Day 7, Part 3

:00:52. > :01:08.# Me and Mrs Jones. # We've got a thing going on.

:01:09. > :01:15.# We both know that this is wrong. # But it's much too strong.

:01:16. > :01:27.# To let it go now. JONATHAN EDWARDS: And no, I hadn't

:01:28. > :01:32.forgotten, happy Valentine's Day, from Russia with Love. Lots to love

:01:33. > :01:39.about these Olympics as well, stunning action, great drama and,

:01:40. > :01:44.I'll tell you what, stunning views here at the Olympic Park on the

:01:45. > :01:48.mountains look wonderful and we have got our fingers crossed for Lizzy

:01:49. > :01:52.Yarnold later on. Gold very possible in the skeleton, we will be live

:01:53. > :01:56.from the Sanki Sliding Center from 3:30pm here on BBC Two but in the

:01:57. > :02:03.meantime, all this to keep you occupied.

:02:04. > :02:06.The men's ice hockey should be one of the highlights and we should

:02:07. > :02:12.shoot the reigning world champions Sweden in action. -- we should see

:02:13. > :02:17.the reigning world champions. The women's aerials has

:02:18. > :02:23.qualifications and finals, old school slopestyle but no less

:02:24. > :02:27.captivated. -- captivating. And the men's skeleton gets under way with

:02:28. > :02:34.Kristan Bromley and Don Parsons going for Team GB.

:02:35. > :02:40.And you can't help but listen to that music can think of Torvill and

:02:41. > :02:42.Dean with the Bolero. 13 years ago today they won gold in Sarajevo. I

:02:43. > :02:55.wonder if that is a good omen. You step onto the track... Take a

:02:56. > :03:01.deep breath. Thinking about the Lions, adrenaline is pumping. There

:03:02. > :03:07.is no room for fear. -- thinking about the lines. Read the ice,

:03:08. > :03:13.focus, concentrate... Then, an explosion of power and strength.

:03:14. > :03:24.Corner one, you feel your way, shoulders, feet and body position.

:03:25. > :03:28.Attack with the toe -- a tap of the toe and a move of the head,

:03:29. > :03:33.lightning fast reflexes, you feel the track. It is a quest for the

:03:34. > :03:42.fastest line, finding the perfect angle will stop you have to stay

:03:43. > :03:45.calm. The tiniest of errors will cost you. Making the smallest

:03:46. > :03:55.adjustment in split-second reactions. It is about accuracy,

:03:56. > :04:05.precision... One false move and you are off. On cold ice.

:04:06. > :04:17.This is what this afternoon looks like here on BBC Two.

:04:18. > :04:22.It will be good to see Sweden's born in the ice hockey, we saw the

:04:23. > :04:28.Russians and Americans yesterday. Don't miss the women's aerials, very

:04:29. > :04:33.dramatic. And then Clare Balding's programme, the third run of the

:04:34. > :04:38.skeleton with Lizzy Yarnold going first, that will be at around

:04:39. > :04:40.3:40pm. And then changing to BBC One at 4:30pm for the final run and

:04:41. > :04:50.hopefully a gold medal for Britain. It is up to this lanky Billy Chris

:04:51. > :04:57.Hegarty Sliding Center with the men's skeleton started today with

:04:58. > :05:04.Kristan Bromley and also Don Parsons going -- and it is up to this lanky

:05:05. > :05:08.siding centre. -- the slang Sanki Sliding

:05:09. > :05:18.COMMENTATOR: Fifth in the World Championships he finished, this

:05:19. > :05:22.athlete. Ready to go. CHEERING.

:05:23. > :05:35.Lots of cheering down at the finish where he will enjoy being greeted by

:05:36. > :05:41.the crowd. The start time is around 4.68. That is quick, close to world

:05:42. > :05:53.class starts. This is a man who said he didn't -- who was told he wasn't

:05:54. > :05:56.good enough for this level. He has been getting better and better,

:05:57. > :06:01.shining through as one of the strongest sliders. He finished

:06:02. > :06:07.training in first place on the last run so I am expecting good things. I

:06:08. > :06:14.expect him to be in the top five. When you have a power start, it can

:06:15. > :06:19.be about three times as more powerful at the bottom of the

:06:20. > :06:26.course. He seems to be flying here and just inside 50 seconds, he is

:06:27. > :06:30.getting a bit slower. He was taking the pressure well but that big start

:06:31. > :06:39.has given him the lead, a track record of 56.89. A very good

:06:40. > :06:55.performance indeed. Anything inside 57 seconds is absolutely superb. He

:06:56. > :07:00.is six foot three, 185 pounds. His head is so low straightaway into the

:07:01. > :07:04.aerodynamic form, perfect. Everybody takes a tap out of corner 11, very

:07:05. > :07:19.rarely do you see people miss that. And here is the man. A big moment

:07:20. > :07:25.for the two. And there are the brothers who have already got their

:07:26. > :07:34.medal from the luge. What about the start time? My goodness, that is

:07:35. > :07:39.lightning. We were questioning earlier whether he was in shape or

:07:40. > :07:44.if he had an injury and starting slowly in training, he was saving it

:07:45. > :07:48.for the big one. Almost three tenths of a second up on Matthew Antoine.

:07:49. > :07:53.He is one of the most beautiful people to watch slide, the cleanest

:07:54. > :08:04.Lions, look how still he is on that. Tiny little toe-tapping manoeuvres.

:08:05. > :08:09.No massive highs or waves. This is looking fast. He steers clear of the

:08:10. > :08:18.left-hand side that so many athletes have crashed into. That was the

:08:19. > :08:30.first mistake we have seen him make without losing much speed, 56.18 and

:08:31. > :08:36.double macro has been blown away despite being a potential medal

:08:37. > :08:44.contest. That could be one of the quickest runs we see today. Absolute

:08:45. > :08:47.perfection. They were really closely working together. When you show your

:08:48. > :08:54.thought of each other, every single day, sliders can be doing three or

:08:55. > :09:02.four steering manoeuvres in each corner. That was brilliant.

:09:03. > :09:10.Tremendous. We will see what his brother can do. Has not been quite

:09:11. > :09:14.as successful but he is a big man. Taller, he weighs a bit more as

:09:15. > :09:21.well. He has been sliding very well recently. Coast by the father,

:09:22. > :09:27.Tomass Dukurs now of Latvia gets under way. And certainly his brother

:09:28. > :09:34.set the standard and he has done it again. Here's one tenth of a second

:09:35. > :09:37.down on his younger brother. There is a good chance at the end of this

:09:38. > :09:44.men's race tomorrow at the end of four runs, we could have the two

:09:45. > :09:50.second and his brother first. Remember his brother has just laid

:09:51. > :10:00.down a phenomenal run. The brotherly rivalry could be pushing them both.

:10:01. > :10:05.They both make their own sled. They can both drive bobsleigh so they are

:10:06. > :10:13.both talented brothers. He also stays off the left-hand side. He is

:10:14. > :10:18.going well. He missed the knockout of corner 11 we have seen so many

:10:19. > :10:27.people do. I think he will slot into third behind Matthew Antoine. The

:10:28. > :10:33.leader, remember, his lead to a new track record. And Tomass Dukurs in

:10:34. > :10:39.third place, just outside 57 seconds. We are going through the

:10:40. > :10:43.chosen start order so we are seeing the very best of the world go first.

:10:44. > :10:50.That must be remembered, there are 27 sliders going and the top ten are

:10:51. > :10:58.picked up where they want to go. The next guy, who was down in fourth in

:10:59. > :11:05.the world rankings and has picked fifth. The Russian rocket, wait for

:11:06. > :11:11.his start. He might match the Latvian brother here. If we are to

:11:12. > :11:20.understand, the two is a track sprinter and can run in the sort of

:11:21. > :11:27.shape he is in, 10.15 seconds. He is a phenomenal sprinter.

:11:28. > :11:34.A start record, goodness me! That is phenomenal. An amazing start there.

:11:35. > :11:45.I don't believe anybody will get close to that. That was a remarkable

:11:46. > :11:53.start. That is massive, his lead. His momentum through the first

:11:54. > :11:57.clock, he was quicker than Dukurs. You can see how much height he has

:11:58. > :12:01.got there. He knows this track better than anyone, he has done

:12:02. > :12:05.hundreds of runs, not many people would have got that hype there but

:12:06. > :12:12.he knew exactly the angle to get out of it. Think of the amount of speed

:12:13. > :12:21.he will have created. He tapped the ball there. And he is going quite

:12:22. > :12:27.high. Oh, my goodness, that was absolutely phenomenal. Quite

:12:28. > :12:31.different lines, some of the height he got in the corners, literally

:12:32. > :12:35.almost touching the roof, he created one big wave in the corner, perfect

:12:36. > :12:44.angle is coming out of it, does not hit the walls and look at the time.

:12:45. > :12:48.55.95, that is ridiculous! That is quite something. Let's not forget,

:12:49. > :12:52.he has won a World Cup race this season, been second twice and then

:12:53. > :13:00.he pulled away from the final race early this season to come here and

:13:01. > :13:03.train so he just knows it so well. Martins Alexander Tretiakov is the

:13:04. > :13:08.blue line, a similar one but as through corner ten, and he went

:13:09. > :13:16.right up to the woodwork on corner seven but that is a slightly wild

:13:17. > :13:39.but good line. That is the nominal. They are cheering for the guy at the

:13:40. > :13:42.top who is ten -- Sergei Chudinov. Many great sprinters who are great

:13:43. > :13:48.at the start, Sergei Chudinov is another one. Tapping his toe to stop

:13:49. > :13:57.himself clipping into the right-hand wall. Will he have some crazy high

:13:58. > :14:03.lines like Alexander Tretiakov? He is working a bit harder. I thought

:14:04. > :14:14.he would come off, and a bit hide but no such problem. Sergei Chudinov

:14:15. > :14:20.is going well. Some of the corners, you cannot spot the hill until after

:14:21. > :14:25.the apex. A bit wavy on the finish. 1.3 seconds away from victory and

:14:26. > :14:33.fourth place, the Russians in both first and fourth, that is good. We

:14:34. > :14:42.are starting to go down the World Cup rankings now. Alexander

:14:43. > :14:48.Tretiakov did well to come open to fourth position -- Sergei Chudinov

:14:49. > :14:51.did well to get into fourth position. He concedes his legs

:14:52. > :15:06.widening. Alexander Tretiakov started slower,

:15:07. > :15:14.and that margin can be a lot by the bottom of the track. John Daly being

:15:15. > :15:16.cheered on by the American crowd there. He is normally a great

:15:17. > :15:30.starter, a short, compact sprinter. He was one of the fastest starters

:15:31. > :15:35.in training. Here's a really chunky athlete. He is actually a Dick

:15:36. > :15:45.athlete. That does not surprise me, training

:15:46. > :15:58.for the cat one. Up the hill to Corner nine. You can see the

:15:59. > :16:11.athletes on corner ten. Big mistake coming out of 11 into 14. And around

:16:12. > :16:26.towards the finish. He is in fourth place. A good result. He managed to

:16:27. > :16:43.get up some good top end speed. He is pleased with that. Yeah, he had a

:16:44. > :16:48.great start. But he then made that big mistake coming out of 11. But

:16:49. > :16:53.because he had so much speed from the top, luckily for him, it has not

:16:54. > :16:59.cost him too much time and he managed to stay in fourth place. I

:17:00. > :17:05.was surprised by that. Me, too. Especially on that last corner, he

:17:06. > :17:17.just let the sled go and got over the finish line. Hiroatsu Takahashi

:17:18. > :17:19.now of Japan. If you can read anything on the flag their! My

:17:20. > :17:31.goodness. They just have their foot so that

:17:32. > :17:44.they can push off the board. That is the rule of skeleton. Not a bad

:17:45. > :17:50.start. But not brilliant. It is a tricky position to push in,

:17:51. > :17:55.skeleton. The really tall athletes find it hard to bend double. You

:17:56. > :17:58.have got to be flexible. That is why a lot of people went from that

:17:59. > :18:05.two-handed start to the one hand. It gives a bit more room, gives you

:18:06. > :18:13.more space. Normally, those tall athletes stick to the two hands. It

:18:14. > :18:29.is not a bad run. Oh, big crash, but he is OK. He did not exactly park

:18:30. > :18:39.it. He just took it in his stride. He slots into 10th and last place.

:18:40. > :18:46.He will be disappointed with that, I suspect. He has a German coach with

:18:47. > :18:52.him, so he is supported by the German team. A lot of nations help

:18:53. > :18:56.the smaller nations who do not have so much help staff. That is the

:18:57. > :19:01.lovely thing about skeleton. It is a small community, helping each other

:19:02. > :19:07.out. If you are down on manpower, someone can help. Everyone has to go

:19:08. > :19:11.and get weighed. There are weight limits in skeleton armour so it is

:19:12. > :19:16.all to do with how heavy your sled is. You have a minimum and maximum

:19:17. > :19:30.weight sled, and that affects how heavy your body weight can be. This

:19:31. > :19:40.is Kristan Bromley. Fifth in 2005. This is his fourth games. He came

:19:41. > :19:45.fifth in 2006, sorry. He is the most experienced person out there. It is

:19:46. > :19:48.his fourth Olympics, as you said. He has a lot of experience. He designed

:19:49. > :20:01.his own sled with his brother, Richard. Very technical, very good

:20:02. > :20:07.on equipment choice. Back in 2003, he was skeleton World Cup champion.

:20:08. > :20:11.He has done it all, except stood on top of that Olympic podium. That is

:20:12. > :20:17.what he was desperate for. That is why he has hung on. A tap, but not a

:20:18. > :20:22.bad one. He is a second down at the moment. When he is not sliding, he

:20:23. > :20:33.is taking part in motocross. He likes the danger. That is foreign

:20:34. > :20:39.away the fastest he has been down this mountain. That looked like a

:20:40. > :20:42.good, solid run. No major mistakes. He will probably be looking at those

:20:43. > :20:55.different corners and seeing how he can perfect it. A solid run. Powers

:20:56. > :21:03.away as best he can. That would have been a brilliant start a couple of

:21:04. > :21:13.seasons ago. But Dukurs has upped his game so much.

:21:14. > :21:18.I got one person and his brother confused the other day, so my

:21:19. > :21:25.apologies for that. This is Kyle Tress of the USA. 6-foot tall, a big

:21:26. > :21:34.man, jumping sideways onto the sled. That is not a good idea. It is a bit

:21:35. > :21:37.bad. 11th fastest. You can hear him tapping his toes on the ice. There

:21:38. > :21:43.are good microphones on these corners. He had a little trip

:21:44. > :21:50.there, which we have not seen any other athlete do. He is probably

:21:51. > :21:53.nervous. You make mistakes. But the best skeleton sliders are the ones

:21:54. > :21:59.who make the mistakes and get back on that perfect line . He is having

:22:00. > :22:05.a scruffy run here. It is not good at all. Big-time notes here. He was

:22:06. > :22:23.good in training. 1.4 seconds behind already. He will be in last. Quite

:22:24. > :22:31.slow. He is in 12th place at the moment. That is bottom of the pile.

:22:32. > :22:43.Kristan Bromley is still night. Thinking about Kristan again, there

:22:44. > :22:47.are less than three tenths of a second between him and the bronze

:22:48. > :22:51.medal. There are seven or eight men battling for that bronze medal, and

:22:52. > :22:56.Kristan is very much in there. It just shows you that there is a big

:22:57. > :22:59.gap between first place, but anything is up for grabs after that.

:23:00. > :23:05.If you perfect those little steers, anyone could shift around in this

:23:06. > :23:20.next run. Here is a guy we would love to see in the top six. Dominic

:23:21. > :23:27.Parsons goes for Great Britain. Dominic is a sprinter on the track.

:23:28. > :23:33.This should be interesting. I thought he got down early, the

:23:34. > :23:41.sensible thing to do. Nice start. Some people are the cooking it at

:23:42. > :23:51.the start. No point in doing that. Get down early. Well done, Dom

:23:52. > :23:58.Parsons. He and the other British athlete both have Ph.D. S, so very

:23:59. > :24:05.bright! They have worked very closely together. Been doing really

:24:06. > :24:08.well. This is the first year he has been in the World Cup and his first

:24:09. > :24:13.Olympics, so no doubt he has a certain amount of nerves. But so

:24:14. > :24:18.far, it is looking good. Took a little tap there, which is crucial.

:24:19. > :24:29.He made another mistake straightaway. Not bad. He is in

:24:30. > :24:33.ninth place. And Kristan Bromley finishes in 10th. Dominik is going

:24:34. > :24:37.to be really happy with that. He would probably have barely dreams of

:24:38. > :24:44.getting into the top ten, let's so let's see if he can keep there. The

:24:45. > :24:50.difference between the two of them is 100th of a second. The battle of

:24:51. > :24:56.the Brits begins! But they are both very much in the running. At the

:24:57. > :25:09.moment, Tretiakov and Dukurs are battling for silver and gold. But it

:25:10. > :25:12.is a tight fight for bronze. You can see the different states.

:25:13. > :25:17.A good performance from the Brits. We will see them in action in 12.

:25:18. > :25:21.Paul Dickenson, Amy Williams and Colin Bryce will be calling the

:25:22. > :25:26.all-important runs began four of the women's skeleton at 3.40 on BBC Two.

:25:27. > :25:29.White, Bolshoi ice dome behind me. The men's ice hockey tournament

:25:30. > :25:33.armour perhaps the medal the Russians want the most. It is

:25:34. > :25:42.certainly the medal that Putin once the most. The USA and Canada are

:25:43. > :25:46.also strong shots at a gold medal. Canada are the defending champions.

:25:47. > :25:49.Sweden are also defending world champions, and they have been

:25:50. > :25:58.playing Switzerland. We join it at the beginning of the second period,

:25:59. > :26:03.0-0. This player was involved in a big

:26:04. > :26:10.collision out there. He is flexing his knee. Could be a bit painful for

:26:11. > :26:14.him. He retired in 2008. Have a clash of viewpoints with the coach.

:26:15. > :26:30.It was only when the new coach came in that Vauclair reconsidered. And

:26:31. > :26:41.he returned. As the Swedes start with those yellow shirts, they go

:26:42. > :26:59.from right to left on the screen. Really interesting skating style

:27:00. > :27:03.from the captain of the Swiss side. We were watching another player

:27:04. > :27:07.before as he was chasing down a loose puck, and he looked a bit like

:27:08. > :27:23.the Roadrunner. Very busy legs, rotor tooling his way.

:27:24. > :27:47.The Swedes have been a bit sloppy in this game so far.

:27:48. > :27:54.Sounds like there is a whistle in the crowd here. It is confusing. I

:27:55. > :27:57.have heard that a couple of times. I have as well. I wonder if we would

:27:58. > :28:02.have heard that a head of the controversial goal in the USA versus

:28:03. > :28:06.Canada game. It is difficult for the officials. This is an opportunity.

:28:07. > :28:34.Good save. Nyquist has been good for the

:28:35. > :28:50.Swedes. Jimmy Ericsson's effort may be

:28:51. > :29:36.rewarded here. Landesskog buckles his man into the

:29:37. > :29:45.boards. He will be feeling the effects of that, no doubt. They will

:29:46. > :30:17.try and break away here again. Now the Swiss come back into the

:30:18. > :30:19.zone again. This game is just opening up a little bit. More

:30:20. > :31:01.defensive in the first. I think that is off the mask of

:31:02. > :31:05.Lundqvist. He is eccentric. I figured almost came out so quickly,

:31:06. > :31:19.he was unsure whether to use his hands and instead used his head.

:31:20. > :31:32.Who holds the advantage right now for you? Who is in charge? Literally

:31:33. > :31:36.using his head, Lundqvist. And it was central, right coming toward

:31:37. > :31:40.your head, no reason to duck out of the way, you might as well bounce a

:31:41. > :31:46.back forward. It was not a heavy shots but I like the Swiss

:31:47. > :31:49.goalkeeper, they have made more plays and they showed that with the

:31:50. > :31:54.shots on goal at the moment but they have picked up five shots already in

:31:55. > :32:01.the second period. A bit of a forceful play early on to try to

:32:02. > :32:08.connect which will go for an icing. I think it is in the balance, this

:32:09. > :32:13.game for real. They will look back and feel a bit disappointed, the

:32:14. > :32:17.Czech players. They were sloppy and the Swedes were dominant. Some

:32:18. > :32:24.criticism of the coaching staff for playing the wrong ends, not mixing

:32:25. > :32:29.the right lines, putting certain players in until the third period

:32:30. > :33:07.when the Czechs came back on the Swedes.

:33:08. > :33:56.What I stop! That was daylight robbery and some save. Denied by the

:33:57. > :34:03.goalkeeper. Berglund, not two-day, because he has the lobster pot out

:34:04. > :34:08.there, and Berra as the big glove and says a sure goal.

:34:09. > :34:16.Best chance of the game, you feel. And maybe the Swiss got away with

:34:17. > :34:20.one there but now they go with a bit of speed into the offensive zone.

:34:21. > :34:30.Really good skating but the shots goes high and over the top. One of

:34:31. > :34:40.the assistants... And there you can see you can see Kronwall, a

:34:41. > :34:47.first-round drafting for the Detroit Red Wings, played for Stockholm. We

:34:48. > :34:49.have not seen him delivering open ice hits, which he is very capable

:34:50. > :35:18.of. He can hurt you. Good defensive play by the Swedes to

:35:19. > :35:45.win back possession. Deadly macro and have a big part to

:35:46. > :35:54.play if the Swiss are to have further success. -- Niederreiter

:35:55. > :36:30.could have a big part to play. A bit of pressure on at the moment.

:36:31. > :36:42.Just offside as that one re-entered the zone. Is there much talking that

:36:43. > :36:44.goes on out there, Brent? I think so, probably in this tournament less

:36:45. > :36:49.so because I think everybody realises that they are coming here

:36:50. > :36:56.to compete, everybody is getting themselves climate eyes as best they

:36:57. > :36:59.can -- acclimatised. The Norwegians were with the Canadians but they

:37:00. > :37:03.have all played each other in the World Championships level and I

:37:04. > :37:06.think they all have and have a significant amount of respect for

:37:07. > :37:11.each other. To be having the opportunity to lead their club sides

:37:12. > :37:14.in the other big games but also when they play against each other in the

:37:15. > :37:21.National Hockey League or around Europe. I think it is the fact that

:37:22. > :37:24.you don't get to this level without having a healthy respect for not

:37:25. > :37:27.only what you do but also the opposition. Saying that, you are

:37:28. > :37:31.competing for the gold medal at the Olympic Games and for many of these

:37:32. > :37:37.players, I think all of them and increasingly so, including NHL

:37:38. > :37:41.players, they have the opportunity. You'd never know when it will be the

:37:42. > :37:45.last. They might not have known whether they could come here to

:37:46. > :37:48.compete for the gold this time round and it is not certain they will have

:37:49. > :37:54.the opportunity in South Korea so you have to play for keeps and you

:37:55. > :37:57.don't get a second crack at it. They are often letting their actions do

:37:58. > :38:14.the talking. Straight in the pocket of the

:38:15. > :38:21.timekeeper in the timekeeper's box. An Olympic memory for him. Those

:38:22. > :38:32.pucks are at a premium, if one leaves the eyes, they are at a

:38:33. > :38:39.premium. No souvenir pucks, they are like gold dust so if you get one in

:38:40. > :38:43.the game, you hold onto it. This one goes off the board and it drops in

:38:44. > :38:48.there. Into the timekeeper's bench but I think that might off the glass

:38:49. > :38:52.but they are suggesting it was scooped directly and over the glass

:38:53. > :38:58.and that is a tough angle of a penalty. That is a relatively new

:38:59. > :39:03.thing. The quick shot on the power play. A new rule relatively in ice

:39:04. > :39:08.hockey. Firing the puck over the glass and getting a penalty to speed

:39:09. > :39:27.the game up. The Swiss will try to change as the

:39:28. > :39:33.puck goes down the ice. That is a big one, huge, but just wide.

:39:34. > :39:45.Such a heavy shots from the defender.

:39:46. > :39:49.Moving the puck well on the power play, trying to find the open

:39:50. > :40:42.shots. Karlsson is the best offensive

:40:43. > :40:52.defenceman that I have seen without doubt.

:40:53. > :41:00.Pelosi over but still the Swedes are in a good position -- penalty over.

:41:01. > :42:04.The Swiss netminder is so calm. Ten three macro under pressure but he

:42:05. > :42:15.had no issue with it. -- Berra under pressure.

:42:16. > :42:24.A penalty on the Swiss. A second Swedish power play, they looked very

:42:25. > :42:34.dangerous last time round. Touched up now and we will see a tripping

:42:35. > :42:38.call. It looks like Wick who will skate over. And you get a sense now

:42:39. > :42:42.that this is a key point in the hockey game. The power play, the

:42:43. > :42:49.stick out there for Wick, and it is one of the plays where you see his

:42:50. > :42:53.frustration but it is a penalty. But how impressive, Berra. He was

:42:54. > :42:57.looking like a maestro with a masterclass as he is under pressure

:42:58. > :43:02.and manipulated the puck away to safety but he will have to be the

:43:03. > :43:05.best Swiss player for the next two minutes for certain because I get

:43:06. > :43:15.the sense that Sweden are on the cusp of scoring a goal. 13 shots on

:43:16. > :43:27.goal for them, shots on target, that is, 330 minutes of this game. --

:43:28. > :43:32.through 30 minutes. The Swedes have been much better in the second

:43:33. > :43:43.session than they were in the first. It has been a good period for them.

:43:44. > :43:52.Unable to hit the target with the shooting chance.

:43:53. > :43:56.Good save on the block, great positioning again by Berra, not for

:43:57. > :44:24.the first time. Eventually Berra jumps onto it at

:44:25. > :44:34.the second attempt. He is very good, Berra. Have not seen much of him. He

:44:35. > :44:41.has another player in Calgary that he plays alongside but that said,

:44:42. > :44:49.another key save. He has made two glove saves that are so important.

:44:50. > :44:55.Karlsson right at the heart of the Swedish offence shooting from the

:44:56. > :45:09.blue line. We will do this place off all over again. -- this face-off.

:45:10. > :45:12.Two goals in the first night for Carson.

:45:13. > :45:14.He was awesome, a superpower on the ice. Not quite been able to

:45:15. > :45:45.replicate that form as yet. It is a little bit predictable, but

:45:46. > :45:52.there is little you can do about it. Well, it is that effective, isn't

:45:53. > :45:59.it? Everybody was anticipating. It was like a library. Everybody who

:46:00. > :46:02.saw the first game with Sweden, they are expecting Karlsson to score

:46:03. > :46:19.again, but -- Berra is holding strong. We have

:46:20. > :46:43.almost had 13 minutes of this session.

:46:44. > :46:52.Erik Karlsson could be the star of this Olympic games if it continues

:46:53. > :47:14.like this. He was out there for pretty much all of that power play.

:47:15. > :47:21.Berra goes back to play for the Swiss, who have not had much time

:47:22. > :47:24.outside their own zone for the first five minutes of this game.

:47:25. > :47:59.Possession remains with the Swedes. You feel there may be of benefit to

:48:00. > :48:02.Switzerland here. We get another whistle and another face-off in the

:48:03. > :48:06.offensive zone for the Swedes, who are pushing through here. They are

:48:07. > :48:10.searching for a goal. I made that last comment really just in the

:48:11. > :48:16.balance of a game being officiated by humans. It is not black and white

:48:17. > :48:22.always when you are making a penalty call. It is open to interpretation,

:48:23. > :48:34.and sometimes it is best to allow the continuity to continue. That was

:48:35. > :48:43.a great shot. That was right on the post, except just the right-hand

:48:44. > :48:49.side of the bevelled edge. But what I am saying is that momentum swings

:48:50. > :48:52.and flows. There was twice when the Swedes intentionally should have

:48:53. > :48:55.been called for too many players on the ice armour which is a popular

:48:56. > :49:01.call in this tournament already, for both the men and women. Both

:49:02. > :49:05.officials have realised probably after they have allowed it to play

:49:06. > :49:11.out for a few seconds, maybe we should have called that. And it does

:49:12. > :49:15.register in the mind. As we look at the next call that is likely to

:49:16. > :49:18.happen, we have a bit of time left in this period. It will be

:49:19. > :49:23.interesting to see who does receive the next penalty. Plenty of ice

:49:24. > :49:36.hockey going on in the UK. There was a game last night. Do make sure you

:49:37. > :49:39.check out the BBC Sport website and BBC get inspired as well. There is

:49:40. > :49:44.more information on all of the games and how you can take part. You can

:49:45. > :49:48.take up the sport of ice hockey if you are interested. If you have

:49:49. > :49:54.never seen it before, it would be great to see you in a wink or an

:49:55. > :50:12.arena in the UK. -- in a wink or an arena.

:50:13. > :50:17.Landeskog finishes a hit after the whistle there. Any other day of the

:50:18. > :50:34.week, he may have found himself in trouble. Landeskog plays that sort

:50:35. > :50:41.of brand of hockey, doesn't he? I think the broken stick came from

:50:42. > :50:48.contact around the head area. You can see the big media bank inside

:50:49. > :50:53.the Bolshoi ice to. One Russian has suggested there are almost too many

:50:54. > :50:59.media here at the games. He wanted more fans to bring the atmosphere

:51:00. > :51:03.inside this desolate it. But boy, when the Russians play, these fans a

:51:04. > :51:08.good night. But there certainly are a lot of media covering the best in

:51:09. > :51:14.the world of ice hockey. Further down the road we have got ABC, the

:51:15. > :51:19.American broadcasters, who have a team of 2500 here to cover the

:51:20. > :51:28.games. That is an astonishing number. Well, considering it in Rio

:51:29. > :51:31.to to the BBC, it certainly is. How many do we have? We are under 100.

:51:32. > :51:47.Amazing. Can the Swiss respond after a period

:51:48. > :52:21.of pressure? They now have a good opportunity.

:52:22. > :52:38.Karlsson was quite inventive with his play. Great outlet pass. But the

:52:39. > :52:43.next was less good. The game is not flowing right now, from a Swiss

:52:44. > :52:49.perspective. In the first, they were all wheeling, all be linked. They

:52:50. > :52:55.were strong defensively, too. They have been put under the pump a

:52:56. > :53:04.little. That was another fine save by Berra. It was the control of the

:53:05. > :53:05.rebound rather than the save that was impressive. It really is,

:53:06. > :53:17.because he is such a big man. It is about how much you want that

:53:18. > :53:25.puck to be sat down when it hits your appointment.

:53:26. > :53:33.Some of the goal-tenders have a preference as to how they want their

:53:34. > :53:34.puck to respond. But Berra has been the best player in the second period

:53:35. > :53:56.for team Switzerland. These boards are very lively. The

:53:57. > :54:01.puck comes off at all angles. It is still a new ring. It has not been

:54:02. > :54:12.played in, and that can sometimes cause a few issues. Good defensive

:54:13. > :54:47.play again. It is a long change in the second

:54:48. > :54:52.period. This is where they are missing Henrik Zetterberg. I have

:54:53. > :54:56.not seen enough from Sweden to really carry the play, enough

:54:57. > :55:06.rushing forward to try and generate some fence. There have been some

:55:07. > :55:24.attempts, but not enough emotion coming from the Swedish line-up, top

:55:25. > :55:31.to bottom. The Swedes have to go back into their own end. Have the

:55:32. > :55:34.Swiss ridden the storm for you? I think they should be able to get

:55:35. > :55:40.through this period. They have done well. What gives me confidence is

:55:41. > :55:51.the way Berra is looking in the goal. His body language suggests

:55:52. > :55:55.everything. Now I second opportunity, and Berra is equal to

:55:56. > :56:10.it. Goodness gracious, that very nearly cost them. He is their best

:56:11. > :56:13.layer, and he has to be because of these loose plays that are going to

:56:14. > :56:22.come out of nowhere. You can't anticipate them, they just happen,

:56:23. > :56:37.as this one does. Berra one more time keeping the score level. The

:56:38. > :56:38.Swiss are bending, but they don't buckle as yet. The strain is pretty

:56:39. > :56:55.big, though. And the Swiss comeback with speed.

:56:56. > :56:58.Could there be a twist in this period? We are into the final

:56:59. > :57:16.minute. Patrik Berglund cordite remembers

:57:17. > :57:23.goal in the opening game against the Czech Republic. -- he had a

:57:24. > :57:35.tremendous goal. He had sheer power and determination. Landeskog, we

:57:36. > :57:39.have not seen any -- a lot from him offensively. Very dependable, but

:57:40. > :58:20.whether he is a gamebreaker remains to be seen.

:58:21. > :58:30.Maybe one last flash from the Swedes before the end of the period. Five

:58:31. > :58:47.seconds to go. Maybe that has been a feature of the

:58:48. > :58:51.Swedes throughout this game. Maybe they could be more selfish. Maybe

:58:52. > :58:56.they have overcompensated a little at times. But nobody has found a way

:58:57. > :59:02.to the net so far. The Swedes are outshooting the Swiss, but it

:59:03. > :59:06.remains 0-0 at the Bolshoi. remains 0-0 at the Bolshoi.

:59:07. > :59:10.JONATHAN EDWARDS: a tense match, and if you want to continue watching it,

:59:11. > :59:14.it will be alive on the red button and also on one of our six HD

:59:15. > :59:17.streams. Lots of ways to watch the Winter

:59:18. > :59:22.Olympics on the BBC. I have made my way is up the banks of the Bolshoi,

:59:23. > :59:27.as I am calling it. This is the best view of the Olympic Park, without

:59:28. > :59:31.question. You can see the park, the Iceberg Skating Palace and the

:59:32. > :59:35.mountains . No surprise that the American broadcaster NBC have got

:59:36. > :59:38.there today studio over there. It is one of their big set piece

:59:39. > :59:42.broadcasts of the games, with audience participation. Now we head

:59:43. > :59:47.to the mountains for women's aerial verifications. I can't help thinking

:59:48. > :59:51.that the aerials get a bit of a rum do now that the younger generation

:59:52. > :00:00.have come in with slopestyle and halfpipe. But these aerials really

:00:01. > :00:03.fabulous. Here is your guide. Aerials is one of the most

:00:04. > :00:09.spectacular of all the Olympic events. The competition takes place

:00:10. > :00:16.on a 25 degrees, 64 metres run. The game is for athletes to acrobatic

:00:17. > :00:21.manoeuvres to be performed from specially constructed ramp called

:00:22. > :00:26.kickers. Athletes can choose between kickers, depending on what is

:00:27. > :00:30.appropriate for their planned trip. Competitors are then thrown up to

:00:31. > :00:35.six metres in the air, a staggering 20 metres above the landing stop.

:00:36. > :00:45.20% of the total score depends on the take off. 50% in the air and 30%

:00:46. > :00:45.on the landing. Aerials are acrobatic, dramatic and breathtaking

:00:46. > :01:06.to watch. They waved from the American, Emily

:01:07. > :01:12.Cook. Probably her last Olympics. 35 years old. You have to wonder how

:01:13. > :01:19.their knees stand up to these landings over and over again. The

:01:20. > :01:35.landing is steep. It takes them of the sting out of third place, 80.01.

:01:36. > :01:41.The next in, the Belarussian competitor. It degree of difficulty,

:01:42. > :01:56.3.5. So coming in now. Oh, she has not managed to hold it.

:01:57. > :01:59.A bit messy in the air. We can hear the shouts from her coach trying to

:02:00. > :02:17.help her through that. A couple of weeks away from her 31st

:02:18. > :02:26.birthday. That see the replay. And there is the tucked flip. Opens up,

:02:27. > :02:31.start early into that next twist. The legs, not as straight, judges

:02:32. > :02:42.are looking for nice, clean lines. Good form. And she will have to use

:02:43. > :03:02.her qualification number two. Belarus with two athletes here, this

:03:03. > :03:11.is her fifth Olympics, that is good going. No medal, though.

:03:12. > :03:23.Getting steadily better, 10th in Torino, eighth in Vancouver,

:03:24. > :03:30.fifth... Actually the first one was in 19 oh in 1998. She is to improve

:03:31. > :03:39.on and eight. -- the first one was in Nagano. Seventh position in

:03:40. > :03:50.qualification, in the first run at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

:03:51. > :03:58.20 years old, Zhang Xin. Back double fall so putting the first double

:03:59. > :04:09.twist in the first flip. Oh, she has just stood up on the

:04:10. > :04:14.landing. You can hear the coaches shouting on the lip, they will be

:04:15. > :04:21.shouting either stretch or Paul. The louder or quieter they shout it,

:04:22. > :04:25.well, the louder they shouted, the more important it is quite a

:04:26. > :04:31.ferocious shout they made. She didn't really get it round.

:04:32. > :04:37.Already into the second flip by one point, so not as defined as the

:04:38. > :04:48.judges would have liked. The Chinese are a powerhouse of

:04:49. > :04:53.aerial skiing and what would normally be a battle of the nations

:04:54. > :05:03.in and aerials event, it is now China versus the rest of the world.

:05:04. > :05:08.Not uncommon to see all Chinese athletes, all four Chinese ladies in

:05:09. > :05:19.the top four. In what order, that remains to be seen. The last World

:05:20. > :05:36.Cup at the Valley in January was a Chinese lock-out. -- Deer Valley.

:05:37. > :05:42.The straight double flip, 2.6 degrees of difficulty the attempt

:05:43. > :05:50.here from Zhibek Arapbayeva. A different format here. So the final

:05:51. > :05:57.four will need to do three different jumps. So tactics come into play,

:05:58. > :06:04.when to do your biggest tricks. This is only the opening round. I, nearly

:06:05. > :06:13.in the back seat but she punches the air, she is happy with that.

:06:14. > :06:22.Laid out backflip into tucked flip. So the five judges all looking for

:06:23. > :06:26.good execution. Incidentally, the take-offs, they are all hand shaped.

:06:27. > :06:48.By different nation's coaches. A 30 degrees in run, pretty steep.

:06:49. > :06:56.Hitting those kickers anywhere between 15 and 65 kilometres per

:06:57. > :07:01.hour. -- 50 and 65. The take off to the knuckle, the Knole in aerial

:07:02. > :07:05.skiing, is eight metres. And actually talking about it being

:07:06. > :07:11.handbuilt, the angles are checked with a protractor just to make sure

:07:12. > :07:20.everything is spot on! It is quite a science. Skiers going through

:07:21. > :07:30.massive G-force is in the kicker. Zhanbota Aldabergenova, and that

:07:31. > :07:37.would cause a spellchecker some problems. They laid out backflip and

:07:38. > :07:50.then into a backflip with a full twist. 18 years old.

:07:51. > :07:56.Judges looking for the ankles to be nice and tight together which they

:07:57. > :08:02.are, the skis parallel, nice straight legs and straight lines,

:08:03. > :08:10.finishing each of the flips and the twists, making it nice and defined.

:08:11. > :08:17.Goes a little early into the twist, she can see the landing for the

:08:18. > :08:23.whole last flip. And she put the landing down, arms nice and forward

:08:24. > :08:44.to stop getting thrown back. Let's see what the judges made of it.

:08:45. > :08:54.The judgement is taking its time to come in. Five judges. There it is,

:08:55. > :09:19.74.82. That puts her in fourth place. Next

:09:20. > :09:23.to drop, from the Ukraine, Anastasiya Novosad. Laid out flip

:09:24. > :09:42.full. Oh, no. And other, to let everybody

:09:43. > :09:45.know she is OK. You can see how she tucks her legs and has to tuck her

:09:46. > :09:56.legs into speed up the last flip, coming up a little short.

:09:57. > :10:07.She goes a little early into that. Actually, it's not too bad. But yes,

:10:08. > :10:11.attacking the knees in. The judges will be looking to see the skiers

:10:12. > :10:15.landing, about two metres down if possible. They don't want them

:10:16. > :10:20.landing right at the top of the jump, a nice, big amplitude is what

:10:21. > :10:23.they want with nice, big lines. Bending at the waist. She couldn't

:10:24. > :10:56.hold it. Nice little wave. Ukraine have four

:10:57. > :11:08.athletes but whether they can scrape a medal here or not, I'm not sure.

:11:09. > :11:18.56.84, that is 12th place. She will look to improve on that in the

:11:19. > :11:25.second qualification. Mengtao from China, back laid out, full, full.

:11:26. > :11:40.3.8, the degree of difficulty. One of the biggest we have seen.

:11:41. > :11:55.Oh, just a little slow on the final flip. She had to bring her legs into

:11:56. > :12:00.a crutch to bring her in. It is not going to plan at the moment for the

:12:01. > :12:07.Chinese team. But there is a smile on her face. Sixth in Vancouver, so

:12:08. > :12:17.there's the first. There's the second. And the third, her legs,

:12:18. > :12:21.part. And the judges are looking for the ankles to be locked together,

:12:22. > :12:26.nice parallel skis and she bends the legs to speed up the rotation. And

:12:27. > :12:29.the arms by the side. If they go above the head, they are slowing

:12:30. > :12:34.themselves down and figure by their side and bring their lex up, they

:12:35. > :12:42.are speeding themselves up. -- bring their legs up. The landing does look

:12:43. > :12:45.a bit dirty but it is actually pine needles, this brink will pine

:12:46. > :12:50.needles onto it to help with the definition. So when the skiers are

:12:51. > :12:51.flipping through the air like that, they can spot the landing in between

:12:52. > :13:19.each flip. Sixth place for the two. The silver

:13:20. > :13:25.medallist from Vancouver, one of the heavyweights Tata from China. She is

:13:26. > :13:36.going for a back full, double full. -- Li Nina from China.

:13:37. > :13:47.Very, very solid. She is punching the air and she is happy with that.

:13:48. > :13:56.Will of the best landings we have seen. But like one of the best. Her

:13:57. > :14:00.legs looked to be... The skis try not to cross in the air, the

:14:01. > :14:05.centrifugal force is probably like being a fighter pilot. The skis were

:14:06. > :14:14.a bit squirrelly on the take-off but that was actually very solid.

:14:15. > :14:23.She doesn't really bend too much in the knees on the landing so it will

:14:24. > :14:32.be a good score for the landing there.

:14:33. > :14:40.The coaches are helping her through and they are happy with that.

:14:41. > :14:48.They don't really want their knees to bend past 90 degrees and they

:14:49. > :14:55.don't want the chest to go to low into the legs. Second place for Li

:14:56. > :15:07.Nina, 86.71. Currently in the lead, Ashley Caldwell from the USA. 101

:15:08. > :15:18.points, she is well in the lead. A good cheer from the crowd, from

:15:19. > :15:36.the Australians because it is Danielle Scott. We are just waiting

:15:37. > :15:40.for official confirmation here. I have got a different person down,

:15:41. > :15:45.but I believe that person on the screen was Danielle Scott. No, the

:15:46. > :15:50.camera men have got it wrong. It is Assoli Slivets. It is a Russian.

:15:51. > :16:06.That was the cheer. She came fourth in Vancouver. How good it would it

:16:07. > :16:13.be to win a medal here on home soil? Ooh, legs open a bit, but not too

:16:14. > :16:20.bad. A flip with a pike in the middle. A pike is what you will see

:16:21. > :16:28.on a diving board into a fall. It is the final flip and spin and the

:16:29. > :16:37.final flip. A good cheer from the crowd. They like what they have

:16:38. > :16:49.seen. She is 31 years old. She lives in Minsk.

:16:50. > :16:58.Legs a bit wide open at the end. They are looking to keep those

:16:59. > :17:18.ankles locked together. Let's see what the judges make of

:17:19. > :17:26.it. Qualification run two will follow this immediately.

:17:27. > :17:37.She got fifth in Torino. Fourth in Vancouver. A medal here would be the

:17:38. > :18:29.icing on the cake. Two backflips, two twists. Lovely.

:18:30. > :18:37.Really nice, really clean. The landing was beautiful. Not the

:18:38. > :18:55.highest degree of difficulty on this, 3.1. But higher than a lot.

:18:56. > :19:03.Really nice. The chest doesn't go too low, doesn't compress into the

:19:04. > :19:13.knees, which is good on landing. You can see those ankles, perfectly

:19:14. > :19:28.parallel. Really good landing. This will be interesting. She is happy

:19:29. > :19:37.with that. You have air and form judges, and then you have landing

:19:38. > :19:58.judges. She got 2.9s across the board for the landing. In she comes,

:19:59. > :20:10.just 18 years of age. Going for a back full tuck.

:20:11. > :20:21.That is a backflip with a full twist in it. And then a tuck to flip to

:20:22. > :20:32.finish. The skis got really loose on the take-off. She was already

:20:33. > :21:03.tucking going into that second flip. She has overcooked that a bit.

:21:04. > :21:23.Her best was a 20th place in 2013. Next, another of the Australians.

:21:24. > :21:41.Samantha Wells is 24. And she holds onto it. Well, Australia have a big

:21:42. > :21:56.women's aerial programme that produced gold in 2002 and bronze in

:21:57. > :21:58.2006. And gold in 2010. They have got four women competing in 2014.

:21:59. > :22:07.Three of those are performing doubles. Lydia Lassila, who has not

:22:08. > :22:17.had the best start here, fell over, I believe.

:22:18. > :22:27.Down in 13th place, the current Olympic champion. She has

:22:28. > :22:47.potentially four triple somersaults. And she goes into qualification

:22:48. > :22:58.number two. Right, get ready for the cheer, because the final skier of

:22:59. > :23:01.the run is number one here at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park this

:23:02. > :23:03.evening for the ladies' aerial qualifications. It is Alexandra

:23:04. > :23:23.Orlova. 16 years of age, incredible. Straight backflip. Then the next

:23:24. > :23:26.backflip should have a full twist. The judges are looking for this to

:23:27. > :23:33.be nice and defined between each one, straight lines. That was pretty

:23:34. > :24:00.good. She lives in Moscow. Nice and

:24:01. > :24:07.perpendicular to the take-off. Starts a bit early on the twist. The

:24:08. > :24:12.judges will try and pick these skiers apart as best they can. But

:24:13. > :24:45.nice landing. Arms kept forward. She has definitely got time on her

:24:46. > :24:50.side at 16. Qualification number one is done and dusted. We are going to

:24:51. > :24:57.go straight into number two. At the moment, Ashley Caldwell from the

:24:58. > :24:59.USA, Nina Li, Danielle Scott, Emily Cook and Assoli Slivets are all

:25:00. > :25:12.going through as it stands. JONATHAN EDWARDS: to continue

:25:13. > :25:17.watching the women's aerials qualifications, that is on one of

:25:18. > :25:21.our six live HD streams now online. Lots of ways to watch the Winter

:25:22. > :25:32.Olympics on the BBC. If by Arthur is your thing, the women's 50 15km

:25:33. > :25:36.event is online. If you miss a shot, the penalty is a very harsh one

:25:37. > :25:41.minute. The men's ice hockey is also continuing. Sweden versus

:25:42. > :25:45.Switzerland is very close. That is also available online and on the red

:25:46. > :25:49.button. Now we head to the Sanki Sliding Center for run two of the

:25:50. > :25:52.men's skeleton. Both written and Bromley and Dom Parsons had very

:25:53. > :25:58.good first runs, so let's head up there now and join our commentators.

:25:59. > :26:08.Now, we have got Kristan Bromley to go next. John Fairbairn is in the

:26:09. > :26:16.lead. The Briton is there with his brother. So close to breaking that

:26:17. > :26:29.figure. There is Shelley Rudman, his partner. This has got to be a good

:26:30. > :26:34.run to take him into the lead. He looks sharp. Doctor eyes, as he is

:26:35. > :26:56.known, over 40 years old now. Looking like a really good, clean

:26:57. > :27:01.run here. Really clean lines. We have not seen a single hit so far.

:27:02. > :27:13.Kristan has really come back fighting. A bit of a clip on that

:27:14. > :27:20.wobbly straight. The gap was getting bigger, but it has come down a bit.

:27:21. > :27:27.He is still in the lead. Oh! That was close, to have lost it in that

:27:28. > :27:33.one corner. That was in a vital uphill section. That speed would

:27:34. > :27:39.have just disappeared for him not to have carried it through those last

:27:40. > :27:49.few corners. Mike goodness, if it had not been for that one clip, he

:27:50. > :27:55.would have been under 47 seconds. He was still a bit high there. He has

:27:56. > :28:00.not come off early enough. He knows it is coming, get his body ready.

:28:01. > :28:04.You can see his shoulders lifting. That hit was very early on, and you

:28:05. > :28:08.can see the sled skidding as he gets it under control. That would have

:28:09. > :28:13.cost him. Go away overnight, study that, look at the video, and he will

:28:14. > :28:19.hopefully not do the same tomorrow. We have another British competitor,

:28:20. > :28:22.Dominic Parsons, and boy, can he run. Only 100 of a second's

:28:23. > :28:29.difference between him and Kristan Bromley. What a power start!

:28:30. > :29:07.Magnificent. Oh, a bit of a hit, but not as ugly

:29:08. > :29:22.as Romilly's was. Oh, no! That was a bad hit. He went in a bit too late.

:29:23. > :29:34.That really was a dramatic change of fortune. He could have been so much

:29:35. > :29:39.better. He made the exact same mistake on his first run as well,

:29:40. > :29:45.but that time was harder. I know he will be really frustrated with

:29:46. > :29:54.himself. I hope he can now go away and look again. He just got a couple

:29:55. > :30:00.of things wrong. His start was magnificent. If he just corrects

:30:01. > :30:04.those mistakes, everything should be good. It is just that bottom bit

:30:05. > :30:13.that has to get better. Alexander Krockel of Germany now,

:30:14. > :30:33.ready to go. Maybe a couple of strides too far

:30:34. > :30:38.but nevertheless, he is away. Not as fast as Dominic Parsons. With each

:30:39. > :30:42.and every person who goes out, they have a slight advantage on the first

:30:43. > :30:52.run. We only have seven more men to go after this and Kristan Bromley

:30:53. > :30:57.could be putting himself in the top six here. His run was really good.

:30:58. > :31:05.The next athletes, they perfect and continue with their run or whether

:31:06. > :31:12.they will make some mistakes. the German is slightly behind here and a

:31:13. > :31:20.bit sideways here. He hit out from 14 to 15. Alexander Krockel coming

:31:21. > :31:28.along quickly and that is our cross the line, .31 of a second down. That

:31:29. > :31:32.is a long way down. The Canadian jacket, and Kristan Bromley on the

:31:33. > :31:38.right, and still in the leader 's box, still first equal, the German

:31:39. > :31:44.Alexander Krockel did not do particularly well there. No, he made

:31:45. > :31:49.more little mistakes all the way down and in the bottom, very high

:31:50. > :31:54.there and he has got to drop down and not so bad because it controls

:31:55. > :31:57.it well but then it is a knock-on effect, very late into the next

:31:58. > :32:03.corner which means he is high and falls out and hits.

:32:04. > :32:11.Frank Rommel now, the German, 57.19 in the first run. So close to going

:32:12. > :32:28.under 56 seconds. Here we go. Will there be an

:32:29. > :32:34.improvement this time? For those men inside the top eight, he has got the

:32:35. > :32:41.slowest start. 11th fastest we have seen so far, so he has got the lead

:32:42. > :32:49.on John Fairbairn but that is no surprise.

:32:50. > :32:56.He is bleeding away time and he has not got the best start but the

:32:57. > :33:02.Germans have got really good research and development projects,

:33:03. > :33:06.with all of their sleds. It is whether he can hold onto his

:33:07. > :33:10.position now. He has got a good top speed at that point on the course.

:33:11. > :33:19.He crashed into the side a bit but no real mishap. This will go right

:33:20. > :33:32.down to the wire, pulling away again.

:33:33. > :33:40.Just under 57 seconds for the first time, that is a good result. Frank

:33:41. > :33:43.Koppite lines at the bottom of the track, he just needs to sort out the

:33:44. > :33:48.top section where you have got the speed going into it but you know

:33:49. > :33:52.where Dominic was high up, not quite as high here, he takes a tap but it

:33:53. > :33:58.doesn't affect him quite so much. You can see the sled parallel moving

:33:59. > :34:02.forward. He is not hanging over the sled, the Irishman who went earlier

:34:03. > :34:07.on, the chunky guy with big shoulders, hanging over the edge,

:34:08. > :34:12.they dig in and they can cause massive friction when you hit

:34:13. > :34:22.against the ice. We have just seen a temp three macro go under 57 seconds

:34:23. > :34:27.-- seen a sled. This is Tomass Dukurs, already in the lead.

:34:28. > :34:36.A lightning start and he carries an overall advantage. He has extended

:34:37. > :34:40.it with a power start. Very smooth so far. When the athletes go down,

:34:41. > :34:44.they are listening to what they sound like, what the ice sounds like

:34:45. > :34:47.and that can give you a lot of protection as to how well you have

:34:48. > :34:52.done. Whether you skid and you can hear it through your helmet and that

:34:53. > :34:55.is what they are listening out for. He has not got his helmet down, you

:34:56. > :35:15.cannot hear any toe taps. Still in the lead but dropping all

:35:16. > :35:18.the time. Frank Rommel was going faster there, losing time badly

:35:19. > :35:23.through the final corners. That is a lot closer than it should have been.

:35:24. > :35:27.I am very surprised by that, that was a lovely run. It looked really

:35:28. > :35:32.clean but that shows how Frank Rommel still have the speed coming

:35:33. > :35:40.through some of the corners. The track is not degrading, is it? When

:35:41. > :35:44.you see the lower athletes in the bottom 20 suddenly putting down a

:35:45. > :35:48.lot better times, it is hard to tell. And as I physically go and see

:35:49. > :35:58.the track, it doesn't look like it is frosting up. And the four man

:35:59. > :36:06.bobsleigh really carves up the track and that does not happen so much

:36:07. > :36:09.with the skeleton. Here is the first man and 57 seconds, a great

:36:10. > :36:11.favourite of the crowd, Sergei Chudinov, as he is in fifth place at

:36:12. > :36:27.the moment. He really is being given a great

:36:28. > :36:35.sendoff here, his score, he got a fantastic score last time, and a

:36:36. > :36:43.4.66 start, not bad. He did not start quite as quickly as Tomass

:36:44. > :36:48.Dukurs, but it will be close. We must see what time he gets. You can

:36:49. > :36:54.see him tapping his feet but a really clean line coming through.

:36:55. > :37:01.That was a very high corner but he still gets the angle coming out. And

:37:02. > :37:08.it is clean. I think he may well have just nicked the woodwork.

:37:09. > :37:24.It is all about how extreme you can be. He is gaining in time all the

:37:25. > :37:28.time. .07 of a second ahead of Dukurs and that is magnificent from

:37:29. > :37:35.Sergei Chudinov. Just what the crowd required. Still got four sliders to

:37:36. > :37:42.come, so Chudinov has put himself in a good position.

:37:43. > :37:50.I thought that would have been a quick run, it was slower than his

:37:51. > :37:53.first run which made me feel like he made the same mistakes but I think

:37:54. > :38:02.he clipped the wall when he tried to take it really high.

:38:03. > :38:14.He might have to check his suit to see if his scuffed his arm. There is

:38:15. > :38:20.the leader, or the guide in second place, Martins Dukurs, and this is

:38:21. > :38:26.John Daly of the United States. Surprise fourth place at the moment.

:38:27. > :38:31.He is a power starter. It is in the mix at 4.64 seconds. John Daly

:38:32. > :38:38.doesn't just want to go in the lead, he wants to put pressure on

:38:39. > :38:44.the next three men. His compatriot is in the bronze medal position at

:38:45. > :38:48.the moment. A bit of height but a good slide so far, he is using the

:38:49. > :38:52.pressure, working well and steering it and seems very confident on the

:38:53. > :39:00.sled and at the moment, this is a lovely run.

:39:01. > :39:03.He took a slight hit but it does not seem to have done his speed and

:39:04. > :39:20.harm. -- any harm. .44 seconds ahead and I would not be

:39:21. > :39:27.surprised if he stayed in the lead for a fraction more, that is

:39:28. > :39:33.brilliant. Excellent. That was awesome. Look at the joy there, his

:39:34. > :39:38.coach has seen that and you can see the joy on his face. To be 0.44

:39:39. > :39:47.seconds ahead, that is an incredible time to have got down. He looks

:39:48. > :39:52.great when he does a power start. He does not look as cumbersome and he

:39:53. > :39:57.is bent double in that position. Outside of the medals before but

:39:58. > :40:05.this time, I think you may have done it. Matthew Antoine is next. Also of

:40:06. > :40:12.the USA. I wonder if he realises just how much she has got on John

:40:13. > :40:27.Daly. -- how much time he has got. Dukurs next, he is chasing. To --

:40:28. > :40:39.Alexander Tretiakov is after that. Exactly the same start is the first

:40:40. > :40:43.run. He is a slower starter than John Daly, already evens with him

:40:44. > :40:48.and I thought it could have been worse or behind straightaway at the

:40:49. > :40:55.start,. He has already stopped the rot. This is good so far. Hopefully

:40:56. > :41:02.he will not have watched the times before, you often think, do you look

:41:03. > :41:09.at the start times at the end times? You have just got the fight in

:41:10. > :41:26.YouTube wants to do better. -- fight in you and you want to do better.

:41:27. > :41:39.He 0.2 seconds behind, John Daly is the new leader still. Two men to go,

:41:40. > :41:43.John Daly has probably put himself in the bronze medal position

:41:44. > :41:52.overnight. It looks like it, still a good lead to have. You to see how

:41:53. > :41:56.many mistakes the next sliders make but they put down a smashing run and

:41:57. > :42:02.the are there for him. A bit of a skid and you say that will have cost

:42:03. > :42:05.him. That is all uphill and I walked the track and it is more of an

:42:06. > :42:10.uphill gradient than you would ever think from watching on TV and that

:42:11. > :42:12.will have taken away his time. Just couldn't sing there, Alexandr

:42:13. > :42:47.Trifonov, -- Alexander Tretiakov. Dukurs is going for only one colour,

:42:48. > :42:52.gold. He will want to put pressure on the Russian. Look at how low his

:42:53. > :42:57.head is a scraping the eyes, keeping as possible. One centimetre lower

:42:58. > :43:05.than anyone else and that is big in terms of aero dynamics -- scraping

:43:06. > :43:08.the ice. He has not taken a hit like anyone else. He is almost one second

:43:09. > :43:28.ahead. 56.37, absolutely superb. Dukurs, a

:43:29. > :43:34.bronze medal and now a gold and silver battle. A great run thereby

:43:35. > :43:39.Dukurs. Not as quick as his first one so he probably could have been

:43:40. > :43:44.better... But John Daly watching on there, if somebody overtakes you but

:43:45. > :43:48.you look at their lines and think that it was beautiful, then you are

:43:49. > :43:56.still happy. Compared with everyone else, he had the perfect run. You

:43:57. > :44:04.don't mind handing over that position if you know the person has

:44:05. > :44:11.had a really clean run. Alexander Tretiakov, he got off to a brilliant

:44:12. > :44:18.start last time. He sped to 55 .95 which is a new track record. That

:44:19. > :44:19.was absolutely superb. If you can do the same again, it will be

:44:20. > :44:28.remarkable. He has equalled his start record and

:44:29. > :44:34.a third of a second up on Martins Dukurs. I don't think anyone in

:44:35. > :44:38.skeleton extended this to happen after just one run and they start.

:44:39. > :44:44.This is tremendous by the Russian Rocket.

:44:45. > :44:51.He went on to the corner early and he clipped onto it but he is back on

:44:52. > :44:53.track and he is taking the high line with a great angle and the speed is

:44:54. > :45:06.there. Nobody has been anywhere near that

:45:07. > :45:11.figure. He will have over half a second lead going into the second

:45:12. > :45:16.day and Dukurs has a second on bronze. This is unbelievable. You

:45:17. > :45:23.can have three or four men within a 10th of a second. Goodness me,

:45:24. > :45:32.56.04. That is fantastic. His first run, 55.95, his second, 56.04. What

:45:33. > :45:38.a combine start. That was brilliant. Yes, that is a perfection of

:45:39. > :45:42.skeleton sliding right there. You could not have as more of him. He

:45:43. > :45:46.knows the track like the back of his hand. He has got the home advantage

:45:47. > :45:50.of having many more runs but you must still go out there and perform

:45:51. > :46:25.on the day and the pressure of a nation on you,

:46:26. > :46:28.hit, luckily. But I can keep learning. We are getting faster in

:46:29. > :46:34.the week, and the problems are coming in different places, so we

:46:35. > :46:37.have to adjust everyone. What will your target before run three and

:46:38. > :46:42.four tomorrow? Correcting the mistakes from today. If I get into

:46:43. > :46:46.the top six, I will be pleased. Are you going to watch Shelley Rudman

:46:47. > :46:56.now? Probably not. We have got to get back and eat. Shelley will

:46:57. > :47:04.understand that. But I will be with her in spirit and thought. Dom, what

:47:05. > :47:13.was your first Olympic experience like? To be honest, I am not sure

:47:14. > :47:17.yet. I think I have been in a bubble for the last week or so, just trying

:47:18. > :47:23.to make sure I do everything right. I don't think it has dawned on me

:47:24. > :47:28.yet how big an occasion it is. Do you enjoy it, at least? Yet,

:47:29. > :47:33.massively. I always enjoy racing. The more pressure there is, the more

:47:34. > :47:37.I enjoy it. How do you assess your performance from those first two

:47:38. > :47:42.runs? I am happy with how I went down to corner 11. Everyone seems to

:47:43. > :47:46.have a big thump coming out of there. Yeah, in training it was a

:47:47. > :47:50.choice between fighting and skidding, or taking a hit. So I was

:47:51. > :47:56.trying to take a lighter hit, but it was not so light today. 14 and 15

:47:57. > :48:01.have not gone so well. Stuff to improve on for tomorrow. You are

:48:02. > :48:05.loitering around 10th place. I realise there are still guys coming

:48:06. > :48:10.down behind you. What do you expect tomorrow? I am hoping I can pick up

:48:11. > :48:18.a few spots. If I can do a good run, I will shine in the times. I will

:48:19. > :48:28.keep an eye on the times and see what happens. Good luck tomorrow.

:48:29. > :48:32.Well, excitement building at the Sanki Sliding Center. There is Lizzy

:48:33. > :48:35.Yarnold and Shelley Rudman. You can see Shelley Rudman putting an arm

:48:36. > :48:39.around her and tried to calm her down a bit. Surely won a silver

:48:40. > :48:44.medal in Turin, so she knows about it. But it is different when you are

:48:45. > :48:45.leading and you are the favourite for the gold medal, perhaps our only

:48:46. > :49:01.gold medal at these games. Lizzie will be going at about

:49:02. > :49:05.4:40pm, and then return to BBC One for the final run and hopefully a

:49:06. > :49:10.gold medal for Lizzy Yarnold and Team GB. Now we head to the Laura

:49:11. > :49:14.cross-country and biathlon centre for the women's 15km biathlon. This

:49:15. > :49:18.is the one for the purists. If you miss a shot, you have a minute

:49:19. > :49:22.penalty. There is frustration here for the Russian sofa. The two gold

:49:23. > :49:26.medals that have been one have both been taken for athletes who could

:49:27. > :49:33.have provide for Russia, but chose to compete for other countries. Rob

:49:34. > :49:38.Walker describes the action. Kaiser Macarena Reyes in third place

:49:39. > :49:44.at the end of her third visit to the range. Here she comes for the final

:49:45. > :49:49.time. The Finn is definitely fancied to get in the mix here. But they are

:49:50. > :49:57.all chasing Dahmer achiever at the moment. Even if Kaisa Makarainen

:49:58. > :50:19.shoes clear here, she has some work to do on the last three kilometres.

:50:20. > :50:23.The Finn needs to block out the noise of the crowd and the context

:50:24. > :50:31.and the fact that it could be a medal, but she is unable to do so.

:50:32. > :50:37.Oh, dear me. The tension just creeping in to the Finn's campaign.

:50:38. > :50:47.Two minutes, and it is all over in terms of the medals for Makarainen

:50:48. > :51:06.after a fabulous effort. You can't take your eyes off this for one

:51:07. > :51:15.second. Olga Zaitseva comes into the finish. Two wonderful gold medals in

:51:16. > :51:25.the sprint in Vancouver and a great title defence here in Sochi. She

:51:26. > :51:39.goes into the lead. But how costly will those two misses proved to be?

:51:40. > :51:44.Domracheva, wearing number 13. She is miles clear. Of course that would

:51:45. > :51:50.be the case, because she was 13 on the course. Even the smooth skier

:51:51. > :52:10.Domracheva is breathing really heavily. Remember, on the exit of

:52:11. > :52:13.the third shoot, this athlete was in third-place, having shot clean. Can

:52:14. > :52:35.the athlete from the Czech Republic had herself an opportunity?

:52:36. > :52:54.I bet the coach can hardly watch. No! Oh, so often it unravels towards

:52:55. > :52:57.the end. It is so difficult for these I athletes not to think about

:52:58. > :53:02.the context and the possible rewards. Those who watch

:53:03. > :53:10.cross-country will be familiar with this athlete. Two medals between

:53:11. > :53:16.Salt Lake City and Vancouver. Transferred to biathlon because she

:53:17. > :53:21.felt she needed fresh challenges and motivation. She will have to go 19

:53:22. > :53:31.out of 20 now. In the space of just two seconds, oh, my word, in the

:53:32. > :53:39.space of ten seconds, it has gone from potential to damage limitation.

:53:40. > :53:45.But here comes Darius Dahmer achiever. Gold in the pursuit. Is it

:53:46. > :53:50.going to be a second title here, under the spotlights of Sochi? Born

:53:51. > :53:59.in Russia, now competing for Belarus. She has been sheer class

:54:00. > :54:02.here today. Nobody can match her speed, and she is laying down the

:54:03. > :54:09.benchmark for the rest to follow. She acknowledges the crowd. She

:54:10. > :54:16.knows that was really good. She does not yet know whether it will be

:54:17. > :54:23.enough for a second gold medal. It was bronze four years ago for the

:54:24. > :54:33.woman they called dasher. Is that going to be good enough? To upgrade

:54:34. > :54:42.to the best position of all? Her skiing was absolutely superb. One

:54:43. > :55:00.miss, and that may well be good enough for the gold medal. Shoot

:55:01. > :55:07.clean, and Soukalova has a chance at the podium. Oh, no! What a costly

:55:08. > :55:18.error. Soukalova is also wonderful on the skis when she gets going. Two

:55:19. > :55:26.misses, though. She could well still exist the range quicker than her

:55:27. > :55:35.opponents, but there are lot of women left out that course. She is

:55:36. > :55:42.in fourth place now, but she will have an anxious wait. That extra

:55:43. > :55:49.minute could be very costly. This is the veteran from Romania. She has

:55:50. > :56:00.been around a long time. Flag bearer here in Sochi. The weighting will go

:56:01. > :56:05.on for Darya Domracheva. And the more that crossed the line, the more

:56:06. > :56:18.she will start to believe and start to dream of that second consecutive

:56:19. > :56:31.gold. Gregorin, coming in for her final effort at the range. The

:56:32. > :56:53.Slovenian already has one bronze medal. From the pursuit. And you

:56:54. > :57:00.could see the pause. It is so difficult to maintain your composure

:57:01. > :57:04.as Tora Berger, the reigning world champion and the defending Winter

:57:05. > :57:10.Olympics champion knows, to her cost. Her brilliance on her day --

:57:11. > :57:23.she is brilliant on her day, but she has not been able to match

:57:24. > :57:56.Domracheva this evening in Sochi. Oh, no, not one, but two misses! One

:57:57. > :58:06.gold already for Kuzmina here. And was she starting to think about a

:58:07. > :58:10.second medal? Oh, dear. A look of exasperation. Lifts her head away

:58:11. > :58:16.from the rival. Oh, my goodness me. I can't believe that. One miss

:58:17. > :58:21.across three efforts in the range, and all of a sudden, what looked as

:58:22. > :58:36.though it could be a possible bronze or silver has completely unravelled.

:58:37. > :58:40.Three misses for the Finnish woman, Makarainen. She has had eight top

:58:41. > :58:47.tens and four podium appearances on the World Cup circuit this year. But

:58:48. > :58:52.you cannot necessarily expect to take a gold medal with three misses.

:58:53. > :59:08.She moves into second place at the moment. Skardino, driving for the

:59:09. > :59:20.line. 17th in the sprint. This is going to be better, much better.

:59:21. > :59:26.Belarus first and second. Can Skardino hold onto the silver medal?

:59:27. > :59:30.Darya Domracheva is absolutely delighted. She had a bigger smile

:59:31. > :59:34.when she saw her team-mate coming across the line in second than there

:59:35. > :59:54.was when her own race came to an end. Semerenko's last time on the

:59:55. > :59:58.range. She's 15 out of 15, and dare I whisper it, if she shoots claimed,

:59:59. > :00:03.she has a chance. I can't believe it! Again, Semerenko was brilliant,

:00:04. > :00:12.and she has missed with the first two shots in the range. Bronze in

:00:13. > :00:18.the sprint. She did not miss a single target. It looked as though

:00:19. > :00:31.her I was in, and she suddenly got three misses. No wonder there is a

:00:32. > :00:35.look of exasperation on her face. It is often the most difficult of

:00:36. > :00:38.sports to predict the outcome because the psychological pressure

:00:39. > :00:48.when they come into the shooting range for the last time is almost

:00:49. > :00:54.unimaginable. Gasparin, second-fastest time coming out of

:00:55. > :01:03.the shooting range on the fourth occasion. She was 1.08 down on

:01:04. > :01:16.Domracheva. Skardino occupies the silver medal position at the moment.

:01:17. > :01:27.Bronzes Makarainen. -- bronze is. And she is pairing into the finish.

:01:28. > :01:32.-- powering. A good effort for the woman from the Czech Republic. She

:01:33. > :01:38.moves into the bronze medal position relegating Makarainen it down to

:01:39. > :01:48.fourth. Exhausted, physically and mentally, she has left it all out on

:01:49. > :02:01.the course. Elise Ringen, 29th in the World Cup standings. She was a

:02:02. > :02:06.late replacement. The start sheet reading her name was only released

:02:07. > :02:11.at 3:30pm this afternoon, maybe not enough time to get nervous for the

:02:12. > :02:16.young Norwegian. That is good, 15 out of 15. Could it be a masterful

:02:17. > :02:33.piece of late selection by the Norwegian coaches? Pidhrushna. The

:02:34. > :02:41.Ukrainian, she will not get a medal. Only the one mess, a great effort

:02:42. > :02:47.from the Ukrainian. -- mess. Disappointed with her sprint

:02:48. > :03:00.performance. No medal, but it bodes well for the relay. Gasparin, coming

:03:01. > :03:08.home, and she has produced a simply stunning performance here. Lining up

:03:09. > :03:16.on what was already an historic day. She and her two sisters competing

:03:17. > :03:21.here. She is going to be way in time Skardino's time. Selina Gasparin

:03:22. > :03:34.moves into the silver medal position. Soukalova, a really good

:03:35. > :03:45.effort, just missing out on the podium.

:03:46. > :03:58.Domracheva, she has one hand on a second Winter Olympic gold-medal.

:03:59. > :04:07.Vitkova just waving to the camera. There are exhausted bodies and minds

:04:08. > :04:11.here. The talented German youngster, three gold medals at the world

:04:12. > :04:22.junior title. Very good recovery from an early

:04:23. > :04:52.miss. Gregorin, she will not be adding to

:04:53. > :04:58.her bronze medal from the pursuit. But it is turning out to be a good

:04:59. > :05:11.Winter Games for the Slovenians. Gasping for air, driving for the

:05:12. > :05:20.line. Just the one miss for Gregorin. 33 years of age.

:05:21. > :05:35.Good effort. At the moment she is inside the top ten. It is still

:05:36. > :05:44.Domracheva, Gasparin, and Skardino. That makes it gold and bronze for

:05:45. > :05:53.Belarus. Domracheva has got her hands on a second gold medal here,

:05:54. > :06:06.just as Martin Fourcade did in the men's individual yesterday.

:06:07. > :06:11.Oberhofer. Bitterly disappointed. She knows where the problems came.

:06:12. > :06:34.Reflective smile for the camera. Kuzmina, she was right in the mix

:06:35. > :06:39.until that last disastrous set of five in the range. But she will go

:06:40. > :06:50.home with a gold-medal, just as she did in Cuba, and we do still have

:06:51. > :06:57.other evidence to come -- Vancouver. Three missed shots in the last

:06:58. > :07:10.range. Brought her opportunity for more medals in this particular race

:07:11. > :07:15.to an end. 15th place. An exhausting day, not just for the competitors,

:07:16. > :07:22.but for the coaches, the waxing technicians, the psychologists, huge

:07:23. > :07:25.teams required to help these women produce their very best under the

:07:26. > :07:35.most testing physical and mental conditions. There is no big prize

:07:36. > :07:42.and a Winter Olympic gold medal, and coming into the range, knowing you

:07:43. > :07:46.have got to deliver, tests mental reserves of even the likes of

:07:47. > :07:57.Kuzmina, which is why it can be so falling to watch. -- enthralling.

:07:58. > :08:11.They are clearly happy with their charges so far. Semerenko, another

:08:12. > :08:21.one who came unstuck in that last range. Picking up a bronze in the

:08:22. > :08:25.sprint. A bronze medallist in the world championship in this event,

:08:26. > :08:34.with this distance, three years ago. She was a definite potential

:08:35. > :08:44.medallist. But it is Domracheva, Gasparin, Skardino, gold, silver and

:08:45. > :08:47.bronze at the moment. Looking back down at the leaderboards. We have a

:08:48. > :08:56.huge number of women out on the course. There is nobody at the

:08:57. > :09:02.moment looking further back down the field than those going through the

:09:03. > :09:07.shooting range for the second and third times, there isn't anybody who

:09:08. > :09:22.is pushing close at the moment. It is agonising to see Olympic

:09:23. > :09:29.dreams go in the second. That is the early action today. It has turned

:09:30. > :09:33.out to be a good day for Switzerland. We saw in the super

:09:34. > :09:44.combined a little bit earlier on they took the gold. The defending

:09:45. > :09:51.champion, his second gold medal of these games, finished ahead of the

:09:52. > :09:57.Swedish pair. In terms of the Brits, Andrew Young finished 37th, with

:09:58. > :10:04.Andrew Musgrave in 44th and Callum Smith in 60 Seventh Place. Bringing

:10:05. > :10:09.up the rear he became the first Winter Olympian and he crossed the

:10:10. > :10:17.finish line ten minutes behind anybody else. Time for some curling,

:10:18. > :10:20.there is curling every day here at the Winter Olympics. Only one we saw

:10:21. > :10:31.Eve Muirhead and her team beat Japan. That is really good after a

:10:32. > :10:32.sticky start. So far, as far as the manner are concerned, it has been

:10:33. > :12:07.textbook. -- men. Dave Murdoch has won everything this

:12:08. > :12:12.sport has two offer except an Olympic medal. There has been one

:12:13. > :12:18.loss so far to Sweden but that table makes pretty good reading. The top

:12:19. > :12:26.40 play each other in seeded semifinals. -- four. Denmark today.

:12:27. > :12:37.0-0 in end one. COMMENTATOR: A match has just got

:12:38. > :12:56.underway. The first few stones coming down. It will be a fairly

:12:57. > :13:05.quiet start. You can see from that table, were Briton to win this match

:13:06. > :13:11.they would equal Sweden. Five wins from six games. If you had offered

:13:12. > :13:16.out to them before they started they would be absolutely delighted. Apart

:13:17. > :13:20.from the match against Sweden it has been very good from their

:13:21. > :13:24.perspective and they have been playing well, particularly the last

:13:25. > :13:28.couple of matches. Tight games against Switzerland, much more in

:13:29. > :13:36.control against the USA. They will want something similar here. Make

:13:37. > :13:42.sure they don't give away, or make any early mistakes to put them on

:13:43. > :13:50.the back foot. Good atmosphere tonight. The USA are playing

:13:51. > :14:13.Russia, the crowd are really up for that. This is Johnny Frederiksen.

:14:14. > :14:17.Blanking this first end. They will carry the hammer through to the

:14:18. > :14:21.second end. We were chatting before about the fact Great Britain in the

:14:22. > :14:28.last couple of days, things have gone well. The men in particular

:14:29. > :14:32.have looked so solid. A difficult couple of matches coming up,

:14:33. > :14:36.particularly against Canada. A victory in this one would put them

:14:37. > :14:42.in a nice position. This is a real key game for them.

:14:43. > :14:47.They have Canada and Norway, two very strong teams, to play. If we

:14:48. > :14:53.can get this win under our belt that will give us added security that is

:14:54. > :14:59.needed to keep ourselves up in the top four spots for qualification.

:15:00. > :15:04.They have been playing very well. At this moment in time they just have

:15:05. > :15:08.to you remember why they are here, all the work and practice they have

:15:09. > :15:16.put in, and believe in their performance and it should follow

:15:17. > :15:22.three. -- through. The first end did start very simply. The Danish team

:15:23. > :15:27.were not prepared to take the first end on. We don't actually have the

:15:28. > :15:36.hammer in this end. Our boys will draw one, right down into the

:15:37. > :15:49.centre. If Denmark are ready to take this on you will probably see them

:15:50. > :15:59.ignore the centre stone. They are going to chair everything. The guys

:16:00. > :16:11.will just have to concentrate. There will be a raucous atmosphere in here

:16:12. > :16:25.tonight. So as we expected, Denmark seem to be comfortable.

:16:26. > :16:38.Dave Murdoch, the skipper, is asking Michael Goodfellow to get the centre

:16:39. > :16:42.guard up. Denmark have had an odd competition so far. They have only

:16:43. > :16:47.12 matches, but they gave Canada a really low 's game. They were just

:16:48. > :16:51.beaten 7-6 in that match. Then they lost to the USA, who have not been

:16:52. > :16:57.playing well at all. They had a narrow victory against Russia, who

:16:58. > :17:01.obviously were considered to be the weakest team in these Olympic

:17:02. > :17:05.dames. The Russian men only qualified because they are the host

:17:06. > :17:09.nation. That one went to an extra end. So it has been a bit of an

:17:10. > :17:14.up-and-down competition. But I think many people see them as a bit of a

:17:15. > :17:17.danger. Yeah, if I think these boys are on their game, they are a team

:17:18. > :17:54.to be reckoned with. Playing second for Great Britain. If

:17:55. > :17:59.it is your first look at the British men, that is Scott Andrew 's. Dave

:18:00. > :18:02.Murdoch has been well backed up why these three. They have been really

:18:03. > :18:22.solid. There has always been the odd shot here and there. Not one of the

:18:23. > :18:27.best shots from Scott. These four have been put together over the last

:18:28. > :18:35.few years. Tom Brewster was skipping with these three. Dave Murdoch has

:18:36. > :18:40.been to the last two Olympic Games, in Turin and Vancouver. There was a

:18:41. > :18:46.lot of talk about him and his team is one of the medal favourites.

:18:47. > :18:51.Didn't quite work out. So there has not been so much talk about the

:18:52. > :18:53.men's team coming into this. It has all been about the women, but I

:18:54. > :18:57.think you would agree that they would not have seen it that way.

:18:58. > :19:03.This team are certainly capable of beating anyone on that day. Yet,

:19:04. > :19:06.they certainly have been a bit more under the radar than Eve coming into

:19:07. > :19:14.this competition, maybe just because she is the current world champion.

:19:15. > :19:20.But the boys have kept a quiet confidence, I guess. They probably

:19:21. > :19:23.were not getting as much media attention because in the last couple

:19:24. > :19:30.of months in the run-up to these Olympic games, they were not getting

:19:31. > :19:35.to qualifying stages. But it would appear that that has not affected

:19:36. > :19:44.them one iota, and they are playing very good curling here in Sochi at

:19:45. > :19:49.the Winter Olympics of 2014. They definitely have their sights set on

:19:50. > :20:02.grabbing one of these medals. It will just be a matter of which

:20:03. > :20:18.colour it is. Nice shot from Scott. Just sitting out a tiny bit. This

:20:19. > :20:32.player was at the Vancouver games as an alternate. The biographies of

:20:33. > :20:41.everyone at the Olympics go up on the website. Maybe they have had a

:20:42. > :20:50.chat with the researcher. This is the Danish management team. Yes, he

:20:51. > :20:54.is a young gentleman from Scotland, but he now lives in Sweden and has

:20:55. > :20:59.done for some time. He is married to a Swedish girl and has two kids over

:21:00. > :21:17.there. He has brothers scattered all over the world. James has actually

:21:18. > :21:23.coached the Danish team for quite some time now. He did once enjoyed

:21:24. > :21:30.being a competitive player, but I think he likes being a coach now.

:21:31. > :21:37.That was unfortunately just a little bit short. The minute the weight

:21:38. > :21:41.starts coming off some of these stones, you get a bigger curl on

:21:42. > :21:58.them. The boys are desperately trying to take that as far as it

:21:59. > :22:07.can. Johnny Fredrickson, playing third. This is the man with the most

:22:08. > :22:13.experience on this team. He was skipping the Danish team back in the

:22:14. > :22:19.90s, when he was a young man. And he was in Vancouver. He was not the

:22:20. > :22:21.skip their either. There are just two surviving players from the five

:22:22. > :23:01.layers that went out there. These guys will have to make sure

:23:02. > :23:11.they are communicating well. Given the noise that we will obviously

:23:12. > :23:19.have tonight, Greg is just making sure he has talked this through with

:23:20. > :23:31.Dave Murdoch. I think they should have asked that to each other when

:23:32. > :23:40.they were closer together! The good thing is, Greg has asked all the

:23:41. > :23:53.questions. They will have to work hard to get past the front guard. We

:23:54. > :24:06.have been saying how well Greg Drummond has been playing. He has

:24:07. > :24:10.been so solid. Scott Anders did well not to fall over. That is a bit

:24:11. > :24:39.unfortunate. It gives Denmark the opportunity to hit that Redstone.

:24:40. > :24:49.A good effort. Nice shot from Johnny Fredrickson.

:24:50. > :25:01.A bit of pressure on Dave Murdoch in this second end. It is going to be

:25:02. > :25:04.like this all night tonight. They really are going to have to make

:25:05. > :25:11.sure they concentrate and try and shut some of this out. We have had

:25:12. > :25:13.really enthusiastic crowds at the curling, but this is the loudest I

:25:14. > :25:20.have ever heard them so far. have ever heard them so far.

:25:21. > :25:24.JONATHAN EDWARDS: that curling will continue on the red button.

:25:25. > :25:29.We are going to start our build-up to the biggest moment of these games

:25:30. > :25:33.so far as far as Team GB is concerned, the women's skeleton.

:25:34. > :25:38.Lizzy Yarnold league in first place overnight. We are not far from the

:25:39. > :25:43.third run, and Claire is up at the Sanki Sliding Center. What is the

:25:44. > :25:46.atmosphere like up there? Well, there is music blaring out of the

:25:47. > :25:51.speakers. There has been a band playing. We have seen loads of

:25:52. > :25:55.British fans here already. Colin Bryce is alongside me, who competed

:25:56. > :25:59.in bobsleigh in Salt Lake City. You know about this build-up. I guess

:26:00. > :26:04.for easy Arnold and Shelley Rudman and the others, they just want to

:26:05. > :26:08.get started. Yes, last night, reading the tweets of Lizzy Yarnold,

:26:09. > :26:15.they can barely sleep. They are so excited. It is quite a tough thing

:26:16. > :26:20.to do. You have got to keep going and do not just one run, but go back

:26:21. > :26:24.to the top, polish yourself up, rehydrate. Doing the overnight thing

:26:25. > :26:29.is hard. I just went up to the start, and I could see various

:26:30. > :26:34.athletes. I saw Shelley Rudman stretching and warming up. A lot of

:26:35. > :26:38.them were running along the top and practising their sprint start. It is

:26:39. > :26:43.like a cathedral up there. It is a beautiful bit of architecture. It is

:26:44. > :26:47.a 60m sprint track, elevated above all of the action going on so that

:26:48. > :26:52.they can warm up in private and do their stretching up there. And it is

:26:53. > :26:59.a beautiful it of kit. This is a sprinter's game. Lizzie is a

:27:00. > :27:06.heptathlete. Shelley has come from athletics. Amy was a good sprinter.

:27:07. > :27:11.Everyone has the core running skills going on and has come from different

:27:12. > :27:14.sports. But I guess what skeleton does that pure running does not is

:27:15. > :27:19.that you start with that burst and the adrenaline rush, and then you

:27:20. > :27:22.have to relax your body completely. Yes, you have this mad explosion for

:27:23. > :27:27.five seconds and then you have to get into a kind of Zen-like mode.

:27:28. > :27:32.With bobsleigh, when you take a hit, you lock yourself so that you

:27:33. > :27:36.don't slosh around inside the sled. But with skeleton, you have got to

:27:37. > :27:45.relax against a hit, which is hard to do at 80 miles an hour. The best

:27:46. > :27:50.way is to soak up the pressure and relax. Lizzy Yarnold leads by .44

:27:51. > :28:00.seconds. How far is that when travelling at 80 miles an hour? That

:28:01. > :28:07.is a difficult question! I would guess around four or five metres in

:28:08. > :28:11.real terms. It is a big margin. She will need to park it out of a corner

:28:12. > :28:18.to really lose that. But it is not a big enough margin to say she has won

:28:19. > :28:26.the gold, not by any stretch of the imagination. She is a big girl, her

:28:27. > :28:30.opponent. Colin will be in the commentary box with Paul Dickenson

:28:31. > :28:34.as we continue our build-up to the third of four runs for Lizzy

:28:35. > :28:39.well. well.

:28:40. > :28:43.JONATHAN EDWARDS: putting it into context, only ten British athletes

:28:44. > :28:48.have ever won gold medals in Winter Olympics sports, nine since the

:28:49. > :28:51.Winter Olympics began in 1924. Will Lizzy Yarnold be the 10th? Good

:28:52. > :28:53.life. -- goodbye.