Day 5, Part 1 - 9.30am to 11.30am Winter Olympics

has been alive and she is only 17. She is under five feet and she was

Japan's big gold-medal favourite. How did she do? Let's find out.

COMMENTATORS: We prepare to go again. She came out of retirement

because she wanted to have a go here tonight. A lack of funding drove her

away from the sport. The lure of the Winter Olympics brought her back. 98

metres, very consistent with what she produced in the first round. She

said she knew so many talented female ski jumpers who had quit

because they couldn't face the uncertainty of the lack of financial

security. And more importantly, the lack of opportunity. She has come

back and she has gone into second place, it is unlikely to be a medal

for her. Hopefully she has enjoyed her comeback. On this huge night.

Watch her unusual approach, she stands bolt upright and then she

readily tucks into that position, ready to explode on take-off. Both

her brothers jumped, she joined in because she was born at the ski jump

and is now absolutely hooked. The Finns have a rich history when it

comes to this event. Almost a strong a love affair with the sport as the

Japanese enjoy. 10th in the world Championships last

year, Kykkanen. A little bit of a wry smile from the 19-year-old.

Lundby is next, she wore bib number one in the very first ski jumping

World Championship. Here she is taking part in another truly meant

as occasion for the sport. Lying in 13th after the first round. The

crowd have responded. And she likes it as well. She jumped 97 metres in

the first round. This looks better. It is about leaning into the jump.

Maintaining almost a straight line down the back and through the cars.

Look at the focus on the face -- through the calves. That looked big.

Looking up, she hit three figures, 100 metres. That was three metres

better than her first round and the Norwegian moves into the lead. The

next to go, Jessica Jerome, one of the key figures in fighting so hard

for this sport's inclusion. She has sacrificed a lot for this sport, a

lacerated spleen, knee surgery, she is a born fighter. Lying in 12th,

that is another great one for distance. You can see 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 organisers because the IOC

approved women's ski jumping in 2009, but then it was claimed there

wasn't enough time to turn it around in the short number of months they

had between the decision and Vancouver beginning. She really has

been on such a huge journey, Jessica Jarreau. She should be delighted

with her contribution -- Jessica Jerome. Lundby is in the women's

enclosure at the moment. This is the sport's first world champion in

2009, Lindsey Van. She has undergone so much surgery just to stay in the

sport. Arguably passed her best but she wanted and deserved to be part

of this occasion. And she has contributed admirably. Just a little

way short of what she produced in the first round. Knee surgery in

2008, ankle operation in 2012. Her place among the sport's all-time

greats is absolutely assured. A little stumble as she comes to a

halt. Fifth place. Lundby from Norway is leading, Jerome is in

second place. As we go along the competitors, in theory we get better

and better. Yuki Ito, lying in 10th place after the first round. Started

ski jumping at the age of four, she has grown up with the sport. She

sails past the blue line. That indicates the furthest jump so far

in terms of distance. 101 metres. And the second of the three Japanese

athletes taking part here tonight producing her best jump in terms of

distance. 98 metres in the training round, 97.5 in the first round. She

is just 19 years of age, there is some incredible composure being

shown here. 14 of the 30 are still teenagers, we have had a 15 and a

16-year-old. Yes... The Japanese coaches like that. And Yuki Ito has

moved into the lead. This sport has a massive following in Japan. They

will be getting excited, not just about Yuki Ito but because Takanaski

is yet to jump. Line Jahr of Norway. Her brother dragged her down to a

ski jump and told her to have a go. Here she is contesting the first

Winter Olympic games. Just shy of 100 metres. It is becoming a very

competitive event. That was one of the issues that the IOC has. That

the sport has to be competitive on a worldwide level. They felt, you

can't just have the event if there are five or ten around the world.

Line Jahr, up into the medal positions at the moment. Certainly

those who follow the World Cup circuit will testify to the fact

that there are some high-quality meetings. Tanaka... Raised in

Canada. Japanese parents. She has been pretty good in

training. 15th in the world championship last year. She is on

course to improve on that here. Went over and competed in Japan,

felt she owed that to her parents, but then returned to Canada same, I

feel more like a North American than a Japanese competitor. A big part of

the scene in Canada. She says, high, Canada. Sixth place for Tanaka.

Henrich will go next. She started the sport aged seven, went on a

summer camp and loved it. Look where that journey has taken her. Massive

pressure on the knees. And the thighs. 96 metres. Not quite as far

as she produced in the first round. This in the youth Olympics two years

ago. The 18-year-old is continuing to improve. She will only be 22 at

the next games. No medal for Henrich but what a set

of memories to take into her next four year block of training.

Vtic brings form and confidence, and that was great. It is quite hard to

get these old stomach coaches to smile, but even the Slovenian

management on the sidelines produced a big smile there. Vtic jumped 100

metres in the first round. At 26, she is one of the oldest in

the competition. Incredible to see so many youngsters here.

Looking up and waiting. She has gone into the lead. Both jumps over 100

metres. Superb consistency. From the 26-year-old.

Oh, yes! It looked good for distance, she struggled to control

it on the out run. Massive cruciate problems in January last year. World

champion in 2011. The 30-year-old Austrian, desperate to get herself

in the mix here. She is certainly capable of it and has produced that

form on the World Cup circuit. What will she lose in style? She has gone

into the lead! 104 metres. She has given herself every opportunity.

Insam is lying in fourth place and will know that Iraschko-Stolz has

produced a monster. That was another pretty good effort. The coaches are

just reflecting on that. 20 years of age yesterday, the Italian. She says

she loves the sport enough that she already decided to go into coaching

to inspire the next generation of female ski jumpers, as and when her

career comes to an end. Iraschko-Stolz, the Austrian, as

given herself a massive chance -- has given. But there are three more

women left to jump. Insam in second place,

Iraschko-Stolz leads, Vtic down to third. Iraschko-Stolz can only wait

and watch. Takanaski, can she produce what everybody in Japan

knows she is capable of? So young, so much potential but so much

pressure. Will that be good enough to put the leader under pressure?

She has been better than this many times before this season. I just

wonder whether at the massive moment, the weight of expectation

has just been a little bit too much. She was in third place after the

first round and we have seen her win competitions after an average first

round before but the great form that she has brought here has inspired

the rest of the field to raise their game and it may not necessarily have

been the outcome that Sara Takanashi was looking for. It was a good

effort but the Japanese will be disappointed with that. They have

not won a gold medal since 2006 and Daniela Iraschko-Stolz knew that

that was one of her big rivals gone. She is not sure. Daniela

Iraschko-Stolz is leading and Sara Takanashi is in second place. That

was not as good as she produced in the first round. Can she get in the

mix with the medals? Her uncle was a junior French champion so this sport

runs in her blood. The platform was there with the first round. Daniela

Iraschko-Stolz leads with Sara Takanashi in silver. She loves it

Coline Mattel is in second place. That means she will finish on the

podium. The only question is, which colour? Daniela Iraschko-Stolz leads

for Austria with Karine Martel in second place and Sara Takanashi in

third. Carina Vogt, does Olympic immortality beckons for this German?

Anxious moments. She does not know. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz leads with

Karine Martel in second place and Sara Takanashi in third. The tension

is tangible here. It is a gold that women's sport has waited a very long

time to say, but around whose neck will it hang? Everyone has finished

now and it is simply a question of the judges marks. It is not going to

be the pre-event favourite Sara Takanashi, but will it be Daniela

Iraschko-Stolz? Or will it be Carina Vogt of Germany? The drama has gone

right down to the end here. It has been a fitting occasion for all of

the work that has gone in to get the event here. Carina Vogt!

Unbelievable! She has done it. What a moment! Germany celebrate. A piece

of history that will never, ever be for cotton. She has to be helped up

from the ground and under the most extraordinary pressure Carina Vogt

has done it and Daniela Iraschko-Stolz get the silver and

Coline Mattel gets the bronze but Sara Takanashi, who everyone was

picking for the gold, has finished off the podium. It has taken decades

of work to get it here and surely with the quality of the drama that

has been produced tonight, this will be a permanent fixture of the Winter

Olympics in the future. Carina Vogt is the first champion with Daniela

Iraschko-Stolz in the silver and Coline Mattel in the bronze. Nothing

for Sara Takanashi. What a night to remember! Here in the mountains

above Sochi, a privilege to be witnessing history in the making.

Carina Vogt had never won a major contest until last night and life is

all about timing. She has tied it to perfection and she is the first

Olympic women's ski jumping champion. Having seen what that

sport meant to the Japanese, I went and watched their event some years

ago, I am sure it was just a little bit too much the weight of

expectation on Sara Takanashi's slender young shoulders. She has

time on her side. She is only 18 years old. Then this morning in the

women's downhill we had history again because we have had a joint

gold. It was between Tina Maze of Slovenia and a Swiss skier. The

scenes were incredible. 19th place has been confirmed for Chemmy Alcott

which is a seventh finish in a top 20 in an Olympic event. That is the

best and most consistent performance by any British Alpine ski over the

last few years. We spoke to were afterwards. What are the emotions

now? You get two minutes to show what you have done all four years

and for me to show that every time I have come back from a leg break is

worth it. I did not disappoint myself. I did not ski pretty, it was

far from pretty so it was fast but I am proud. What were you thinking

before the start? It was so cold, I was trying to shove the snow down my

back and where I was standing there was a lot of nerves and a lot of

jittery people but I had to stick to my game plan and I kept thinking of

Lady Gaga and I went out there and I did it. If you had started earlier

you would not have had to deal with the slushy conditions at the bottom

of the course, how was it at the top? We have a lot of traverses and

bare all in the sun so it felt a bit messy underfoot. For me that might

have been a good thing because I had less vibrations through my metal

lake but I would have liked to have started earlier on just to have a

completely even race to see how everyone would have done and we do

not have that. Maybe I skied better in some sections because of this

often but I enjoyed and I enjoy going the limit. What next? This

morning we were training on the super-G and I was loving it. I feel

grateful that so my pain is managed and I am feeling great. Everyone I

have got better. To finish less than two seconds out on the Olympic

downhill when I started skiing two weeks ago, I am so proud.

Congratulations. They told me I could speak to you for more than

three minutes today. Apparently we got in trouble the other day but I

told them I was the last girl coming down so they have to let me talk!

How can they possibly shut you up! Impossible but we love it. She goes

in the super-G on Saturday morning and you will be able to see it live

on this programme. If you are watching us at work, great to have

you with us but if you are to pick a day, tomorrow would be a good one to

be late for work because this is why...

It is the start of the women's skeleton of course and we also have

the ski slope style for men and James Woods, we hear, has completed

three training runs today. He had been suffering from hip injury but

he seems to be OK. He did not push it today. He is clearly saving his

best for tomorrow. We have Shelley Rudman and Lizzy Yarnold. Lizzie

Yarnold is coming in as the world number one and she has posted four

of the five best times in training on the sliding up there in the

mountains. Fingers crossed for that. Skeleton has been a source of

riches for Great Britain's medal chances over the years. Every time

it has been in the Olympics we have won a medal. It culminated last

round -- the last time around in Vancouver.

Skeleton athletes maybe have a little screw loose. I do not know.

Are we fearless? No, we are brave. I think you learn to control the fear.

In 2002 I remember watching the skeleton race, watching Team GB get

the bronze medal. I took myself down to the bottom of the playing fields

at Bath University and there is a special push track which skeleton

bobsleigh can practice just the start. I started on the ice for the

first time in October 2002. I did not love it to begin with. I

remember the first run you do not know what to expect or what to feel.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry or do whatever and the second

time I did burst into tears but I had to hide because I did not want

to look like a whimper. That addiction to wanting to become

better and better just happened and then I did not want to stop. The

Olympics in Turin in 2006, there was only one place for a girl to go so

there was always a battle over who would take the place. I did not get

to go. It fed me this fire in my beret -- belly. I was never going to

watch another Olympics, I was going to be competing. I became obsessed,

every decision every day was made on whether it would help me get to the

Olympics. In Vancouver, when I heard I had a place and I was going, it

was unbelievable. It was a dream come true. All of that hard work and

suddenly you were a part of the team. I remember collecting all the

kids and having my parents and my grandma around an opening it all up

and it was like Christmas Day times 1 million. The Olympic race is so

hard to remember. It seems like it was over in. I had just had a quiet

confidence that if I did everything consistently and I knew I had worked

so hard over the last four years and it was all coming together exactly

how I wanted it to on that one day. She has done half the job now on the

way to the gold medal... There was so much pressure. I wanted it so

badly. I remember before my final run being in the changing room all

on my own and not a single soul and I had to stand out on the start line

thinking, this is it, this is for the gold medal and then I just had

to slide. Amy Williams, going for gold for Great Britain. Amy Williams

could become Olympic champion. Surely it is gold for Great Britain!

Oh, yes! I hugged my coach who was hugging me

and then I had to whisper in his ear, where did I come? And then he

whispered that I was the Olympic champion and I did not know what to

do! It was a really special moment. Lizzie will be sliding and hoping to

emulate the achievements of Amy Williams, as will Shelley Rudman,

the silver bullet she was called when she slipped to silver in Turin.

So much to look forward to in the next couple of days. We have two

runs tomorrow morning and are deciding to will be on Friday. There

is plenty to go on that and it is great to have Amy Williams as part

of our team here and she will industrial authority and class and

insight into what is going into the minds of these athletes as they take

that run on. It is a beautiful day here in Sochi. I hear it is 20

degrees outside. I have seen shorts and T-shirts outside! What is going

on here? If you want some cool, you have got to head to the ice cube

centre where the curling events are taking place. That is where we will

find Jackie Lockhart and Steve Cram. They are there because it is a big

day for the great British curlers. There they are. We will start with

Eve Muirhead and the team of women. How much will victory over the

United States do for them? A record breaking and! Seven! Yes, that was

really fantastic last night. The girls came out a lot more confident

than they have done the day before. They brought their a game last

night. I undoubtedly the USA girls did not perform very well but our

girls, without question, played exceptionally well and they will

need to play well because this is a big game tomorrow. That will have

given them some extra comfort because of that seven end so they

will have a boost and some confidence today. Seven shots in one

end is an Olympic record but in terms of standard of this level,

doesn't happen very often even in a world or European Championships? No,

that does not happen very often. I told Steve that he would not see

that very often. I was extremely disappointed by the US girls and

their strategy yesterday. Sometimes when you play a very aggressive game

and there are a lot of stones in play you need a bailout clause. They

should have hit some of those stones early on to prevent a score like

that, I am not sure what she was thinking but a great result for us

to get a severed. Indeed. Now it is Canada and this is going to be quite

a match. What is at stake? Is The Canadians have been playing very

well, they are undefeated. Switzerland are also undefeated.

This is a very good Canadian team. The skipper, Jennifer Jones, has

been shooting the lights out, she has been well backed up, they have

been scoring high percentages. Two big wins against Sweden in

particular. It was anaphylactic -- and emphatic win. You could just

tell, it wasn't just the seven yesterday, it was Olympic record in

terms of the score, they just looked better from the start. They came out

with a different demeanour, the confidence was there, they took the

game to the Americans. Yes, they played too early and they did not

respond. I think the Canadians will want to play there fairly aggressive

game. We want to see the Eve Muirhead that we saw yesterday, not

on day one. The other three have played well in both games. Eve

Muirhead admits she was not quite there. A big game, it would be great

to go to -1 and take one of the Canadians. -- to go 2-1. I have a

bit information and you will know this, Jackie. The last time they

met, Eve Muirhead beat Jennifer Jones's well-2 Intercontinental cup

in January. That has surely got to have a big impact -- Jennifer Jones

12-2 in a Continental cup. She did come off again yesterday with a 100%

record which you don't often see at this level. I am sure they are both

up for this game. I am sure they are, I just heard the pipes. We

should tell you, this is a pretty standard feature in curling because

of the ancient nature of the game. Having been invented in Scotland, it

tends to happen in most of the events. The competitors are piped

in. We understand it is a pipe band from Moscow who are doing the

honours in Sochi. How will it go today? It is a big match against the

Canadians. Let's get underway. COMMENTATORS: Thanks very much. It

couldn't really be a big match. It may be repeated later on in the

semifinals, or the final Indies, you certainly hope so. -- final indeed.

OK, it is the round robin, you want to get as many wins as possible. It

was always going to be a tough start for Great Britain, playing Sweden

and Canada. It was crucial to get a win on the board. If they lost to

Canada and to Sweden, two of the other fancied teams, that would not

be considered disastrous. But it would be great to come away with a

win here. Kaitlyn Lawes playing third, she has been playing very

well. Dawn McEwen with Jill Officer, the four who are very

experienced. This Jennifer Jones team had to come through very

difficult qualifying that the Canadians have for limbic selection.

Whereas with -- for Olympic selection. Whereas with Eve

Muirhead, it has been building this team over four years. Beating Sweden

in the world Championships in spring, they met them again in the

European Championships. Having had a great record, they were beaten on

the final occasion. It is a big day, a big afternoon, a big crowd. An

enthusiastic Russian crowd. The Russians are receiving the support

of the majority of the crowd. On sheet a is the Great Britain versus

Canada match and Dawn McEwen playing first. Eve Muirhead has been drawing

very well. I know some of you have been watching the curling all

along, some may be watching it for the first time. Before the

competition gets underway, to ascertain who receives the hammer,

you can see the yellow arrow against Great Britain. That means you have

lost on advantage in the first end. -- last on. They have a draw before

they get underway. Eve Muirhead has been pretty much perfect every time.

She was closer than the Canadian skip and Britain have the hammer,

the last end advantage. When we spoke to the girls when they

came off the ice yesterday, they were obviously bubbling a little

bit. I didn't ask Eve Muirhead if they had a bit of a chat after the

match against Sweden -- I did ask. She admitted they sat down, it

probably shone through that she accepted the fact she had not played

as well. The other three had played pretty well against Sweden and it

was probably Eve Muirhead who gave herself a talking to as much as

anybody else. I think so. The goals have come here with a support staff.

They use video analysis -- b-girls have come here. -- the girls. You

can't hide from any of the footage. You would see -- she would have seen

she was not performing and the rest of the girls wear. It is good that

they can use this analysis to reassess where they are going. They

came out yesterday and performed a much better game. I think both teams

here know that they can beat each other and it is just whether they

bring their capital letter a game to the match.

We have seen a couple of tentative first ends. David Murdoch, we noted,

was more aggressive from the beginning. With the women's team

come of this sort of tactic. Canada seem to want to come out and almost

start attacking from the start. Do you think we will see something

similar? Very much so. Eve Muirhead and Jennifer Jones like the

offensive game, they like to be aggressive, they like to have lots

of stones in play. It is the first end, they have ten minutes practice

before they come on. When the match goes, it is right into it. Eve

Muirhead played very similar tactics in the European challenge in

December. And they won every single game of the round robin.

Unfortunately they lost the last game on the final. I think they will

keep to the strategy they are using. The goals are performing very well.

-- the girls are performing very well.

They can make a commitment now. The funding that the Great Britain team

have, both the men and the women. It is a sport we have won medals in in

the past. The programme is very much geared towards the Olympic

programme, winning an Olympic medal. It is about a commitment that you

have to make. Not just the training. Moving house, sometimes.

They are pretty much full-time curlers. They spend a lot of time in

competition, particularly Canada. A lot of non-championship conditions

over there. There is a lot of travel involved. It means you have got to

get to know each other on and off the rink and get to know each

the girls help that very well. As you can see, we have three Great

Britain stones in the house and one Canadian. We are only lying one shot

at the moment. The Yellowstone that you see closest to the centre of the

rings. Kaitlyn Lawes, the newest member of this Jennifer Jones team,

she joined in 2010-11. She has been playing very well indeed. She is a

good addition to their team. She is a pretty good foil... It is great

for Jennifer Jones to have someone like her playing as well as she is

in third, to allow Jennifer Jones... She was very impressive

yesterday but I think the whole team playing well, it helps the skip

enormously if the shots are being set up, the end is being set up in a

way that enables her to play her shots. Jennifer, several years ago,

decided to have a look at a rink and change some of the players and

brought Kaitlyn in. She is probably similar age to Eve but she has

brought some strength and determination. A little error from

an Anna Sloan, it has maybe jammed onto the Canadian stone. This is

what we want to see through this game. -- what we are going to see.

One error and it will completely change the end. We were lying three

yellow stones in the house and all of a sudden it will be three

against. Anna had a couple yesterday, it was a good performance

from the British team. She had a couple, I remember one later in the

game, a particular badness. Generally speaking she has been

playing pretty well. It is the first end, it is early, she probably

doesn't need to allow it to affect. Britain have the hammer here. The

object is if you have the last stone advantage, to try to score two. If

you have to score one, fair enough, occasionally you blankly end. You

retain the hammer into the next end if there is no score. The last thing

they want to do is give away a steel at the very beginning. A slightly

better shot would have rolled in behind the Reds. The girls were

waiting to see if the draw will take a break and take the turn it was

looking for, so we could get an inside role and role in behind the

two v if they are to Chevy you won't get

the Jones, a former world champion from

Winnipeg. After failing to make the Olympic team in 2006 and 2010,

finally getting her chance. She is a very popular skip back in Canada.

You were saying about how she even seems to have been adopting a bit of

the flamboyant see of the men's team -- flamboyant nature of the men's

team that she has not been known for. Jennifer Jones has played every

shot in the book. I think she has waited so long to get to this

championship, she is not going to let anything get in her way. She has

actually changed her personality, she used to be very quiet and didn't

say too much. During the Olympic trials in Canada she was high-fiving

and pumping the air. She had a baby very young and often that can change

your whole perception on life. I think it has for the better for

Jennifer. A 14-month-old daughter, 39 years of age, Jenny Jones. Maybe

a slightly different perspective on life. She is absolutely here to win

this competition. There is a lot of expectation in Canada as far as this

sport is concerned. The men are struggling. It has been two wins for

Jennifer Jones. This will be a tough match for Great Britain. They will

want a good start. A good shot from Eve Muirhead, trying to take out

's. -- out two. The stone was hanging a bit high, the girls will

have to be careful with the choices of line they are taking. She has

moved that operate out of the house and moved these two into the house

so as long as Eve can see a way into the four foot we still have the

hammer, the last stone, to try and knock out the Canadian reds that are

in the house. Jennifer Jones, of course, will be hoping to God

please. Probably somewhere on the centre line. He has been drawing

very well all the way through. It is just those shots that sometimes do

not come out as she would wish. It has not been working out exactly for

her. She does like the big shots. Nine times out of ten Eve will pull

them off. She likes playing on perfect international ice and this

is very good out here but it is very weight dependent and it is not quite

the same all across the sheet. Jennifer Jones is trying to put a

guard up to protect those two stones in the house. This needs to turn a

little bit, it is starting to now. It is quite long though. It is a

little bit high adventure would have hoped for. That would have given

even a draw. She has to bite the one foot which is the centre of the

rings there. As we said earlier she has been drawing very well. Her draw

shot challenge has made the one foot every single time.

Eve will just want to pull a short right down here. That will hopefully

get one right on the button. It is a fairly straightforward shot but I

can tell you that on numerous occasions, and if you saw the Great

Britain men against Germany, you will see a straightforward draw in

that you can do 95 times out of a hundred can be different in the

Olympics. These are the bread and butter shots that will win or lose

the games. I think she quite likes this. They are working it and

bringing it all the way in. The girls are digging in hard here. It

needs to get past that read. That just slightly over curls there. That

is a steal for Canada, just the one now. Not the best of starts but it

is very early on. What we are seeing already is that this Canadian team

have started as they left off in their last match, all playing very

well indeed, particularly the skip, backed up well by Kaitlyn Lawes. I

guess even her team will say that they let them in there. There were a

couple of shots that Anna Sloan did not play as well as she could have

done there and that opened things up. We had our chances but we just

have to remain positive the hammer is retained by Great Britain. They

did not score with a hammer there and Canada are taking the steel as

we move into the second end. You and I were in here yesterday when Russia

was playing and their skip had an empty house with only one of her own

stones in there. She just had to draw into there to take a two and

tie the match up in the last end. As soon as she let go of it you knew it

was not stopping anywhere and it would have carried out out of the

ice cube if it had not had a brush # bus at the end. Sometimes things

like that happen. You have to do definitely take control of your

adrenaline. Handling nerves is definitely a part of the game. You

have to always remain calm and alert. Definitely, without question,

if you are drawing, a you have two highly capable sweepers either side

of you who would be happy if you laid the stone just a tad light. All

of their sweeping efforts can take the stone at least six or 12 feet

further. That is a corner guard being