. She had surgery in 2000 and eight --

2008 and 2012. A little stumble as she comes to a

stop. Maren Lundby is leading at the moment and Jessica Jerome in second

place. As we go along the competitors, in theory, we get

better and better. The Slovenians have had a great day

in the mountains, actually, some good medals for them, in the

cross-country. Sarah Hendrickson is the reigning world champion and by

rights she should not be because she had a horrendous crash last year.

Her knee is still sore, but she decided to do everything to take

part. It is good to see her competing. Maren Lundby, in yellow,

she is leading at the moment. Look at those eyes. It has to be pointed

out the amount of bravery required for this event. Anybody who has ever

stood at the top of a ski jump, it is a knee warbling moment, even if

you know you are going back down the stairs -- wobbling. The heavyweights

are still to come. Yuki Ito is in 10th place after the

first round and started ski jumping at the age of four.

She sailed past the blue line, which indicates the furthest jump so far

in terms of distance. 101 metres. The second of the three Japanese

athletes taking part tonight. She produced her best jump in terms of

distance. 98 metres in the training ground and 97.5 in the first round.

A world junior bronze medallist. 19 years of age. There is some

incredible composure being shown by the competitors. 14 of the 30 are

teenagers. The Japanese coaches like that. Yuki Ito has moved into the

lead. This sport has a massive following in Japan. They will be

getting excited because Sara Takanashi has yet to jump her second

effort. Her brother dragged her down to a

ski jump and told her to have a go. And here she is, contesting the

first Winter Olympic Games. She has had one top eight on the

world circuit this season. It is becoming a very competitive event.

That was an issue with the International Olympic Committee,

that the sport has to be competitive on a worldwide level. They felt you

cannot have the event if there's five, ten around the world. Up into

the medal positions at the moment. For those who follow the World Cup

circuit, they will testify to the fact there are some high-quality

meetings. Atsuko Tanaka. Raised in Canada. She

has Japanese parents. She has been pretty good in

training. 15th in the world championship, last year. She is on