Day 7, Part 1 - 6.45am to 10.00am

:00:50. > :01:01.It is downhill date at the Winter Olympic Games, the blue riband and

:01:02. > :01:07.event. Not it expected of this young man. It is the Austrian, Matthias

:01:08. > :01:16.Mayer, who had skied into gold medal position. Bode Miller, with his

:01:17. > :01:23.final Olympic downhill. It is too much for bodhi, no medals today.

:01:24. > :01:40.To break Austrian hearts! Silver, Christof Innerhofer.

:01:41. > :01:50.The new Olympic downhill champion from Austria. Matthias Mayer.

:01:51. > :01:56.Good morning. When Matthias Mayer won the men's

:01:57. > :01:59.downhill on Saturday, it was something of a surprise. He'd never

:02:00. > :02:08.been better than fifth in any major downhill before. The Austrians

:02:09. > :02:11.weren't complaining. They were, he said, freaking out back in Austria.

:02:12. > :02:15.He's joined legends like Franz Klammer in their alpine hall of

:02:16. > :02:19.fame. He'll be in the start gate again today. But it could be

:02:20. > :02:25.America's turn to celebrate. We're racing again this morning, this time

:02:26. > :02:32.in men's super combined. This title rewards both downhill

:02:33. > :02:37.speed and slalom technique. Utah's Ted Ligety won it eight years ago,

:02:38. > :02:41.and says he doesn't want to be a one-hit Olympic wonder.

:02:42. > :02:46.Bode Miller won gold in this, four years ago in Vancouver. In his

:02:47. > :02:50.farewell Games, could he become the first to successfully defend it?

:02:51. > :02:54.Relief all round for Eve, Anna, Claire and Vicki. A much needed win

:02:55. > :02:56.over China and, hopefully, some momentum, as they take on Japan

:02:57. > :03:00.today. The men's ice hockey event is well

:03:01. > :03:04.under way. The Russian fans have been piling into the Bolshoy Dome.

:03:05. > :03:07.And there'll be another big crowd to watch the Czechs take on the

:03:08. > :03:12.Latvians. And Lizzy Yarnold has an advantage

:03:13. > :03:15.of four tenths of a second. Doesn't sound much, but that's huge in bob

:03:16. > :03:19.skeleton, as we look ahead to the two deciding runs this afternoon

:03:20. > :03:25.that could bring Britain yet more gold in this event.

:03:26. > :03:34.If you are wondering about the tinkling of Ravel's Valero, we are

:03:35. > :03:41.celebrating the anniversary of and the gold medal. I wonder if Lizzy

:03:42. > :03:50.Yarnold can write another golden chapter in Bob skeleton.

:03:51. > :03:55.Emma Carrick-Anderson has come down off the mountain to join us here in

:03:56. > :03:59.the Costa del Sochi. It's warm. Disconcertingly warm for a Winter

:04:00. > :04:05.Olympics. We are used to wrapping up and

:04:06. > :04:08.racing at -10, but it is plus ten on the slopes.

:04:09. > :04:15.They were competing in vest tops at the cross country yesterday.

:04:16. > :04:22.It has been crazy. Beautiful as a spectator, but as a racer, with the

:04:23. > :04:29.boots getting soft, it is not ideal. The problem for Alpine

:04:30. > :04:34.events, they have had to bring forward the downhill section of this

:04:35. > :04:39.combined even. That is why we are here a little

:04:40. > :04:44.earlier. To try to make the most of the cooler conditions. One run of

:04:45. > :04:49.downhill, followed by one run of slalom. We're starting a full hour

:04:50. > :04:52.earlier. Graham has been on course expects --

:04:53. > :05:02.inspection. The men's downhill of the super

:05:03. > :05:08.combined. It is 8:40am, the sun is rising. All of these slopes that

:05:09. > :05:12.face to the West will hit that Sun and get that radiation from an early

:05:13. > :05:16.stage in the day. That is why they have moved the start time forward by

:05:17. > :05:23.one hour, because they are worried snow conditions will soften up. This

:05:24. > :05:29.is part of the course, they have used the water injection bar. There

:05:30. > :05:34.is a lot of humidity underneath the snow. That has frozen quite hard.

:05:35. > :05:39.The top layer of the snow will soften up. It means the early start

:05:40. > :05:44.numbers have a definite advantage in the downhill section of the

:05:45. > :05:49.combined. It comes down to laying down a good run in the downhill and

:05:50. > :05:54.carrying that Ford to the slalom. As we saw in the women's race. It can

:05:55. > :06:04.make all the difference. The favourites, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety

:06:05. > :06:11.as well. If it all goes to plan, fair enough,

:06:12. > :06:18.in terms of the best skiers, it is their best chance. As the race piste

:06:19. > :06:22.deteriorates, are we in danger of some freak results? We have been

:06:23. > :06:26.lucky so far in the course preparation.

:06:27. > :06:31.The workers have done a great job. With temperatures now 12 degrees by

:06:32. > :06:39.midday, it is difficult. Normally, they would down salt. But talking to

:06:40. > :06:43.a technical delegate, he said that is not working because the snow

:06:44. > :06:48.doesn't have enough moisture. They are having to add fertiliser which

:06:49. > :06:57.takes the moisture out of the snow. People will be confused about

:06:58. > :07:03.putting salt on. This is a chemical which reacts with moisture. Without

:07:04. > :07:10.moisture, it doesn't react. It is freezing at a higher temperature.

:07:11. > :07:14.It is not working so they are adding a fertiliser. They used it in the

:07:15. > :07:19.men's halfpipe yesterday which worked very well. We will see, for

:07:20. > :07:27.the first ten races, it will be great, then it will break. Who are

:07:28. > :07:40.the men to watch? Definitely the slalom specialist, today.

:07:41. > :07:46.Bode Miller is the defending champion. He says these conditions

:07:47. > :07:49.will favour the slalom specialists today.

:07:50. > :07:51."Right now, the downhill is so easy and so basic, there is nothing

:07:52. > :07:55.challenging about it really. There is no way to put any time on the

:07:56. > :07:59.slalom guys. Everyone just skis normal, and everyone is within a

:08:00. > :08:03.second and a half or so." "I think if they shorten the downhill the way

:08:04. > :08:07.they do, they should shorten the slalom too If this downhill had been

:08:08. > :08:10.run from the start the way it was before it got warm. And it was

:08:11. > :08:14.full-length downhill and full-length slalom. Then, I think, it would be

:08:15. > :08:15.fair, and would be a really good test".

:08:16. > :08:17.In the downhill, now the top layer is softening up, these are the

:08:18. > :08:25.fastest conditions possible, it makes the time differences between

:08:26. > :08:32.the athletes left. Look for early start numbers. The young Norwegian,

:08:33. > :08:41.Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. He has a really good chance, he is a good

:08:42. > :08:47.slalom skier. Looking down the list, looking for people who can ski well

:08:48. > :08:50.in slalom, if they can be close to someone like Bode Miller in the

:08:51. > :08:57.downhill, they can easily make up that difference in the slalom. You

:08:58. > :09:02.could lose half a second in slalom, and it takes your whole downhill run

:09:03. > :09:06.to ski out that lead. If we bought the downhill forward by

:09:07. > :09:16.one hour, why not with the slalom event?

:09:17. > :09:21.The issue for downhill is safety. You are travelling at speeds of 90

:09:22. > :09:29.miles an hour. If the course breaks up, with holes on the course, then

:09:30. > :09:34.it is leg breaking territory. On the safety terms, they have moved the

:09:35. > :09:41.start forward for the downhill. The slalom is not about safety, the

:09:42. > :09:46.slalom Hill should hold in order to be able to produce a fair race, it

:09:47. > :09:52.will just be more challenging for the downhill skiers.

:09:53. > :09:56.Great effort getting up early this morning, well done. We will let you

:09:57. > :10:02.go and join Matt Chilton to get ready.

:10:03. > :10:07.When we look at the likes of some other great names, Ted Ligety said,

:10:08. > :10:12.I won this in 2006, I don't want to be considered a one-hit wonder. He

:10:13. > :10:18.is coming into form. And capable of moving from place in downhill, into

:10:19. > :10:25.the medal positions. He is a great technical skier. The

:10:26. > :10:32.little ruts which form probably won't bother him. In terms of Bode

:10:33. > :10:36.Miller, would you agree, he doesn't think, Graham, that he will make it

:10:37. > :10:43.to the end of this one. He breaks all the rules. If he

:10:44. > :10:50.finishes, he will be fast. Ted Ligety and Bode Miller, they don't

:10:51. > :10:59.have any middle years, it is all for nothing -- gears.

:11:00. > :11:06.That is what makes great spectating. I am looking forward to it. Let us

:11:07. > :11:15.remind you of what is involved in this super combined event.

:11:16. > :11:23.A combined event was first held at the 1936 Winter Olympics, making it

:11:24. > :11:28.the oldest of the Olympic alpine skiing events. It was held over

:11:29. > :11:35.three runs, one downhill and two slaloms. In 2010, one slalom run was

:11:36. > :11:38.dropped. The super combined Olympic champion will be a skiing

:11:39. > :11:43.all-rounder. It is a test of speed and nerve in the downhill before

:11:44. > :11:48.they switch to shorter skis to tackle the slalom, a technique of

:11:49. > :11:55.rhythm and agility. The skier with the fastest downhill time always

:11:56. > :11:59.goes last in the slalom so dramatic climax is guaranteed. The times are

:12:00. > :12:08.added and the fastest combined total the winner.

:12:09. > :13:31.It'll be interesting, the Americans are in force to look at Bode

:13:32. > :13:38.Miller. I saw Bodie mid-January. He did that pretty well. He attacked

:13:39. > :13:49.and through everything. He straddled three gates from home so I think he

:13:50. > :13:55.has a chance of giving the rest a run for their money. Aleksander

:13:56. > :14:04.Aamodt Kilde, you may recognise his middle name, no relation to the

:14:05. > :14:08.eight medal Olympic winner, but he is named in his honour. The first

:14:09. > :14:25.man in the start gate. Christof Innerhofer, silver

:14:26. > :14:32.medallist already. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will be the man to open the

:14:33. > :14:37.Olympic super combined. Wearing number one. Just 21 years old. He is

:14:38. > :14:53.fired up. He is really getting himself psyched

:14:54. > :15:01.up for this. Three training runs. One of a shortened distance. He went

:15:02. > :15:09.well in both. Second fastest in training number one, fifth fastest

:15:10. > :15:15.in the third. Here he goes. Opening proceedings. As we strive to find

:15:16. > :15:19.the best all-round Alpine skier on the Russian mountains. Time to say

:15:20. > :15:27.good morning to Graham Bell. Good morning.

:15:28. > :15:46.It does not really affect the speed. You can hear how icy the snow

:15:47. > :16:07.conditions are. The question is, how quickly will blame MacSoft and up --

:16:08. > :16:18.while will they soften up? He is a little ragged. Leaning inside the

:16:19. > :16:38.control gate. More in voting than it was on downhill day when Matthias

:16:39. > :16:49.Mayer took gold. Matthias Mayer will be racing at number 14. That was a

:16:50. > :16:54.huge flight on the late jump. He has really attacked this downhill stage

:16:55. > :17:00.from top to bottom. He has gone a little bit off target on landing,

:17:01. > :17:11.but he has tucked in and set a release all it time. That was fast.

:17:12. > :17:16.-- a really solid time. Half a second faster than the last training

:17:17. > :17:26.run. Really ragged off the Russian Trampoline. That would have cost him

:17:27. > :17:43.only a 10th of a second. He has thrown down the gauntlet to everyone

:17:44. > :17:51.else. Adam Zampa is next. He will have to be good to get near

:17:52. > :18:01.Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. They have shortened the starting intervals.

:18:02. > :18:10.This was the turn that was so crucial in the downhill. Look how

:18:11. > :18:18.lead he is there. Not only are you losing speed, you are skiing an

:18:19. > :18:47.extra ten metres. You have lost a third of a second. Beat Feuz will be

:18:48. > :18:53.skiing eighth. We should talk about Ivica Kostelic who has a good record

:18:54. > :18:58.in super combined but the other factor is that the slalom course has

:18:59. > :19:05.been set by his dad, which is unusual. They do a draw, there is

:19:06. > :19:10.nothing controversial about it on paper although some would suggest it

:19:11. > :19:21.is playing into his hands. His dad is a recognised ski coach, we should

:19:22. > :19:34.clarify! It is just potluck which caught gets to do it. There has been

:19:35. > :19:43.lots of talk about it. Alexander Khoroshilov. Desperate to put one

:19:44. > :19:46.down and have a clean run. Let us see how it compares to Aleksander

:19:47. > :20:03.Aamodt Kilde, it is pretty favourable. He is not bad slalom

:20:04. > :20:06.skier. A lot of extra energy at the start because the Russian fans will

:20:07. > :20:14.be making as much noise as they possibly can. You can hear it from

:20:15. > :20:18.the start, the noise being produced at the finish area. The unfortunate

:20:19. > :20:22.thing about changing the time is that not all of the Russian fans

:20:23. > :20:29.found out so some of them will be arriving in the next hour only to

:20:30. > :20:36.find that the downhill stage of the super combined is half done. They

:20:37. > :20:46.will have a couple of hours to sit around in the sunshine and enjoy the

:20:47. > :21:04.atmosphere at Rosa goods -- the Rosa Khutor X-treme Park. Alexander

:21:05. > :21:15.Khoroshilov has done OK. It is a wrong all downhill and then a single

:21:16. > :21:34.run of slalom at 11:30am in the UK. A bit of flapping from Alexander

:21:35. > :21:41.Khoroshilov. Ondrej Bank set the quickest time in training. He has

:21:42. > :21:46.been around for a while. He is a decent all-rounder. He needs a good

:21:47. > :21:55.start to have a good chance heading into the slalom. I think he was

:21:56. > :22:09.sixth in the combined four years ago so he has a good chance. Sorry, that

:22:10. > :22:20.was in 2006. Email Dr fourth -- he moved up to fourth in 2010. I am not

:22:21. > :22:35.sure he has the skills to climb up onto the podium. It is a good start

:22:36. > :22:43.for and alleged -- Ondrej Bank. Getting some fabulous

:22:44. > :22:50.high-definition shots. It is clean all the way and he is getting

:22:51. > :22:57.faster. He is a very accomplished slalom skier and if he keeps this up

:22:58. > :23:07.this could give him a ruler good chance this afternoon. That is solid

:23:08. > :23:24.by Ondrej Bank of the Czech Republic. Look at how the snow is

:23:25. > :23:44.already breaking up. I am not sure where that is on the course. Max

:23:45. > :23:58.Franz got tangled up as he started. He has made up for it.

:23:59. > :24:09.The leader is Ondrej Bank of the Czech Republic. Aleksander Aamodt

:24:10. > :24:21.Kilde is second and Alexander Khoroshilov is third. Max Franz is

:24:22. > :24:31.fighting against the course in the midsection. He is heading in the

:24:32. > :24:36.wrong direction on the clock. He is not much of the slalom skier. You

:24:37. > :24:45.need is to take out an advantage over the current leader -- he needs

:24:46. > :24:49.to. He was the second best Austrian in the men's downhill on Sunday. The

:24:50. > :25:17.winner was Matthias Mayer. Just over half a second off the

:25:18. > :25:26.pace. Fantastic slow motion replay. Look at the aggression on his face.

:25:27. > :25:34.Martin Vrablik of the Czech Republic is next. He is quite a character. A

:25:35. > :25:47.little hit and miss. Remember the crash he had in Turin? You never

:25:48. > :26:01.know what you are going to get with him. He looked totally solid during

:26:02. > :26:10.that flight. That is where the holes are developing. You land from the

:26:11. > :26:21.Russian Trampoline and it is facing due west. A slight mistake there

:26:22. > :26:32.from Martin Vrablik. That will be difficult to keep firm. Two seconds

:26:33. > :26:41.off the pace. That section also faces due west but the skiers are

:26:42. > :27:18.not really turning on head so they can turn over the bumps. 133.8kph.

:27:19. > :27:34.Max Franz hold onto third. Big holes starting to form on this men's

:27:35. > :27:40.downhill. Maciej Bydlinski of Poland is next. The good thing about the

:27:41. > :27:45.downhill as you get to see people you do not see every day. Second

:27:46. > :27:58.division racers who get a chance to tackle the course. That was a lucky

:27:59. > :28:04.escape. I thought he was going down. He was on his side going down the

:28:05. > :28:08.fastest part of the course. He may not finish the way things have gone

:28:09. > :28:15.so far with some big jumps still to come. Fingers crossed he manages to

:28:16. > :28:23.stay on his feet and finish this stage.

:28:24. > :28:33.Three seconds down. That has really affected his time. He does not

:28:34. > :28:54.relate look happy with the high speed jumps at all -- does not look

:28:55. > :29:08.happy. Safely over that jump. Maciej Bydlinski of Poland has had quite a

:29:09. > :29:31.ride. He is going to finish up right, that will be a relief. This

:29:32. > :29:44.is the section where he went down. Beat Feuz is an out and out downhill

:29:45. > :29:57.man. He had a visit to hospital. He is a big man. He is wide rather than

:29:58. > :30:04.tall I would say, short, stocky, powerful. He would need to have a

:30:05. > :30:11.lead of over a second over the really good slalom skiers. He was

:30:12. > :30:45.13th in the downhill on Sunday. He just doesn't have the strength.

:30:46. > :30:57.It is worth going onto YouTube and checking out the summer training

:30:58. > :31:04.regime. Beat Feuz, on his way back from injury, he hasn't reached full

:31:05. > :31:06.fitness yet. He will finish this stage. And he will dig out the

:31:07. > :31:24.slalom skis. Next to go, a man who has already

:31:25. > :31:28.picked up a medal at these Winter Games, bronze medallist in the

:31:29. > :31:37.downhill. And the man who took the gold there.

:31:38. > :31:42.Number nine, for Norway. A big push out of the start, a good

:31:43. > :31:47.all-rounder, he could go well on the slalom skis, but he needs a lift in

:31:48. > :31:56.the downhill. We know he likes this hill. For me, he is more Super-G and

:31:57. > :32:02.giant slalom. His slalom is not quite up there. If he can ski out a

:32:03. > :32:07.lead in the downhill and carry that forward, it will certainly help. The

:32:08. > :32:21.quickest of the lot. Norway are currently third in the

:32:22. > :32:32.medal table behind Germany and Canada. Keeping it green all the

:32:33. > :32:36.way. Off the bear's brow, makes a little adjustment mid-flight,

:32:37. > :32:42.setting the inside edge of the left ski to continue the turn.

:32:43. > :32:49.This course is softening up a lot more than the women's super combined

:32:50. > :32:55.downhill. The topography of the slope, the women's is more east

:32:56. > :33:00.facing. This is a west facing. We are getting the early morning sun.

:33:01. > :33:10.It will not favour Bode Miller who starts way too late.

:33:11. > :33:24.The new leader, Janz Ruud two -- Jansrud.

:33:25. > :33:32.Continuing his good form on this Olympic course.

:33:33. > :33:39.Christof Innerhofer was also a medallist on Sunday, he missed the

:33:40. > :33:43.gold by six hundredths of a second. Aggressive, attacking start from the

:33:44. > :33:55.Italian. He has won in World Championships.

:33:56. > :34:04.In Schadming, I think, silver. No, it was in the Amish -- Garmisch.

:34:05. > :34:23.Last February, Ted Ligety won gold. That course was really icy in

:34:24. > :34:27.Garmisch. Its suited Christof Innerhofer more than anyone else.

:34:28. > :34:36.His slalom skiing was slightly better back then. Off the bear's

:34:37. > :34:44.brow, spectacular flight and landing from Christof Innerhofer. Couldn't

:34:45. > :34:48.believe his luck when he crossed the line six hundredths of a second

:34:49. > :34:53.behind. He was delighted to start with, thrilled with the silver

:34:54. > :35:01.medal, then he started to think, goodness me, six hundredths from

:35:02. > :35:05.gold. A mixture of emotions. The speed across the line of six

:35:06. > :35:10.hundredths of a second is about a ski length.

:35:11. > :35:20.Not so strong today, more than a second slower than the leader.

:35:21. > :35:26.These high-definition shots showing the full facial expression. Look at

:35:27. > :35:40.his eyes, you can just see them through his rating goggles.

:35:41. > :35:49.This is Mauro Caviezel from Switzerland, he finished in fifth

:35:50. > :36:03.position in the Kitzbuhel super combined.

:36:04. > :36:13.As he came through that traverse, standing on his inside ski, which

:36:14. > :36:16.means you don't have a safety net. If that edge slips away, the only

:36:17. > :36:19.thing that will touch the snow next is your hip and shoulder, and more

:36:20. > :36:40.than likely you are crashing out. Aksel Lunk Svindal is next to race,

:36:41. > :36:45.fourth in the downhill on Sunday. He will be followed by the two

:36:46. > :36:51.Austrians, Romed Baumann, then Mattias Maher. It will be good to

:36:52. > :36:57.see him tackle this course once again.

:36:58. > :37:18.Final jump. Skidding wide. He comes home.

:37:19. > :37:36.He was born in 1992, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The same year that

:37:37. > :37:42.Aamodt won his medal. Fourth in the downhill last Sunday.

:37:43. > :37:51.Aksel Lunk Svindal window is a good combined skier, he won gold in 2011

:37:52. > :37:56.at the world. His downhill skiing has dropped off

:37:57. > :38:00.but, in an event like this, you just never know. There could be a lot who

:38:01. > :38:05.crashed out in the slalom section if it does get very bumpy. Aksel Lunk

:38:06. > :38:12.Svindal might be able to get a medal, that will be his thinking.

:38:13. > :38:25.He will need to ski well in the downhill and beat his team-mate,

:38:26. > :38:32.Jansrud. You can hear the noise of the cable

:38:33. > :38:39.cam, catching the athletes at full speed. This is good, aggressive

:38:40. > :38:44.scheme from Aksel Lunk Svindal. This is where he was fast in the main

:38:45. > :38:49.downhill, using his power and strength. The weight advantage he

:38:50. > :38:57.has over his team-mate. He has lost time.

:38:58. > :39:07.Off the final jump, and Aksel Lunk Svindal comes home. Good enough for

:39:08. > :39:11.fifth at the moment. Unlikely for him to claw back that sort of time

:39:12. > :39:15.in a slalom. He has plenty more chances for medals at the World

:39:16. > :39:26.Championships and the Olympics. A shrug of the shoulders on his

:39:27. > :39:37.finish, only the third fastest Norwegian.

:39:38. > :39:42.Romed Baumann now. Coming and not of the gate. Bronze medallist at the

:39:43. > :39:48.World Championships last February in the super combined in Schadming.

:39:49. > :39:57.The Austrians don't really have any out and out combined specialists.

:39:58. > :40:02.They have got if you younger downhill skiers who have slalom

:40:03. > :40:11.skills. I include Mattias Maher in that. If they were to get to podium

:40:12. > :40:13.today I would be very surprised. Billy Wright choosing to focus on

:40:14. > :40:29.the technical basis. -- races. As we travel alongside Romed Baumann

:40:30. > :40:36.on this cable camera, what a shot it gives us. A good impression of the

:40:37. > :40:39.speed they are travelling. The only way to appreciate that is to stand

:40:40. > :40:45.alongside the course, if you get to go to one of the World Cup races,

:40:46. > :40:53.you will be blown away by the speed as they come past you in a flash.

:40:54. > :40:58.He is miles away here. His chance has gone already. I can't see him

:40:59. > :41:03.clawing back that sort of speed in a slalom.

:41:04. > :41:12.More than two seconds slower. Next to go, the Olympic downhill

:41:13. > :41:21.champion, Mattias May. The Austrians are here in numbers -- Mayer.

:41:22. > :41:30.Looking for another gold medal today.

:41:31. > :41:39.Here he is, the newly crowned Olympic downhill champion. Puffing

:41:40. > :41:47.out his chest. He has got the big one, he has joined the long list of

:41:48. > :42:04.legends. His father was an Olympic medallist, Calgary, 1988.

:42:05. > :42:11.Skiing well again but doesn't really have the incentive I don't think

:42:12. > :42:16.today to really risk it. His slalom skiing is not as good as others in

:42:17. > :42:24.the field. If he were to get a medal in the combined, he would need to

:42:25. > :42:31.lay one down today. Running slightly wide. Not too far away, 0.38. A

:42:32. > :42:59.different angle on the bear's brow. Very different snow conditions

:43:00. > :43:03.today. That is playing a part. The lead is safe at the moment. He has

:43:04. > :43:09.found a fraction to move into third. A change at the top. Ondrej Bank

:43:10. > :43:18.looking quite strong in second position. The skier from the Czech

:43:19. > :43:24.Republic. He could fancy his chances heading into the slalom stage. I

:43:25. > :43:30.don't think a check ski racer has ever won a medal.

:43:31. > :43:49.Peter Fill. Italian veteran. He has been around a while now, Peter Fill.

:43:50. > :43:54.No great shakes as a slalom skier, said he will need something tasty

:43:55. > :44:20.here this morning. 31 years old. It is so important to use -- to keep

:44:21. > :44:30.ski to snow contact. Every time you see the hand go up and down, it

:44:31. > :44:33.means the skis have taken... And, on cue, Peter has shown what not to

:44:34. > :44:42.do. You have to keep pushing forward. Otherwise you can't drive

:44:43. > :44:47.forward. It is important to push forward, to push your weight against

:44:48. > :44:52.the front of your boots, to pressurise the tips of the skis, to

:44:53. > :44:57.shorten the radius of the turn and generate speed.

:44:58. > :45:01.The Italians are still looking for their first gold medal of the

:45:02. > :45:16.Olympic Winter Games. Peter Fill has skied OK. Ten at the moment.

:45:17. > :45:31.he has a good Olympic record. Look at the holes starting to form. It is

:45:32. > :46:02.lovely for a recreational skier but it is problem for a high-speed

:46:03. > :46:14.downhill skier. Look at that! Excellent. There is a real end of

:46:15. > :46:28.season attitude. What is going on? It is midwinter. Winter lasts five

:46:29. > :46:40.minutes around here. He is getting clear in his mind what he wants to

:46:41. > :46:51.do. Ted Ligety putting his race bib on. Getting himself fired up and

:46:52. > :47:06.ready to go. He won the gold at the World Championships last year. Carlo

:47:07. > :47:17.Janka will be hoping for a better start than he had at the downhill on

:47:18. > :47:27.Sunday. Better this time. He has made areas -- a reasonable start. He

:47:28. > :47:35.did not quite get the angle on that turn, did not lean his hip into the

:47:36. > :47:52.turn as good as he could have done. Still hard and icy on the top of the

:47:53. > :48:10.course, this is where it started and starts to soften. Beautifully

:48:11. > :48:23.executed. In that short time that we had before he's -- he started, they

:48:24. > :48:32.have sent crews down to try to shift the snow. It looks a bit easier than

:48:33. > :48:49.it did before, so Carlo Janka benefiting from that. You do not

:48:50. > :48:55.actually wants the course to be slipped on the flat part so they are

:48:56. > :49:15.given instructions where to do their work, mostly the turns. That makes

:49:16. > :49:36.him the fastest Swiss skier so far. Kjetil Jansrud is first. Ondrej Bank

:49:37. > :49:44.is second. Alexis Pinturault, the big star of the French skiing. He

:49:45. > :49:59.won the super combined in Kitzbuhel. He was second recently.

:50:00. > :50:03.He is definitely one of the favourites to win gold today. The

:50:04. > :50:09.question is, how close can he be in the slalom? You start looking at the

:50:10. > :50:16.time differences between the downhill skiers who can ski slalom

:50:17. > :50:27.and those who cannot, Ondrej Bank can ski a good slalom run, I am not

:50:28. > :50:32.sure about Kjetil Jansrud. Not solid. He did not raise the

:50:33. > :50:41.downhill. He trained in France and flow in late and skied the train

:50:42. > :50:51.runs for the super combined. -- and flew in late and skied the training

:50:52. > :50:57.runs. A French father and Norwegian mother, he speaks fluent Norwegian

:50:58. > :51:04.so he is able to convert with the rest of the Norwegian team. He

:51:05. > :51:16.clattered the gate. He courted with the end of his ski pole so that

:51:17. > :51:23.would not have hurt too much. He is going to have to have the slalom run

:51:24. > :51:34.of his life to get in amongst the medals this afternoon. He is 13. He

:51:35. > :51:49.will be one of the medal starters in the second run -- middle. He will

:51:50. > :51:57.regret his decision to come late. He is not going to ski two seconds

:51:58. > :52:15.quicker than Ondrej Bank on one run of slalom. Natko Zrncic-Dim is next.

:52:16. > :52:35.One of his coaches is the father of his team-mate. This is a good top

:52:36. > :52:39.section. It is always interesting when you watch the super combined,

:52:40. > :52:46.the guys who think that they have got a chance of producing a medal or

:52:47. > :52:54.getting close to the podium always attack the downhill much more than

:52:55. > :53:01.the downhill skiers doing it with perhaps a punt at a good downhill

:53:02. > :53:08.run and hanging on in the slalom. It is all about how much you want it

:53:09. > :53:15.and the will to win and you see that from Natko Zrncic-Dim. He knows he

:53:16. > :53:26.has a good chance when the slalom comes around and he is really going

:53:27. > :53:32.for it in the downhill. Kjetil Jansrud still the leader at the

:53:33. > :53:44.moment. The Norwegians having a cracking Winter Olympics. Some big

:53:45. > :53:52.names to come, Ivica Kostelic, Ted Ligety, Bode Miller. Everybody

:53:53. > :54:02.looking forward to seeing how Bode Miller approaches the downhill part

:54:03. > :54:13.of this super remained. -- combined.

:54:14. > :54:24.When he had the fight, he had the will. He almost overcooked it

:54:25. > :54:39.slightly on some parts of the course. Thomas Mermillod Blondin of

:54:40. > :54:55.France is next. I said earlier I did not think the Czech skier had one a

:54:56. > :55:04.medal, but I think I was wrong. Ondrej Bank is bidding to become the

:55:05. > :55:16.first Czech man to win an Olympic medal, but not the first Czech

:55:17. > :55:28.skier. This is looking good. Thomas Mermillod Blondin is skiing very

:55:29. > :55:42.well. Nice light, a good high line -- flight. That was not so clever.

:55:43. > :55:49.He had to fight for his line. That might have cost him the chance of

:55:50. > :55:56.pushing. He will be more than a second removed at the next

:55:57. > :56:02.intermediate time. Look at the difference between intermediate

:56:03. > :56:08.number two, he was more than two seconds adrift. He has to go and

:56:09. > :56:14.work on skiing the high-speed turns and rollers because he made two

:56:15. > :56:22.mistakes back-to-back. He let off the pressure as he went into the

:56:23. > :56:38.roller, his hip roared over the outside of his ski and he lost ten

:56:39. > :56:53.metres. Kjetil Jansrud leads. Ondrej Bank second. That was Natko

:56:54. > :57:13.Zrncic-Dim attempting the dismount and failing. Sandro Viletta of

:57:14. > :57:26.Switzerland. Seven in Kitzbuhel -- seventh.

:57:27. > :57:38.He is not a brilliant slalom skier. You have Ondrej Bank and Aleksander

:57:39. > :57:48.Aamodt Kilde in their, he would not want to be more than half a second

:57:49. > :57:56.away. Good start. Travelling nicely across the snow. He had his hand

:57:57. > :58:04.behind his back as he tried to hold his position. This is the crucial

:58:05. > :58:07.section. He skied that very nicely. A much better line over those

:58:08. > :58:27.rollers. The middle part of the course skied

:58:28. > :58:30.quite nicely. This is nice. He is their best chance today,

:58:31. > :58:48.Switzerland. That was scruffy and am lucky to

:58:49. > :58:51.stand up and ski away from that. That is going to cost him time

:58:52. > :58:58.because right after that jump there is a flat section and you have to be

:58:59. > :59:05.carrying the speed. He gave himself a real scare. The damage is

:59:06. > :59:26.significant but possibly not terminal. Kjetil Jansrud holds on.

:59:27. > :59:36.Sandro Viletta is 11th. Ivica Kostelic. Fired up and ready to go.

:59:37. > :59:41.He has a good record in the big mind events, silver medallist that the

:59:42. > :59:48.Olympic Games behind Bode Miller four years ago and silver medallist

:59:49. > :59:58.behind Ted Ligety at the World Championships one year ago. The

:59:59. > :00:06.course for the slalom has already been set. The Italian downhill start

:00:07. > :00:25.is the coach. This is good. Ivica Kostelic does,

:00:26. > :00:31.in his favour, skis very well on slalom courses that are softening up

:00:32. > :00:36.and starting to get bumpy. He is a smooth skier, he doesn't put

:00:37. > :00:39.pressure on the ski. And he skis a round line, so when the bombs

:00:40. > :00:48.developed, he can carry his speed down the course. -- the bumps.

:00:49. > :00:57.The sixth quickest training time yesterday. He is keeping his head

:00:58. > :01:00.above water. Solid skiing. Not getting too far removed from

:01:01. > :01:14.Jansrud's time. His sister was the most successful

:01:15. > :01:22.Olympic skier of all time with four gold medals and two silver medals.

:01:23. > :01:28.Ivica has yet to strike gold at the Winter Olympic Games. This might be

:01:29. > :01:33.his last chance. Huge flight of the deer jump, landed a little further

:01:34. > :01:39.to the right than he might have wanted. But that is all right,

:01:40. > :01:45.seventh position. He can move up from there, good slalom skiing

:01:46. > :01:48.later. To get in amongst the Olympic medals. He knows he has a good

:01:49. > :01:54.chance of a medal. Looking at the top ten right now, he

:01:55. > :01:56.is probably the best. Sadly the most accomplished slalom skier in the top

:01:57. > :02:03.ten. Ted Ligety. Out of the gate, the

:02:04. > :02:19.world combined champion. Out on his way, in his quest for the

:02:20. > :02:27.first of potentially for medals he could win still at the Games. He has

:02:28. > :02:30.a chance in Super-G, grand slalom and slalom. Fabulous chances in

:02:31. > :02:38.Super-G and giant slalom in particular.

:02:39. > :02:45.Certainly the late start number, 22. Miller starting 24. It is not

:02:46. > :02:52.helping these guys in the downhill. The slalom, on the other hand, will

:02:53. > :02:58.be the top 30 reversed. This is good from Ted Ligety. If he can keep this

:02:59. > :03:03.deficit to less than one second, I think he has a very good chance of

:03:04. > :03:20.taking gold. A smooth turn.

:03:21. > :03:28.Still within six tenths of the league of Jansrud. He has skied good

:03:29. > :03:38.downhill so far. Now it is starting to look less like a gold medal. He

:03:39. > :03:42.is behind. These guys, I would still say,

:03:43. > :03:48.Alexis Pinturault when he skis the scar them -- slalom, he will make up

:03:49. > :04:06.time. Off the deer jump. Ted Ligety sets

:04:07. > :04:11.up his skis for the line. Down in 14th, he will start in the middle

:04:12. > :04:19.order of the second run, the slalom. Not that of it yet, Ted Ligety. He

:04:20. > :04:25.needs things to go his way this afternoon.

:04:26. > :04:29.The two best slalom skiers of the season of in this competition. They

:04:30. > :04:36.have not really produced good runs in the downhill.

:04:37. > :04:43.It will be fireworks in the slalom. Whether they can move all the way up

:04:44. > :04:55.into gold is another matter. Bode Miller said before this race

:04:56. > :05:02.that it would be difficult to ski out a big lead. What has happened is

:05:03. > :05:08.that it is possible to ski badly and produce a big deficit. That is what

:05:09. > :05:17.we have seen. Ondrej Bank will be excited about his position.

:05:18. > :05:25.The fastest is Jansrud of Norway. The way things stand, he will be

:05:26. > :05:36.last to ski in the slalom. I still think until Rose had a

:05:37. > :05:49.chance of getting onto the stadium -- Alexis Pinturault.

:05:50. > :05:55.Lots of chat going on between the races who are yet to push out of the

:05:56. > :06:05.gate, and those who have already skied the course -- racers.

:06:06. > :06:21.Andrew Weibrecht, number 23. I can't see anyone challenging the

:06:22. > :06:27.time of Jansrud. Purely because of the start numbers. If you look at

:06:28. > :06:35.the top five, all of the guys who finished are placed in the top five,

:06:36. > :06:41.are placed in the top 15. With the snow conditions softening up, it is

:06:42. > :06:48.a question of getting as close as possible.

:06:49. > :06:54.A good start from Andrew Weibrecht who took bronze in the Super-G at

:06:55. > :06:55.Vancouver. Since then, he has been largely anonymous on the World Cup

:06:56. > :07:04.tour. 118 through the gun. Clocking the

:07:05. > :07:40.fastest time of the lot. Jansrud basically has done today

:07:41. > :07:45.what Matthias Mayer did, skiing goes rolling turns much better than

:07:46. > :07:50.anyone else. That is where you can ski out a lead. That is when Miller

:07:51. > :07:57.threw his race away in the main downhill. Miller coming next, he has

:07:58. > :08:19.had good trading results, quickest in the first. -- training results.

:08:20. > :08:29.He needs to eat with his mouth closed really!

:08:30. > :08:42.Bode Miller. Classic stance in the start. Now he gets stuck in. That

:08:43. > :08:45.relaxed look at the start belies the aggression, the hidden aggression

:08:46. > :08:53.and determination that lies within. The defending super combined

:08:54. > :08:58.champion. His only Olympic title came in the super combined in

:08:59. > :09:03.Whistler four years ago. He needs to put down a good downhill run. It is

:09:04. > :09:09.difficult from his start number, I can't see him taking away the lead

:09:10. > :09:13.from Jansrud. But he is a more accomplished slalom skier. If he can

:09:14. > :09:20.stay within half a second he has a good chance of defending his title.

:09:21. > :09:25.He has won the World Cup slalom race in the distant past.

:09:26. > :09:34.He can put the slalom skis on. Oh, no. He has blown it there. 0.39 down

:09:35. > :09:41.at the intermediate time, but much more now. He ran massively wide, the

:09:42. > :09:52.same time he made the mistake in downhill. What is he doing on that

:09:53. > :10:01.turn? Off the lake jump, Miller is now 1.27 off pace. Exactly one

:10:02. > :10:04.second he lost on that mistake off the final job, it hasn't gone

:10:05. > :10:12.according to plan for Bode Miller, he is 11th.

:10:13. > :10:18.If you subtract the second from his time, he would be sitting in fourth

:10:19. > :10:25.position. And thinking he had a really good crack at a gold medal

:10:26. > :10:29.here today. But his race in this combined has been blown on the

:10:30. > :10:34.downhill section. Still got the chance of getting on the podium.

:10:35. > :10:49.Parris is a way for Italy. Good aggression. Number 25.

:10:50. > :10:59.His slalom skills are less obvious. He can't ski slalom but not fast. He

:11:00. > :11:13.is too big. Look at the size of his thighs. You need to be explosive.

:11:14. > :11:23.But he is not backed. He is a big lump of a man.

:11:24. > :11:34.Talking of slalom skiers, we are seeing some skiers not skiing

:11:35. > :11:59.downhill today, but focusing on other events.

:12:00. > :12:23.The Italian supporters still looking for their first Alpine medal of the

:12:24. > :12:31.Games. But let us not forget Christof Innerhofer.

:12:32. > :12:48.It is a bit like rugby players, talking about size.

:12:49. > :12:59.Not a bad start for Adrien Theaux, a downhill man through and through.

:13:00. > :13:06.It is a fascinating result we are getting here from the downhill. It

:13:07. > :13:12.is really going to be hard to call. I think that Aleksander Aamodt Kilde

:13:13. > :13:21.has a good chance. Ondrej Bank has a good chance. Bode Miller

:13:22. > :13:24.potentially. We have two of the downhill

:13:25. > :13:32.medallists among the top three at the moment. Jansrud took bronze on

:13:33. > :13:39.Sunday. Matthias Mayer took the gold. I can't see either of them

:13:40. > :13:44.ending up on the podium today. If they do, it will be a bit of a

:13:45. > :13:52.shock. Lake jump for Adrien Theaux. Ivica

:13:53. > :14:01.Kostelic has a good chance, he is lying in seventh. 0.93 down. Miller,

:14:02. > :14:19.if he makes the finish, the chances of that are slim.

:14:20. > :14:33.That is a great shot, that must be from the wired camera, looking down

:14:34. > :14:41.on the Traverse -- wire cam. 27, Morgan Pridy from Canada.

:14:42. > :15:00.The top of the course is still icy and hard, still in the shade.

:15:01. > :15:12.This section has been in the sun, breaking away. -- baking away.

:15:13. > :15:21.Some spectators are starting to strip off and improve their

:15:22. > :15:29.suntans. The temperature is due to rise until about 14 or 15 degrees in

:15:30. > :15:39.the mountains, possibly five degrees higher than that on lower ground.

:15:40. > :15:53.All the reflection from the snow, it feels much warmer than that. Morgan

:15:54. > :16:08.Pridy starting number 27. Off the final jump.

:16:09. > :16:15.We are heading into the realms of the unknown because that will be

:16:16. > :16:22.some names coming up that we do not normally see racing regularly on the

:16:23. > :16:29.World Cup. Some guys coming to take that chance on the Olympic combined

:16:30. > :16:39.and hoping for a bit of luck. Jared Goldberg is next.

:16:40. > :16:53.Certainly pushing hard at the top. He is in touch at the first

:16:54. > :17:00.intermediate. These guys will be kicking themselves they did not draw

:17:01. > :17:13.an early start. The second 15, those ranked between 16 and 30, could

:17:14. > :17:20.potentially go 1-7, or they can start in the later group and it is

:17:21. > :17:29.pot luck. Once you have benefited from that particularly in the

:17:30. > :17:50.downhill -- the ones who benefited include Travis Ganong, Carly -- and

:17:51. > :18:07.also Carlo Janka. He comes from Utah. He has gone well. 15th.

:18:08. > :18:19.Starting so late, that is not bad. That is some hat! There is Bode

:18:20. > :18:31.Miller with his professional beach volleyball playing wife.

:18:32. > :18:53.Klemen Kosi from Slovenia. The 22-year-old from Maribor. On the

:18:54. > :19:05.inside ski. As he came down the valley. A lot of people would think

:19:06. > :19:12.you would want the snow to soften up so you could get a better agent

:19:13. > :19:20.Brett on the ice, but these racers skiing with their edges as sharp as

:19:21. > :19:29.they are, they would rather have it as I -- icy as possible. We saw home

:19:30. > :19:36.a chit slowed down when the conditions got slushy. Some of the

:19:37. > :19:42.girls were having difficulty carrying speed off the kicker and

:19:43. > :19:51.not enough landing on the knuckle and that is what was causing

:19:52. > :20:05.problems. He was 24th in the downhill on Sunday. Kjetil Jansrud

:20:06. > :20:29.looks unstoppable. The slalom is due at 11:30am. Great body angle, inside

:20:30. > :20:35.and heading onto the snow -- hand. Krystof Kryzl from the Czech

:20:36. > :20:42.Republic. A couple of his team-mates have already gone, including the man

:20:43. > :20:47.in second position, Ondrej Bank, and he will have been able to top to him

:20:48. > :20:57.via the two-way radio to pick up some advice.

:20:58. > :21:09.He does not seem to be getting any deeper -- it does not, the cuts and

:21:10. > :21:16.holes. In the section where they used the water injection bar, that

:21:17. > :21:26.was a six-man job getting it to work, you need a pump and two or

:21:27. > :21:31.three men pushing it down into the snow and it freezes really deep and

:21:32. > :21:38.you do not get any break-up underneath the ground. The top layer

:21:39. > :21:58.is getting soft and underneath it is still quite firm. Off the late

:21:59. > :22:15.jump, lands softly. He is one gate from home. He is 29th. Kjetil

:22:16. > :22:34.Jansrud is fast, Ondrej Bank second and Matthias Mayer third. A great

:22:35. > :22:40.shot of the outside. Kjetil Jansrud taking his time to sign some

:22:41. > :22:49.accreditations before he heads off to consider his next move. He is

:22:50. > :23:23.going to check on the standings. -- let us.

:23:24. > :23:33.The top 30 goal reverse in the slalom. This is the man who leads

:23:34. > :23:41.the way at the moment and if things stay the same then Kjetil Jansrud

:23:42. > :23:50.will be the last skier on the mountain in the slalom later. It is

:23:51. > :23:56.interesting that Alexis Pinturault is hoping for a couple of skiers to

:23:57. > :24:01.come in and knock him down so that he can start earlier in the slalom.

:24:02. > :24:13.If you can start in the top five he can easily ski out a two second

:24:14. > :24:20.lead. This is Jorge Birkner Ketelhohn. You may be familiar with

:24:21. > :24:31.the catsuit, his sister was wearing a similar one on Wednesday. It is

:24:32. > :24:41.not a good look in my opinion! I preferred it to the American white

:24:42. > :24:47.suit. I will give you that. The third sister did not get selected

:24:48. > :25:01.for the Argentine Olympic team and lost her appeal yesterday. Two of

:25:02. > :25:32.the siblings racing this time. This is his third Olympic Games. Macarena

:25:33. > :25:51.Simari Birkner used to go out with someone who is now a coach. Cristian

:25:52. > :25:57.Javier Simari Birkner is the best of the siblings. He needs to be in the

:25:58. > :26:02.top 30. If you are not in the top 30 in the combined, you have no chance,

:26:03. > :26:23.because you will be skiing down the slalom run in the ruts. Marcel

:26:24. > :26:29.finished 31st in the super-G -- 35th and claimed all the way up and came

:26:30. > :26:49.to finish in third in Kitzbuhel. It was remarkable. Pavel Trikhichev is

:26:50. > :26:57.next. Let us see if he can give himself a boost going into the

:26:58. > :27:02.slalom. You would expect the Russians over the next few years to

:27:03. > :27:09.start producing serious World Cup and champion contenders, but there

:27:10. > :27:17.is no one really at the moment. Talking about legacy, you Billy need

:27:18. > :27:23.a school. It takes a long time to produce alpine skiers. He could be

:27:24. > :27:30.the second man on the mountain in the slalom. He is right on the

:27:31. > :27:41.bubble. I do not see him staying in the top 30. That is headwear of the

:27:42. > :27:50.highest calibre. I saw him coming in earlier and I saw the fees of the

:27:51. > :27:58.people sitting behind him -- the face of the people sitting behind

:27:59. > :28:30.him, with their heads in their hands! Olivier Jenot's compatriots

:28:31. > :28:35.recovering from a broken ankle. The forward rotation is winding them

:28:36. > :28:58.up, the backward rotation is winding them down. It is more of 70s disco

:28:59. > :29:07.dancing from him. Dad dancing. Great to see some of the less established

:29:08. > :29:21.alpine nations racing. This is Ferran Terra from Spain.

:29:22. > :29:33.The World Championships were held in Spain right in the south. Massive,

:29:34. > :29:41.that is probably the biggest flight we have seen. It is a good facility

:29:42. > :29:49.but it is used more for some athletes for all to Jude training

:29:50. > :30:10.than four the alpine skiers -- used for all to altitude training. When

:30:11. > :30:22.they returned in February 2006 there was too much.

:30:23. > :30:39.Markus Fux from Slovakia. -- Matej Falat.

:30:40. > :30:44.So, no change, Kjetil Jansrud leads the way in the first stage of the

:30:45. > :31:01.men's super combined. The second in this two-part alpine

:31:02. > :31:06.drama goes off at 11.30. We have had an early start because

:31:07. > :31:12.this event was brought forward by one hour. Emma Carrick-Anderson, it

:31:13. > :31:21.is looking like a good session -- decision.

:31:22. > :31:29.The top section was fairly firm until the trampoline, but then it

:31:30. > :31:33.softened up. Temperatures in Sochi are rising. We saw some holes

:31:34. > :31:39.starting to appear particularly in the landing areas.

:31:40. > :31:44.I am surprised it didn't get worse, it broke through at about number

:31:45. > :31:48.eight, luckily it didn't get any worse because it could have been

:31:49. > :31:54.dangerous. Let us talk about those who have made the most of the

:31:55. > :31:59.conditions. Jansrud, bronze medallist in the downhill the other

:32:00. > :32:06.day. This is where it gets confiscated, this is a 2-part drama.

:32:07. > :32:14.Is it now in the hands of the slalom skiers? I would say so. And

:32:15. > :32:25.fortunately for the likes of Alexis Pinturault, he has a lot to do in

:32:26. > :32:32.the slalom. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has put himself in a good position.

:32:33. > :32:40.Ivica Kostelic has twice had silver in this event. 34 years old. If his

:32:41. > :32:45.body holds up, many people would love to see him win a gold medal. A

:32:46. > :32:53.very nice bloke and a fantastic ski racer. You have talked about his

:32:54. > :33:01.father, many will say how can his father have set the slalom course?

:33:02. > :33:08.It is legitimate. One world cup will be set by an Austrian, the next by a

:33:09. > :33:18.French. It happens his father, a Croatian, has set the Olympic

:33:19. > :33:20.slalom. Ivica Kostelic has set a lot of slalom

:33:21. > :33:35.. A good time posted by Ivica Kostelic. From harm -- how far back

:33:36. > :33:47.could this be one? That is a tricky one. I am not writing off Alexis

:33:48. > :33:51.Pinturault. I think somebody from about two seconds back could still

:33:52. > :33:57.win it. He may not actually get the gold, but I think he could medal.

:33:58. > :34:02.That includes Ted Ligety who won this eight years ago. Not done a

:34:03. > :34:12.great deal in Olympic terms since but he would love to establish

:34:13. > :34:22.himself again. 1.93 seconds. He still has a big chance. He is

:34:23. > :34:29.starting just after Alexis Pinturault. Decent conditions for a

:34:30. > :34:34.second run. We have had two Norwegian victories

:34:35. > :34:42.in the last 20 years. Three Norwegians in the top six. Just

:34:43. > :34:46.hovering is Aksel Lunk Svindal. He has said he is angry at the snow

:34:47. > :34:57.conditions because he does not feel he has done himself justice. He is

:34:58. > :35:04.fired up. The conditions are in the hands of the gods. Aksel Lunk

:35:05. > :35:13.Svindal, Ivica Kostelic, it will be an exciting one. Are you going to

:35:14. > :35:15.call it? No! 11:30am is when we are looking forward to the second run of

:35:16. > :35:24.the men's super combined. There was a big fat asterisk in the

:35:25. > :35:29.calendars of Russian sports broadcasters and fans today. The

:35:30. > :35:32.men's figure skating free programme. Because it was supposed to mark the

:35:33. > :35:41.attempt by the legendary Yevgeny Plushenko to try and win a record

:35:42. > :35:44.fifth Olympic medal. But, to much consternation last night, the Great

:35:45. > :35:46.One had a surprise parting shot for his adoring public during the short

:35:47. > :35:57.programme. Before he was due to take to the

:35:58. > :36:02.ice, he was clearly struggling. After a chat with the coach and the

:36:03. > :36:06.judges, he decided to withdraw from the men's competition on medical

:36:07. > :36:12.grounds, back injury, we are hearing. He announced his retirement

:36:13. > :36:16.shortly afterwards. He took gold in the team event but not the way he

:36:17. > :36:27.wanted to say goodbye. Members afterwards, Jeremy Abbott took to

:36:28. > :36:34.the ice. He had a nightmare, and fell. He was cheered all the way

:36:35. > :36:41.afterwards. A touching show of support from the Russian fans for an

:36:42. > :36:46.American competitor. Delivering a gutsy performance to a standing

:36:47. > :36:50.ovation. It was a magical moment. Wonderfully touching. Disappointment

:36:51. > :36:58.for two medal contenders but an opportunity for everyone else.

:36:59. > :37:13.How Nuer was the start of the short programme during the team event --

:37:14. > :37:15.Yuzuru Hanyu. In Japan have never won the men's Olympic gold medal. He

:37:16. > :37:44.is one of the favourites. opening with his quad combination.

:37:45. > :38:04.Oh, absolutely easy! Beautifully centred, great position

:38:05. > :38:46.on the spin. He needs to stay focused and in

:38:47. > :38:52.control for the triple axel. Yes! From a difficult entry, left back

:38:53. > :39:02.inside turn without the push, superb work.

:39:03. > :39:13.His combination, triple toe loop, that is it! Watch him enjoyed the

:39:14. > :40:13.steps sequence. -- enjoy. Wow! That is what we have been

:40:14. > :40:16.waiting for. Outstanding. Nerves of steel. It is only the Olympic Games!

:40:17. > :40:40.? That is also the reason why plush

:40:41. > :40:47.Ancona -- Plyushchenko knew that if he wasn't at his best, it wasn't

:40:48. > :40:53.worth trying. That lovely flow, down on the knee,

:40:54. > :41:02.soft and light for the triple. Easy with the triple toe loop.

:41:03. > :41:14.Excellent, wonderful performance. Oh!

:41:15. > :41:23.Watch out, everybody. He is heading for the top of the podium. If he can

:41:24. > :41:34.deliver another performance like that. A different class.

:41:35. > :41:46.Javier Fernandez. He has been European champion for the last two

:41:47. > :41:50.years. He has struggled on the Grand Prix circuit but looks back on form

:41:51. > :41:56.just in time for Sochi. He became doubled European champion. Aiming to

:41:57. > :42:23.win Spain their first figure skating medal at the Olympic Games.

:42:24. > :42:45.His opening quads. He stayed on one foot.

:42:46. > :43:37.Oh, no, too slow on that junk. -- jump. The whole programme is very

:43:38. > :44:50.tight. Not choosing the traditional music

:44:51. > :45:01.as always, always a fun performance. One wonders how he was affected by

:45:02. > :45:09.the marks by Yuzuru. But they are training makes, he knows what he is

:45:10. > :45:15.capable of. I just felt, he looked a little tired halfway through that. I

:45:16. > :45:19.know that music is Jimmy well, I won a world approach as a world approach

:45:20. > :45:27.have shipped with it. -- extremely well. Little things all the way

:45:28. > :45:32.through, I felt there was a lot of tension in that programme.

:45:33. > :45:54.It is mandatory to minus two for that kind of mistake. Not the best

:45:55. > :46:06.marks. All of his big jump elements are getting him less than ten

:46:07. > :46:11.points, which is not good at all. That has him just ahead of Jason

:46:12. > :46:23.Brown, so at the moment he is in second place. Patrick Chan came in

:46:24. > :46:26.as the favourite for the gold medal but that disappeared in the team

:46:27. > :46:35.event in the short programme where he made a number of errors. The

:46:36. > :46:41.judges liked the programme. The component score was above his

:46:42. > :46:48.components. If he can deliver the elements, he could be right up there

:46:49. > :46:52.for the gold, but he has to be clean, he has to nail every element

:46:53. > :48:03.and he knows that. Quad toe loop, triple toe loop. He

:48:04. > :48:13.needs to do the same with the triple axel. Maybe just a little bit too

:48:14. > :50:05.much. There may have been an error, but

:50:06. > :50:09.some of the elements, there is such a quality to his skating, he is not

:50:10. > :50:15.going to be far away, but he will have wanted every element nailed and

:50:16. > :50:24.it wasn't, so he has opened the door. He flew into this quad with

:50:25. > :50:34.conviction. It was exquisite. Beautiful presentation in the air.

:50:35. > :50:40.Suitably landed, plenty of time. He did not need to push quite as much

:50:41. > :50:51.on the axel. Does not have such a big jump. You see the body leaning,

:50:52. > :51:00.he is over it. Just the step out, no deduction as such. The grade of

:51:01. > :51:13.deduction will be two or three points which is mandatory. Not easy

:51:14. > :51:30.is an's best. -- a season's best. Almost four points behind. Not the

:51:31. > :51:42.best to take into the free programme, but anything can happen.

:51:43. > :51:48.He is in the mix. Peter Liebers finished sixth at the European

:51:49. > :51:52.Championships, but he was rewarded with a season's best in the team

:51:53. > :53:00.event. Can he repeat that? Beautiful quad tool -- quad toe loop

:53:01. > :53:25.combination. With the triple mac toe loop.

:53:26. > :54:57.He was good in the team event. Even better tonight. The jumps were spot

:54:58. > :55:04.on. He got every element. The commentators beside us are standing

:55:05. > :55:11.uploading. A superb performance. I loved it. The spins are not quite at

:55:12. > :55:28.the same level as the jumps, but the jumps were on form. This quad toe

:55:29. > :55:48.loop was on the money. Top about speeding with conviction. --

:55:49. > :56:04.skating. He has a very open stance. Down, hands out, his body placed

:56:05. > :56:21.exactly right. 79 was his season's best. All the technical elements

:56:22. > :56:38.were there. What a performance. These super Takahashi -- Takahashi

:56:39. > :56:44.gets a round of applause. Such a popular skater. Can he deliver the

:56:45. > :57:48.elements tonight? He wanted the quad toe loop, just

:57:49. > :58:33.under rotated. He got the triple axel.

:58:34. > :59:42.Triple lutz, triple toe loop. He made the rotations.

:59:43. > :59:51.A huge cheer from his adoring fans, he has given them so much to cheer

:59:52. > :59:57.about over the years, world champion a few years ago, but there were

:59:58. > :00:02.mistakes, he knows that, he will not celebrate, it is not what we are

:00:03. > :00:10.used to seeing from him from years ago, but it has not been his season.

:00:11. > :00:13.Let us look at the quadruple where he was not fully rotated and he was

:00:14. > :00:25.on two feet. It has been downgraded to a double from a triple. Just two

:00:26. > :00:35.points for that. 10.21 credit for the triple axel and 11.01 for the

:00:36. > :00:47.triple lutz, trouble to look combination.

:00:48. > :00:53.A great component score. The Japanese fans were silent because

:00:54. > :00:58.they wanted more. They know he could be bidding for the gold medal. But

:00:59. > :01:04.he finds himself in fourth place. In touching distance of the podium.

:01:05. > :01:10.It was his Japanese colleague, Yuzuru Hanyu, wait in front, after

:01:11. > :01:17.becoming the first figure skater to go past the 100 figure mark. Nearly

:01:18. > :01:27.a four-point lead over Patrick Chan of Canada. We have the free

:01:28. > :01:33.programme this evening at 6:15pm when the top six skaters go. It has

:01:34. > :01:40.been interesting to gauge their reaction of the departure of Yevgeny

:01:41. > :01:44.Plushenko. There is a universal sympathy for his very sad exit, it

:01:45. > :01:53.has to be said. But a hint of controversy. One of the daily

:01:54. > :02:01.newspapers saying, a genuine human tragedy. They quote Yevgeny

:02:02. > :02:12.Plushenko saying, I beg forgiveness for my fans.

:02:13. > :02:25.Something like this from one of the big sports newspapers, why has this

:02:26. > :02:32.deprived one of our other great chances representing us in the

:02:33. > :02:37.final. Sympathy but a little bit of sniping.

:02:38. > :02:52.That free programme is at 6:15pm. It looks like a cracking contest.

:02:53. > :02:59.Good morning to you. We are staying on the ice for a little bit of bonus

:03:00. > :03:05.cologne, David Murdoch and his men will be playing Denmark later today.

:03:06. > :03:10.A chance to catch up on the medal hopefuls, Canada against Norway.

:03:11. > :03:15.Also a chance for us to see some of the most anticipated sets of

:03:16. > :03:20.trousers of the entire Games, courtesy of the Norwegians! I hope

:03:21. > :03:26.this isn't too loud for you over your breakfast cereal.

:03:27. > :03:33.We picked them up in the seventh end.

:03:34. > :03:41.A good and set up here already for Jacobs. The lead stones came in and

:03:42. > :03:55.let an opportunity. This is the situation. That has

:03:56. > :04:03.helped Norway's cause, if it got buried enough. A great try, two in a

:04:04. > :04:10.row. Almost perfect on his first one as well. His second attempt. Rolling

:04:11. > :04:28.from the corner to the centre line, a pretty good drive.

:04:29. > :04:52.That is not easy to do. To have good control to throw that as asked for.

:04:53. > :04:57.And to keep your shooter on the side, well done.

:04:58. > :05:14.Trying to hit and roll on the other side.

:05:15. > :05:26.If Jacobs wanted, he could try to go around the centre.

:05:27. > :05:34.He would hate to go to that centre line behind the Norway guard.

:05:35. > :05:43.Hitting and rolling is a little safer.

:05:44. > :05:51.I have never seen a skip that calls the sweep from a squat position.

:05:52. > :06:17.Holding that position. The entire way. It is amazing.

:06:18. > :06:24.Playing the hit and rolled to the centre line. Ryan Fry is playing

:06:25. > :06:32.exceptionally. Two or three are in play. One small

:06:33. > :06:57.mistake from Norway... It doesn't look as if he likes it,

:06:58. > :07:04.he is casually walking beside it. It finishes hard at the end. About as

:07:05. > :07:20.good as he could have done really. Pretty good.

:07:21. > :07:35.It is tricky. The rock that is in his way is his own. If he tries this

:07:36. > :07:40.soft weight. It is one of those ones where you sweep it to get by, once

:07:41. > :07:48.you are past it, you could move it back. It is over buried. Visually,

:07:49. > :08:00.it is a tough shot. Watch that centre line. Another test for the

:08:01. > :08:25.Harndens. A bonus from sheet B, China and

:08:26. > :08:26.Sweden. Impressive performance on the sheet B from team China. They

:08:27. > :08:47.will be one up. A nice draw, but great force.

:08:48. > :08:51.Nervous for Norway because it is a lonely yellow stone in there. They

:08:52. > :08:59.need to get a second yellow in, how are you going to do that? The hit,

:09:00. > :09:04.the double, the role to the corner? If he can hit that red stone at the

:09:05. > :09:14.top of the eight foot anywhere from the hit and rolled over, into that

:09:15. > :09:18.pile. He could get unlucky in theory. Anything on the outside with

:09:19. > :09:32.the right weight will either rolled into this one or that one. -- roll

:09:33. > :09:35.into. A multiple school could come into

:09:36. > :09:43.play. That was fierce looking. Jacobs and

:09:44. > :09:51.Fry. They don't lack for intensity.

:09:52. > :10:07.There is a double that was left, as you pointed out. A mistake.

:10:08. > :10:20.A little frustration there. It is the only way that he gets a bad

:10:21. > :10:27.result, he could easily hit it then. If the double is made, the rock will

:10:28. > :10:34.probably rolled into that area. The question is whether they will try to

:10:35. > :10:49.go around that corner guard. A big shot. Putting some pressure on

:10:50. > :11:21.Ulsrud. There it goes. Oh. Not a good results. -- result.

:11:22. > :11:26.So, a good throw. They were surprised it didn't cull more. He

:11:27. > :11:37.didn't overthrow it, the shooter still stayed in the ring. Still no

:11:38. > :11:44.danger for a steal. Ulsrud has to make a decent shot here to get a

:11:45. > :11:54.piece around that yellow. That is why he drew it around.

:11:55. > :12:00.You just don't get that many opportunities to score multiple

:12:01. > :12:04.points so you hate it when you lose them. That, and the fact the second

:12:05. > :12:08.stone will be that much more difficult.

:12:09. > :12:15.You have to change your mindset. From going from opportunity to

:12:16. > :12:30.making a save. Four Ulsrud, if this slips back,

:12:31. > :12:36.even with the stone at the back, this might be a double. This isn't

:12:37. > :12:52.curling. Could this be a 44, oh, my goodness. -- could this be a four.

:12:53. > :12:59.He can't believe it. The wait was great -- weight. It just didn't take

:13:00. > :13:04.the big cull. Can he get past the guard tight enough to make contact

:13:05. > :13:13.with both of these stones is the question. It looks like he can.

:13:14. > :13:25.So, back to opportunity for Brad Jacobs. Get close to the guard, make

:13:26. > :13:30.the double. The danger here, if you overthrow and it runs straight, it

:13:31. > :13:42.ends up being a steal. This is a massive point.

:13:43. > :13:58.What an opportunity. The final stone, and seven. This could be it.

:13:59. > :14:15.I love that reaction! I can't get enough of that.

:14:16. > :14:28.The family loves it. Mike, on the right. Watch the boys. We'll go back

:14:29. > :14:35.to that in a second. There is the four. Does that feel good. Take

:14:36. > :14:41.advantage of opportunity, good throw. Every Canadian faith goes

:14:42. > :14:56.instantly read! -- red! STUDIO: That proved decisive, Canada

:14:57. > :15:01.went on to win it 10-4. A very good performance from them. They have

:15:02. > :15:06.lost too already but they are on a roll.

:15:07. > :15:11.We have just heard that China have been beaten in their match against

:15:12. > :15:25.Sweden. Their first defeat. Dave Murdoch and company will be on

:15:26. > :15:32.the ice later today against the Danish. What would you doing 30

:15:33. > :15:36.years ago today, if you were both about at that point? 30 years ago

:15:37. > :15:45.today marks one of the ground-breaking performances of the

:15:46. > :15:46.Winter Olympic Games. Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Sally Eval

:15:47. > :16:08.Olympics. -- Sarajevo. In everyone's eyes, it was ours to

:16:09. > :16:17.lose. This was our Olympics. Our chance. Going into the competition,

:16:18. > :16:36.we were so focused, like a caged lion. Using the music Became so

:16:37. > :16:45.popular it went into the charts. It went into a frenzy. When we were

:16:46. > :16:51.performing it, I see it outside, like an outside body experience. It

:16:52. > :16:55.feels like a dream sequence. It feels like I was looking down on

:16:56. > :17:01.someone else doing that. Because it was such an emotional piece as

:17:02. > :17:09.well. It was one of those routines that felt eerily silent. When mayhem

:17:10. > :17:19.is going on in a movie and they will play music in slow motion, it felt

:17:20. > :17:23.like that. We had so many flowers that people were giving us by the

:17:24. > :17:31.side of the ice and throwing onto the ice and we were collecting them.

:17:32. > :17:39.Do I really have to go any further? There was a roar at the first set of

:17:40. > :17:49.scores and at the second said there was a mass of -- massive roar. I

:17:50. > :18:12.remember looking up at the scoreboard and seeing all the sixs.

:18:13. > :18:20.There has never been any resentment. It is not Torvill or

:18:21. > :18:25.Dean by themselves, it is Rolls-Royce, fish and chips. Torvill

:18:26. > :18:29.and Dean returned to face the music and dance ten years later when Peter

:18:30. > :18:34.Gummi bronze, many feel that they were robbed. You never hear that

:18:35. > :18:40.piece of music without thinking about that performance. We wonder

:18:41. > :18:49.whether we will have another one this afternoon because Lizzy Yarnold

:18:50. > :19:07.is going for gold with a 0.4 second advantage. That is that the 40 M --

:19:08. > :19:12.3:40pm your time. Ice hockey could be the sport for you. We are going

:19:13. > :19:16.to see action from Group C shortly. After we have reminded you how it

:19:17. > :19:29.works. Ice hockey is one of the fastest

:19:30. > :19:34.team sports in the world. With pucks travelling fast, this can be brutal.

:19:35. > :19:40.The aim is to score more goals than the opposition. Matches consist of

:19:41. > :19:44.three 20 minute periods with two 15 minute breaks in between and start

:19:45. > :19:59.with a feast of in the centre of the ice. Penalties are given if a

:20:00. > :20:03.player's actions are said to have broken the rules of the game. If a

:20:04. > :20:09.player is sent off, the team is said to be playing short-handed while the

:20:10. > :20:13.opposing team is on power play. This is the best opportunity for a team

:20:14. > :20:21.to score. We are going to check out the form in Group C of the Czech

:20:22. > :20:33.Republic and the Latvians. The Czech Republic were the shock winner in

:20:34. > :20:37.1998. One of the players was in that team and is still playing, years 42.

:20:38. > :20:51.-- he is 42. He already has a gold in this

:20:52. > :21:04.competition. One of the greats to ever play in any era. The Czech

:21:05. > :21:08.Republic are looking to bounce back after opening defeat. Looking to win

:21:09. > :21:23.their first match of the 2014 Games, the Latvians, who were beaten

:21:24. > :21:38.with a late Swiss gold. -- goal. The Czech Republic are in white. The

:21:39. > :21:43.Latvians will go right to left. I think it would be a big ask for them

:21:44. > :21:48.to get anywhere close to the medals but they are not the worst team in

:21:49. > :21:49.the competition and they beat Great Britain in qualifying to book their

:21:50. > :22:19.place here. He hangs onto it. He plays with

:22:20. > :22:30.Everton in the National Hockey League. You can see how far away he

:22:31. > :23:21.is. You can see the puck trickling potentially towards goal. Face off.

:23:22. > :23:44.A very important part of the game is hitting a little bit for

:23:45. > :23:51.intimidation. No penalty called. Petr Nedved needs to be careful. He

:23:52. > :23:59.has taken a few penalties in the opening match. Time to set things

:24:00. > :25:35.going. When we talk about the zones, that

:25:36. > :25:37.is the fence of, the neutral -- offerings offensive and the

:25:38. > :25:59.defensive. Sandis Ozolinsh is in his 40s. He is

:26:00. > :26:04.one of the few in the tournament that featured for the USSR in early

:26:05. > :26:25.on in his international career. The Czechs have been offensive so

:26:26. > :26:49.far. The Latvians are in danger of being

:26:50. > :28:28.caught cold. Too many players on the ice for the

:28:29. > :28:45.Czechs, not cold. I am surprised about that. The Czechs are going to

:28:46. > :28:55.go on a power play. Skating six Czechs against the five Latvians.

:28:56. > :29:11.The whistle blows. That is one of the fears, it is going to be hard

:29:12. > :29:22.for him when the younger skiers get the pace, Sandis Ozolinsh. He is a

:29:23. > :29:36.roaming player. He does a lot of looping. He gets a high stick call.

:29:37. > :29:42.It looks incidental but it is the one hand sweep and you're not going

:29:43. > :29:47.to be able to control your stick. He is fortunate to get two because he

:29:48. > :29:56.could have been assessed as double minor. There is Ted Nolan, he has

:29:57. > :30:07.won the Jack Adams trophy which is awarded to the best coach. He has

:30:08. > :30:10.taken the Latvian job and made the season and the opportunity presented

:30:11. > :30:16.itself to return to the pinnacle of the sport in club hockey. The Czechs

:30:17. > :30:22.have looked much better today, much better movement. A lot of these

:30:23. > :30:26.players have come halfway across the world to get here and they are right

:30:27. > :31:06.into intense action. A big shot, that was great power

:31:07. > :31:14.from Zidlicky. We saw him in game number one getting it into the net.

:31:15. > :31:24.Jagr had a good shooting angle. That was well blocked and away by the

:31:25. > :31:28.Latvians the length of the ice. They go for a full change, all four

:31:29. > :31:35.players go off and for new ones come on. You saw them try to load up the

:31:36. > :31:41.shot. He can shoot it, as we saw against the Swedes.

:31:42. > :31:45.Nedved was a prime scorer earlier in his career. These days, not so much

:31:46. > :31:54.but he still does all right. Nedved crashing. He couldn't find

:31:55. > :32:22.the puck, it was easily away. The Czechs had good possession in

:32:23. > :32:30.the zone, but given away. That was a poor clearance.

:32:31. > :33:08.The opportunity now, great poise from the big man, spinning it

:33:09. > :33:10.through. Nearly found the net. Hemsky bringing it back the other

:33:11. > :33:31.way. Erat scores. Good transition. That puck low and hard, no chance

:33:32. > :33:39.for the Latvian netminder as it went through his legs. The set up was

:33:40. > :33:48.perfect. Erat, rolling his way through the legs of Masalskis.

:33:49. > :33:58.Getting themselves on the board first.

:33:59. > :34:05.Erat, a late call into this squad, he wasn't part of the initial

:34:06. > :34:10.selection. It comes at an interesting time for him. At home in

:34:11. > :34:12.North America, his wife is due to give birth to their second child

:34:13. > :34:29.next week. Not what the Latvians were hoping

:34:30. > :34:45.for. Hemsky feeding that in front, tipped

:34:46. > :34:52.just wide by Krejci. Finally, some relief. Sending it forward, this

:34:53. > :35:00.could be a chance. A slight slip from Michalek.

:35:01. > :35:09.Latvia haven't created anything offensively yet. Just the one played

:35:10. > :35:13.by Ozolins. The Czechs are getting nicely settled into this

:35:14. > :35:20.tournament. A great execution from Erat. Taking a half opportunity and

:35:21. > :35:23.making a full conversion. That's where the game rests. You get

:35:24. > :35:27.yourself an opportunity but it is about execution in the moment and

:35:28. > :35:47.you can't be too picky. Take what you are given. Well saved. Have a

:35:48. > :35:54.lecture macro, the check -- Czechs goal-tender -- Pavelec.

:35:55. > :36:12.Six, a massive man mountain. -- Six feet.

:36:13. > :36:13.He will sit down for two minutes, or less.

:36:14. > :36:22.A good save, a quick rebound, but unable to finish it. A wonderful

:36:23. > :36:30.chance for the Latvians to equalise. Ozolins circles deep in the zone.

:36:31. > :36:42.Looking to go back door but that hopped over a stick.

:36:43. > :36:50.This is a two on one for the Czech Republic. He shoots, nearly scores

:36:51. > :36:58.second chance from behind the line. Ozolins will step clear. That was a

:36:59. > :37:03.big saved, a very important one. Even though they had the advantage,

:37:04. > :37:14.offensive opportunities get created for the opposing team.

:37:15. > :37:25.Down the length of the ice by Erat. Out to play it is this gal skis

:37:26. > :37:39.macro -- Masalskis, the goal-tender. The shot deflected over the top,

:37:40. > :37:51.back door, how did that block go in, Sprukts was somehow a denied. --

:37:52. > :37:57.somehow denied. 18 to go on the power play. They have had some good

:37:58. > :38:06.opportunities. Maybe the Czechs welcome back, a good save!

:38:07. > :38:09.Remember that 30 seconds. If it is a save made, my goodness. It will be

:38:10. > :38:22.something special. Hanzal is at the box but the danger

:38:23. > :38:26.is not cleared yet. Another penalty coming, a tripping

:38:27. > :38:39.call. A bit of conversation here. We are looking at Sprukts who had

:38:40. > :38:44.the opportunity. A little bit of television time out. This is almost

:38:45. > :38:49.like theatre stage where they readdress everything, cleaning up

:38:50. > :39:03.and tidying. That was a goal, wasn't it? Without a doubt. Watch it again.

:39:04. > :39:09.That is a goal. They never celebrated. That was a clear goal. I

:39:10. > :39:12.don't know how. Sprukts doesn't know himself that that is a goal.

:39:13. > :39:19.Goal-scorers know. Particularly standing five feet away. I hope

:39:20. > :39:24.there is a discussion to review this. Please don't have controversy

:39:25. > :39:27.on something that is so clear cut. They have the orange lights

:39:28. > :39:30.flashing. I think they are going to review it. The referee has come

:39:31. > :39:38.over, they are having a conversation. Sprukts is going to

:39:39. > :39:46.get an Olympic gold. In commentary, we have said we don't know how it

:39:47. > :39:54.has not gone in. It clearly did. The rest were perfectly happy to resume

:39:55. > :39:58.play with a faceoff. Until the timekeepers made the request. Is not

:39:59. > :40:11.as if this went on the near side post, this was essential. You can

:40:12. > :40:19.see the camera move. Look! Surely he can see? That has gone in, clearly.

:40:20. > :40:27.The one problem we have had in this tournament is that the nets are

:40:28. > :40:31.strong so slightly -- tightly. The puck is in and out in the blink of

:40:32. > :40:38.an eye. You do need a replay. Finally, it is under review. Sprukts

:40:39. > :40:46.should made -- have made more of a deal. You need more emotion. That

:40:47. > :40:53.was clear-cut. That is scary. That moment almost left us. Sprukts

:40:54. > :40:57.wasn't going to be awarded. That is very concerning to think that needed

:40:58. > :41:01.to be called upon and the officials come and Sprukts himself who was

:41:02. > :41:12.standing five feet away from recording history. Absolutely. I

:41:13. > :41:16.have got to say, I have never seen this in my life. The second time

:41:17. > :41:21.this has happened in this tournament. This time, at least, the

:41:22. > :41:28.right decision has happened. For the Japanese women, a different story

:41:29. > :41:33.earlier. The last 45 seconds of play is scratched out of history now, the

:41:34. > :41:41.time will go back on the Kop -- the clock.

:41:42. > :41:53.This is one of the vagaries of ice hockey. Video replays are there. I

:41:54. > :42:07.am more amazed at the Latvian players. You can see the frustration

:42:08. > :42:15.for the Czechs players. -- Czech. They are saying, they never asked

:42:16. > :42:19.for the goal. We are fortunate enough to review it again. I

:42:20. > :42:27.understand, the speed of the action for the referees, it is difficult to

:42:28. > :42:28.monitor. We are all human. My goodness, gentlemen, that was clear

:42:29. > :42:44.for all to see. So, why is Hanzal still in the

:42:45. > :42:46.penalty box? You can't go back, award a goal, then not scratch

:42:47. > :42:58.everything that happens after that from history. It looks like that is

:42:59. > :43:03.going to be the case. Now, more clarification. We not done with

:43:04. > :43:07.this. I think everybody is just as confused as the referees. There

:43:08. > :43:13.should be zero confusion here. When the goal is scored, play stops. If

:43:14. > :43:19.you have to review it, you go all the way back, everything that

:43:20. > :43:29.happens after that... The referees are talking upstairs. Come on! This

:43:30. > :43:33.is embarrassing. The men in charge there. Unfortunately for themselves,

:43:34. > :43:38.I am not sure this situation is reflecting well on their ability to

:43:39. > :43:42.manage this accurately, swiftly and efficiently, to keep this contest

:43:43. > :43:52.rolling. Eventually we will get the right situation. Surely?

:43:53. > :44:04.Hanzal will remain. If I was the coach, I would be losing my rag, it

:44:05. > :44:08.doesn't make any sense. You can't order a goal and keep a penalty that

:44:09. > :44:14.happened in between times. They have done that. There will be a long

:44:15. > :44:21.process whereby the Czechs will be very frustrated. The Latvians could

:44:22. > :44:24.very well take the lead here. We will have a number of referees

:44:25. > :44:32.watching in the UK. Feel free to get in touch and give us your views on

:44:33. > :44:35.what you have just seen. Technology helping out and hurting the

:44:36. > :44:42.officials right now. The school is level. The Latvians have a power

:44:43. > :44:46.play. The Czechs are on the back foot. The most important thing is

:44:47. > :44:47.that the goal was recorded. They have a great opportunity to take the

:44:48. > :44:54.lead. A bit of pushing and shoving, it

:44:55. > :45:13.might get nasty. Smid having words. That might hand is cut. Zidlicky is

:45:14. > :45:20.having words. Ozolins is a man mountain.

:45:21. > :45:35.This is the penalty. A little bit in it. This will get Sparky. We have

:45:36. > :45:48.had some controversy. Frustration for the Czechs. This will build up.

:45:49. > :45:51.The Bolshoi is getting a little narky, there is an air of thrush

:45:52. > :47:53.Trish and. -- frustration. Jaromir Jagr has not been on the ice

:47:54. > :48:00.for the two penalties. They save his energy. It hurts the Czechs when

:48:01. > :48:29.they cannot get their best players on the ice.

:48:30. > :48:49.Jaromir Jagr has such a strong lower body. Jagr again. This has been a

:48:50. > :48:54.breathless game for various reasons. We will seek clarification

:48:55. > :49:08.between periods as to why the referees called it as they did.

:49:09. > :50:01.Janis Sprukts is denied by a wonderful save. He was looking for

:50:02. > :50:15.his second. This should not come as a surprise. Each huge save from

:50:16. > :50:29.Ondrej Pavelec. Although they are ranked 11th, the Czechs have an

:50:30. > :50:49.average age which is lower than that of the Latvians.

:50:50. > :50:59.Penalty coming on the Latvians, I sticking. If the Czechs are serious

:51:00. > :51:07.about getting something from this game, they have to steal something.

:51:08. > :51:15.It is one of those absent flaws in a hockey match where you have to steal

:51:16. > :51:20.at the end of the period and if you can grab momentum going into the

:51:21. > :51:29.break it will be huge. There is the high stick. They cannot be too

:51:30. > :51:41.disappointed because the goals the Latvians scored was a goal. Perhaps

:51:42. > :52:03.just disappointed that the penalty remained.

:52:04. > :52:23.A bit more pushing and shoving going on. There is an edge to this game.

:52:24. > :52:45.That was then Gus Gergen since -- Girgensons.

:52:46. > :53:22.Jagr does not take the 1-timer. He pumps it home. The second of the

:53:23. > :53:31.tournament for Jaromir Jagr. What a finish that was. Just like that, the

:53:32. > :53:38.Czechs are back in front. This is potent from Jaromir Jagr as he holds

:53:39. > :53:44.and fires. They talk about slow release and he gets a nice bit of

:53:45. > :54:01.control on the trigger and then clutches and pumps it past the

:54:02. > :54:12.keeper who knows nothing about it. The bad news for the Latvians with

:54:13. > :54:21.they remain on the penalty kill. There is a second power play. It

:54:22. > :54:23.means the Czechs will start the second period on a one-man

:54:24. > :54:43.advantage. Jaromir Jagr has put the Czechs in

:54:44. > :54:50.front. A good performance from him. Plenty of controversy, but it is

:54:51. > :54:59.Jagr and the Czech Republic who have a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes.

:55:00. > :55:06.Confusion as well as controversy, technology helping and hindering. We

:55:07. > :55:16.are thinking of freedom in these the spring Olympics. -- re-naming. I

:55:17. > :55:20.know that you are battening down the hatches for another storm later, but

:55:21. > :55:23.we hope we can bring you good news later because this is a key moment

:55:24. > :55:32.for Great Britain's gold-medal hopes.

:55:33. > :56:04.It is Bob skeleton time. Focus, concentrate. An explosion of power

:56:05. > :56:09.and strength. You feel your way, shoulders and feet in position. A

:56:10. > :56:21.tap of the tour and a move of the head. Lightening fast reflexes, you

:56:22. > :56:25.feel the track. It is a quest for the fastest line, finding the

:56:26. > :56:31.perfect angle. You have to is they calm -- Steed calm, the tiniest

:56:32. > :56:37.errors will cost you, making the smallest adjustments and

:56:38. > :56:53.split-second reactions. It is about accuracy, precision. One false move

:56:54. > :57:00.and you are off on cold ice. Lizzy Yarnold was cool as ice yesterday

:57:01. > :57:06.with a point for second -- 0.4 second advantage. The woman who

:57:07. > :57:13.because her the most problems, what a journey she has had. She missed

:57:14. > :57:17.the 2006 Olympics after a freak accident. She made a full recovery

:57:18. > :57:27.and you will have heard about the course worker who was injured by a

:57:28. > :57:33.runaway bobsleigh yesterday. They are said to have undergone surgery,

:57:34. > :57:41.two broken legs, but we understand they add in a stable condition. That

:57:42. > :57:47.could have been much worse. One of the athletes retired, we thought

:57:48. > :58:00.that was it, but she came back driven by the thought of a chance of

:58:01. > :58:04.another medal in the Olympics. I used to be distracted by other

:58:05. > :58:10.athletes. I would see that times and it would scare me because I would

:58:11. > :58:20.think, they are going so fast. This year I stood at the line and I do

:58:21. > :58:25.not even recognise the Thames. -- times. It has nothing to do with

:58:26. > :58:29.their time, or how fast the ice is, it is to do with me and what I can

:58:30. > :58:37.handle and what I can put together down the track. I've really like

:58:38. > :58:42.this track. It is very different to any other track in the world. It is

:58:43. > :58:47.the longest track in the world and there is simplicity but also

:58:48. > :58:53.technicality, so I love it. The last time I was here was in February, a

:58:54. > :58:56.year ago, and I won the World Cup here and hopefully I will be able to

:58:57. > :59:09.feel that rhythm again and get back on the podium. She is going to be

:59:10. > :59:13.gathering at her best. She has pushed me mentally and physically to

:59:14. > :59:27.be my best, and I hope I do the same for her. This is it. The last one.

:59:28. > :59:33.We have 14-mac races apiece. In 2006, being hit by a bobsled and

:59:34. > :59:39.then retiring and I was very happy retiring, but for me with what I

:59:40. > :59:52.have been through, I have dealt with it. If I had gone to the -- Italy, I

:59:53. > :00:00.would have been completely satisfied with a medal. I was happy. Finishing

:00:01. > :00:06.fourth, so close, but I gave it my best, I could not ask any more of

:00:07. > :00:16.myself. All those hours of training and sacrifice at the time that goes

:00:17. > :00:27.into training to be an Olympian. It is the blink of an I've. There it

:00:28. > :00:31.goes. I do not know what will come the last and final run. I know that

:00:32. > :00:36.is my last medal for the taking so it is about everything coming into

:00:37. > :00:49.one moment so it could be a little emotional, I guess.

:00:50. > :00:59.It could all be over in the blink of an eye, so fast this sport, speeds

:01:00. > :01:05.approaching 80 miles an hour. Lizzy Yarnold has four tenths of a second

:01:06. > :01:13.advantage. That is the advantage she holds. You need so much guts to go

:01:14. > :01:18.on a bob skeleton. It is about so much more than bravado. Lizzy

:01:19. > :01:24.Yarnold from Kent is certainly a cool customer.

:01:25. > :01:32.You always feel nervous before you compete or chain in the skeleton. It

:01:33. > :01:37.is something where you need to be aware of feeling nervous, because it

:01:38. > :01:43.can be quite dangerous. But it is that thrill and adrenaline I really

:01:44. > :01:47.love. As you walk to the start block, you have to be completely

:01:48. > :01:57.focused, yet really exhilarated and ready produce -- to produce a really

:01:58. > :02:05.fast sprint. As soon as I am in two position, I am completely relaxed. I

:02:06. > :02:09.let my body mould into the sled. I have come so far in a short three

:02:10. > :02:14.years. When I came into the programme, Amy Williams had just won

:02:15. > :02:19.a gold medal. It was the same team she had around her that I have

:02:20. > :02:20.around me. So I slotted into the amazing machine that is British

:02:21. > :02:32.skeleton. Your mind just takes over, your

:02:33. > :02:37.peripheral vision takes over. You are feeling the interaction between

:02:38. > :02:42.you and the ice, all your senses are working at 1 million miles an hour.

:02:43. > :02:47.There is no perfect run, there is always something you can improve on,

:02:48. > :02:56.the slight angle, the angle, your line. It is not only about doing

:02:57. > :03:02.well against other athletes, it is seeing how good I can be against

:03:03. > :03:07.myself. I am so proud to say that my hardest condition is within my own

:03:08. > :03:12.team. Shelley Rudman is an amazing athlete, an ambassador of the

:03:13. > :03:17.programme that I got involved in, in 2008. We are friends away from the

:03:18. > :03:25.track. On the start block, she is one of my hardest rivals. Her

:03:26. > :03:31.performance has pushed me into trying to be better. I can't let up,

:03:32. > :03:37.every session means everything. I have to try to be the best version

:03:38. > :03:43.of me that I can. Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain, a World Cup leader.

:03:44. > :03:55.Victory! A very impressive slide, World Cup champion, Lizzy Yarnold.

:03:56. > :03:59.The great thing about the Olympics from what I have heard is it is a

:04:00. > :04:05.magical event, not like anything else. It is my first Olympics. I am

:04:06. > :04:10.taking it one step at a time. I hope to perform at my best. I am

:04:11. > :04:16.unbelievably motivated. Fingers crossed.

:04:17. > :04:22.She talked about Shelley Rudman who is in 11th place. Lizzy Yarnold will

:04:23. > :04:26.have two shoulder the expectations, she goes in the third run, live on

:04:27. > :04:38.BBC Two. Lizzy Yarnold, aiming to follow her

:04:39. > :04:42.land lady, Amy Williams, to the top of the podium. The very last day Amy

:04:43. > :04:43.Williams will be able to call herself the reigning Olympic

:04:44. > :04:55.champion. Skeleton athletes maybe have a screw

:04:56. > :04:59.loose, I don't know! Are we fearless? No, but we are brave. I

:05:00. > :05:17.think you learn to control the fear. In 2002, I remember watching the

:05:18. > :05:23.skeleton race, and the bronze medal. I took myself down to the

:05:24. > :05:28.bottom of the playing fields of the university. There was a special

:05:29. > :05:33.track where skeleton and bobsleigh can practice just starts. I started

:05:34. > :05:37.on the ice for the first time in October 2002. I didn't love it to

:05:38. > :05:42.begin with. I remember the first run, you don't know what to expect

:05:43. > :05:47.or feel. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The second time I did

:05:48. > :05:53.burst into tears. I had to hide because I did not want to look like

:05:54. > :06:01.a wimp. That addiction to wanting to become better, just happened. Then,

:06:02. > :06:07.I didn't want to stop. The Olympics 2006, there was only one place for a

:06:08. > :06:16.girl to go. It was always a battle. Didn't get to go. It fed me this

:06:17. > :06:20.fire in my belly that I was never going to watch another Olympics, I

:06:21. > :06:26.would be competing. I became obsessed. Every decision every day

:06:27. > :06:32.was, is this going to help me get to the Olympics? Yes, or no. Vancouver,

:06:33. > :06:38.when I heard I had got a place and I was going, it was unbelievable.

:06:39. > :06:44.Every dream come true, all that hard work, suddenly, you were part of a

:06:45. > :06:49.team. I remember collecting the kit, having my parents and grandma

:06:50. > :06:56.around. Opening it up. It was like Christmas day, time is a million.

:06:57. > :07:05.The Olympic race... It is so hard to remember it all. It seems like it

:07:06. > :07:09.was over in a blow. -- blur. I had a quite confident that if I did

:07:10. > :07:13.everything consistently, the fact I had worked so hard over the last

:07:14. > :07:18.four years, it was all coming together exactly how I wanted it to

:07:19. > :07:23.on that one day. On her way to the gold medal.

:07:24. > :07:29.There was so much pressure, I wanted it so badly. I remember before my

:07:30. > :07:33.final run, being in the changing room on my own. Not a single sole. I

:07:34. > :07:39.had to stand on the start line, thinking, this is for the gold

:07:40. > :07:44.medal. Then I just had to slide. Amy Williams, going for gold, for

:07:45. > :07:52.Great Britain. Amy Williams could become Olympic champion.

:07:53. > :08:01.Surely it is gold for Great Britain? Oh, yes!

:08:02. > :08:09.I hugged my coach who was hugging me. Then I had to whisper in his

:08:10. > :08:15.ear, where did I come? He whispered, you are Olympic champion. I didn't

:08:16. > :08:22.know what to do. It was a really special moment.

:08:23. > :08:31.We will know soon enough, Amy Williams will be delighted if Lizzy

:08:32. > :08:38.Yarnold can take her crown. We will know by about 6pm tonight.

:08:39. > :08:42.Have we cleared up all the confusion in the Bolshoy Dome? We were

:08:43. > :08:46.watching the men's ice hockey. We are going straight back. It has been

:08:47. > :09:01.an eventful morning already. Goodness me, without doubt, there

:09:02. > :09:07.has been confusion. Next to us, we have the French-speaking Canadians,

:09:08. > :09:11.CBC, and at the end of the period, everyone took their head set off,

:09:12. > :09:18.through their rounds up and said, what is going on? We have

:09:19. > :09:24.clarification. There are slightly different rules here. Which is what

:09:25. > :09:33.will explain the confusion. Essentially, this is one of the few

:09:34. > :09:37.differences between how the ruling body operates to the National Hockey

:09:38. > :09:39.League. The International Ice Hockey Federation sanctioned this

:09:40. > :09:44.tournament and their rulings are such that if the goal counts, it

:09:45. > :09:51.counts. The camera recorded the goal, therefore, we record the goal.

:09:52. > :09:58.But the penalty that happened and the play is also recorded. Which

:09:59. > :10:03.would not happen in National Hockey League. I am not sure we entirely

:10:04. > :10:10.understand it. We are about to start the second period.

:10:11. > :10:28.OK, clear, vaguely... The Czechs lead, that is very clear.

:10:29. > :10:37.Jagr is on the ice. Another of their scarlet -- scorers, Zidlicky.

:10:38. > :10:52.Good play. That was a blind pass. Couldn't find

:10:53. > :11:08.Kaberle clean. So, it winds around again.

:11:09. > :11:13.Jagr will have it again. Considers his options. Now, he goes to the

:11:14. > :11:18.net. That was over. Raising it into the

:11:19. > :11:28.top corner. Kaberle, didn't hold in the zone.

:11:29. > :11:51.And cleared away. We are back to five on five. The

:11:52. > :11:55.double minor penalty taken by the Latvians, they conceded one to Jagr

:11:56. > :11:59.at the end of the first period, they did well not to concede again.

:12:00. > :12:08.Resuming normal business defensively.

:12:09. > :12:20.Into the zone. The Czechs have started well, that power play help

:12:21. > :12:25.them. Latvia are coming back. They wear the burgundy shirts. For the

:12:26. > :12:27.first time this period, they have a chance. That could have been a

:12:28. > :12:39.penalty. Hemsky moving forward. The way it goes for the Latvians. --

:12:40. > :12:54.Away it goes. A bit petulant but there could be an

:12:55. > :13:04.opportunity. Back on level terms! Something out of nothing for

:13:05. > :13:14.Vasiljevs, a mistake in the defensive zone.

:13:15. > :13:20.That was impressive by the Latvians. They pulled the puck out

:13:21. > :13:26.of the corner. Vasiljevs squeezed that in the far left post. You can

:13:27. > :13:31.see it sticking in the back of the net. Perfectly just inside that post

:13:32. > :13:35.and wrapping around behind the camera. What a take and finish from

:13:36. > :13:42.the Latvians. There was no question.

:13:43. > :13:53.The referees will breathe a sigh of relief at that. The controversy of

:13:54. > :13:56.the first period will be put to the back of everybody's mind until the

:13:57. > :14:03.press conferences after the game when the two quite -- coaches will

:14:04. > :14:06.be quizzed on it. Looking back at the goal scored in

:14:07. > :14:17.the first period... As we see the second one again. It is a flat puck.

:14:18. > :14:24.Look at that. Right off the left. It comes down to a different ruling.

:14:25. > :14:30.The goal still stands regardless of what happened. It happened in live

:14:31. > :14:35.play. The curious part is the fact that the time that happened after

:14:36. > :14:40.the goal was allowed and awarded, was allowed to continue. The penalty

:14:41. > :14:45.was allowed to remain which would have been wiped out in the National

:14:46. > :14:54.Hockey League. Nearly a big opportunity there. The

:14:55. > :15:01.Latvians lived to finish -- fight another day.

:15:02. > :15:07.If a goal is scored but not given, it can be reviewed. But if a penalty

:15:08. > :15:13.was given and assessed, the clock goes back but the penalty remains,

:15:14. > :15:15.the clock goes back to when the goal was scored. Ironically, had either

:15:16. > :15:29.scored, neither of those would have The goal remained at when the

:15:30. > :15:36.penalty was taken by the Czech team. That is what did not get completed

:15:37. > :15:45.in the whole chain of events. As Simon once said, he does not make

:15:46. > :15:50.the rules, he enforces them. This is a good game of hockey. I hope you

:15:51. > :15:58.are enjoying it. If you are new to it, there is a lot of ice hockey in

:15:59. > :16:00.the UK. You can check the BBC sport website for details of where your

:16:01. > :16:19.closest ice rink is. A broken stick on the ice. Play

:16:20. > :16:23.continues. When you talk about ice hockey in the UK, I would hazard a

:16:24. > :16:28.guess quite comfortably that there are more ice rinks in the UK than in

:16:29. > :16:35.Latvia and they are in the Olympic games so it is a credit to the ice

:16:36. > :16:41.hockey programme in Latvia. There are also more in the UK than there

:16:42. > :16:42.are in Slovenia. They only have seven and they were playing

:16:43. > :17:00.yesterday. That shot was juggled a bit. It was

:17:01. > :17:21.a good move from the Latvian netminder who has done a decent job.

:17:22. > :17:35.That one was high and over the top. Ladislav Smid hast to turn and

:17:36. > :17:50.recycle position -- possession. Sandis Ozolinsh will have time to

:17:51. > :17:58.play it back. There is space. The first pass is always crucial,

:17:59. > :18:29.that was rather telegraphed. That was a big collision as they

:18:30. > :18:39.tumble into the boards. It was nasty looking but they both climbed up no

:18:40. > :18:50.problem. A blind pass is a giveaway. Thomas Kabbalah was the roadblock.

:18:51. > :19:02.That was easily claimed I Ondrej Pavelec. That last goal has calmed

:19:03. > :19:06.things down a bit. They went through the stage with the uncertainty of

:19:07. > :19:15.the first period and the clarity ran back call -- goal. The Latvians have

:19:16. > :19:25.been taking six penalty minutes and the check team have taken a four. --

:19:26. > :19:30.Czech Republic team. The Latvians have the advantage overall. There

:19:31. > :19:35.have not been many face-offs in this match. It has been pretty open as

:19:36. > :19:41.both sides are content to play a free swinging game as they have

:19:42. > :19:45.avoided the face-offs and allowed themselves to continue in open play.

:19:46. > :19:50.You can see the Latvian bench there. They will be feeling decent

:19:51. > :19:55.but they know how to hang tough. They are right where they want to be

:19:56. > :20:07.and there are a few Latvian jackets. They are here in a zone.

:20:08. > :20:12.Area of the Bolshoy Ice Dome. This stadium holds 12,000 people for the

:20:13. > :20:16.Olympic Games. It can hold more when there are no Olympic media seats. It

:20:17. > :20:21.will be used as a concert venue and they will probably place ice hockey

:20:22. > :20:26.matches here. This is not a big region in Russia for ice hockey this

:20:27. > :20:30.is a region that I suppose the Winter games lends its more to them

:20:31. > :20:36.somewhere further north in the country, we are as far south as it

:20:37. > :20:40.can get in Russia. This is more of a resort and it had rich memories for

:20:41. > :20:45.bladder may Putin when he came here as a child and it is his legacy to

:20:46. > :21:04.develop this area which has in many ways been totally reconstructed.

:21:05. > :21:13.That was high end over the top from Michael Barinka. He screamed at

:21:14. > :21:19.himself in frustration. That was tipped to the goal. A low shot and

:21:20. > :21:26.nice play from Jacko for a check. It was enough to find its way into the

:21:27. > :21:38.back of the net and the Czechs take the lead for the first time. --

:21:39. > :21:46.Voracek. It was a good shot from the Czech team. Voracek has a voracious

:21:47. > :21:55.appetite for goal. This is his first one in the Olympic Games of 2014 for

:21:56. > :22:04.the Czech Republic. Voracek was the man to finish. That was amazing hand

:22:05. > :22:08./eye from that man. That was really tough to do when you were extended

:22:09. > :22:12.and one of his hands was taken off the stick but he did just enough.

:22:13. > :22:16.You do not want to do too much when you redirect it but he did just

:22:17. > :22:27.enough to knock it out of the air. He is a big man, isn't he?

:22:28. > :22:36.He has a nice touch in and around the front of the goal area. It looks

:22:37. > :22:41.like one of his team mates have been giving him some grooming tips! Who

:22:42. > :22:52.does he remind you of? There is another shot that comes in from

:22:53. > :23:00.range and it is cleared away. A big body and a big ginger beard as well!

:23:01. > :23:04.The Latvians come to the net. There are a number of different players.

:23:05. > :23:10.He is long and lanky powerful but you are right, Hartnell very much

:23:11. > :23:23.the same type of player with his team. Tomas Kaberle sets things up.

:23:24. > :23:28.He used his hip. Letters have another look at this. This is lovely

:23:29. > :23:33.because he is on the ice. He managed to get that second hand on the

:23:34. > :23:39.stick. It was very close. It was very impressive. He was at a Latvian

:23:40. > :23:55.party and the only Czech Republic player but he came through and stole

:23:56. > :24:02.the goal. He walked out. Jaromir Jagr has never thrived in physical

:24:03. > :24:07.play. He was initially in Pittsburgh where he won the Stanley cup. These

:24:08. > :24:11.days, after a stint in the KH Elliott Russia he is back in the

:24:12. > :24:19.National Hockey League with the New Jersey Devils. One of the question

:24:20. > :24:22.marks you have set yourself about Jaromir Jagr is whether he enjoys

:24:23. > :24:26.the game enough to play as long as he has done and you would not have

:24:27. > :24:32.thought about it. When he was a Pittsburgh Penguins I was playing in

:24:33. > :24:36.the minor leagues in North America and one of my team-mates was friends

:24:37. > :24:38.with him. He loved his heyday then but he went through a spell of

:24:39. > :24:56.uncertainty but now he is back. The Czech Republic have been given

:24:57. > :25:03.latitude here. The Latvians are looking for a third comeback in this

:25:04. > :25:08.game. I am sure they coach will be gutted that they have had to come

:25:09. > :25:09.back twice and now they will have to come back three times in order to

:25:10. > :25:31.get a result. Michael Barinka does well to hold.

:25:32. > :25:37.That was a nice outlet play. Now Cipulis wind one up from range.

:25:38. > :25:41.There have been some close matches in this first round and there has

:25:42. > :25:46.not been an upset yet. This is as close as we have come. The

:25:47. > :25:50.Slovenians hang tight with the Russians yesterday and many people

:25:51. > :25:53.were surprised to see that from the Slovenians. They were writing it

:25:54. > :25:59.with the Russians until they sped off in the later stages of that

:26:00. > :26:02.match. Right now the Latvians are in good cherry to try and get something

:26:03. > :26:11.and potentially have the first upset of this round. You can see how

:26:12. > :26:16.steeply banked the arena is. One of the faults of this place is that all

:26:17. > :26:19.of the steps are at slightly odd depths so you find yourself walking

:26:20. > :26:33.up and down them and I have nearly fallen about ten times. It is quite

:26:34. > :26:40.off-putting. Can the Latvians create here? They are trying. No penalty

:26:41. > :26:49.called again. Ted Nolan looks a little bit perturbed at that.

:26:50. > :26:57.Voracek sends it behind them let. -- the net.

:26:58. > :27:19.We have not seen much of Patrick Kelly at G8. He was an NHS all-star.

:27:20. > :27:37.A high chip into the zone and icing will be called. That is one of the

:27:38. > :27:38.vagaries of the difference in rules from the different forms of this

:27:39. > :27:52.game. Jaromir Jagr whereas 68 as a tribute

:27:53. > :28:05.or a memory to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the then

:28:06. > :28:12.USSR. Michael Frolik's nickname is Baby Jagr. He is from the same town.

:28:13. > :28:16.And when he was younger he looked a lot like him. They were both tall

:28:17. > :28:20.and lanky and they had a lot of skill and Michael Frolik got that

:28:21. > :28:31.nickname which is one that you probably would not want. Jagr, if

:28:32. > :28:36.you look at his first name, he was named after another player as well

:28:37. > :28:48.so the hands of time passing on from one generation to the next.

:28:49. > :28:55.Tomas Plekanec took over. This is good play. It was not cleared out of

:28:56. > :29:05.the stone. It bounced in the air. The players were a bit confused for

:29:06. > :29:11.a moment. That was a little too deep. Away goes.

:29:12. > :29:15.The Latvians continue to come back. They have been on the back foot ever

:29:16. > :29:33.so slightly in this period. That one was easily handled and

:29:34. > :29:36.dealt with. Now we have a break in play. The Latvians are a little bit

:29:37. > :29:41.on their back foot. That was the first time I have seen a pass from

:29:42. > :29:43.behind the goal line of any team in this tournament outward player who

:29:44. > :29:47.is coming in with speed from the neutral zone and quickly into the

:29:48. > :29:51.offensive zone. The Latvians were not able to get up to the ice in

:29:52. > :29:56.time to prevent that movement. They are much more freewheeling to day.

:29:57. > :30:03.Although there is only one goal separating it, they are starting to

:30:04. > :30:04.show their pedigree. You can see the discussion going on on the bench

:30:05. > :30:18.there. Just three players on the Czech

:30:19. > :30:25.Republic squad are in the top 100. Jaromir Jagr is the man of the

:30:26. > :30:33.moment, 49 points for New Jersey. He is pushing away the trainer. He has

:30:34. > :30:38.a smile on his face! He gave him a shove in the chest, and a great big

:30:39. > :30:50.smile on his face. He was trying to give him a Valentine's Day kiss!

:30:51. > :30:54.There we go! Hang on! You will be glad you can't see that. That should

:30:55. > :31:04.have been post-watershed, that is all I will say! Let's concentrate on

:31:05. > :31:09.the hockey. Goodness gracious me! I saw how many cavities he had! We are

:31:10. > :31:18.all getting hot under the collar after that!

:31:19. > :31:48.The shot came into the Max, well covered again. The shot was from

:31:49. > :31:57.Milan Michalek. That is the Latvian bench. The coach has got a

:31:58. > :31:59.tremendous story. He was in the NHL, he played with Wayne Gretzky in

:32:00. > :32:12.his youth. He was based deep in the North of

:32:13. > :32:45.Ontario, the middle of nowhere. Patrick Ally is nearly got that one

:32:46. > :33:05.through. Just denied. He is a great servant to Latvian

:33:06. > :33:10.hockey, Sandis Ozolins. He was tempted by the thought of playing at

:33:11. > :33:17.an Olympics in Russia. He was eight key cog in their qualification

:33:18. > :33:23.process. You can see him muttering to himself. He would have to be a

:33:24. > :33:48.great competitor to keep on playing into his 40s.

:33:49. > :34:08.A good kick save. We will see a bit of pushing and shoving. There is a

:34:09. > :34:12.big scrum. A lot of conversation. A couple of punches being thrown. Are

:34:13. > :34:20.they going to decide they want to go?

:34:21. > :34:32.The referees will try to stamp this out quickly. Let's have another

:34:33. > :34:44.look. Martins Karsums gets hit hard by Michal Barinka. He ends up right

:34:45. > :34:50.on top of him. It is awkward for the goal-tender. Your knee can get

:34:51. > :34:53.twisted, his left leg is possibly trapped under his body. It is

:34:54. > :35:04.dangerous. Ondrej Pavelec is key to any chance

:35:05. > :35:40.of the Czech Republic's success. That was a huge deflection off

:35:41. > :35:43.Ladislav Smid. You sense that Jaromir Jagr thrives when he can get

:35:44. > :36:56.a one-on-one. The referee's arm flickered for a

:36:57. > :37:07.penalty. The linesman was on the spot, much to the disappointment of

:37:08. > :37:14.Miks Indrasis. Look at the deflection. Ondrej Pavelec does

:37:15. > :37:28.really well. Yes, it might have been going wide, but too close to be

:37:29. > :37:29.casual. He extended his leg. Miks Indrasis is a gifted offensive

:37:30. > :37:56.player for Latvia. Herberts Vasiljevs scored what could

:37:57. > :38:13.prove to be a crucial goal in this one. Martin Erat with the first for

:38:14. > :38:21.the Czech Republic. Ondrej Pavelec has made 12 saves from 14 shots so

:38:22. > :38:27.far. This could go any way. A late push from Latvia to try to level for

:38:28. > :38:33.the end of the period would go a long way towards getting something

:38:34. > :38:48.from this match, to get to extra time.

:38:49. > :38:54.When you see these long deflections that go into the stands, that is

:38:55. > :39:02.usually what the reason is, active sticks. Michael Frolik denied a

:39:03. > :39:07.shooting opportunity. Can you see the likeness between them? I think

:39:08. > :39:17.it is a flattering compliment to Michael Frolik. You are not wrong!

:39:18. > :39:36.Michael Frolik plays with Winnipeg in the NHL.

:39:37. > :39:47.Into the back of the net, and another goal. Pitching into the

:39:48. > :39:53.play. Marek Zidlicky scores his second of the tournament. Is that

:39:54. > :40:01.now breathing space for the Czech Republic? Finally, they have some

:40:02. > :40:12.space. Petr Nedved throws it on goal, Marek Zidlicky was able to get

:40:13. > :40:17.there just in time. He gets it hard. He stayed down for a while. He just

:40:18. > :40:23.got it a crossed the goal line before he got thumped from behind.

:40:24. > :40:30.That is why do still see him on bended knee. You have got to wonder

:40:31. > :40:36.whether he may need some dental work, as he goes into the post area.

:40:37. > :40:42.Head height, at the top of the goal, hit from behind, and straight

:40:43. > :40:46.in. Right on the corner. He should be all right, but he will pay the

:40:47. > :40:50.price to get a goal at the Olympic Games, to get his team a 2-goal

:40:51. > :40:55.lead. The Czech Republic have got the goal that Latvia wanted. He will

:40:56. > :41:04.be fine, just a blemish on his right cheek.

:41:05. > :41:17.Beaten four times, the Latvian netminder. Marek Zidlicky has his

:41:18. > :41:19.second of the tournament. Another veteran campaigner who can provide

:41:20. > :41:54.the offensive side from the backend. Somebody has lost their glove. The

:41:55. > :42:00.shot is pretty comfortable to claim. Mikelis Redlihs is OK. It is the

:42:01. > :42:07.second goal for Marek Zidlicky in the tournament. He did well. The

:42:08. > :42:14.Neds, off quite comfortably. The plastic mooring goes into the ice

:42:15. > :42:17.quite ably. He has got a smile, he is OK. The Neds come for that

:42:18. > :42:43.reason. He went high and short side. It has been a spirited effort from

:42:44. > :43:05.Latvia, but not quite able to match the offence of the Czech Republic.

:43:06. > :43:18.That is well handled at the second chance by Edgars Masalskis. He had

:43:19. > :43:22.to juggle it slightly. Edgars Masalskis getting himself turned

:43:23. > :43:32.around, but he is frustrated. Watch his reaction. Under a bit of

:43:33. > :43:38.pressure. Almost bathing himself in water, he goes through that pretty

:43:39. > :43:42.quickly, in the goal. He is frustrated by the fourth goal, he

:43:43. > :43:48.felt as though he has been able to keep his team in it. If they could

:43:49. > :43:56.have stolen one themselves... The coach looks on.

:43:57. > :44:02.Free periods in ice hockey, remember, so there will still be

:44:03. > :44:14.plenty of time for Latvia to come back, if they are able #3 periods.

:44:15. > :44:36.It would be game over if the Czech Republic got a fifth.

:44:37. > :45:27.A great interception by Sandis Ozolins. He read the play well.

:45:28. > :45:35.That hooter signals the end of the second period. There was some

:45:36. > :45:39.controversy in the third -- first but the Czech Republic take control

:45:40. > :45:46.in the second despite conceding an early goal. The fans are happy

:45:47. > :45:53.because they lead Latvia by 4-2. You can continue to watch the third

:45:54. > :45:57.and final period on the red button. The ice hockey tournament is clearly

:45:58. > :46:06.one of the big events at the Sochi Olympics games and there are two

:46:07. > :46:10.venues. There is the show Bay Arena and the Bolshoi arena. They could

:46:11. > :46:15.have sold this venue -- that's all this venue over and over again for

:46:16. > :46:18.the big showdown tomorrow between the Russian men and the United

:46:19. > :46:24.States who just happened to be in group A. This is the one that all of

:46:25. > :46:26.Russia wants to win. It will summon all kinds of vivid memories of

:46:27. > :46:46.this... 1980, the Olympic flame cannot

:46:47. > :46:55.thought the Cold War. A classic in the Adirondack Mountains and into

:46:56. > :46:59.this frozen area of New York stepped the Soviets. They have just

:47:00. > :47:06.conquered Afghanistan and now they come to conquer sport on American

:47:07. > :47:15.soil. The Soviet Union are ice hockey champions of the past for

:47:16. > :47:19.Olympics but the USA, on during the Olympic code of amateurism select

:47:20. > :47:22.none of their star professionals from the National Hockey League and

:47:23. > :47:28.instead pick a team of college boys with an average age of 21, under the

:47:29. > :47:33.guidance of the coach from the Minnesota Golden gophers. The

:47:34. > :47:38.underpaid Rockies against a Soviet machine on ice. -- underpaid

:47:39. > :48:02.Rockies. --unpaid. The United States has beaten the

:48:03. > :48:06.Soviet Union! 28 years I have been reporting on ice hockey and I have

:48:07. > :48:14.never seen a scene like this before. An absolute sensation. The

:48:15. > :48:21.Americans are throwing their sticks into the air. They have beaten the

:48:22. > :48:23.mighty red machine which is standing forlorn and dejected. There is still

:48:24. > :48:44.a game to win, against Finland. Hello, Mr President. We will see you

:48:45. > :48:52.tomorrow in the White House and we are all proud of you. Good luck to

:48:53. > :48:59.you. Do not celebrate! No, we won't. The full White House treatment. In

:49:00. > :49:03.these Cold War days it requires the full biblical treatment. This goes

:49:04. > :49:15.down in history as the The Miracle On Ice.

:49:16. > :49:19.Members of the Miracle On Ice team were at the Salt Lake City games to

:49:20. > :49:23.light the cauldron. So enjoy it was their victory there that they still

:49:24. > :49:28.talk about it to this day. As for the Russians, eight titles for the

:49:29. > :49:35.Soviet Union as a uniform -- unified team but never as a single entity,

:49:36. > :49:43.never as Russia. That is one of the more traditional sports but the

:49:44. > :49:48.newest one to showcase last night was the luge relay. Three slides per

:49:49. > :49:53.team at the end of every run a rider hast to touch a touchpad which

:49:54. > :49:57.releases a start pad for the next risers. It was part wacky races and

:49:58. > :50:04.parts it's a knockout but it was very enjoyable to watch.

:50:05. > :50:15.It is packed as always at the Sanki Sliding Centre. This is the luge

:50:16. > :50:22.team relay. It is a brand-new competition for the Olympics. First

:50:23. > :50:26.we have the Ukraine. Like everybody else she gets away well. We have

:50:27. > :50:35.been used to people coming down here in about 50 seconds. This event goes

:50:36. > :50:39.on for three minutes. The women are used to this start and they have

:50:40. > :50:44.been training all week. Back corner was a little bit sloppy. You have

:50:45. > :50:46.got to hold it together because you know your team-mates will want to

:50:47. > :51:01.finish this and get a position at the Olympics. It is a solid

:51:02. > :51:06.advantage. We will see the pad. This is good changing over. This is the

:51:07. > :51:10.doubles. The changeover is key, it is the same terminology as they use

:51:11. > :51:15.in the athletics. That was good. So, we come to

:51:16. > :51:45.Poland. This could be a good slide. She

:51:46. > :51:50.finished in 16th place. No starting mechanism.

:51:51. > :51:57.She got this place over a more experienced pilot who has been

:51:58. > :52:00.sliding in the team relay events but the young upcoming star got it. She

:52:01. > :52:15.is sliding well there. She is coming down the course

:52:16. > :52:19.superbly. She just avoided the left-hand side which so many people

:52:20. > :52:27.have hit in the individual competitions. She is going well. She

:52:28. > :52:36.has got a solid lead. The good slap of the pad here. Three quarters of a

:52:37. > :52:40.second up on the Ukrainians. She unleashed the male contestant. He

:52:41. > :52:46.finished in 20 Third Place which is not a good position to be. --23rd

:52:47. > :52:55.place. They have had a long rest since that

:52:56. > :53:01.competition and they are back on the ice now. They have seemed to go

:53:02. > :53:10.well. He has not really made any inroads on the Ukrainian but he is

:53:11. > :53:17.holding the lead. He took a little tap there and his head popped up. He

:53:18. > :53:24.has done something well in the middle section. He is coming up the

:53:25. > :53:29.hill towards the pad. That was a pretty decent time. It is pretty

:53:30. > :53:35.interesting that as he hit the pad they decided to stay in the middle

:53:36. > :53:42.at the finish. The pairing have got away quite well. They went over to

:53:43. > :53:43.the left-hand side at the start. That was significant because they

:53:44. > :53:58.lost a little bit of time. Almost a second now that they are in

:53:59. > :54:09.the lead, head of the Ukrainians. It is going well.

:54:10. > :54:23.They are right inside the target. Right up to the woodwork there, that

:54:24. > :54:28.was close to a slap. They clip at the finish line that can get a clean

:54:29. > :54:37.it? Yes, they do. They are in the lead.

:54:38. > :55:09.This team have managed to get three Olympic medals between them already.

:55:10. > :55:17.They got their first ever Latvian medal of any description for the

:55:18. > :55:25.men's luge. This is a superpower team.

:55:26. > :55:29.Their first slider was a bit of a disappointment in the women's but if

:55:30. > :55:34.they get their act together they could be a real threat.

:55:35. > :55:42.We are just looking to see what she needs to get. It is very close. She

:55:43. > :55:46.is in the lead by 0.139. She is going well. She is driving the

:55:47. > :55:56.course much better than she did in the individual event. A better speed

:55:57. > :56:04.than previous sliders. She hits the pad and releases the next slider. He

:56:05. > :56:09.did not have the best start but his reaction time was lightning. He has

:56:10. > :56:14.managed to hold the lead. We have often said that this guy is one of

:56:15. > :56:21.the best sliders in the world. His start does let him down. It didn't

:56:22. > :56:28.let him down that time and he is not .356 or up already. He is

:56:29. > :56:32.undoubtedly one of the best pilots in the world, maybe not the absolute

:56:33. > :56:37.best but not far off it. On his day he can win but it is his start that

:56:38. > :56:45.is his weakness. He is 35 and he has had some bad injuries but he is in

:56:46. > :56:52.the lead. He will be handing over to the doubles team. That was a

:56:53. > :56:58.tremendous finish. He hit it one-handed and it opens the gate for

:56:59. > :57:01.the Latvian number ones, the Sics brothers and one of the best crews

:57:02. > :57:04.in the world. It is an interesting chance for us to see physics in

:57:05. > :57:17.action. How fast will the doubles crew go? The previous slider rides

:57:18. > :57:25.about -- weighs about 85 kilograms. The Sics brothers have a combined

:57:26. > :57:33.weight of over 200 kilos. The bigger you are, the faster you fall in

:57:34. > :57:43.luge. The Sics brothers are tearing up this track. It is one of the

:57:44. > :57:51.highest speeds we have seen. That is quick. They are going to take the

:57:52. > :57:56.lead by some way. My goodness, gracious me. That was a phenomenal

:57:57. > :58:02.final run by the Sics brothers, brilliant stuff there. Remember

:58:03. > :58:06.their time. I wonder if any of the doubles crews will go faster than

:58:07. > :58:14.that. That is some lead that they hold.

:58:15. > :58:25.This slider finished seventh in the individual event. She gets away to a

:58:26. > :58:30.solid start. It is always difficult to tell because there is no start

:58:31. > :58:35.club Ashman clock but she is in the middle of the course. If there is

:58:36. > :58:40.anybody who really wants to put in a massive run here it is her. She is

:58:41. > :58:48.the two times European champion but fourth at the last Olympic Games.

:58:49. > :58:49.She was absolutely gutted by her individual performance. She is well

:58:50. > :59:02.in the lead here. She is in the lead by 0.169 the

:59:03. > :59:11.second. She must keep it together. She has done it so far. That is

:59:12. > :59:18.fantastic. It is a great speed. Away we go. That was a bit sloppy. He

:59:19. > :59:26.went into the left-hand wall as he pulled away. That is one of the

:59:27. > :59:31.problems. You cannot sit in the compression phase at the start, you

:59:32. > :59:35.have to wait until you see the beat. He is 32 years old and the Olympic

:59:36. > :59:42.silver medallist. He is still in the lead, one third of the second up. He

:59:43. > :59:50.is lightning quick and the big guy. He gets great speeds.

:59:51. > :59:57.He is sliding well. He has not created any bumps at all. He

:59:58. > :00:06.increased his lead. This is getting faster. This is terrific.

:00:07. > :00:20.That is superb. My good this. Here, we have the doubles. The man in

:00:21. > :00:31.front is a giant of a guy, 105 kilos. Head back, that is good

:00:32. > :00:34.sliding. Forget about Latvia, for Russia, they would love to lay down

:00:35. > :00:45.a massive slide and beat the Germans for the gold. As a unit, you look at

:00:46. > :00:49.the individual performances, you would expect them to be ahead of

:00:50. > :00:56.Latvia, but it is trying to take a gold medal away from Germany. They

:00:57. > :01:07.are in the lead at the moment. They finished fifth in the individual

:01:08. > :01:15.event. Yes! That is brilliant once more, that is one second ahead of

:01:16. > :01:22.Latvia. Russia in first place, Latvia second, and Poland still in

:01:23. > :01:27.third place. They did not have a great slide yesterday in their first

:01:28. > :01:30.run, they pulled it back in the second and finished fifth, when they

:01:31. > :01:35.were genuine medal contenders. That will feel really good. They are the

:01:36. > :02:08.new course record holders. 132.1 kilometres per hour, that

:02:09. > :02:11.matches what the Russian did. She unleashes her team-mate. He was

:02:12. > :02:20.disappointing in the men's individual. He has got something to

:02:21. > :02:23.try and overcome. He will be disappointed with his individual

:02:24. > :02:31.result, people want to put something forward for the US team. He finished

:02:32. > :02:39.13th in the individual event. The league is still there. This pair

:02:40. > :02:49.finished 11th in the individual event. 61 kilometres per hour, they

:02:50. > :02:57.are chasing the Russians. The Russians are not as good at the

:02:58. > :03:00.start. I am not sure they have got the ability to slide as well as the

:03:01. > :03:13.Russians. They are not pulling this back.

:03:14. > :03:22.The lead has increased, my goodness. They are going behind further and

:03:23. > :03:29.further. They will not pull this back. Will they go ahead of Latvia

:03:30. > :03:42.in second place? No, they are in third place. Russia, Latvia and the

:03:43. > :03:46.United States. The Germans go next. There is the greatest slide of them

:03:47. > :03:58.all. The flying sausage as he was known, Georg Hackl. Quite a line-up

:03:59. > :04:03.to have, it is like having Usain Bolt handing over to Usain Bolt,

:04:04. > :04:11.etc! It is like the all-star superstar team. Perhaps of all time,

:04:12. > :04:17.they that good. This is the Olympic champion, she won two days ago. She

:04:18. > :04:24.is on fire at the moment. She is the best starting woman in the world. So

:04:25. > :04:28.are her team-mates, they have the whole package. No touches on the

:04:29. > :04:43.left-hand side. His Albert Demchenko destined to pay

:04:44. > :04:55.homage to the Germans again? Away we go. Felix Loch. What a lead.

:04:56. > :05:04.Things do go wrong, even for Germany here. They win 99% of the time, but

:05:05. > :05:14.the likelihood is they will win again.

:05:15. > :05:23.Felix Loch is so good, he is 24, he has already won two Olympic gold

:05:24. > :05:30.medals. Brilliant speed. Toes pointing together. Albert Demchenko

:05:31. > :05:55.had a good slide. He did. The supreme doubles pairing. Felix

:05:56. > :06:01.Loch is such a tall man, 193, 194, he just stuck his arm up, huge, long

:06:02. > :06:16.arms, he is able to slap it lying down. This pair were the Olympic

:06:17. > :06:19.gold medallists. A bit sloppy there. I am not sure the speed gun is

:06:20. > :06:27.right, because that is not great speed.

:06:28. > :06:35.They are pulling away, I think the speed gun was wrong. It is over as

:06:36. > :06:44.long as they hit the pad. They get it, wow. That is remarkable, they

:06:45. > :06:57.have taken one second out of Russia. The split must be one of the

:06:58. > :07:04.all-time great. There you have it. Nobody has done the fastest of the

:07:05. > :07:08.day! They are posing already, that is the gold medal pose. Slightly

:07:09. > :07:22.insulting to the teams who are still to go, Canada and Austria. But it is

:07:23. > :07:25.hard to see how they can beat that. If they just hit everything

:07:26. > :07:37.perfectly, they could pull off a miracle. We just have to look back

:07:38. > :07:45.at their World Cup form, knocking on the door of the podium this year.

:07:46. > :07:56.Alex Gough, she matches the Germans for the start.

:07:57. > :08:10.It looks slow. But it is in fact quick.

:08:11. > :08:20.A little touch there. I would really like to see them get a medal. They

:08:21. > :08:30.are losing time, it is ebbing away with every corner. It is not great.

:08:31. > :08:37.My goodness, they are in fourth place, they have missed out. Here we

:08:38. > :08:43.are, with Russia -- with Austria. They have the credentials, that is

:08:44. > :08:48.the shore. Have they the speed? That is the important thing. The Russians

:08:49. > :08:56.and Germans will be hoping they haven't. Here goes Wolfgang Kindl,

:08:57. > :09:02.who finished ninth in the individual event, he went well. Yes. He has

:09:03. > :09:06.been given the nod ahead of Reinhard Egger, surprising, because he had

:09:07. > :09:18.finished in eighth place. The deficit seems almost impossible.

:09:19. > :09:37.That was a very quick reaction time. They want another medal, they have

:09:38. > :09:45.got to gold medals and a silver from yesterday, their doubles event. We

:09:46. > :09:51.know Germany have taken another gold medal, a clean sweep for the

:09:52. > :09:57.Germans. They have won every event. Who can beat them? Russia have got

:09:58. > :10:07.the silver medal. Latvia have got the bronze.

:10:08. > :10:14.Germany won by over one second. They have nailed it. Four out of four

:10:15. > :10:17.gold medals. This was the sweetest of all, the first time we have ever

:10:18. > :10:27.had a team relay event. Great scenes, and it was quite fun,

:10:28. > :10:33.I quite enjoyed it. The Germans untouchable, that is a clean sweep

:10:34. > :10:37.of all of the luge gold medals, it puts them in front of everybody at

:10:38. > :10:42.the top of the medal table, with seven gold medals, three more than

:10:43. > :10:47.any other nation so far. That was a first for luge, but it is one of 12

:10:48. > :10:51.new events here, and another took place the other night, the women's

:10:52. > :10:55.ski jumping, after a long legal campaign to get it included. Matthew

:10:56. > :11:05.Pinsent was there to see history made.

:11:06. > :11:11.Women's sport and the Olympics has had a bit of a difficult past. When

:11:12. > :11:17.the modern Olympics started in 1896, there were no events forwarded at

:11:18. > :11:20.all. There was a score of thought that asserted that physical exertion

:11:21. > :11:26.had an effect on childbirth. You might think that all of that medical

:11:27. > :11:34.argument is so last century, decades ago, but let me read you this quote

:11:35. > :11:40.from the president of skiing. He said about ski jumping, it is like

:11:41. > :11:44.jumping down from two metres onto the ground about 1000 times a year,

:11:45. > :11:53.which seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of

:11:54. > :11:57.view. He said that in 2005. Yes, when we first started, we heard some

:11:58. > :12:04.of those excuses. They were a bit ridiculous. This woman spearheaded

:12:05. > :12:09.and one the battle to ensure that women's ski jumping was part of the

:12:10. > :12:14.Olympic movement. This is a dream come true, not just for women's ski

:12:15. > :12:22.jumping, for women's rights, human rights, women and sport, all of the

:12:23. > :12:25.above. These women have been like family, we have all been in this

:12:26. > :12:28.together, and whoever gets a medal to night, we are still excited,

:12:29. > :12:42.because we have all won. What a special night we have in

:12:43. > :12:45.prospect here. The first Winter Olympic medals in women's ski

:12:46. > :12:50.jumping are just hours away from being awarded. The quality of the

:12:51. > :12:55.competition tonight promises to be a fitting tribute to all those who

:12:56. > :13:01.have worked so hard to ensure it can be included. The Americans will

:13:02. > :13:06.think their heart out for Lindsey Vonn, she has been injured and

:13:07. > :13:08.mental, -- she has been instrumental in this event being included

:13:09. > :13:19.tonight. Vancouver would have been her best

:13:20. > :13:24.chance, but thank goodness she could make it here, because she deserves

:13:25. > :13:32.to be here. If this was a Hollywood movie, she would get a medal. Sadly,

:13:33. > :13:39.it is not to be. It is overwhelming. It is hard to put it into words. I

:13:40. > :13:40.had a great time, I enjoyed myself, I was living in the moment for the

:13:41. > :13:52.first time in a long time. She has played a huge role in this

:13:53. > :13:56.event being included, she sued the Vancouver organisers over not

:13:57. > :13:58.letting them compete for years -- not letting them compete. Four years

:13:59. > :14:07.later, she is here. There were times when I was in court

:14:08. > :14:11.instead of training, it is everything I have been fighting for,

:14:12. > :14:16.so I am really happy I was here tonight. The fierce competition

:14:17. > :14:23.dictated the true Olympic event. The decade-long battle finally fully

:14:24. > :14:27.justified. The world number one and dead cert for the gold medal, the

:14:28. > :14:33.Japanese, was left just out of the medals in fourth place. So, it was

:14:34. > :14:36.left to a 22-year-old woman from Germany to leap her way into

:14:37. > :14:47.sporting history. To be a champion is fantastic, to be

:14:48. > :14:50.the first champion is Olympic immortality. Does it beckon for the

:14:51. > :15:05.German? Unbelievable, she has done it! What

:15:06. > :15:09.a moment! Germany celebrate a piece of history that will never, ever be

:15:10. > :15:17.forgotten. Incredible, it is an amazing feeling

:15:18. > :15:35.to be on the first podium, the first time. I am speechless. Look at what

:15:36. > :15:41.just happened! We did everything for that and that makes it worth it --

:15:42. > :15:51.but worth it. Well done, you are a pioneer. A hugely significant moment

:15:52. > :15:56.for women's sport and the Olympic Games and a story beautifully told

:15:57. > :15:58.by Matt Pinson there and it is excellent to see it included. It