Day 6, Part 4

:00:41. > :00:46.Thank you so much the Jonathan and his team. I hope you have been

:00:47. > :00:55.enjoying the action on day six of the Winter Olympics. We are hearing

:00:56. > :01:01.news that Yevgeny Pleshenko has pulled out. That is a big shock to

:01:02. > :01:06.the Russian fans because he is a big star in these parts. We're going to

:01:07. > :01:12.be showing you a competition with Hazel in the office earlier today.

:01:13. > :01:16.We were doing the louche relay and she said, Claire, it is going to be

:01:17. > :01:50.brilliant. I hope she is right, and this is why. -- luge relay.

:01:51. > :01:58.It is going to be a kind of IC version of wacky races. That is

:01:59. > :02:05.coming your way. Let's have a look at some of the headline makers so

:02:06. > :02:09.far on basics. In the ski slope style, James Woods of Sheffield

:02:10. > :02:14.defied a hip injury but just missed out on the medals, his best run of

:02:15. > :02:19.86.6 was not enough to make the podium. The USA completed a clean

:02:20. > :02:23.sweep of the medals with Josh Christensen taking gold. Vicky Adam

:02:24. > :02:27.is Claire Hamilton are very much back on track in turns of

:02:28. > :02:32.qualification in the knockout stages of the curling, with an 8-7 victory

:02:33. > :02:39.over China winning they have one two and lost two. And the British men

:02:40. > :02:43.are bidding to become the first win gold since the first Winter Games in

:02:44. > :02:58.1924, beating the USA compared to 5-3 to make it four victories out of

:02:59. > :03:02.five. Let's have a look at Yevgeny Pleshenko. This was during the warm

:03:03. > :03:06.up. Clearly not comfortable and not happy and telling the Russian coach

:03:07. > :03:11.that he does not think he's going to able to escape. That is a real

:03:12. > :03:16.shame. He is a man with huge charisma and confidence and a big

:03:17. > :03:21.ego. He would have loved to have skated in front of his home crowd

:03:22. > :03:25.and tried on his own to win a medal of any colour, but it is not to be,

:03:26. > :03:29.tonight, and we will be hearing from Robin cousins and Sue Barker what

:03:30. > :03:35.the reaction was, and any more that they know. We're going to look back

:03:36. > :03:41.at the rough and tumble of short track speed skating and 23-year-old

:03:42. > :03:55.who the first British woman to make it two shots back speed skating

:03:56. > :04:00.final. Indeed, she could be going to three files. Let's find out what

:04:01. > :04:06.happened in the first of them. The commentary comes from Hugh Porter

:04:07. > :04:18.and a man who took medals when this was a demo event, Wilf O'Reilly.

:04:19. > :04:25.There is Elise Christie in the third position. This is going to be some

:04:26. > :04:30.contest. There will be no charitable hand-outs. We are getting very near

:04:31. > :04:38.to the dice on the ice for the three podium positions. Elise Christie

:04:39. > :04:47.looks relaxed and calm, as the ladies 500 metres is about to begin.

:04:48. > :04:54.Being overhauled by Christie. They have all gone down. There is only

:04:55. > :05:01.one skater left standing, the Chinese competitor. In second place,

:05:02. > :05:06.Elise Christie come storming through. She is going to try and

:05:07. > :05:20.claim the silver medal. She is being chased down, and the gold medal goes

:05:21. > :05:23.to China. Fontana's almost Bridged to Elise Christie, as they come

:05:24. > :05:29.round looking for silver and bronze. The gold medal goes to China, and

:05:30. > :05:32.Elise Christie coming up to the line, and she takes the silver

:05:33. > :05:39.medal. History has been made here. We wait to see if the result will

:05:40. > :05:42.stand, but that was a great skate by Elise Christie. She recovered and

:05:43. > :05:51.got back up on the ice and finished in second position. Now, the big

:05:52. > :05:55.question is, what is going to happen to Elise Christie? She charged down

:05:56. > :06:05.the inside and really, it was a battle between Fontana and Elise

:06:06. > :06:12.Christie. Do you think that decision will stand? It is going to be very

:06:13. > :06:17.tight indeed. The start was clean, but coming out of that first bend,

:06:18. > :06:23.Elise Christie charges down the inside, not an awful lot of room,

:06:24. > :06:29.crashed straight into Fontana. You think she will get advantage? She

:06:30. > :06:38.may receive a penalty for that, which would be such a shame. She was

:06:39. > :06:45.skating so well. Did they touch? I don't think they did. I think Elise

:06:46. > :06:51.Christie's hand might have caught her left five on the inside. It was

:06:52. > :06:57.marginal. It looked like she went down of her own volition. And down

:06:58. > :07:02.she went again. I don't think Fontana and Elise Christie touched

:07:03. > :07:06.her. The LA chronic scoreboard in front of us is showing that Elise

:07:07. > :07:15.Christie has been penalised and placed fourth in the contest. Well,

:07:16. > :07:32.how sad is that? The gold medal going to Jianrou, of China. And the

:07:33. > :07:36.bronze going to Park Seung-hi. Unfortunately, the girl hit me off

:07:37. > :07:41.my feet and that meant that I then hit everyone else. But this just a

:07:42. > :07:47.way that short track goes. The referee made the decision. It could

:07:48. > :07:53.have been different, but everyone is going to have different opinions.

:07:54. > :07:54.Now, I am regretting that. But I went for the win, and that is just

:07:55. > :08:06.the way that it went. Wilf O'Reilly joins me now. She

:08:07. > :08:10.looked absolutely distraught, on the verge of tears. She did well to give

:08:11. > :08:16.an interview at all. We have seen how it happened. What is your view

:08:17. > :08:19.on why it happened? I was surprised that she did not stay as cool as she

:08:20. > :08:23.did through all of the previous rounds of the previous races. Still

:08:24. > :08:28.four laps to go, and to charge up the inside, having seen it from

:08:29. > :08:33.another angle, it does not look as bad. When I saw it from the

:08:34. > :08:37.commentary box, it looks very bad, as if she was totally in the wrong,

:08:38. > :08:43.but seeing it from this angle, clearly looks like Fontana, the

:08:44. > :08:47.Italian on the outside, pushes her on the inside. I have only seen it

:08:48. > :08:53.from this angle now for the first time. And the South Korean almost

:08:54. > :09:00.got away with it, got up and fill again. She gets pushed down, Elise

:09:01. > :09:06.Christie, placed in eighth place behind the B final. I am

:09:07. > :09:10.disappointed for her. She could have got a medal in every single

:09:11. > :09:15.distance. She still has got the 1000 metres and 1500 metres to go, both

:09:16. > :09:19.good events for her. She has to get over this. We hope, in the first

:09:20. > :09:26.place, that she is not injured. She skated on. Her pride may be injured.

:09:27. > :09:31.We talk in sport about taking the positives out of things. How do you

:09:32. > :09:36.do that when it is you that this has happened to? As I said before,

:09:37. > :09:39.because of the rough and tumble type of sport that it is, where all of

:09:40. > :09:44.these things are always happening, you take one race at a time. You

:09:45. > :09:48.have to forget what has happened and move forward. Even though they have

:09:49. > :09:52.a competition day off, they will be back on the ice tomorrow, and they

:09:53. > :09:57.will be looking at it from all different angles, watching what was

:09:58. > :10:00.going wrong, watching what was going right, and looking forward to the

:10:01. > :10:06.1500 metres. That is all she can focus on. And by Saturday, she will

:10:07. > :10:11.have these in semifinals and then the final, we hope. And when she

:10:12. > :10:16.gets back into race mode, it will feel a bit better. Absolutely. If

:10:17. > :10:20.you asked before, would you be happy with an Olympic final at the 500

:10:21. > :10:24.metres before coming to these games, she would have answered yes. Having

:10:25. > :10:30.qualified third fastest with a final, she was hoping for a medal.

:10:31. > :10:34.In her head, what can be said and done to help her recover

:10:35. > :10:39.psychologically? Is there something with the British team? The Dutch

:10:40. > :10:44.team are hugely successful, and I'm sure that they have got somebody who

:10:45. > :10:52.does that. One of the quotes that Elise Christie has spoken about is

:10:53. > :10:56.that winning is psychology. She has had good season, to come here as an

:10:57. > :10:59.outsider in the 500, reached the final and then be going from medal,

:11:00. > :11:04.even though it is disappointing for her, it must be immensely positive,

:11:05. > :11:11.to have achieved what she has done this week. The first woman in

:11:12. > :11:17.British history to make an Olympic final. In the 1500 metres there is

:11:18. > :11:24.more time for the race to develop, and she can relax more. Absolutely.

:11:25. > :11:31.Do you have high hopes that she could be in contention for a gold

:11:32. > :11:35.medal? She has shown today, when it is starting, it is going well, it is

:11:36. > :11:39.all about high speed, and she has proved today that she has got that.

:11:40. > :11:47.It is brilliant to watch, I love it. And it is good to have a British

:11:48. > :11:53.competitor with a genuine chance. We discussed it the other day that you

:11:54. > :11:58.had two falls in Lillehammer. We know that it can happen. You have

:11:59. > :12:02.been in the sport where it has happened so often, you just have to

:12:03. > :12:09.let it go. You have to let it go and move on. Why don't we all try and do

:12:10. > :12:14.that? As spectators we get involved, but we have to let it go and move

:12:15. > :12:20.on. It is very noisy in Olympic Park today. Lots of Russians waving flags

:12:21. > :12:25.and chanting, Russia, Russia, and you can see the crowds going into

:12:26. > :12:28.the ice hockey. We have got ice hockey action later on. That is the

:12:29. > :12:35.Bolshoy arena. A beautiful stadium. They like it up with score updates.

:12:36. > :12:42.Thanks for now to Wilf. I am going to grab your microphone and handed

:12:43. > :12:45.to Olly Williams. Talking about the reaction in turns of professional

:12:46. > :12:49.athletes and we can feel the reaction of the Russians to the

:12:50. > :12:54.Winter Olympics. What has been the reaction on social media? Few things

:12:55. > :13:00.get people talking as much as sporting chaos, and that was

:13:01. > :13:03.sporting chaos. Jack Tweed, my girlfriend Elise Christie is not a

:13:04. > :13:08.medallist but she is a winner, that is what short track champions do. He

:13:09. > :13:16.packed on, my hero, at the end of it. Her team-mate said he is proud

:13:17. > :13:22.of her. And I'm sure that she will be even on rec. British athletes

:13:23. > :13:33.watching at home, nobody knows how much is that feels as much as Dani

:13:34. > :13:39.Khan. Still two to go, you have got this, girl. Etienne Stott, canoeing

:13:40. > :13:42.Olympic champion, he knows about coming back from a setback. He had

:13:43. > :13:45.shoulder problems and took time-out. He came back to win

:13:46. > :14:08.Olympic gold. And finally, time-out. He came back to win

:14:09. > :14:13.BBC sport website. There are clips up there as well. And fast --

:14:14. > :14:20.fantastic, up-to-the-minute reporting as well. Yes, light up a

:14:21. > :14:24.solar way through the day. Have you been surprised at how many people,

:14:25. > :14:28.given that it was mid-morning, were involved and were talking about it?

:14:29. > :14:35.It shows that when people get wind of this sport, it grips them. You're

:14:36. > :14:40.talking about 44 seconds for those athletes to get round 4.5 laps, and

:14:41. > :14:49.the sheer physicality and unpredictability of it, it just rips

:14:50. > :14:53.people. -- grips people. It is not like slope style where you get one

:14:54. > :15:02.and only chance, she is in all three distances. Now, what of the

:15:03. > :15:09.skeleton? This is Britain were most successful Winter Olympic sport.

:15:10. > :15:12.Let's find out what happened in 11 and 12, Lizzy Arnold has been

:15:13. > :15:16.fastest in practice, Shelley Rudman is now as, and experienced silver

:15:17. > :15:22.medallist in chewing, and we are joining Colin Bryce and Paul

:15:23. > :15:25.Dickinson now. Shelley Bodman of Great Britain being supported ably

:15:26. > :15:41.by her husband -- in Turin. And this time she has started well.

:15:42. > :15:49.Little head movements bringing her down into that first corner,

:15:50. > :15:54.correctly. She has an advantage over Flock or just 100th of a second

:15:55. > :16:00.coming into this one. Let me bring in Amy Williams, former team-mate

:16:01. > :16:02.and Olympic gold medallist. She has lost it a little bit too Flock at

:16:03. > :16:18.the start. I am expecting her to creep up, but

:16:19. > :16:26.you never know. She has just gone ahead by 100th of a second. She is

:16:27. > :16:34.keeping clean lines in the important part. She is learning with every

:16:35. > :16:47.single run here. And she has improved, 59.33, and she stays in

:16:48. > :17:01.exactly the same place for the time being. That is great for Shelley,

:17:02. > :17:09.she will be really happy with that. Is this to be a good start? This is

:17:10. > :17:16.the first of the athletes who will be pressuring for the gold medal.

:17:17. > :17:18.She is not a brilliant starter, but she is so big and powerful, with

:17:19. > :17:41.aerodynamic form. She is like Lizzie, lying very flat,

:17:42. > :17:55.the weight behind, they just need the perfect line to put them

:17:56. > :17:58.through. So far, a really good run. And she is accelerating down the

:17:59. > :18:10.last part of the track. This is dramatic, and she does.

:18:11. > :18:16.She flies through the air brilliantly, the fastest we have

:18:17. > :18:26.seen so far. One athletes to go. The aim, another

:18:27. > :18:29.track record. She gets down into the perfect driving position, and she

:18:30. > :18:40.goes. Will she break the track record? Not quite. But you can see

:18:41. > :18:46.the advantage that she has over Pikus-Pace already. This is a big

:18:47. > :18:54.margin to be leading in the Olympics. Over half a second.

:18:55. > :19:01.Absolutely perfect lines. She is keeping so still, strong,

:19:02. > :19:11.aerodynamic. They do a lot of work in wind tunnels perfecting that

:19:12. > :19:19.position. Can she keep it up? She is 0.55 of a second in front. A little

:19:20. > :19:31.tap there, and she might lose a few fractions. She is coming to the

:19:32. > :19:39.line. That is brilliant. I could not be more happy. I have been in nerves

:19:40. > :19:43.all morning waiting for this. 0.44 of a second ahead of anybody else in

:19:44. > :19:50.the world. Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain.

:19:51. > :20:03.Shelley Rudman is in 11th place. What excitement we have had this

:20:04. > :20:09.morning. Ideally going into the second day, I would be in second or

:20:10. > :20:13.third position, so I wouldn't be the first one to go tomorrow. It is

:20:14. > :20:22.something I'm going to have to focus on and content with tomorrow. The

:20:23. > :20:23.race is only halfway through, so it is back to the drawing board with

:20:24. > :20:41.the coach. She is so composed, Elizabeth the

:20:42. > :20:49.Arnold. She knows Amy Williams, is renting a flat from her. She has a

:20:50. > :20:52.good team around her. And Lizzie tweeted that her coach, Danny, had

:20:53. > :20:56.been sliding further than her today, because he encountered a slight lack

:20:57. > :21:02.of friction when he was trying to help other at the end of one of her

:21:03. > :21:09.runs. He went to take her sled, and fell over. Shelley Rudman was pretty

:21:10. > :21:14.cross with herself. She is down in 11th, but she tweeted a photo of her

:21:15. > :21:18.helmet afterwards. It is relatively bumped and bruised, to say the

:21:19. > :21:25.least. You are doing 80 mph going down there. And that happened

:21:26. > :21:32.actually in the run, rather than her smashing it afterwards? That just

:21:33. > :21:44.shows the stresses and strains and GeForce is that these guys go

:21:45. > :21:49.through. A few other things. Henrik Harle out will be remembered for

:21:50. > :21:55.this, with his pants halfway down. Call me an old lady, but I always

:21:56. > :21:59.wanted to run around and tell boys to pull their trousers up. I just

:22:00. > :22:04.don't know how you can try and win an Olympic medal if your trousers

:22:05. > :22:15.are around your knees. Pull the mark! You would tell him that? I

:22:16. > :22:21.would! Amy Williams has joined us, Olympic champion in skeleton from

:22:22. > :22:28.Vancouver. What is your reaction to everything that happened? It is so

:22:29. > :22:35.exciting to watch. Lizzy Yarnold is a joy to watch. She is so calm, she

:22:36. > :22:41.stands on that start line as if it is not the Olympics. I text her last

:22:42. > :22:46.night, and I said, I know how you are feeling. Keep calm and

:22:47. > :22:53.consistent, I am here for you if there is anything you want. Just go

:22:54. > :22:58.out there and have fun. And when you hear her talk about it, she just

:22:59. > :23:05.seems like a seasoned pro, and she has been in the game such a short

:23:06. > :23:09.time. That is the magic in her. She seems so confident, and has this

:23:10. > :23:16.experienced head on her as if she is a third or fourth time Olympian, and

:23:17. > :23:21.yet this is her first Olympics. I spoke to the Swiss coach, and he was

:23:22. > :23:31.saying that she looked good on a sled, but she was questioning

:23:32. > :23:37.herself standing on the start line, and it was a real shame. And on the

:23:38. > :23:43.flip side, you have Lizzy who is going out there and having fun and

:23:44. > :23:47.almost just letting it happen. She has got an advantage now that one

:23:48. > :23:53.would think is almost unassailable. I know things can go wrong, but she

:23:54. > :23:59.just looks so calm with it all. It makes tomorrow really exciting. We

:24:00. > :24:04.have to run is still to come. Is it a case of just holding on to her

:24:05. > :24:15.lead? She does just need to hold onto it. 44 hundredths is huge. She

:24:16. > :24:21.shouldn't be doing anything crazy or fancy, but just putting down to more

:24:22. > :24:27.solid runs. The first day is done, have confidence, go to bed, rest up,

:24:28. > :24:36.eat, and do the same tomorrow. I spoke to the coach of the girl who

:24:37. > :24:41.is in second, she had been really ill and is in training. Considering

:24:42. > :24:53.she has had less practice than anyone else, I thought she did

:24:54. > :24:58.outstandingly. He also said that she had troubles. She can change her

:24:59. > :25:03.sled during the night if she wants to. You are not allowed to change it

:25:04. > :25:08.once you get to the track, but you can change it before. It is like

:25:09. > :25:12.Lewis Hamilton picking the wrong tyres to put on his car with the

:25:13. > :25:15.weather conditions, it is the same kind of thing are choosing the

:25:16. > :25:23.runners, you can change them overnight. So she could be quicker

:25:24. > :25:31.tomorrow? She says she has some speedy ones for tomorrow. Now, Lizzy

:25:32. > :25:44.has some supporters out here, they call themselves the Yarnie Army. She

:25:45. > :25:50.says you have to try to treat it as if it means nothing. She has friends

:25:51. > :25:55.out here to help. Yes, I wouldn't say suddenly bring people watch if

:25:56. > :26:00.you have never had anybody watch, but her mum and dad are here, her

:26:01. > :26:05.sisters, her best friend, they are all here. And why not? You want them

:26:06. > :26:09.here feel big occasion, and no matter how well you do, whether you

:26:10. > :26:16.get that gold or miss out, they are here to hug you at the end. I love

:26:17. > :26:22.the fact that she is relaxed enough to be joking about her coach falling

:26:23. > :26:28.over on the ice! I just happened to see that he stepped on the ice and

:26:29. > :26:33.he was gone. I don't know if he had his track walkers on or not. But why

:26:34. > :26:38.not have a joke? You have to keep a bit of reality even though you are

:26:39. > :26:46.in the Olympic bubble. Have a laugh with your team. Lizzie has got here

:26:47. > :26:54.because of the team around her. -- Lizzy. These guys were my team, and

:26:55. > :26:59.they are part of that medal as well, and for years later they come

:27:00. > :27:04.together for her. Ultimately, you have to have fun at the same time.

:27:05. > :27:11.But I sensed that the team and you have complete faith in Lizzy. Yes, I

:27:12. > :27:16.do. She has been our shining star. She has worked so incredibly hard,

:27:17. > :27:18.and it is paying off now. She has been the consistent slider

:27:19. > :27:28.throughout the whole World Cup season. Today is proving it. She is

:27:29. > :27:32.still consistent, and when you have four runs, that is what you need.

:27:33. > :27:42.And Shelley Rudman, it is very unlikely, impossible to win a medal

:27:43. > :27:46.for her? Yes, Shelley has taken longer to get used to this track.

:27:47. > :27:51.She has found it harder to get her rhythm, get her lines. I thought she

:27:52. > :27:56.would come out today with a surprise, and I was prepared to see

:27:57. > :27:59.her in the top six, but it didn't quite happen. She did improve with

:28:00. > :28:08.every run, her second run was quicker. Her first run, she made a

:28:09. > :28:15.mistake. So I do believe Shelley will come out, and put down two

:28:16. > :28:19.really good runs tomorrow. But she is nearly two seconds behind, I

:28:20. > :28:27.think 1.9, and it would be a miracle if she did manage to get any faster.

:28:28. > :28:31.Well, Amy and I are heading up to the sliding centre tomorrow evening

:28:32. > :28:43.to present that. These are the times of Lizzy Yarnold's third and fourth

:28:44. > :28:47.runs tomorrow evening. 3.30 tomorrow afternoon will be her third run, and

:28:48. > :28:55.her final run will be on BBC One at 5.15.

:28:56. > :29:01.Now, on the red button at the moment, you can see the men's short

:29:02. > :29:07.programme in figure skating, but as we now hear, it will not feature

:29:08. > :29:13.Evgeni Plushenko, Russia's big big star, twice a single medallist, he

:29:14. > :29:18.has pulled out. We hear he has a back injury. He was part of the

:29:19. > :29:24.Russian team that won the gold medal. This is him explaining that

:29:25. > :29:30.he doesn't feel that he is fit enough to take his place. A real

:29:31. > :29:36.shame for the Russian fans here and we will be getting the views of

:29:37. > :29:40.Robin Cousins as and when we can. But now we are heading back up to

:29:41. > :29:53.the sliding centre, a busy day there, and a first for the Winter

:29:54. > :29:59.Olympics, the luge relay. Each team has three runs, a women's

:30:00. > :30:06.singles, a men's singles and doubles. As in the other luge

:30:07. > :30:11.events, competitors begin their run sitting upright, paddling the gloves

:30:12. > :30:16.with spiked gloves -- paddling the ice. They steer by moving their

:30:17. > :30:22.shoulders and legs. At the finish of a run, the slider must flick a

:30:23. > :30:28.special touchpad which allows the next team member to start their leg.

:30:29. > :30:34.The team that is quickest with their overall time wins. Andrew Carter

:30:35. > :30:38.with the explanation. It is not about passing over a bat on, it is

:30:39. > :30:43.about bashing thing at the bottom which releases the gate at the top.

:30:44. > :30:49.Let's get the commentary with Colin Bryce and Paul Dickenson.

:30:50. > :30:55.Here we go, thank you very much indeed. We are starting with the

:30:56. > :31:08.Czech Republic here. We have Poland in the lead. The doubles starts

:31:09. > :31:13.slightly lower down than the men did. As you come up of the finish,

:31:14. > :31:20.up the finish straight, slammed the pack and that opens the gate at the

:31:21. > :31:36.top. The Czech Republic at the moment, they are behind right now,

:31:37. > :31:42.on the poles. . Poland, sliding extremely well, it has to be said.

:31:43. > :31:46.The Czech Republic, however, just over the line, but they have got to

:31:47. > :31:54.come higher up the cause. Away they go. 0.66 BBI in Poland. You have

:31:55. > :31:59.seen how it is done. It looks easy but believe me, it is not, at speed.

:32:00. > :32:04.The more these people have come down the course, the more they are going

:32:05. > :32:11.better despite the fact that they have completed already. That is the

:32:12. > :32:18.position. The touching and losing speed, they do not do that,

:32:19. > :32:25.ideally. Up the hill towards corner six, cutting through the well, but

:32:26. > :32:37.they are still behind here, the Czechs. Back up the hill again. 0.75

:32:38. > :32:43.seconds behind Poland. Looking good. 31.7 kilometres per hour, roundabout

:32:44. > :32:53.level by some of the other teams. And away go the doubles. The double

:32:54. > :32:59.Lodz, these brothers went pretty well. This time it is more potent

:33:00. > :33:02.for them. They have got to try and cut the deficit as soon as they

:33:03. > :33:19.possibly can. Talking about reaction times now. It is like a good bat on

:33:20. > :33:24.exchange in the four by 100 metres. Well done to the Czech republic

:33:25. > :33:31.team. It is touch and go. They are coming round. My goodness, what of a

:33:32. > :33:39.second in it, and back into the lead. Up the hill, a little foot on

:33:40. > :33:48.the ice. The terminal speed was not as great. Zero point 52 of a second

:33:49. > :33:54.round, and Poland, this team, have maintained the lead. My goodness.

:33:55. > :34:00.They could hardly look disappointed, the individuals. They did not really

:34:01. > :34:09.do their bit. They both lost time on Poland. What a blinder, the brothers

:34:10. > :34:14.that was. Looking back now. That was the start, down at the bottom, she

:34:15. > :34:18.made no mistake. We have seen a few times over the World Cup season,

:34:19. > :34:25.people setting up a little late, and they do not get a clean hit, and it

:34:26. > :34:30.does not open the gates at the top. They have to really work it hard. It

:34:31. > :34:39.is almost as though they are trying to punch a hole in it. Just a little

:34:40. > :34:42.touch, to reduce the speed. They finished in second place, behind

:34:43. > :34:48.Poland. And that is very good indeed.

:34:49. > :35:03.Now, we have Slovakia. Vera Gobarova, Who finished in 20 Fifth

:35:04. > :35:08.Place. We only have ten teams at the minute.

:35:09. > :35:27.Let's have a look at the start by the Slovakians. It has gone green.

:35:28. > :35:34.Out of five, up the hill. She has lost the lead. Over steering, there.

:35:35. > :35:43.Six hundredths of a second in, behind Poland at the moment. 0.2 of

:35:44. > :35:53.a second behind them, up to the next checkpoint. And that checkmark is

:35:54. > :36:01.due in a minute, a third of a second down. It is going to be hard work

:36:02. > :36:10.for the next man. Speeding in excess of 135. 55.75. Positively pedestrian

:36:11. > :36:22.in the end. She has given away a lot of time to Poland, there. That is

:36:23. > :36:30.pretty quick. Placed 20th in the individual event. They have had a

:36:31. > :36:35.lot longer since then. Trying to point his close together and create

:36:36. > :36:40.an aerodynamic form as he cuts through the ice. If you do not do

:36:41. > :36:45.that, you can lose up to five kilometres per hour. Try to put

:36:46. > :36:51.their head back as much as possible. If you get your head ack, it allows

:36:52. > :37:01.the airflow to go over you, creating less drag. -- head back.

:37:02. > :37:13.He whacked that. And here go the doubles. Still 0.5 seconds behind.

:37:14. > :37:24.That was a solid slide, but Gburova somewhat let the Slovakians down.

:37:25. > :37:33.He is the main man doing the piloting right now. They have got

:37:34. > :37:38.the chance of catching up. It is a slim chance, but it is there.

:37:39. > :37:44.Definitely better than the doubles team that went for Poland earlier.

:37:45. > :37:53.They were 0.5 seconds down, and my goodness me, this is a scorcher! Up

:37:54. > :37:58.to 17th. They were just about to go into the lead but they are not going

:37:59. > :38:03.to, now. That is disappointing, my goodness. I thought we were on for

:38:04. > :38:10.some new leaders, that is for sure, and Poland maintained the lead,

:38:11. > :38:19.still there as number one. Slovakia had it all to do. There we have it.

:38:20. > :38:30.And despite the fact that the leaders, Poland, are absolutely

:38:31. > :38:38.delighted, despite that, the Slovakian doubles were ahead. It was

:38:39. > :38:41.Gburova who let them down. She struggled to set up and hit it. It

:38:42. > :38:46.is difficult. Going up the hill, bobbling around on the ice,

:38:47. > :38:50.sometimes you can hit a little chunk of ice and it'll get you back down

:38:51. > :38:59.again, and you missed the pad. It is easy to do. Just as I was saying,

:39:00. > :39:01.catching and about to take over. They were certainly going to go into

:39:02. > :39:09.the lead if they had not taken that touch on the slide. Five teams have

:39:10. > :39:15.gone so far. The next team are a real threat to the side. I will tell

:39:16. > :39:46.you more about them in a minute. Here, we have the Sics brothers.

:39:47. > :39:51.They are the last to go. They already have medals, the first ever

:39:52. > :39:59.Latvian medal of any description, the Sics brothers got silver in

:40:00. > :40:05.2010. This is the first real superpower team we have seen so far.

:40:06. > :40:08.Tiruma is the weak section here, a little bit disappointing in the

:40:09. > :40:12.women's, but she gets her act together and this could be a real

:40:13. > :40:18.medal threat. They are in the lead at the moment, that was a solid

:40:19. > :40:23.start from Tiruma. Looking to see what she needs to get now. It is

:40:24. > :40:29.very close. And she is in the lead by 0.139. She is driving the cause.

:40:30. > :40:39.Much better than she did in the individual event. And she sits up

:40:40. > :40:45.and slaps the pad. Two tenths of a second. And she unleashes the

:40:46. > :40:50.Olympic bronze medallist from 2006, who does not have a best start, but

:40:51. > :40:55.his reaction time was lightning, he has managed to hold the lead. We

:40:56. > :41:00.have often said that this man is one of the best sliders in the world.

:41:01. > :41:08.But his start does let him down. But it didn't, that time, and he is up

:41:09. > :41:13.already 0.356 seconds. Undoubtedly one of the best pilots in the world.

:41:14. > :41:19.Maybe not the absolute best, but not far off it. On his day, he can win.

:41:20. > :41:28.But his start as his weakness. He is 35 years old. He has had some bad

:41:29. > :41:32.injuries. And we expect the Sics brothers to drivers on by over a

:41:33. > :41:37.second. That is tremendous terminal speed as he comes to pennies. And

:41:38. > :41:45.that opens the gate for the Sics brothers, one of the best crews in

:41:46. > :41:59.the world. We are seeing a bit of physics and action. How fast will

:42:00. > :42:07.these doubles cruise go? Here are the Sics brothers, the combined

:42:08. > :42:10.weight of well over 200 kilograms. Already very fast food corner ten,

:42:11. > :42:17.and the bigger you are, the faster you fall, in the loose. The Sics

:42:18. > :42:21.brothers are tearing up this track. That is one of the highest speeds we

:42:22. > :42:29.have seen. Just wait until we get their terminal speed around here.

:42:30. > :42:36.One free 7.7. That is quick, taking the lead by some way. My goodness

:42:37. > :42:45.gracious me. That was a phenomenal final run by the Sics brothers.

:42:46. > :42:51.Brilliant stuff, 56.502. Remember that time. I wonder if any of the

:42:52. > :42:58.doubles crews will go faster than that? There terminal speed was

:42:59. > :43:08.around about 86 mph. That is fantastic. That is some lead that

:43:09. > :43:14.they hold. Latvia, in the lead, from Poland.

:43:15. > :43:21.Looking back here at the Sics brothers. They really grabbed their

:43:22. > :43:26.chance. This could be a third Olympic medal for them, having got

:43:27. > :43:30.bronze and silver at the previous games in the individual event. This

:43:31. > :43:35.is the first time we have ever done team relay in the Olympic history of

:43:36. > :43:39.this event, it started back in 1964, and we have done men's, singles and

:43:40. > :43:44.doubles since, and it is great that they have brought this team relay

:43:45. > :43:47.event in. It has been done on the World Cup circuit. It is great that

:43:48. > :43:56.a nation can compete together in a sliding sport. Ivanova finished

:43:57. > :44:06.seventh in the end of the jewel event. She gets away to a solid

:44:07. > :44:14.start. It is difficult to tell because there is no starting plot,

:44:15. > :44:21.but if there is anybody who wants to put in a run, it is Ivanova. The

:44:22. > :44:26.two-time European champion, fourth in the last Olympic Games. She was

:44:27. > :44:30.its better to take a medal and she ended up seven. She was absolutely

:44:31. > :44:35.gutted by that individual performance. She is well in the

:44:36. > :44:42.lead. We will see as she goes through 14. She is in the lead by

:44:43. > :44:57.1.6 -- by 0.169 of a second. She has done it so far. And one 33.9, that

:44:58. > :45:01.is a great personal speed. We saw Demchenko ready and waiting. He was

:45:02. > :45:05.ready to pull away. And that is one of the problems. You cannot sit in a

:45:06. > :45:13.compression phase at the start, when you drop backwards. He is 42 years

:45:14. > :45:18.old now. But he is an Olympic silver medallist. Forget the start. He is

:45:19. > :45:29.one third of a second out. He is likening quick at the bottom. He

:45:30. > :45:38.gets great speed. And he is sliding well. He has not hit any bonds at

:45:39. > :45:47.all, and has increased his lead. 130.9. This is getting faster,

:45:48. > :45:54.137.3, terrific by Demchenko. In the lead. That is superb.

:45:55. > :46:13.Well, my goodness. Here we have the doubles. Yes, heads back good

:46:14. > :46:20.sliding. They are looking to lay down a massive slide here. They are

:46:21. > :46:25.favourites for the silver at the moment. As a unit together, when you

:46:26. > :46:28.look at individual performances, that is where you would expect them

:46:29. > :46:51.to finish. It is pressuring Germany, trying to take the lead.

:46:52. > :46:58.And can they touch? Yes! 2.46 .67. That is a full second ahead just

:46:59. > :47:05.about from Latvia. Russia in first, Latvia in second and Poland still in

:47:06. > :47:10.third. Well done to them, they didn't have a great slide yesterday

:47:11. > :47:27.in their first run. Now they are genuine medal contenders. That will

:47:28. > :47:35.feel really good. Ivanova had her slide there. And Demchenko, he

:47:36. > :47:43.managed to hit nearly 138 kilometres per hour.

:47:44. > :47:52.And they are the new course record holders.

:47:53. > :48:05.Well, Demchenko and one of the doubles pairings, we have seen it

:48:06. > :48:16.here first. This is the team from the United States, Hamlin who

:48:17. > :48:24.finished third in the individual and became the first ever non-European

:48:25. > :48:36.to win a medal in women's's luge. Erin Hamlin gets ready to start. And

:48:37. > :48:45.away she goes. This girl can really terror the track. She had perfect

:48:46. > :48:50.slides to get that bronze medal a couple of days ago. I imagine the

:48:51. > :48:59.Americans fancy their chances. She should go in the lead. But does

:49:00. > :49:10.she? Yes, she does. She is ahead of Ivanova. Almost nothing in it.

:49:11. > :49:23.Perhaps a centimetre. Coming up to the next checkmark. Is she excel

:49:24. > :49:35.rating? She is. -- accelerating. This certainly matches what Ivanova

:49:36. > :49:45.did. And she unleashes Christopher Mazdzer. He was disappointed with

:49:46. > :49:50.his individual results, and wants to put something forward here for the

:49:51. > :50:04.US team will stop he finished 13th in the individual event. Demchenko

:50:05. > :50:10.went really fast for the Russians down the bottom, and that is where

:50:11. > :50:18.Christopher Mazdzer may lose it. And as the Time goes from green to

:50:19. > :50:29.white, we know he has gone behind. The Russian Federation are leading.

:50:30. > :50:51.And away we go, Christian Nick and Jason turned on. -- Terdyman.

:50:52. > :51:03.Right now, they are not pulling this back.

:51:04. > :51:12.Let's have a look at the lead now, and it has increased. My goodness.

:51:13. > :51:18.They are going further behind with every corner. They will not pull

:51:19. > :51:29.this back. Will they go ahead of the Latvians in second? No, they won't.

:51:30. > :51:37.They are in third place. That is a big run for the USA. But they didn't

:51:38. > :51:44.have what it takes, and there you have it. Erin Hamlin was in the lead

:51:45. > :52:00.when she came down, and the others lost it. There is no hiding from

:52:01. > :52:06.that graphic. The times don't lie. Christopher Mazdzer will look back

:52:07. > :52:13.at this Olympics and be disappointed. He has had two silver

:52:14. > :52:21.medals this season in World Cup. He had something to prove here, and he

:52:22. > :52:26.just didn't prove it. And this American duo, they didn't really

:52:27. > :52:39.fire on all cylinders. So that is a little disappointing. The Russians

:52:40. > :52:43.are still in the lead. The IOC president and Prince Albert are

:52:44. > :53:01.there. The Germans are waiting for the Italians. Sandra Gasparini could

:53:02. > :53:17.be the weak link in the chain here. Who knows? Away she goes. Looking

:53:18. > :53:23.comfortable so far, Colin. She is just not as quick out of the start.

:53:24. > :53:28.She hasn't got the power to compete with the Russians, but as long as

:53:29. > :53:45.she can handover with a third or a half of a second, she is handing to

:53:46. > :53:52.the great Armin Zoeggeler glow. She is still in touch, it is still

:53:53. > :54:09.possible. She is sliding much better than she did in the individual

:54:10. > :54:17.event, I think. And away we go. And here goes Zoeggeler. He could

:54:18. > :54:20.overcome any deficit. Keycode. Remember Demchenko got a silver,

:54:21. > :54:45.Zoeggeler got a bronze. His time is similar to what

:54:46. > :55:01.Zoeggeler managed. He is slow, a full half second behind. So their

:55:02. > :55:06.work is cut out here, the pair. They are in second place at the moment,

:55:07. > :55:11.and they have all the mints to go all the way. They are running

:55:12. > :55:24.smoothly at the moment, but it is still the Russians in the lead. They

:55:25. > :55:32.can't pull it back on the Russians now, but how much will they lose? If

:55:33. > :55:36.they lose more than about a second, they will go out of the medals and

:55:37. > :55:48.into fourth position behind the Americans. Three quarters of a

:55:49. > :55:51.second right now. They should get third, but with the Germans are

:55:52. > :55:58.still to come, that is the equivalent of being off the podium.

:55:59. > :56:02.Oberstolz and Gruber Come to the end, Russia are still in the lead.

:56:03. > :56:25.Italy in third place, and the Germans go next. That is quite a

:56:26. > :56:37.line-up for Germany, it is like having Usain Bolt on all four legs

:56:38. > :57:02.of a relay. They are that good at the moment. Dyson -- Guisenberger

:57:03. > :57:45.and co-are top. Zoeggeler has lost his chance of

:57:46. > :57:50.taking gold here. Now, we are watching the Olympic champion come

:57:51. > :57:53.down here, Guisenberger. She is on fire at the moment, the 10th of a

:57:54. > :58:02.second up. She is the best starting woman in the world, but so is Felix

:58:03. > :58:13.Loch who she is handing over to, and so are Wendl and Arlt.

:58:14. > :58:26.Is Demchenko destined to pay homage to the Germans? And away we go with

:58:27. > :58:36.Felix Loch. The only chance of this going wrong is if Guisenberger were

:58:37. > :58:43.to crash, things do go wrong for Germany occasionally, I know they

:58:44. > :58:52.win 99% of the time! Felix Loch is gaining against Demchenko's time.

:58:53. > :59:02.Felix Loch is just so good. He is 24 and he already has two Olympic

:59:03. > :59:08.golds. We will get a good idea of how he is going. He is still just

:59:09. > :59:23.only half a second, Demchenko had a good slide. And there we go, coming

:59:24. > :59:32.through the finish. And Wendl and Arlt, the supreme doubles pairing.

:59:33. > :59:44.Felix Loch is so tall, he just put his arm up for the tag, he didn't

:59:45. > :59:50.even need to sit up. And here go Wendl and Arlt, Olympic gold

:59:51. > :00:07.medallists handing over to Olympic gold medallists. And there you have

:00:08. > :00:15..8 of a second ahead. It is over as long as they hit the pad. And they

:00:16. > :00:21.get it. That is remarkable. They have taken a full second from the

:00:22. > :00:31.Russians. And the split of these guys must be one of the all-time

:00:32. > :00:37.greats. There you have it. Nobody has done the fastest of the day.

:00:38. > :00:43.They are going down on the sled, doing poses already. Slightly

:00:44. > :00:51.insulting to the two teams still to go! Canada and indeed Austria. But

:00:52. > :00:54.yes, it is hard to see how the other two nations could beat that, unless

:00:55. > :01:01.they have something perfect. I thought Felix Loch was ever so

:01:02. > :01:23.slightly flawed their, but a second up on the Russians is still some

:01:24. > :01:26.target. It looks tricky but they have nailed it. And these are the

:01:27. > :01:42.results, Germany in the lead, Russia in second, Latvia in third place.

:01:43. > :01:51.Alex Gough, it is. Starting for Canada. She hands over to Samuel

:01:52. > :01:59.Edney, the weak point in the team, finishing 11th in his individual.

:02:00. > :02:07.So, Alex Gough gets underway. We just have to look back over this

:02:08. > :02:10.World Cup form, Samuel Edney has been knocking on the door of the

:02:11. > :02:21.podium in every competition this year. Also Alex Gough, she has been

:02:22. > :02:36.fancying the podium. Walker and Smith, they have had a blinding

:02:37. > :02:42.Olympic Games so far. The best part of a third of a second down on

:02:43. > :02:48.Germany already. They are already battling for silver and bronze. She

:02:49. > :02:56.will be disappointed with that. She was hoping for something around

:02:57. > :03:07.1.35. Here goes Samuel Edney. It looks slow but it is quick. 60

:03:08. > :03:11.kilometres per hour. It is hard to see just how fast they are going

:03:12. > :03:19.with these shots. Extremely steep downhill. It is confusing when you

:03:20. > :03:23.glance at it on television. You can hear it roaring from 400 metres

:03:24. > :03:27.away. And it certainly comes flying past you like an express train, and

:03:28. > :03:44.that is when you appreciate the speed of it. That is not bad. Not

:03:45. > :03:59.exceptional. 1.33. Bang, there it goes. Onto the doubles pairing. Just

:04:00. > :04:03.a little touch, there. They have really put themselves in the mix in

:04:04. > :04:06.the doubles competition. They want to get ahead of the Latvians in

:04:07. > :04:15.third place, which is looking most likely. They have to stay within 1.8

:04:16. > :04:22.seconds of the Germans. Austria still to go. Walker, riding well

:04:23. > :04:27.here. Finished fourth in the Olympic Games, fourth in the world

:04:28. > :04:36.Championships. I would really like to see these guys getting a medal,

:04:37. > :04:45.here. They are losing time. 1:33.6. Not great. Keeping straight, yes.

:04:46. > :04:52.2.45.64. My goodness, in fourth place. They have missed out on a

:04:53. > :04:59.fraction. Just a tiny margin. I guessed about 1.8 seconds glancing

:05:00. > :05:09.about. Just over 1.7. Into fourth place, they will not get a medal.

:05:10. > :05:25.Everything crossed. One team left. The Austrians, hard to see how they

:05:26. > :05:35.will slide, here. Wolfgang Kindl, ninth place. They could be the

:05:36. > :05:43.target. Everybody will have to keep an eye on them. Lovely little steel

:05:44. > :05:47.from Sam, there. Good correction. He will be asking questions as to why

:05:48. > :05:51.it did not go quite so well. You can already see they had gone behind and

:05:52. > :06:00.they knew it. They could hear that in their helmets. Disappointment.

:06:01. > :06:06.Walker and Smith, but one team left to go before we decide this first

:06:07. > :06:26.ever team relay. Here we are with Austria. They have the credentials,

:06:27. > :06:32.have they got the speed? . And the Latvians in third place will be

:06:33. > :06:36.desperate to hang onto position. Miriam Kastlunger, she might not

:06:37. > :06:45.have done well in the individuals but she has got the skills. That

:06:46. > :06:51.visit, right there! Their chance of a medal is gone, I'm afraid. The

:06:52. > :07:08.resulting loss of speed will keep adding away. Just looking at this

:07:09. > :07:19.bedtime... That is way off. -- the split time. 1:28.1. Very slow

:07:20. > :07:25.terminal speed. That will have reduced speed going up the hill.

:07:26. > :07:31.Here goes Wolfgang Kindl, who finished in ninth place in the

:07:32. > :07:36.individual event. He ran well? He has been given the nod ahead of

:07:37. > :07:43.Reinhard Egger. He was the number one Austrian. Wolfgang Kindl is so

:07:44. > :07:50.quick in those changeovers. The layperson quicker is Felix Loch. We

:07:51. > :07:57.can already say that they have slept down into fourth addition. They will

:07:58. > :08:08.need a miracle to bring this back. Germany, Russia and Latvia. Germany

:08:09. > :08:13.are the champions once more. The brothers are ready and waiting. That

:08:14. > :08:27.is good terminal speed by Wolfgang Kindl. And there we have it. 2.296.

:08:28. > :08:38.That seems almost impossible. That was a very quick reaction time.

:08:39. > :08:45.Lingers, they are not here for picking up sixth or seventh place,

:08:46. > :08:52.they want another medal. These two brothers, they are not classics,

:08:53. > :09:02.they are not giant men. The brother in front, almost identical height to

:09:03. > :09:06.his younger brother. 2.6. They will drop down to maybe fifth place or

:09:07. > :09:11.sixth place and we know that Germany have taken yet another gold. It is a

:09:12. > :09:17.clean sweep for the Germans. They have won every event. Germany, who

:09:18. > :09:34.on earth can bid them? Russia have got silver. And Latvia bronze. This

:09:35. > :09:45.man has done remarkably well. Austria, 1.5 seconds. You could not

:09:46. > :09:50.put any team together from the rest of the world that would beat the

:09:51. > :09:55.Germans. They are that good, they are the all-star team. It is like

:09:56. > :10:09.Lionel Messick, Ronaldo, Maradona, all in the one team! You just cannot

:10:10. > :10:17.beat them. And using bold? ! -- Usain Bolt. Congratulations to the

:10:18. > :10:25.Germans. That is great for them. And the Latvian pair, the brothers,

:10:26. > :10:34.another bronze medal for them and that is wonderful in the first-ever

:10:35. > :10:38.medal for Eliza Tiruma. Quite remarkable, the lack feel who were

:10:39. > :10:48.supposed to retire and came back so strongly, Russia in second place,

:10:49. > :10:52.all eyes on Albert Demchenko. And the Germans, what do you say about

:10:53. > :11:02.that? Goodness only knows what sort of speed they achieved. They came

:11:03. > :11:06.through and they have won this be over one second. Just amazing, they

:11:07. > :11:13.were expected to win, ridiculous favourites. For the rest of the

:11:14. > :11:22.world, they could somehow have crashed. It does happen. But not

:11:23. > :11:26.today. The Germans have nailed this. For gold medals. And this one is

:11:27. > :11:32.probably the sweetest of all of them are colours this is the first team

:11:33. > :11:39.relay event. And what an event it was. Those are the figures that

:11:40. > :11:44.everybody will remember. Russia in second place. And Latvia have won

:11:45. > :11:57.the bronze medal. No doubt about the winners. Germany were miles ahead of

:11:58. > :12:02.everybody. Thank you to Paul and Colin. Amy

:12:03. > :12:08.Williams has been with me. What do you think of this as Mac I am not

:12:09. > :12:12.quite sure what to make of this! It is a great way to get more medals,

:12:13. > :12:20.or opportunities, everybody working together as a team. It is the first

:12:21. > :12:26.time it has been here and I do not know if I am for or against it. Why

:12:27. > :12:36.Germany so dominant? Why are they so good at luge? They have got four

:12:37. > :12:41.tracks across Germany. Across the whole of Germany, East and West. And

:12:42. > :12:46.everyone trains on them. One of those is specifically for luge. If

:12:47. > :12:51.you have those tracks you can practice on every single night after

:12:52. > :12:54.work, think of the amount of runs you can get, all of that practice,

:12:55. > :13:01.all the different weather conditions. Your choice of runner,

:13:02. > :13:06.your setup, that is massive compared with a nation that only has one of

:13:07. > :13:12.them. Looking at that track, does it take a battering? Does that affect

:13:13. > :13:16.the following competitions? Having luge today and then skeleton

:13:17. > :13:21.tomorrow? It does not. The track really holds up. We do not really

:13:22. > :13:28.affect the ice, we are not heavy enough. They will spritz this with a

:13:29. > :13:30.fine layer of water to give it a beautiful sheen and condition with

:13:31. > :13:41.no bumps or lumps. It is the bobsleigh, when they go, 200 kilos

:13:42. > :13:47.going down, and 4.5 G with the pressure. The track workers have to

:13:48. > :13:53.pad that. Speaking of that, there was a very nasty accident today? One

:13:54. > :13:57.track worker had both of his legs broken? I do not know why but the

:13:58. > :14:02.forerunner went down, the skeleton that goes down to check all of the

:14:03. > :14:06.timing clocks, and it was the bobsleigh session and for some

:14:07. > :14:11.reason at the bottom of corner number 17, there was a track worker

:14:12. > :14:15.on the track and the bobsleigh hit him. They make announcements at the

:14:16. > :14:21.start of every training, recession is about to begin, bobsleigh on the

:14:22. > :14:26.track. It has been in Washington and English, everyone has understood so

:14:27. > :14:31.it is confusing and everybody is unsure why it has happened. Worst

:14:32. > :14:38.has happened. Irony hope you will be OK. Or she. I think it is a man.

:14:39. > :14:42.Multiple fractures to both legs and night in hospital awaiting surgery

:14:43. > :14:47.and we hope that he will be all right. There was a lot of talk in

:14:48. > :14:51.Vancouver about the track and they did not like it in Vancouver and we

:14:52. > :14:58.had a fatalities there before the competition started. Generally, what

:14:59. > :15:02.do the track here? So far it is positive, everybody loves it.

:15:03. > :15:07.Because it is such a unique track, uphill sections, three of them quite

:15:08. > :15:12.steep. I was shocked at how blatantly uphill they are. And the

:15:13. > :15:17.downhill parts on some corners really are sweeping downhill. There

:15:18. > :15:21.is a unique section where the athletes can be lifted. They say it

:15:22. > :15:25.feels like a fairground ride, they have really enjoyed it but it is

:15:26. > :15:29.technical. You have to go dying clean. If you had any corner or

:15:30. > :15:44.scrape the walls, like in the skeleton today, he will bleed away

:15:45. > :15:51.time. You will see Lizzy Yarnold's third and fourth runs tomorrow

:15:52. > :16:00.afternoon. They are at 3.30 and let's catch up on the headline

:16:01. > :16:05.makers today. Elise Christie suffered heartbreak in the 500 short

:16:06. > :16:10.track speed skating final. She crossed the line in the silver medal

:16:11. > :16:16.position but was penalised for causing a crash and demoted to

:16:17. > :16:21.eighth. Lizzy Yarnold flew out of the blocks

:16:22. > :16:27.today, and is in pole position for skeleton gold tomorrow. She set a

:16:28. > :16:39.track record in her first run. She heads the field by almost half a

:16:40. > :16:46.second. America 's Noelle Pikus-Pace is in second. But Shelley Rudman is

:16:47. > :16:51.almost two seconds behind, back in 11th.

:16:52. > :16:56.James Woods defied a hip injury but just missed out on the medals in the

:16:57. > :17:03.Ski Slopestyle. His best run wasn't enough to him to make the podium.

:17:04. > :17:04.The OSA completed a clean sweep of the medals, with Josh Kristiansen

:17:05. > :17:25.taking gold. -- the USA. A perfect final stone took the

:17:26. > :17:30.curling match. And the British men are bidding to become the first

:17:31. > :17:35.edition went to win gold since 1974. They have four wins out of

:17:36. > :17:44.five. But the major headline here is that

:17:45. > :17:47.you get the Schenker -- Evgeni Plushenko has pulled out of the

:17:48. > :17:54.figure skating. Robin Cousins is here to tell us about it. Was it

:17:55. > :17:59.expected? His performances in practice were not going well and he

:18:00. > :18:03.had a nasty fall. He has pulled a muscle and is not able to be as free

:18:04. > :18:07.as he needed to be to compete at this level. I don't think he is

:18:08. > :18:13.anybody who is going to say that he would go out there half-heartedly.

:18:14. > :18:18.After deliberation with his coaches, he went to see the referee and

:18:19. > :18:24.pulled out. How disappointing is it for the crowd in there? For the

:18:25. > :18:28.sport, those of us who have been watching and seen the history that

:18:29. > :18:36.he has, I didn't see him practice the other day, but people who saw

:18:37. > :18:42.him said they would be surprised if he made it through. He is obviously

:18:43. > :18:51.not in good shape. The audience have a busy not been privy to a lot of

:18:52. > :19:00.what has gone on backstage, so there is disappointment. And he skated in

:19:01. > :19:04.the newly invented team competition. The short programme, he was to

:19:05. > :19:11.rhetoric, not so much in the long programme, but as a team, they were

:19:12. > :19:18.good. He is 31 now, his fourth Olympic games, is this the last time

:19:19. > :19:22.we will see him? In this circumstance at this level, I hope

:19:23. > :19:27.you won't try to push itself any further. So how does that leave it

:19:28. > :19:49.tonight? Who was the favourite for gold? I think probably Han Yan and

:19:50. > :19:57.Patrick Chan. The Japanese boy was glorious the other night, and not

:19:58. > :20:01.fazed at all. So Russia will not be winning tonight, but everybody is

:20:02. > :20:06.still talking about the wonderful pairs routine, and not the free

:20:07. > :20:12.routine so much as the short programme that they came up with.

:20:13. > :20:20.This was sensational. You must enjoy this again.

:20:21. > :20:29.SUE BARKER: It was these two who stole the show, winning the ten

:20:30. > :20:33.nation short programme competition by more than ten points. It was

:20:34. > :20:36.flawless and breathtakingly beautiful, it is one of the great

:20:37. > :20:58.short programmes ever in pairs skating. Bit will it be flawless

:20:59. > :21:28.again tonight. This is their magnificent Masquerade waltz.

:21:29. > :21:39.The first element, the triple twist, easy and light.

:21:40. > :22:42.A third triple loop for the last of the job is. -- jumps. Gorgeous.

:22:43. > :23:50.A difficult variation of positions, reversing the spin to the right.

:23:51. > :24:01.SUE BARKER: Oh, yes! You feel the tingle, the crowd on their feet.

:24:02. > :24:05.That was absolutely magnificent. They have established a magical

:24:06. > :24:11.partnership on the ice over the last few years, and that was outstanding.

:24:12. > :24:17.They can finally breathe out now, because halfway through, you think

:24:18. > :24:21.you can relax a little and enjoy it a bit, playing with the crowd into

:24:22. > :24:30.the camera. You take that deep breath. But it is a hair on the back

:24:31. > :24:34.of the neck moment. One of the great ice-skating programmes, one that

:24:35. > :24:38.will live long in the memory. And Russia, that puts them right back in

:24:39. > :24:44.the driving seat in this pairs championship. They have dominated

:24:45. > :25:03.this from 60 432 2006, winning 12 gold medals the pairs, -- from 1964

:25:04. > :25:09.through to 2006. And look at this set of marks.

:25:10. > :25:15.And here they are, live in the medals Plaza receiving their gold

:25:16. > :25:23.medal. The Russian fans are going mad. I do think Tronkov had a little

:25:24. > :25:35.look of Goran Ivanisevic about him, but he doesn't look like you there.

:25:36. > :25:40.The new stars of pairs skating. We have further news of Evgeni

:25:41. > :25:45.Plushenko, who has pulled out of the men's singles. He has announced his

:25:46. > :25:52.retirement from figure skating. It is a back injury, and he says he is

:25:53. > :25:56.ending his career. He says, my age allows it in terms of further

:25:57. > :26:02.competition, but I have had 12 operations on my back and knees. The

:26:03. > :26:08.slight controversy over this in terms of Russian competitors is that

:26:09. > :26:16.because he behind closed doors declared himself fit, he got the

:26:17. > :26:25.position in the singles over the 18-year-old Maxim Kovton. It sounds

:26:26. > :26:32.as though he had further problems with the back on warm up. So he has

:26:33. > :26:44.not only retired from this competition but from skating. But no

:26:45. > :26:51.more. Let us join the men's short programme, and we start with the guy

:26:52. > :26:57.who took bronze medal in the team competition, Jeremy Abbott, and we

:26:58. > :27:03.join our commentary team of Robin Cousins and Sue Barker.

:27:04. > :27:08.SUE BARKER: He looks a little tense. After an outstanding week of

:27:09. > :27:12.practice, it all went horribly wrong to Jeremy Abbott in competition in

:27:13. > :27:19.that short programme. He finished seventh out of ten will stop but

:27:20. > :27:23.here he gets another chance to shake off those Olympic Demons once and

:27:24. > :27:26.for all. He has moved out of the Olympic Village. He said he found it

:27:27. > :27:31.distracting in there, he couldn't concentrate on his skating. So he

:27:32. > :27:35.has moved into a hotel so he can refocus and come out fighting. We

:27:36. > :28:14.know he can deliver a great programme, but can he do it today?

:28:15. > :28:29.Quadrupled to loop to open. Ouch! Oh, dear. Right on his hip.

:28:30. > :28:46.APPLAUSE Here is the triple axel. And he has

:28:47. > :30:45.fought for it. Come on, Jeremy. He is way behind the music. Well, if

:30:46. > :30:51.a performance does not deserve a standing ovation, I don't know what

:30:52. > :30:55.does. How brave he was to deliver those elements after that. He looked

:30:56. > :31:08.like he was dying and I'd but they cried did rise to it. -- decried. --

:31:09. > :31:14.the crowd. It did not go well for him in the team event and then that

:31:15. > :31:19.happens on the first jump but he has picked himself up and he has

:31:20. > :31:28.delivered a brave programme. Well done, Jeremy. Heroic effort. I want

:31:29. > :31:33.to know where his head was that after the team event. He got it

:31:34. > :31:41.together. I knew from the practice the other day that it was there, it

:31:42. > :31:51.was there in the warm denied. -- warm up tonight. I know he is in a

:31:52. > :32:00.lot of pain. And you know that is only going to get worse. It really

:32:01. > :32:16.hurt. I bet it did. They are going to show it on the replay.

:32:17. > :32:34.Just slight hesitation coming in. Because he does not fully rotate,

:32:35. > :32:42.yes... Right on that hip bone. I have to say, to come back and then

:32:43. > :32:57.force yourself and your body to do a triple lutz. To fight again for the

:32:58. > :33:05.triple toe loop. That was clean. He very nearly ran out of ice! That

:33:06. > :33:18.will have taken an incredible amount of pressure. Well, everyone loves a

:33:19. > :33:36.fighter and that was an immense battle. Has he done enough to

:33:37. > :33:50.qualify? We shall see. Well, I think he needs to be over 62.65. Here come

:33:51. > :34:00.the marks. 72.56. Great marks, considering all that went on! What a

:34:01. > :34:09.dramatic short programme we have had here today. 4Gs! To looked down and

:34:10. > :34:19.out heroically carried on. And he has topped the leaderboard. He has

:34:20. > :34:23.had a memorable last year. 12 months ago, an 18-year-old on the junior

:34:24. > :34:29.circuit, here he is in Sochi. A member of the American team. And he

:34:30. > :34:35.has met the President, all in the space of one week. What a turnaround

:34:36. > :34:44.it has been in the last 12 months for Jason Brown. He had a fall

:34:45. > :34:50.during the free skating, his very entertaining dance, what can he do

:34:51. > :34:53.with the short programme? Can he deliver a clean programme? Jason

:34:54. > :35:19.Brown from the United States. Triple toe loop, if he wants. Very

:35:20. > :36:06.nicely done. And that is the triple lutz. And

:36:07. > :37:52.above head. -- hand above head. That is more like it! The first

:37:53. > :37:57.clean performance of quality we have seen so far in this programme. He

:37:58. > :38:04.has delivered all of the elements, lovely choreography, I loved his

:38:05. > :38:10.choice of music. It suited him beautifully, lovely touches in that.

:38:11. > :38:14.You talk about giving things room to breathe and staying absolutely in

:38:15. > :38:20.control. Right on the money. Glorious elements. Timed to

:38:21. > :38:29.perfection. And all of those little nuances, drawn-out within the

:38:30. > :38:39.choreography and the transitions. Level four on three of those big

:38:40. > :38:43.elements. Very strong indeed. That is all you can ask from a

:38:44. > :38:49.19-year-old, to come to your first Olympics, he did well in the team

:38:50. > :38:55.event, bronze medal, very nice, to deliver a performance like that? To

:38:56. > :38:59.come out, as he did, and I was a mistake but he still got the feel of

:39:00. > :39:04.the arena and he got to know what it was like to skate year. Lovely

:39:05. > :39:09.little touches like that high kick. The control, ready to throw that

:39:10. > :39:13.triple axel. I do not think there is any touchdown. The judges could be

:39:14. > :39:21.looking at a different angle. To make sure that free league did not

:39:22. > :39:36.touch. -- leg. Very light, down easily. Lovely control. 10.7 for

:39:37. > :39:42.that combination. 8s For three of those grades. Interpretation,

:39:43. > :39:53.performance, choreography. No question, this is the new leader.

:39:54. > :39:56.And by some way. And a real crowd pleaser, he loves to entertain and

:39:57. > :40:03.really owns the ice. You cannot teach that. You can work on all of

:40:04. > :40:20.the technique you like, but that is special. You can teach how to make

:40:21. > :40:24.that triple Quad, but he has got it. Why, these marks are going to go

:40:25. > :40:30.shooting up. The new leader, no question. Yes! New season best. He

:40:31. > :40:36.is delighted with the scorers and we were delighted with that programme.

:40:37. > :40:45.Well done, Jason Brown. He is the new leader. And becoming a big star

:40:46. > :40:49.at these games. We will be back in figure skating

:40:50. > :40:53.very shortly. These are the scenes, in the Bolshoy, the end of the first

:40:54. > :40:58.period between Canada and Norway. You can see the ice is being

:40:59. > :41:14.prepared for action in the second period and there is currently no

:41:15. > :41:21.score. That is on the Red Button. Let's go back to the Iceberg skating

:41:22. > :41:32.Palace because with news confirmed that the shekel has retired and from

:41:33. > :41:37.Robin Cousins sad that he has to retire with injury. But he is in his

:41:38. > :41:41.home country, having taken a gold medal as part of the team

:41:42. > :41:47.competition and I will remember Evgeni Plushenko at the top of the

:41:48. > :41:50.Olympic podium, looking supremely in control and skating in a way that

:41:51. > :41:53.nobody could touch. It is no great surprise that he was going to retire

:41:54. > :41:58.at the end of this, just a shame the way it happened and he fell so

:41:59. > :42:03.heavily on the triple axels in the warm up. We knew that was going to

:42:04. > :42:09.be made, that decision, but he actually came back to win the gold

:42:10. > :42:12.medal for Russia for the team event and he was supreme in both the short

:42:13. > :42:16.programme and the long programme in that event. The got the gold medal

:42:17. > :42:22.he came for but this is the competition he lived to skate in.

:42:23. > :42:30.And he would have loved to have taken on the young guns here.

:42:31. > :42:35.Looking at the screen, we can see shots of Evgeni Plushenko. I am

:42:36. > :42:44.saying he is out. And they seem very upset. What was a reaction like in

:42:45. > :42:49.their owner was announced? -- in the arena when it was announced? He

:42:50. > :42:54.stood and acknowledge the crowd. But they could see the pain he was in

:42:55. > :42:58.and he could not compete at the level he needed to and wanted to and

:42:59. > :43:01.I am glad it happened because I would not like to have seen the

:43:02. > :43:09.result, had he tried to skate not at his best and had he not been placed

:43:10. > :43:14.in a respectful place for him, amongst these younger guys that can

:43:15. > :43:18.deliver material that he was not quite up to at this point. He got a

:43:19. > :43:25.massive cheer when he came onto the ice but once he fell and he was

:43:26. > :43:27.holding his back, this happen for about 2.5 minutes, it was no

:43:28. > :43:31.surprise that he was going to pull out. But huge disappointment and

:43:32. > :43:38.awesome empty seats because their hero is out.

:43:39. > :43:41.Just one quick point, may be controversial in Russia, as he

:43:42. > :43:47.pulled out after the team event? Could they have replaced him with a

:43:48. > :43:53.very good 18-year-old? There would need to have been a rule in place

:43:54. > :43:57.because you qualify for the team by being in the main event and not the

:43:58. > :44:01.other way around. There had been talk about that, that he would take

:44:02. > :44:10.what he wanted, team gold, and then withdraw but that did not happen.

:44:11. > :44:16.There may be no Evgeni Plushenko but there is this very exciting young

:44:17. > :44:24.man. He was the star of the short programme in the team event. 6.5

:44:25. > :44:31.points clear of Evgeni Plushenko that bad. Japan have never won the

:44:32. > :44:35.Olympic gold but he is one of the favourites. It is Yuzuru Hanyu from

:44:36. > :45:05.Japan. He usually opens with this

:45:06. > :45:25.combination, the toe loop. See. Absolutely easy.

:45:26. > :45:58.Beautifully centred, a great position there on the spin.

:45:59. > :46:08.He needs to stay focused and controlled for the triple axel.

:46:09. > :46:24.Yes! Turn straight through without the bush. Superb work.

:46:25. > :46:32.This combination, triple toe loop that is it! Now watch him enjoy this

:46:33. > :47:29.sequence. That's what we've been waiting for!

:47:30. > :47:38.That was outstanding. Once again, nerves of steel. That is also the

:47:39. > :47:44.reason that Evgeni Plushenko knew that if he wasn't at his best, don't

:47:45. > :47:55.even show up. Absolutely. That is in a different class from anything we

:47:56. > :48:03.have seen. Super. Yuzuru Hanyu has put down his mark for the medal.

:48:04. > :48:16.12.87 he got for the quad toe loop, unbelievable. 11.49 for the triple

:48:17. > :48:21.axel, 12.61 for the triple toe loop. Final spins, level four. You know

:48:22. > :48:26.that those grades of execution will be up there as well. This is better

:48:27. > :48:31.than in the team competition. This was a better, more relaxed

:48:32. > :48:38.performance. His coach was a silver medallist at

:48:39. > :48:42.the Olympic Games. Twice, so he knows how important it is to get

:48:43. > :48:59.this gold but his student. He has done it before with Yu Na. And he is

:49:00. > :49:09.now going to leave Yuzu as he is known, to help warm up is the

:49:10. > :49:15.student. A difficult entry there into the triple axel, and that

:49:16. > :49:19.lovely flow coming out, soft and light. Easy with the triple toe

:49:20. > :49:34.loop. Excellent. Wonderful, wonderful

:49:35. > :49:40.performance. I went to watch his practice just a couple of days ago,

:49:41. > :49:44.and he didn't make any of the jumps. You just leave all that on the

:49:45. > :49:48.practice rink, and you come out here and deliver when it matters. You

:49:49. > :49:52.can't ask for more than what he gave. Oh, my goodness me. Wait until

:49:53. > :50:10.you see this. 101.45! Watch out, everybody. He is

:50:11. > :50:11.at the top of the podium if he can deliver another performance like

:50:12. > :50:27.that. Different class. Jason Brown on 86 points, and he is

:50:28. > :50:37.on 101. That will be getting around that stage to all of those that are

:50:38. > :50:44.yet to skate, including this man, Javier Fernandez. He has been

:50:45. > :50:49.European champion for the past two years. He has struggled on the Grand

:50:50. > :50:57.Prix circuit, but looked to be back in form just-in-time for Sochi. He

:50:58. > :50:59.is now aiming for a new first wins their first figure skating medal at

:51:00. > :51:30.the Olympic Games. His opening quad, he stayed on one

:51:31. > :52:33.foot. Various the triple lutz, too slow on

:52:34. > :53:52.that. He is holding it very tight. APPLAUSE

:53:53. > :54:03.Not choosing the traditional music as always will stop he will be aware

:54:04. > :54:11.of what the marks were for Yuzuru Hanyu.

:54:12. > :54:19.They competed against each other every day, so he knows what he is

:54:20. > :54:27.capable of. He looked quite tired during that. There were a couple of

:54:28. > :54:30.little mistakes. Little things all the way through, I just felt there

:54:31. > :54:51.was a lot of tension in that programme. A pat on the back from

:54:52. > :54:59.the coach, but Javier knows... Just a little stumble there. Yes, he has

:55:00. > :55:06.missed some big scoring opportunities. Not the best marks,

:55:07. > :55:10.and in fact all of his big jump elements are getting him less than

:55:11. > :55:16.ten points, which is not what he was looking for at all. So he is used to

:55:17. > :55:30.having plus points, but not today. He is not going to hit his season's

:55:31. > :55:37.best. 91.56 is his season is best, he

:55:38. > :55:40.won't be close to that. Yuzuru Hanyu really has thrown down the gauntlet

:55:41. > :55:46.now, because everyone has to be absolutely perfect to keep with him

:55:47. > :55:50.for that gold medal. Brian is trying to say, you are still in the race

:55:51. > :55:55.here, but he is going to have to rely on others making mistakes,

:55:56. > :55:57.because he has. And that is going to prove costly, and he is about to

:55:58. > :56:15.find out just how much. 86.98 does have him ahead of Jason

:56:16. > :56:17.Brown, just ahead. So at the moment, he is in second place. But a long

:56:18. > :56:35.way behind Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Well, hopefully he will believe his

:56:36. > :56:38.coach and come out fighting tomorrow. This man needs to come out

:56:39. > :56:51.fighting right now. Patrick Chan came in here as the

:56:52. > :56:54.favourite for the gold medal, but that disappeared in the team event

:56:55. > :57:02.in the short programme, where he made a number of errors and found

:57:03. > :57:13.himself behind Yuzuru Hanyu and Evgeni Plushenko. If he can deliver

:57:14. > :57:18.the elements, he could be right up there with Yuzuru Hanyu for the

:57:19. > :57:22.gold. But he has got to be clean, and he has got to nail every

:57:23. > :58:12.element, and he knows that. Patrick Chan, for Canada.

:58:13. > :58:20.He has got it! Quads toe loop, triple toe loop, in combination. He

:58:21. > :58:23.went into that with complete conviction. He needs to do the same

:58:24. > :00:30.now with the triple axel. There may have been an error but

:00:31. > :00:35.there is such quality to his skating and that will be rewarded. He will

:00:36. > :00:41.not be far away but he will have wanted every element there and it

:00:42. > :00:48.wasn't. He has opened the door. And Yuzuru Hanyu has taken it. Well,

:00:49. > :00:56.here's glorious to watch and there is quality to everything he does.

:00:57. > :01:13.There are mandatory -3 on that triple axel. He got 16.54 for that

:01:14. > :01:19.quadruple, triple commendation. Just 7.5 for the axel. It will be about

:01:20. > :01:32.the components. And he is usually one about nine for those. -- on

:01:33. > :01:38.about. No one has ever won the Olympic gold for Canada and he came

:01:39. > :01:51.in as favourite. He flew into the squad. Conviction. -- this chord. --

:01:52. > :01:56.quad. Perfectly landed, plenty of time, baby did not need to push

:01:57. > :02:08.quite so much on this axel. He does not have such a big jump. You can

:02:09. > :02:16.see his body leaning, he is over it. No deduction as such but degrees of

:02:17. > :02:33.execution, two or three points mandatory. No problem with the lutz.

:02:34. > :02:38.Well, it was better than we saw the other night and he looks happier but

:02:39. > :02:46.will he still be smiling when he sees the marks? Will be keep his

:02:47. > :02:47.dream and the dream of Canada of a gold medal at the Olympic Games

:02:48. > :03:14.alive? How far behind? Not his season best, 97.52. Which

:03:15. > :03:18.means it is almost four points behind Yuzuru Hanyu. And that is

:03:19. > :03:24.quite a difference to take into the free programme but it can be just

:03:25. > :03:28.one mistake? Just one element, or in some respects, a combination and

:03:29. > :03:29.half of an element. He wants to be in the mix and he is certainly

:03:30. > :03:57.there. So, Yuzuru Hanyu leaves from Patrick

:03:58. > :04:04.Chan. -- leads. Jeremy Abbott is down in sixth place. After his heavy

:04:05. > :04:09.fall. And Evgeni Plushenko is out, he fell heavily in the warm up. Huge

:04:10. > :04:16.disappointment for the Russian fans. Jeremy Abbott is down the standings.

:04:17. > :04:33.It is Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan at the top. After that magnificent short

:04:34. > :04:38.programme. So, Sweden. He wanted bronze medal at the junior

:04:39. > :04:39.championships and finished in sixth place at the European Championships

:04:40. > :05:10.last year. Triple lutz. That was very nice as

:05:11. > :06:17.well. Come on, make this triple axel work

:06:18. > :07:32.for you. Well done! He had to fight hard for that, but fight he did.

:07:33. > :07:40.Oh, yes! They loved that here and you could not take the smile off his

:07:41. > :07:45.face! When he landed that triple axel, he was looking at his coach

:07:46. > :07:51.and saying, yes, I have done the difficult elements, I can enjoy it.

:07:52. > :07:56.Do not enjoy it too much because that is when you fall over and do

:07:57. > :07:58.silly moves but it was enjoyable throughout and good for him for

:07:59. > :08:06.hanging on and making that triple axel out. It was pressure going into

:08:07. > :08:11.that. And a huge opportunity because some of the more fancied skaters

:08:12. > :08:23.have left room. I think he will do very well in the short programme. He

:08:24. > :08:38.has a huge amount of product in his arsenal for the long programme.

:08:39. > :08:51.10.73 for the quad. 8.78 four of the axel. -- for the axel. Looking at

:08:52. > :09:06.his landing, just to make sure it was there. Yes, fully rotated. And

:09:07. > :09:12.on one foot. This is coming in for the triple axel. Just a little

:09:13. > :09:24.tension in his body. Hold it! Hold it! And now I can carry on! They

:09:25. > :09:40.will be thrilled with that. You cannot ask for more's he absolutely

:09:41. > :09:51.gave his all. There is a gap of nine points between Jeremy Abbott. I

:09:52. > :10:04.think this will be his season's best.

:10:05. > :10:28.And you are right, it does beat it. He is behind Jason Brown. In fifth

:10:29. > :10:33.place at the moment. The crowd is not best pleased with that. But he

:10:34. > :10:41.will be happy. From one very entertaining programme to another.

:10:42. > :10:53.Florent Amodio is next. He is always worth watching. We have had two very

:10:54. > :11:04.entertaining French stars coming onto the ice. But this is Florent

:11:05. > :11:07.Amodio. He burst onto the scene in 2011 and came fifth in the World

:11:08. > :11:18.Championships. Since then, his form has been banned down, mostly down.

:11:19. > :11:22.When he is good, he is exceptional. -- up and down. Florent Amodio from

:11:23. > :11:48.France. When it all works, he is a fantastic

:11:49. > :11:54.worsened to watch. As I say, when it works. And that should have been a

:11:55. > :12:05.quadruple salchow. He just handed the triple. -- got the triple. Just

:12:06. > :14:22.the double. Not his night. He always gives so

:14:23. > :14:26.much in presentation and choreography but it all went

:14:27. > :14:30.horribly wrong for him last year, he had to fly back to United States

:14:31. > :14:37.anti-got homesick, he decided to come back to France to train in

:14:38. > :14:43.France. And train with Cathy Crier. But he has not been the same for a

:14:44. > :14:50.few years. And he has this incredible ability to just rotate

:14:51. > :14:57.and get those jumps. And with ease. But if you're not enjoying it, it is

:14:58. > :15:03.hard to perform? Yes. And the quad did not happen, just the triple

:15:04. > :15:10.salchow and the double axel. He forced himself and got the triple

:15:11. > :15:19.lutz. One of those spins, just level two. One level four. His footwork

:15:20. > :15:25.was terrific, that was level four, for the additional components. But

:15:26. > :15:36.his grades of execution will be down. He did not get the height for

:15:37. > :15:48.the rotation on the triple axel. This is the triple that we did get.

:15:49. > :15:56.Triple lutz. A little slow their coming out of the second triple toe

:15:57. > :16:01.loop. You want both jumps to be of equal size and have the same speed

:16:02. > :16:07.coming out as you have going in. We have only seen one person give us

:16:08. > :16:11.the perfect textbook version of that so far, and that has been our leader

:16:12. > :16:26.Hanyu. Such a beautiful skater, given us so

:16:27. > :16:29.many beautiful routines, so many entertaining routines over the

:16:30. > :16:33.years. He loves to perform in front of a crowd but it hasn't been

:16:34. > :16:38.working for him in the past couple of years. And even moving back to

:16:39. > :16:41.France, it doesn't seem that has been the key, he hasn't found the

:16:42. > :16:43.answer as to why he has fallen out of love with skating, and that is a

:16:44. > :17:04.real shame. 75.58, the judges have given him.

:17:05. > :17:15.The presentation score is always huge for Amodio, but the technical

:17:16. > :17:25.is poor, so that puts him in second -- seventh place. There will be a

:17:26. > :17:32.big cheer for the very popular Brian Joubert now in his fourth Olympic

:17:33. > :17:37.Games. One of the most popular skaters all around the world, and he

:17:38. > :17:40.is another one who just loves to perform. He is a former world

:17:41. > :17:45.champion, three-time European champion, winning his first ten

:17:46. > :17:48.years ago, but he has never won an Olympic medal. He went to Vancouver

:17:49. > :17:51.with high hopes but a poor short programme ended his chances of

:17:52. > :18:03.getting close to the medals. What will it do tonight for Brian?

:18:04. > :18:10.He is very much aware that this new breed of status have overtaken him

:18:11. > :18:38.but he can always deliver. His opening jump is the quadruple.

:18:39. > :18:45.On its own already combination? In a combination. Quadruple: --quadruple

:18:46. > :18:59.toe loop, triple toe loop. .

:19:00. > :21:10.CHEERING He has an army of fans all around

:21:11. > :21:14.the world and they will be absolutely thrilled that he has

:21:15. > :21:19.delivered his best short programme of the season right here at the

:21:20. > :21:23.Olympic Games. In his fourth Olympic Games and his last Olympic Games.

:21:24. > :21:28.Well done, Brian Schubert. That is one of the better performances I

:21:29. > :21:44.have seen in the last two years -- Brian Juba. I said not to discount

:21:45. > :21:49.Juba -- Joubert. What about in comparison to the others? They have

:21:50. > :21:54.the content but not the technique. It is all very well to play with the

:21:55. > :22:01.crowd, and he has the Plyuschenko effect in that respect, there is a

:22:02. > :22:05.lot of motion going on, but not a lot of footwork. But having said

:22:06. > :22:13.that, he got that triple combination, got 14.83 for that.

:22:14. > :22:20.8-.64 for the triple Axel. Two level three spins. That is the quad.

:22:21. > :22:23.Again, didn't have the running edge that he would have liked, but

:22:24. > :22:33.goodness me, he fought for that and made it work. The same there on the

:22:34. > :22:39.triple Axel. Most of the judges, I am sure, will have gone -1 on that

:22:40. > :22:43.triple Axel, as opposed to a plus, because the landing was not as clean

:22:44. > :22:56.as he would have liked. A little on the toe there, on the Lutz as well.

:22:57. > :22:57.We see so many of them with intricacy and flexibility within the

:22:58. > :23:17.footwork, always adding up. But welcome back to the big-time,

:23:18. > :23:22.Brian Joubert. Seasons best with that one. By a long way. After the

:23:23. > :23:29.disappointment at Vancouver, when he failed with the short programme and

:23:30. > :23:36.he has given us a performance. 85.84. Way above his season's best

:23:37. > :23:41.and that puts him into fifth place behind Jason Brown. Do you agree

:23:42. > :23:47.with that? I am surprised he is higher but then again, we doubt that

:23:48. > :23:53.Jason Brown's components weren't there. I'm just looking at

:23:54. > :24:00.transitions from Joubert. It seems like Joubert got more in the

:24:01. > :24:06.technical mark but less in the presentation. Speaking at the delete

:24:07. > :24:14.I'm not surprised Brown is still ahead overall. Yuzuru Hanyu, that is

:24:15. > :24:16.how to nail a programme at the Olympic Games. Patrick Chan is

:24:17. > :24:25.certainly not out of it. Abbey eight Fernando is, another of the big

:24:26. > :24:30.favourites -- Fernandez. Jeremy Abbott is very disappointed, he fell

:24:31. > :24:33.heavily on the quad. A huge disappointment in the United States

:24:34. > :24:40.and for Jeremy Abbott himself. And of course, Evgeny Plyushchenko not

:24:41. > :24:55.even taking to the ice after a fall in the warm up. Just sum up, Yuzuru

:24:56. > :25:03.Hanyu, what a talent at 19 years of age, not only to deliver in the

:25:04. > :25:06.team, but also here. Yes, he has been described as comfortable and it

:25:07. > :25:14.showed in those performances. But there are four more boys to come who

:25:15. > :25:22.all have the armour, or can bring the armour, to perform and get in

:25:23. > :25:26.the top five. Particularly Takahashi of the Japan. He can certainly

:25:27. > :25:30.deliver. We will leave you with the pictures of this incredible young

:25:31. > :25:32.man, who not only delivered the elements, but delivered the

:25:33. > :25:40.performance as well. That is Fernandez. Clare Balding, Yuzuru

:25:41. > :25:44.Hanyu, as cool as you like, he is the leader by some way.

:25:45. > :25:48.CLARE BALDING: it was absolutely staggering to watch. Thank you so

:25:49. > :25:52.much to Sue Barker and Robin Cousins, we will be back for the

:25:53. > :25:56.final four in around 20 minutes' time. Those are the light scenes in

:25:57. > :26:00.the Olympic Park, with that beautiful torch and the rings

:26:01. > :26:04.reflecting in the water. They have found it displays every now and then

:26:05. > :26:09.and it is a stunning sight, beautiful by day but I think even

:26:10. > :26:15.more so by night and all of the places are lit up, the Bolshoy

:26:16. > :26:18.behind me and the stadium where the opening ceremony and the closing

:26:19. > :26:22.ceremony will be, and it will be one of the football stadiums they use

:26:23. > :26:26.when the World Cup comes here to Russia. Now, we are going from one

:26:27. > :26:29.of the most elegant and beautiful sports at the Winter Olympics to the

:26:30. > :26:34.one that is officially the sweatiest, the biathlon. Today was

:26:35. > :26:39.the men's individual 20 kilometres. They have to ski cross-country for

:26:40. > :26:43.20 kilometres, they have to shoot at targets and any of them they miss,

:26:44. > :26:47.they get a one-minute penalty, so it is really punishing. Patrick

:26:48. > :26:51.Winterton and Rob Walker commentating.

:26:52. > :27:13.So the 20km for the men is underway. Celebrating his 26th birthday today

:27:14. > :27:22.on home soil, and here is Bjoerndalen, the winner last time,

:27:23. > :27:30.silver in Turin and Vancouver. He already has a medal here in Sochi

:27:31. > :27:41.for the sprint. Any medal today and he becomes the most decorated in

:27:42. > :28:01.Olympic history. Michael for Cade -- for for

:28:02. > :28:06.solid shooting by Beatrix. That he had after the second shooting will

:28:07. > :28:15.be increased after the third. -- that lead. That is Martin Forcade.

:28:16. > :28:20.The world's best can make mistakes like that... Perhaps a little too

:28:21. > :28:26.cocky, he has been accused about in the past. Absolutely no reason for

:28:27. > :28:31.making that mistake. Bjoerndalen. Four out of five is not good

:28:32. > :28:36.enough. His campaign for that 13th medal will have to wait for the

:28:37. > :28:44.relay. Huge noise in the stadium for our first miniature Garanichev --

:28:45. > :28:51.our first finisher. He has not had a bad night at all. Beatrix in for his

:28:52. > :28:54.last shoot. Crucial for the Frenchman, top right of the screen.

:28:55. > :29:02.Erik Lesser is a never potential winner. 19 goes wide. Beatrix is

:29:03. > :29:07.going to have to ski for the gold medal rather than shoot for it. That

:29:08. > :29:10.is looking pretty good for Erik Lesser. Here comes Svensson, he has

:29:11. > :29:29.missed out on the top spot. -- his difficult time in Sochi

:29:30. > :29:32.continues, shake of the head. This is why he has not lost an individual

:29:33. > :29:40.since 2012. He could be on course for another victory. He has the lead

:29:41. > :29:46.of just shy of 12 seconds. Beatrix coming into the finish. A good

:29:47. > :29:58.effort by the Frenchman. But there will not be a medal for him. Erik

:29:59. > :30:02.Lesser, this looks very good indeed. For clean shoots, the coaches put

:30:03. > :30:10.their arms in the air. What a chance this is. Martin Fourcade, how much

:30:11. > :30:19.has he extended his advantage? He is going to go into first place. Way

:30:20. > :30:22.quicker than Garanichev, but will it be quick enough to stay ahead of

:30:23. > :30:29.Erik Lesser, who is out on the course behind him. Erik Lesser has

:30:30. > :30:34.drifted six seconds outside of the times set by Martin Fourcade. I

:30:35. > :30:40.think Fourcade can start to think in terms of gold number two.

:30:41. > :30:45.Fourcade's time is going to elude him. Will it be silver for Erik

:30:46. > :30:50.Lesser? He has got to finish inside 15 minutes and he is going to. What

:30:51. > :30:59.a performance from Erik Lesser, sensational effort. And that leaves

:31:00. > :31:09.the birthday boy in bronze medal position. That is to gold medals for

:31:10. > :31:15.Martin Fourcade and he is aiming for five of them. We will stay there for

:31:16. > :31:23.the ten, to classic. That refers to the style because freestyle goes

:31:24. > :31:36.like this. And classic goes like this. They are in tracks. Yes, like

:31:37. > :31:47.that. Great Britain had a contender. It was the more traditional

:31:48. > :31:53.cross-country nations who dominated. The clock is ticking down. This is a

:31:54. > :32:07.brutal climb on the second of these circuits. Marit Bjorgen, will she

:32:08. > :32:12.add to her tally? Charlotte Kalla could be the first woman in history

:32:13. > :32:21.to defend her title. The reigning Olympic champion. Is this her moment

:32:22. > :32:27.to shine? Look at 20th macro. Really driving. It is not so much

:32:28. > :32:31.technique, it is the tempo she is working. I have not seen her perform

:32:32. > :32:40.this aggressively for a very long time. This time is going to be

:32:41. > :32:47.impressive. The reigning world champion. She will be so hungry to

:32:48. > :32:56.replicate her glory from the World Championship 12 months ago. Here

:32:57. > :33:02.comes Justyna Kolwalczyk. This is where she always gains time on her

:33:03. > :33:11.opponent. And here comes the current leader, she is dying. Justyna

:33:12. > :33:17.Kolwalczyk leading. Marit Bjorgen in second place. Charlotte Kalla in

:33:18. > :33:23.sixth place. This is where the final hill starts. In front of them

:33:24. > :33:30.appears this wall, the same wall they had to climb at the end of the

:33:31. > :33:34.sprint and it is absolutely brutal. Such a gutsy competitor, Justyna

:33:35. > :33:42.Kolwalczyk. Way inside the time of Charlotte Kalla. 22 seconds. Here

:33:43. > :33:46.comes 28 crew, watching the clock. No woman has ever defended this

:33:47. > :33:54.title. What an effort from 28 April! She goes into the light. -- into the

:33:55. > :33:59.lead. The Polish woman was out of the medals. The Polish fans think

:34:00. > :34:05.this is good enough for the gold medal. What a performance! What

:34:06. > :34:13.commitment from Justyna Kolwalczyk. Marit Bjorgen. She is going to face

:34:14. > :34:22.outside the time so she does not add to her glittering array of gold,

:34:23. > :34:26.silver and bronze medals. Driving, pushing, she was in fourth place in

:34:27. > :34:34.the skiathlon. She does not want to miss out. Yes, Therese Johaug is on

:34:35. > :34:39.the podium. Her best chance for gold and she has delivered in wonderful

:34:40. > :34:46.style, a second silver of these games for Charlotte Kalla.

:34:47. > :34:52.That means the winner becomes the most decorated Winter Olympian for

:34:53. > :34:59.Poland. Very shortly we shall head to the ice hockey but here is what

:35:00. > :35:01.is going on in the medals because after they do the official

:35:02. > :35:06.presentations, you can see flowers at the actual venue, they come here.

:35:07. > :35:15.And then there are live concerts. Big crowds hang around to enjoy

:35:16. > :35:21.this. Going back to the 1970s and 80s. Rather fun! The biggest sport

:35:22. > :35:28.in turns of competitors and profile around the world and pay is ice

:35:29. > :35:34.hockey. The league in Russia is huge. And in North America, equally

:35:35. > :35:40.so. The men's final is always on the last day. It will be a very long

:35:41. > :35:47.build-up but Jason is mad for ice hockey and wanted to get involved.

:35:48. > :35:50.Here at the Arena, the home crowd are gearing up for what they

:35:51. > :35:56.consider to be the biggest event of this year's Winter Olympics. The ice

:35:57. > :36:02.hockey. Russia, with a hugely talented roster, or under incredible

:36:03. > :36:14.pressure to deliver the gold medal. -- they are under.

:36:15. > :36:22.We will play with our hearts. If Russia want to win, it will be no

:36:23. > :36:24.walk in the park. They left Vancouver empty-handed after being

:36:25. > :36:33.knocked out in the quarterfinal and Canada, who claimed the gold medal.

:36:34. > :36:39.The man who scored the winning goal is ready to take on the best once

:36:40. > :36:46.again. Sidney Crosby. There are high expectations. Is for a lot of teams

:36:47. > :36:54.but being a very pride nation with hockey, it will be tough. Any time

:36:55. > :37:00.you defend, you will have a huge target on your back. The competition

:37:01. > :37:05.takes place at the ice storm and the arena, with 12 teams fighting it

:37:06. > :37:11.out. The NHL has been put on hold. Expect all the usual thrills. As

:37:12. > :37:16.team-mates become opponents. Playing against menu practice against

:37:17. > :37:21.everyday. It will help in some ways and it will also hurt in some ways.

:37:22. > :37:25.The weirdest part is the village and they are wearing different colours!

:37:26. > :37:29.They are with different guys! That is the weirdest part but once you

:37:30. > :37:34.get out there, everyone knows what they have to do. An age-old rivalry

:37:35. > :37:42.will re-emerge as Russia takes on the United States, evoking memories

:37:43. > :37:50.of the miracle on ice at 1980. -- of 1980. When I saw the draw and the

:37:51. > :37:57.fact we would be playing Russia in our polymerase round, I was very

:37:58. > :38:01.excited. I was really excited to have that game! And to know it is

:38:02. > :38:18.going to be on their homeland. This place will be off the chart!

:38:19. > :38:23.Alongside his superpowers, current world champions Sweden and several

:38:24. > :38:30.other talented teams. Slovakia have one of the best players in the

:38:31. > :38:36.world. Defensively so strong, maybe they can just sneak in with bronze.

:38:37. > :38:42.Which team will cause problems? Finland are always around. They play

:38:43. > :38:48.with European flair. They will be the surprising team. The stage is

:38:49. > :38:52.set for the big one, the final gold medal of this Winter Olympics will

:38:53. > :38:59.be awarded in this very venue but which country will be crowned

:39:00. > :39:03.champion? I cannot wait to find out! Russia started their campaign today

:39:04. > :39:08.against Levine yet, who won their first ever Winter Olympics old medal

:39:09. > :39:15.with the downhill title yesterday. You saw them and you will hear them

:39:16. > :39:27.in commentary. The atmosphere is wonderful. Canny Slovenians do this?

:39:28. > :39:33.Real danger. He should send scores! His first shot of the games. Top

:39:34. > :39:49.corner! The poster boy delivers and he announces his arrival. Foreword.

:39:50. > :40:02.Here is Evgeni Malkin. Two. Zero! -- 2-0! He just punches that like a

:40:03. > :40:07.football. A shot at the goal! Into the top corner from Slovenia.

:40:08. > :40:21.Wonderful finish. They have their first ever Olympic gold. A moment of

:40:22. > :40:28.history. -- goal. Evgeni Malkin, down the backhand side. Through the

:40:29. > :40:37.middle. Yes! Ilya Kovalchuk. He shoots. Evgeni Malkin with the shot.

:40:38. > :40:51.He will turn and look back. Look who is right in the middle. This is

:40:52. > :40:56.another chance. He is through! What a response from Slovenia! Russia

:40:57. > :41:02.looked like they would pull away but this break from Ziga Jeglic, he was

:41:03. > :41:08.devastating with this first. He was deadly accurate with his second. And

:41:09. > :41:15.he is the man for Slovenia. Ziga Jeglic intercepts. Maybe he can

:41:16. > :41:22.create a third goal? Not this time. This could be danger. Valeri

:41:23. > :41:26.Nichushkin. Drives hard. The red light is on. His arm is in the air.

:41:27. > :41:36.The Russians will celebrate this one. That is a goal! We did not see

:41:37. > :41:44.that. And the scoreboard flips over. And the Russians double their

:41:45. > :41:57.advantage. He is usually lethal from there, Alexander Radulov. Wonderful

:41:58. > :42:05.strike. Slapshot. And there it is. Anton Belov. He just rings the bell.

:42:06. > :42:18.From the blue line. He blasts it up and over. Three points in the bag.

:42:19. > :42:22.But a bad effort from Slovenia, given the only have 148 registered

:42:23. > :42:30.players in the country. We will be back with the figure skating very

:42:31. > :42:40.shortly. And remind you that the schedule has pulled out of that and

:42:41. > :42:44.announced his retirement. We also have the USA and the memories of

:42:45. > :42:50.that game on ice, a college team beat the USSR in the semifinals

:42:51. > :43:01.before going on to win gold. Still fresh memories and the USA started

:43:02. > :43:16.their campaign against Slovakia. He fires and scores! Here is the

:43:17. > :43:32.turnover. He should send scores! 24 seconds into the second period. And

:43:33. > :43:45.the Americans retake the lead. Another chance! The rebound, and his

:43:46. > :43:53.scores! 3-1. Kessler cannot get this through. Banging away in front. This

:43:54. > :43:58.is a loose puck. It is in the net! They score! He finally puts it in

:43:59. > :44:23.for the US lead. They bank away at it! -- bang. And

:44:24. > :44:46.the US escape with a great chance. And he scores! 5-1.

:44:47. > :45:11.Kessler, dropping... He scores! The Slovaks have been chasing hard all

:45:12. > :45:20.night. He scores. Brian, this time. They're frustrated Slovakia. The

:45:21. > :45:30.Americans are running it up. 7-1. After 40 minutes.

:45:31. > :45:36.The USA looking strong and inaction are the champions, Canada. They lead

:45:37. > :45:43.Norway 3-1. That is live on the Red Button, if you would like to watch

:45:44. > :45:46.it. Those inside the arena can see that action. And those outside can

:45:47. > :45:52.see the scores. Up on the roof. Rather lovely! Tonight's highlights

:45:53. > :46:05.will be slightly truncated, we'll shall get a lot in. Starts at 7:30

:46:06. > :46:09.p.m.... We will be looking back at the controversial short skating

:46:10. > :46:14.vinyl with Britain's Elyse Christie. We have James Woods, I will be

:46:15. > :46:19.talking to him. -- Elise Christie. Now, though, we are heading back to

:46:20. > :46:24.the Iceberg Skating Palace, we are going to rejoin Sue Barker and Robin

:46:25. > :46:31.Cousins for the final group in the men's short programme.

:46:32. > :46:37.SUE BARKER: And just 20 seconds of the final warm up to be completed

:46:38. > :46:41.here, with six skaters still to go in this short programme, but this

:46:42. > :46:45.whole place is still reeling from the performance of Yuzuru Hanyu, the

:46:46. > :46:52.first of the big favourites to skate in the short programme.

:46:53. > :46:56.He didn't just set the standard, he set a world record score. Just 19

:46:57. > :47:03.years of age and he is top of the standings at the moment, ahead of

:47:04. > :47:07.the favourite Patrick Chan and then Hernandez in third place. But there

:47:08. > :47:12.are some skaters in this last group who could certainly get themselves

:47:13. > :47:25.into medal contention. Some of the best jumpers that we have seen in

:47:26. > :47:31.ice-skating, but it is Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic who

:47:32. > :47:45.will start this final group of six. Former Russian champion and Olympic

:47:46. > :47:50.champion Viktor Petrenko putting him on the ice. Yes, he has been working

:47:51. > :47:56.with him for nearly two years. He was on the podium at last year's

:47:57. > :48:01.European Championships, just missed out in Budapest, finishing fourth,

:48:02. > :48:05.but he is back outside back of outside's list.

:48:06. > :48:39.ROBIN COUSINS: the quadruple worked in the warm up.

:48:40. > :48:50.Will it work now when it counts? Well, hands down. So he will get

:48:51. > :48:52.credit for the jump. A mandatory minus of two on a grade of execution

:48:53. > :49:08.from the judges. A triple flip, double toe loop,

:49:09. > :49:13.wanted that to be a triple -triple combination if he was going to put

:49:14. > :49:18.himself in contention. Cannot afford not to do this triple Axel.

:49:19. > :51:03.CHEERING The performances have been so good

:51:04. > :51:07.at the top of the standings that any error will put you out of

:51:08. > :51:11.contention. This group can make no mistake if they are going to try and

:51:12. > :51:16.keep themselves in medal contention and that had errors. Errors, no

:51:17. > :51:20.major mistakes, but he didn't do material on which he could make

:51:21. > :51:32.mistakes. Just the quad, handed down, as I say, that is up to two

:51:33. > :51:42.temps down on the grade of execution -- two temps. Just 7.18 for the

:51:43. > :51:48.double-triple combination. He really wants the component scores, the

:51:49. > :51:52.skating skills, choreography and performance, to be up in the

:51:53. > :52:00.eights, but I have a feeling they will be in the sevens as well. He

:52:01. > :52:06.did get level fors for the spins -- level fours. The body not quite

:52:07. > :52:09.where it needs to be to rotate, a touchdown with the hands, but

:52:10. > :52:18.again, gets credit for the jump itself. In for the triple flip. He

:52:19. > :52:22.is in a great position to rotate the triple toe into follow but just

:52:23. > :52:24.making the double. He had to make the triple Axel and it was his best

:52:25. > :52:43.element. His personal best is 82 point AT and

:52:44. > :53:02.I think he will be hard pushed to do that. -- 82

:53:03. > :53:08.it is not so much a case of his performance has dipped, it is so

:53:09. > :53:14.many great skaters have come along in the last few years. Yes, but he

:53:15. > :53:17.was so exciting when he was younger and fearless.

:53:18. > :53:28.He is not so fearless now and I think you notice that in his

:53:29. > :53:33.performance. 23 years of age now, 81.95, so not a season's best and it

:53:34. > :53:45.puts him down in seventh place just ahead of Tomas Verner.

:53:46. > :53:51.Anything less than a season's best in a competition of this quality,

:53:52. > :54:14.just not good enough. Kazakhstan represented next by

:54:15. > :54:18.Dennis Tan. He has had a skin infection, an ankle injury, painful

:54:19. > :54:23.dental surgery and apart from that, he is fine! Last year, he became the

:54:24. > :54:28.first competitor from Kazakhstan to win a championship medal, when he

:54:29. > :54:33.got silver, but it has been a disappointing season for him and you

:54:34. > :54:37.just wonder, because of all the illness and injury, how it will

:54:38. > :54:42.affect him. Coached by Frank Carroll, who knows all about

:54:43. > :54:46.delivering and Olympic champion. What can Denis ten do now?

:54:47. > :55:12.He did take the World Championships by storm last year in London and

:55:13. > :55:15.Ontario. That was a very nice quadruple, but could not hold the

:55:16. > :55:34.landing. Again, foot down, hands down.

:55:35. > :56:41.Triple flip, double toe loop. Very close to the wall there. If he had

:56:42. > :57:38.done a triple combination, he may well have gone off the back.

:57:39. > :57:43.Well, there were moments when you saw that exciting Denis ten of a

:57:44. > :57:48.year ago, but the season hasn't been good for him. You need the

:57:49. > :57:54.preparation to be right and he hasn't been able to do that because

:57:55. > :57:58.of one illness or ailment after another. Yes, you need to be getting

:57:59. > :58:03.out, getting consistent and comfortable and while he has

:58:04. > :58:08.glorious technique, he hasn't had the experience this season at

:58:09. > :58:15.performing these routines. Really wanted to push himself with the quad

:58:16. > :58:21.combination at the beginning but didn't have the landing he needed.

:58:22. > :58:27.He has it all, though, doesn't he on his day? Just exceptional. As he was

:58:28. > :58:31.this time last year for the World Championships. But as you say, the

:58:32. > :58:34.injuries and disappointments, he has had no structure to any training

:58:35. > :58:44.regime whatsoever this whole winter season. And it is textbook

:58:45. > :58:50.technique. I thought it was going to be perfect in the air. It is lovely,

:58:51. > :58:53.he is in the right place and he just slides off the edge. He made sure he

:58:54. > :59:00.didn't put his backside then, because that would be a complete

:59:01. > :59:04.points deduction. -- backside down. As it is, it will guarantee him a

:59:05. > :59:17.-2, possibly -3 from the grade of Execution. The quad got him 7.73.

:59:18. > :59:31.Bad glorious triple Axel got him ten points 63 points. -- that glorious.

:59:32. > :59:42.Easy for the triple flip, just the double toe loop. Choreography and

:59:43. > :59:51.the skating skills were great. I didn't think the transition between

:59:52. > :59:56.the elements were that good it may be noted in his element scores. And

:59:57. > :00:17.Frank Carroll, there, by his side. A season's best, I am sure it will

:00:18. > :00:22.beat that by some way. 84.06. But losing marks on that second mark,

:00:23. > :00:30.the component score, presentation, and that puts him down in sixth

:00:31. > :00:34.place at the moment behind Brian Juba -- Brian Joubert. He knows he

:00:35. > :00:51.can do better but he needs a better season to prepare. The Games came

:00:52. > :00:59.too soon for Denis Ten. Next on the ice, Peter Liebers. From Germany. It

:01:00. > :01:05.was a short run that let him down. He made errors in Budapest but was

:01:06. > :01:11.rewarded with his season's best in the team event, a solid performance.

:01:12. > :01:48.Can he repeat that? Peter Liebers of Germany.

:01:49. > :02:08.Beautiful triple toe loop combination.

:02:09. > :02:42.That is a triple axel. Again, lovely and light.

:02:43. > :04:11.Well, he was good in the team event and even better tonight. His jumps

:04:12. > :04:17.were absolutely spot on. He got every element. The commentators are

:04:18. > :04:24.standing and applauding. Super performance from Peter Liebers. The

:04:25. > :04:29.spins are not quite at the same level as the jumps but goodness me,

:04:30. > :04:36.where those jumps on form? Right up there. That is key, the whole

:04:37. > :04:42.package, all of the different elements that go together. Other

:04:43. > :04:45.skaters have made mistakes and he is likely going to be behind line but

:04:46. > :04:52.it is because of the difficulty in the other elements? I have to say,

:04:53. > :05:01.looking at this, he has got 15.69, 10.7 for the triple Axel. Glorious

:05:02. > :05:10.as they wear, level three on the spin and the footwork. One level

:05:11. > :05:16.four. Component scorers might not be into eight. Let us look at the

:05:17. > :05:23.replay on this, this quadruple toe loop. Absolutely glorious, on the

:05:24. > :05:33.money. We talk about skating with conviction, he stepped right into

:05:34. > :05:47.that. Dine in his knees, lifting the body foreword. He is a very open

:05:48. > :05:53.stance. -- dine. Every jump. Watch, the body placed exactly right.

:05:54. > :06:03.That'll be his best performance, I am sure his season's best. Again,

:06:04. > :06:09.the judges had the chance to review all of the elements and see things

:06:10. > :06:22.that maybe have been missed. But that looked absolutely spot on.

:06:23. > :06:29.79.61, his season's best. Look at the technical score! 47.26. All of

:06:30. > :06:33.those technical elements were there. The component score not the same,

:06:34. > :06:40.that is what he has to work on but what a performance! Consistent but

:06:41. > :06:49.that's technical score is superb. And well-deserved. That puts him

:06:50. > :07:09.into fourth place. And just three left. Composing himself for what is

:07:10. > :07:19.a huge moment for this 17-year-old. This exciting talent from China. Han

:07:20. > :07:27.Yan, he made his debut in the team event. And he looked mature beyond

:07:28. > :07:30.his years. He landed the quad with ease. Still, terrific. He is A* in

:07:31. > :08:01.the making. -- a real star. He opens his programme with the

:08:02. > :08:17.triple Axel. Huge! Glorious flow. Can he do the same with the quad toe

:08:18. > :08:19.loop? Great speed and rotation. Needing to step out and his hand

:08:20. > :09:15.down. Degrees of execution. He needs the combination. The triple

:09:16. > :10:20.lutz. Just over rotating, stepping out afterwards.

:10:21. > :10:26.What a shame, he knows this was a missed opportunity but you could

:10:27. > :10:29.tell from that opening triple Axel what a talent he is and he has got

:10:30. > :10:33.real personality on the ice. You know he will just get better and

:10:34. > :10:46.better, closer to the podium every year. This is his first year as a

:10:47. > :10:53.senior. As I say, I saw him from China and I was blown away from his

:10:54. > :10:58.work. Possibly overawed by the occasion but there is no question

:10:59. > :11:03.that he can have it. And maybe having got this out of his system,

:11:04. > :11:08.tomorrow we shall see the pure fireworks that he is capable of

:11:09. > :11:17.bringing. How easy did that Axel look? Beautiful! Yes, and it just

:11:18. > :11:22.flows through the take-off, covering the ice. Absolutely glorious and the

:11:23. > :11:35.same thing with the take-off and into this quad. Beautiful are

:11:36. > :11:45.position. -- air. Deductions on the execution. Checked out for the

:11:46. > :11:51.triple Lutz. He has got a lot of tension in his face, you can see

:11:52. > :11:56.that. He needs to be more relaxed in the upper body. He will lose in the

:11:57. > :12:04.execution for that step out on the triple toe loop. Component marks

:12:05. > :12:09.will be high but I would expect his transition marks to be down. It will

:12:10. > :12:18.be very interesting, he will not hit his season's best. That is 90.14. We

:12:19. > :12:23.have seen better performances than that so far. It will not be his best

:12:24. > :12:32.but he will not be far-away? And that season's best was in China. He

:12:33. > :12:48.just needs to stay in contention. You can get ever closer to that

:12:49. > :12:54.podium. 85.66. You can tell, not happy with that. Down in seventh

:12:55. > :12:58.place, behind Brian Joubert. And he would have wanted to be closer, he

:12:59. > :13:03.would want to be challenging at only 17 years old and remember that name,

:13:04. > :13:15.he will be a very big star in the years to come.

:13:16. > :13:26.This man has been a very big star for many years. Will it be his night

:13:27. > :13:34.again? Daisuke Takahashi, such a popular skater and the Japanese fans

:13:35. > :13:37.out in force. But he has suffered a lot of injuries this season,

:13:38. > :13:42.finished a disappointing fifth place in the Japanese championships but

:13:43. > :13:45.was selected on past performances, including bronze at the last

:13:46. > :13:49.Olympics. He is capable of something special, he is a flamboyant

:13:50. > :13:52.performer who loves to entertain. But can he deliver the elements

:13:53. > :14:42.tonight? He wanted the quadruple toe loop, he

:14:43. > :14:58.just under rotated and just on two feet.

:14:59. > :15:49.Triple Lutz, triple toe loop. He got that flight across the ice. But he

:15:50. > :16:57.made the rotations nonetheless. A huge cheer from his adoring fans,

:16:58. > :17:03.and he has given them so much to cheer about over the years. World

:17:04. > :17:06.champion just a few years ago. But there were mistakes, he knows that,

:17:07. > :17:11.he won't celebrate that performance. It is not what he is used to, not

:17:12. > :17:18.what we are used to seeing from him from years ago, but it hasn't been

:17:19. > :17:22.his season. I have to say, how he was in the warm up, this was

:17:23. > :17:27.terrific. Because he missed the Axel and fell twice on the quad in the

:17:28. > :17:34.warm up. He made the rotation on the quad. But I know that the judges

:17:35. > :17:38.will be reviewing that to see whether it was fully rotated or

:17:39. > :17:43.whether it will actually get downgraded. If you look around the

:17:44. > :17:47.eyes, you see how popular he is. They have every little flower girl

:17:48. > :17:53.out here and they are still coming down. There will be 20, 30, 40 left

:17:54. > :18:00.out on the eyes. He has just been such a popular skater and has done

:18:01. > :18:04.so much for Japanese skating. And I think that is why they gave him this

:18:05. > :18:08.position, even though he came fifth at the championships. As with a lot

:18:09. > :18:11.of countries, their national championships is no longer the

:18:12. > :18:17.criteria for making the Olympic team. It is looking over the Grand

:18:18. > :18:21.Prix season, past experiences. That is the quadruple. It wasn't fully

:18:22. > :18:28.rotated and it was on two feet. And it has been downgraded to a double

:18:29. > :18:36.from a triple. Ouch. So just two points for that. 10.21 for the

:18:37. > :18:45.triple Axel, and 11.71 for the triple Lutz -triple toe combination.

:18:46. > :18:49.He has a very tight position in the air and as we saw in the

:18:50. > :18:56.combination, straight up and down, not a lot of travel that happens

:18:57. > :19:02.with the jump. Level four is on the spins and the footwork sequence. So

:19:03. > :19:08.that will help. And I think he is up in the nines for choreography,

:19:09. > :19:13.presentation. They still haven't finished taken the flowers of the

:19:14. > :19:24.ice -- taking the flowers of the ice. Matt Reid is still having to

:19:25. > :19:43.skate around them. -- catsuit this will not be what he or his fans

:19:44. > :19:51.want to see. 86.40. Good component score, but down on the technical.

:19:52. > :19:56.Great component score, that is the presentation. The Japanese fans

:19:57. > :19:59.silent, because they wanted more. In the combined committee could be

:20:00. > :20:02.bidding for the gold medal but he finds himself in fourth place, in

:20:03. > :20:11.touching distance of the podium. He needs good performance tomorrow.

:20:12. > :20:21.So still waiting for one more flower girl to leave the rink before

:20:22. > :20:29.Machida can start his routine. She is gone, so here we go. And this

:20:30. > :20:35.22-year-old from Japan has had a very successful season, winning two

:20:36. > :20:39.Grand Prix events, second in the national championships. He was third

:20:40. > :20:46.in the team event programme with his very enjoyable Firebird routine.

:20:47. > :20:50.Only one quad, but we know he can do more, so if it gets within touching

:20:51. > :20:54.distance of the podium, it could be interesting indeed. The music is

:20:55. > :20:55.East of Eden, can he create the elements to put himself in

:20:56. > :21:06.contention for a medal? If he is close to a season's best,

:21:07. > :21:09.that would put him in third place. He is ready now.

:21:10. > :21:51.Looking for the quadruple toe loop - triple toe loop combination. Just

:21:52. > :22:11.the double toe loop. Into the triple Lutz. Double.

:22:12. > :24:09.Costly, costly error. What a shame, because that was one

:24:10. > :24:14.of the glorious routines. Beautifully presented, beautifully

:24:15. > :24:20.skated. He just needed the elements. I am happy with the quad triple

:24:21. > :24:27.becoming a quad double and that triple Axel was glorious, but that

:24:28. > :24:32.double Lutz is kind of unforgivable. My favourite programme, beautifully

:24:33. > :24:37.choreographed. And I just love the ease with which he moves and he is

:24:38. > :24:43.so languid and you get control of the body and the feet. 23 years of

:24:44. > :24:55.age, he has really made his breakthrough this season, he has

:24:56. > :25:03.really come of age. A costly... 12.17 for the double quad

:25:04. > :25:09.combination. We have seen much bigger scores earlier on for his

:25:10. > :25:13.combinations. Yes, and I think he will suffer a little bit in the

:25:14. > :25:19.component scores as well. There is the quad. Not the best landing. So,

:25:20. > :25:28.again, it was smart not to try the triple afterwards. Got down on the

:25:29. > :25:42.knee, lifted through, made the rotation.

:25:43. > :25:49.His picking foot was in completely the wrong place for that take-off.

:25:50. > :26:00.Not a happy coach. But the programme itself was glorious. The coaches

:26:01. > :26:06.will have been looking at the scores that have gone, and although the top

:26:07. > :26:09.two of Hanyu and Patrick Chan our way out, there is the opportunity

:26:10. > :26:17.for someone to come in and take the bronze medal. -- our

:26:18. > :26:25.are very low technical score from what we have seen before. And that

:26:26. > :26:31.really is not good enough -- a very low. The he finds himself down in

:26:32. > :26:38.11th place. He came here with such high hopes. He would have wanted to

:26:39. > :26:41.be top five. Very disappointing for Machida and the Japanese fans but

:26:42. > :26:46.they have had plenty to celebrate, because right at the top of the

:26:47. > :26:49.leaderboard is Yuzuru Hanyu, the 19-year-old from Japan, a world

:26:50. > :26:56.record score for the short programme tonight. And almost four points

:26:57. > :27:00.ahead of Patrick Chan. But not... That can easily be made up

:27:01. > :27:06.tomorrow. One mistake from Hanyu. But look at the difference between

:27:07. > :27:09.Hernandez and Patrick Chan, over ten points. So it really does look as

:27:10. > :27:16.though gold and silver is going to be between Hanyu and Patrick

:27:17. > :27:19.backwards late Patrick Chan. Hanyu had a history of not making the

:27:20. > :27:26.stamina it, even though he's only 19, and he put that right in the

:27:27. > :27:30.grand free final when he beat Patrick Chan -- Grand Prix final. Is

:27:31. > :27:35.there still a question mark over his programme? There shouldn't become he

:27:36. > :27:38.is trained for it. He has put the two programmes together, but it can

:27:39. > :27:43.usually be one or the other. He needs to nail it tomorrow. He

:27:44. > :27:47.certainly nailed it today. That is the performance we are going to be

:27:48. > :27:52.talking about the rest of the night. Yuzuru Hanyu, the 19-year-old from

:27:53. > :27:58.Japan, looking to become the first Japanese man to win Olympic gold,

:27:59. > :28:01.all at the age of 19. What a night. CLARE BALDING: and absolutely

:28:02. > :28:06.brilliant night, and thank you so much. Also to Robin, not only for

:28:07. > :28:11.the co-commentary and expert analysis, but for running out of the

:28:12. > :28:14.Skating Palace to come and discuss the retirement of the Guinea

:28:15. > :28:20.Plyuschenko. That is the headline in Russia, that Plyuschenko pulled out

:28:21. > :28:24.before that short programme -- Evgeny Plyuschenko. He was part of

:28:25. > :28:30.the winning team programme, he performed well, but he tweaked his

:28:31. > :28:34.back and he has had, over the years, 12 back operations. Craig Pickering,

:28:35. > :28:42.who was due to be part of our bobsleigh team and had to pull out

:28:43. > :28:47.of the team because of a back injury is it on a tweet that he heard about

:28:48. > :28:50.the 12 operations and said he should stop complaining. It is Japan

:28:51. > :28:53.setting the pace with some brilliant figure skating. We will be back

:28:54. > :28:58.momentarily with a round-up of all of the day's action, by Baikonur. --

:28:59. > :29:00.goodbye for now.