Day 7, Part 5 Winter Olympics

You always feel nervous before you compete in the skeleton. It is that

adrenaline I really love. Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain going for

gold. Your mind takes over the feeling, the interaction between you

and the ice. I will try and be the best version of me I can. That is

brilliant. Fingers crossed.

The words of Lizzy Yarnold. She has the form, the fitness, the mental

fortitude. All she needs is a slice of good fortune and she will be the

Olympic champion. After her third run she has a lead of 0.78 seconds

going into the fourth and final one. We are here on the northside of the

mountains, darkness all around. Let up behind me, you can see one of the

final bends on the course. The hottest athlete here is the

25-year-old Lizzy Yarnold. She has been storming down these bends,

downhill and uphill, the very radical horse -- a very rare course.

She could be only the ten British athlete to win the Winter Olympic

gold medal. She will have one minute of sliding, speeds of 85 mph, and

crossing the finish line she will know whether she is the latest

British athlete to succeed in this sport. The most successful sport for

Winter Olympians. We have the reigning champion, Amy Williams, we

will hear her thoughts in a moment. Let's see what happened in the third

run. Here goes Lizzy Yarnold. The way she

goes. She has got to be on form. It is a good start. Magnificent start.

Her fastest start is so far. You couldn't ask for anything more on

the second day. Good speed through the first few corners. Up the hill.

If you haven't seen this track before, three big uphill sections,

very steep. She is going well. That is magnificent speed. Tries to avoid

tap there, she took the tap but didn't go into a big slide. Back

down the hill for the final two right-handers, this will set the

benchmark. That is good. It is tremendous, it is a track record,

you couldn't ask for anything more in this penultimate run. She has

done it, 57.91, that is brilliant. The ice is hard. Seven degrees below

freezing. It is colder than yesterday by a couple of degrees.

This little tap on the left-hand side, that is the only obvious that

that wasn't perfection. She looked disappointed she just

made the one mistake but set a new course record and she is out in

front. She has a lead of over three

quarters of the second from Pica space who finished fourth in frankly

the -- Pikus-Pace. Elena Nikitina is in third place. It is all a little

tighter, the other Russians, an American athlete. You will see

Shelley Rudman who want the silver medal, it she is currently in 13th

place. They will go in reverse order for the fourth and final one. Lizzy

Yarnold will get the worst of the ice. Amy Williams, put into context

how big a lead that is. I have never seen a lead that big. I

think that proves how unique the track is. It is the best track I

have ever seen, unique uphill sections, and some really steep

downhill sections. It is vital we athletes get the technical bits of

the track between five and 15 absolutely perfect to keep the

speed. Amy is very good friends with Lizzy

Yarnold, she is her landlady. They have been in touch constantly. Lizzy

has the benefit of friends and family here supporting her. Matthew

Pinsent is in amongst them. Judith and Clive, proud parents,

nervous as well. Very excited. Fantastic. Today has been a long

day. It is now eight o'clock, Russian time. A long day waiting,

the best moment in the world. Fantastic. How do you think that

third run went? Really well. Another track record, what more can you ask?

Just got to look at all the other competitors, when they come in they

are shaking their heads, they are chasing Lizzy, pushing themselves to

the limits, their body language says it all. She is showing them a clean

pair of heels. It is dream, she has had three dream runs. She was

reliving and logging that run so she can locate it on the fourth one. You

have got a huge lot of support here. We have, and even more support back

at home, it is fantastic to know how many people are at home watching

this. The grandmothers, Rita and Ursula, who have been with us all

the way through this. It is a brilliantly embarrassing hack. It

is! That is what fathers are here to do, embarrassed their children.

There you go, I don't really care. I am a Crocodile Dundee lookalike.

Enjoy the last run, we will be here throughout. Hopefully the boys can

do slightly better. This is the price you have to pay.

Clive and Judith Blair, and her sisters are here as well, and

friends have flown over. Amy knows what it is like, the parallels are

extraordinary between your success in Vancouver and what we hope will

be successful Lizzy Yarnold. Let's hear from Amy about what will be

going through her mind and what lies ahead.

Stand on the start line, final day, Olympics, legs shaking so much. You

cannot have a mistake. I took a deep breath, helmet on, I knew this was

it. Think of the things you have to do. Helmet on, push.

Amy Williams could become Olympic champion. It is hanging in there.

Amy Williams really is going for gold. The last turn, surely it is

gold for Great Britain. Oh, yes! Amy Williams is the queen of speed in

Canada. Being told I had one, somebody saying you are in a big

champion, the biggest feeling was that sense of relief, finally I have

done it, I knew I could always win. She has already won a world

championship. Now she is going for Olympic gold. She is half a second

up. Lizzy has a similar story, I kind of

see myself reflected in her. She watched me when gold and she knew

she had four years to do the same. She has got to go away, keep calm,

do what you always do, be consistent. Consistency will win

medals. To know your name is in the history book is a strange feeling,

it will always be there, I am standing here four years later

knowing somebody else will take my title and I really hope she can do

that and keep it within Great Britain. Any medal you bring home,

you know you have got the nation behind you. If she can't win gold it

would be amazing -- if she could win gold. I can't wait to see what

happens. Part of the skills she has is in her

start. Half of it is the mental battle is in your head. You can have

ten athletes physically the same but the one who is mentally strong, that

will poll and three. She has got a unique thing about, she is so strong

mentally, nothing seems to affect her. -- that will pull her through.

She will be going last on this one and you know who what that is like,

you are waiting, the place empties around you. What do you do in those

situations? It is strange. One minute it is really busy in the

changing room and as everybody disappears you are there on your

own, nothing to distract you. I just had a really good plan. I took

myself to another bit of the changing room where there was

nobody, I didn't want to see what other athletes were doing. I put my

fingers in my ears when I heard of other times and only thought of my

self. She doesn't really pay attention to anyone else. She should

have a minute to minute plan of what she is doing, her warm up, mental

preparation. That visualisation is really important. To practice those

key corners in your head, to go out, enter your head, happy, smile. I

hope she enjoys this very last run. She can enjoy it. With the advantage

she has got, if she relaxes and enjoys at the gold medal will be

hers and Great Britain's extraordinaire record will continue.

You know skeleton was near the pics in 1928 and 1948? -- was in the

Olympics. The first of them in 28 was David Carnegie, the 11th Earl of

Northwest and in 48 was John Crammond, a stockbroker, qualified

pilot and wrote about winter sports for the B Observer newspaper. Since

it came back in 2002 Alex Cooper taking the bronze medal followed by

Shelley Rudman taking a silver at Amy Williams taking bronze.

This is a high octane sport, Great Britain on the verge of a medal.

Here goes Alex Coomber for the last time. Come on, keep it going,

cleanly. That means Great Britain has a medal. What a marvellous

moment for Shelley Rudman in her first Olympic competition. This has

got to be very special indeed for the Britain if she is going to

emulate Alex Coomber who got a medal four years ago. She has trained hard

for this. Keep it together, hold it together.

That was superb. You couldn't have asked for anything more.

Amy Williams, going for gold for Great Britain.

She could become Olympic champion. And surely it is gold for Great

Britain? Oh, yes! Amy Williams is the queen of speed.

The things they all had in common was they were all crossover athletes

from athletics. Alex Coomber, high jump and long jumper stop you were a

400 metre runner. Lizzy Yarnold wanted to be a heptathlete. We have

all come from that sprinting background, power, speed, the start

of the run is the most important bit. The athletes, for six months in

the year in the summer are practising that, it is for that

explosive sprint. Then you get on the sled and you spend the winter

learning how to slide. We find people with that sprint developing.

Did Lizzy Black out once, because of the strength of the g-force? Near

the bottom of the track you can get up to high pressure, if you go into

the corner of one, straight up to the roof, you cannot control it.

Your head is pushed into the ice, it hits down, only moving an inch. I

have blacked out before. I have seen stars come out. You have just got to

hang on tight and get down. Here there is one corner, 4.5, you can

see the athletes taking their heads up, we do a lot of weight training,

almost like rugby players, trying to strengthen the neck. You make it

sound like such fun! If you would like to try any of those sports, go

to our website and if you go to get inspired, you can find out ways to

get involved. Also, see Q thoughts on Twitter. -- let us here. Letters

hear more about Lizzy Yarnold from the woman herself. -- let us here.

-- let us hear. Lizzy Yarnold, British skeleton. In 2008 I was

involved in a talent search, it was for girls and my sister had been

selected if you years before me and I had always been involved in every

sport so I was desperate to get involved and I try to get involved

in the pentathlon but was selected for the skeleton. You always feel

nervous before competing or training, it is something where you

need to be aware of that because it can be quite dangerous. It is nerve

wracking but it is that thrill, I love the adrenaline, so that is why

you get back to the top. I can do that corner better! So it can be

faster. For any athlete, it is our dream, it has been since I was ten

years old, this is what I was training for, every day of my life.

And you can tell in the way she approaches this board that she does

not just love it, she lives it. She was born for this moment and she and

Shelley Rudman will prepare for their final run. She'll get onto her

sled, named after Mervyn Sugden, he is retired but was an insurance

underwriter who worked alongside Lizzy Yarnold and he gave her ?176

for a sport bag and has supported her ever since. You can see her, on

her own in the corner, warming up, shouting her eyes and going through

every single corner. The other leaves are very good at visualising

each corner and the psychology side is huge, you need to be able to go

through every corner in your head, the more you can do that, walking

the track, watching videos, the more you will memorise those corners so

when you are actually on the sled, it is more normal. Shelley Rudman

will go in eight place, the verse order, 20th place and last, that

will be Lizzy Yarnold. With that massive lead over Noelle Pikus-Pace.

Amy Williams will head to the commentary box, joining Colin Bryce

and Paul Dickenson. Thank you very much indeed. The

atmosphere at the finish is absolutely electric. Let me tell you

that. They start record, that is yet to be broken. Lizzy Yarnold holds

the track record. 57.91, she said that on her last slide. Right in the

center, that is her sister. This is the perfect recipe for British

victory. The perfect recipe for British sliding. It has been

brilliant by Lizzy Yarnold, she is comfortably in the lead. We are

talking metres of their lead. She would have to hit if you corners

exceptionally hard to lose. The verse order. Maria Marinela Mazilu.

She comes down this track. Giving away a massive margin. It is the

aggregate of all four of them. Nearly five seconds. Ten athletes

really stand no chance of getting into the medals. This big, sweeping

right-hander. Coming around, that is up twice. Will she hit the left-hand

wall? Yes, she does. Really steep up the hill. That was a nasty slide.

You can see the ice coming up. That is good for her. But not great. Her

fastest time so far. Absolutely superb. Well done indeed to the

young lady. Just coming down here. You can see she just had enough to

throw her right leg up. Up the hill, 15... You do not see the exit until

you get past that 90 degrees. Travelling at 80 mph. Nozomi Komuro.

And away we go. She will have to get her leg speed up to scratch. Her leg

speed is good. 5.14. That is the word than the previous slider. This

is a target. One of the slowest starters, Nozomi Komuro. And she can

slide beautifully. She carries forward this advantage over the

Romanian. Every slide has some kind of advantage over the three previous

rounds. Six tenths over, this is good from the Japanese. Accelerating

all the way and she just manages to catch the bride on her left

shoulder, on her right shoulder. -- upright. 58.76. That is her fastest

time so far, by a full half of a second. That is a great slide to

finish the Olympic Games and she was into the lead for the time being. 18

still to come in the skeleton. We can see the way she keeps fit

together. Less drag at the back as the error flows over you, it flows

smoothly around you. -- the air. 18th place at the moment. Marina

Gilardoni. She achieved her less time on her last slide. So, getting

better. With each time she comes down. 4.96, that is a good start. A

magnificent start, she is the fastest starter in training, as good

as Lizzy Yarnold. She is one for the future. She is second in the lead, a

head of the Japanese growth. But she has that massive time deficit of

over 3.5 seconds. She will not be pulling that back? Every athlete

will just want to move that one extra position in front. She is

still in the lead. That green figure means she is in the lead. That is

the important thing, just scraping the right-hand side. Second in the

lead, ahead of Nozomi Komuro. Indeed, into first place, for the

time being anyway. This is fastest so far. This track is getting

quicker. The conditions are perfect. The ice master has had his crew

either, polishing it. Perfect conditions. The air temperature, it

is minus, the ice is dutiful. -- beautiful. The equipment has been

set up, that is why these speeds are up. Lucy Chaffer. From Australia.

She has 5.15 three times. Consistent. Not a great start.

Consistency shows she is doing her absolute best, anyway. Very unique

to put down exactly the same start time. She was one minute outside her

start time in the first run. She has got that since then. She has always

been trying to play catch up. The difference between the two of them

was quite small, around about two seconds going into this. She is back

into the lead. Her speed will be crucial, here. Yes, that is a very

good final run. Always great to finish on a good run. And into

second place. Sitting pretty. That is an excellent time but Lucy

Chaffer is a name for the future, that is for sure. The exit from

corner number nine. Amy was talking about the G-force earlier. It turns

on that sharp angle. The pressure forces you up to the woodwork. You

have two steer to avoid hitting the woodwork and try to get as flat a

line as possible. Well, Mellisa Hollingsworth. She is a good slider.

See if she can move up. Some of those mistakes she made on that

third run, she still in a enough place. She would like to have come a

little bit higher in the rankings. Down on the best. But in the lead,

ahead of Lucy Chaffer. She was carrying an advantage ahead of Lucy

Chaffer but she is extending the lead. She was three close to the

woodwork. But was a very brave line. -- very close. Really good run by

Mellisa Hollingsworth. Copying those Russian lines. Coming around and she

is in the lead. My goodness! That is very good. Over four tenths of a

second. It is not the slide that Mellisa Hollingsworth would have

wanted. She is in the aid, but we still have 15 women to go. -- in the

lead. She perhaps might go to 12th place or 13th place. This woman was

looking for gold in Vancouver. They were virtually hanging around her

neck. I know! That is why she has been fighting for these last four

years. She might stop after these Olympics. Who knows? Can I get that?

Am I done? She does a lot of rodeo riding in the summer. That is what

she will focus on. Shelley Rudman is warming up. Leda

Bridger Lena is away. She carries forward an advantage

over Mellisa Hollingsworth. No surprise she has gone, to be into

the lead. Up the hill. Very good, clean lines. Tiny little clip

there. It has not affected her. Really beautiful sliding. She is

going well. Solid run to finish on here. The young athlete coming on

three for Latvia. Will she be ahead? Yes, she is. The slimmest margin.

Really tight. She has lost it on the line. Very close. Mellisa

Hollingsworth stays in the leader 's enclosure. It will be very

disappointing for this lady. I'm not sure it was a bad run by her, just

magnificent from Mellisa Hollingsworth. The Canadian has been

one of the heavyweights of skeleton over the last decade. She has been

the girl everybody wants to be, everybody wants to beat.

Soon she will be warming up, on the go.

Katharine Eustace now is underway. She was born in London. Rides with

her legs wide apart, that cannot be an advantage. It depends. Ideally

you go into a nice point at the end. It lessens the drab. -- drag. But

some athletes find it more stabilising to have them apart.

Sometimes it is a better position. You will never know unless you try

it. If you have got broad, big hips it may help. The lead she had has

been reduced by some way. Will she stay in the lead? She is equal

leader. My goodness. A very unique thing. How crazy is that? Six

kilometres of ice. Ludicrous! That is how close they are. She had no

option but to take the hit there. She took it softly. Allowed her body

to absorb the impact. Shelley Rudman goes next. 5.01, her fastest start

time. If she goes into the lead, if she gets a strongly here, it she can

move up the needs that. She is a good competitor, especially when it

comes to the last run. Shelley Rudman down in that position. Not a

fast time by any stretch of the imagination. Her slowest start so

far but fatigue starts to kick in, nerves, excitement, adrenaline all

gone. She is a little bit tired there, no supplies. This is a good

run. The time wasn't quite there at the start but clean lines now. She

will be fighting to get into the top ten. She is decreasing in speed. She

is just trying to stable little bit. She has lost her lead, I am afraid.

Can she get it back? She cannot. Ireland is worth and used as lead at

the moment. She is down in fourth place. -- Mellisa Hollingsworth and

Katharine Eustace. Eight athletes down so far, she is in fourth. At

worse she could be in 16th. Olympic silver medallist. She helped to pave

the way for so many other athletes. She lost half a second from the list

of Lynn 's worth. We cannot hang the gold around Lizzy Yarnold's neck

yet. Michelle Steele of Australia, the

way she goes. -- away she goes. Very good start. She just needs to hold

on. She will be looking for a really clean run. She is ahead of Mellisa

Hollingsworth. Surely she will hang onto that half a second she came in

with. A little early into 11. She controls are well. Takes a slight

hip. -- hit. Shouldn't be much to interrupt the speed she built up.

She dropped dramatically. That just shows a tiny mistake affects the

speed at the last corner. I cannot believe people are losing so much

time in this final one. Hopefully the track is holding up. The track

will be holding up. The athletes are making a few mistakes. There she is,

skipping in the background, keeping her body temperature high. This is

Marion Thees of Germany. Her best start time, 5.27. Just

about there. That is actually the worst start we have seen so far. Her

weakness. She doesn't have the power at the start. But you can see how

phenomenal she drives to be in the position up there, even with that

really bad start. She just hits the left. A little tap

there. Puts her head down, feet together. What is going on says

Mellisa Hollingsworth? This is one of those crazy things. The pressure

to do really well on that final one can get to people. Melissa did have

a very good run down. Katharine Eustace and Mellisa

Hollingsworth have the lead. They are equal. Katharine Eustace

absolutely equal with her. Now it is the chance for Janine

Flock. What drama do we have here? She was 2.67 ahead of the leader.

Almost a second ahead of Mellisa Hollingsworth. She carries a massive

margin, she is a good starter as well. Let's see how much she can

keep that lead. She has got to stay calm, keep clean.

Up the hill where. A very small clip and now she has made a few mistakes.

Her speed is not that either. This could be touch and go. Just ahead.

She made those mistakes. 58.56, despite the problems. That was

close. Smile on her face, you can see how happy she is. A little bit

sloppy at the top. Trying to get a good look, she didn't look that

comfortable. She got it together at the bottom again. Sending love to

somebody. That is a good Valentine 's wish for anybody back at home if

you are doing well on your Olympic race.

Sophia Griebel now. She came to form with the last run, a blistering run.

She needs a repeat of that this time, in order to take the lead and

maybe stay in the lead for as long as possible. One tenth of a second

difference between Sophia Griebel and Janine Flock. She doesn't start

as quickly as the Austrian. Not good speed. She has gone behind.

Just riding high that at the moment. She is behind. She will have to

start to get the top speed up. That hit doesn't help things. That will

cost her. Uphill section, will it be enough? She hit the right-hand wall

very hard. Janine Flock is still in the lead. That guarantees Janine

Flock the lead at the moment, at worst, ninth position. There are

eight sliders to come. CLARE BALDING: If you are wanting to

watch Pointless it is now on BBC Two.

COMMENTATOR: The next athlete down is Anja Huber.

She has progressed quite nicely. She needs a similar time if she is to go

into the lead. She will be wanting to get another medal. She got bronze

in Vancouver. She is always fighting to get the next best one but there

is a big gap. What can she do? Almost half a second of Janine

Flock. A massive start. That is what she needed. Just trying to get

herself settled. Her head is quite high at the

moment. Her shoulders just lifted up, her head could be a bit lower.

Very good lines. High corner coming out. Great lines, good angle.

A tap out of corner 11, that is common.

She is coming down with 355.24, her fastest time so far. And she is in

the lead by 0.79 seconds. Great job thereby Anya, she is one of my

closest friends, she will be happy with that. How far will she be from

the gold position? It is difficult to say, but she awaits it with

interest. Just crashing into the corner of that wall, not too much

damage done, though. Anja Huber in front in this picture in picture,

and Janine Flock behind. Three different occasions where they push

into the woodwork. Good effort by Anja Huber. She leads the Olympics

now by nearly eight tenths of a second. Sarah Reid Canada. -- of

Canada. She gets a good start. She is a former ballet dancer, and

she has got fantastic positioning on the sled. She thinks she can feel

the eyes better than anyone because of her ballet background. That is

what it is like, such a unique thing to do and you have to feel it

through your sled, you have to be stuck together let clue and get it

down. A good slide here. Yes, very few taps. She has got the hard work

in and look at it, it is paying off. She is half a second in the lead. We

are very much in the medal hunt now. A great slide by Sarah Reid.

You go to the next athlete, three tenths of a second and then tiny

margins up to the bronze medal so who knows? This could get her

towards the podium? That was her fastest run off her campaign, coming

down in her fastest time, that is what you want. Always improving with

every run. You can see how happy she is. Coming down in first place. We

are down to six. Six athletes to go before the medals are awarded. What

a chance Great Britain has got. Big hugs between the athlete there,

great friendships are formed over the years and you ultimately plays

for everybody to be doing so well. Maria Orlova goes next. She has got

a real chance. Her best start was 5.02, on the start yesterday. What

can she do with her last slide? Her hand came on the front of the sled

but she just got it down in time. That was a clumsy start by Maria

Orlova, she had a good margin over Sarah Reid at the start of it but

she halved it with the ugly load. She's only just ahead. She just

scraped the wall in an uphill section there.

She is down on Sarah Reid, the young Canadian is staying ahead of her.

She can still pull this back, the Russian. A slight tap there but the

speed will be crucial at the bottom, she must hold her form. She seems to

be dragging her right shoulder. This couldn't be any closer! Hundredth of

a second in its will -- in it! That is how close skeleton is. She found

little bits of speed, you thought she was down. Through the crucial

corners and just managed to come through with that, hundredth of a

second. We are live here on BBC One with the

final run of the women's skeleton but if you are tuned in expecting to

see Pointless, it is now on BBC Two. COMMENTATOR: Looking at the replay

of Maria Orlova, and that was wonky, I think you can say coming

off that wall. But it is there or thereabouts, she is in the lead and

that is the main thing for her. Pity you lender -- her best start so far,

for Katie Uhlaender. Let's see what you can do here. A big, strong,

powerful start. She is a farmer from Kansas which is pretty different,

very flat and very warm. She has got an advantage over Maria

Orlova of around a 10th of a second at the start so she has improved on

that. She has got a big lead here, and the time is gradually creeping.

Who can get into the third or second position? She is wanting to get up

there. This is a good slide. The target 0.48 of a second, and that

was a perfect tap avoidance. She is going to take the lead. I don't know

how much her lead will be... She has lost a lot of time coming down the

home stretch and that was close. She looks worried there. Her fastest

time of the tournament so far. She gave it her all, the relief and

worry, all the emotions that you feel on the ice. World Cup overall

champion a few years ago. She did similar in 2008. She has lost form

and at the beginning of the season, she had a horrible concussion in

Oldenburg, she has been struggling for fitness since then but that was

a storming run. She might get on the podium. She is lapping it up there.

You never know if you will do another Olympics and for her, she is

enjoying every single minute. F102 can get anywhere close to her good

mark, she could get on the rostrum. She has not got that much to play

with, any mistake and Uhlaender could be in the lead. She is just

haired of her and she is flying. -- just a head of her.

I can hear some slight mistakes through the ear, the unknown sounds,

but she is ahead of Uhlaender. She is only just behind and she can pull

it back. That was too high, and she is 0.06

seconds behind. She almost needed one more corner and she may have got

into the lead. Uhlaender is guaranteed at least fourth place,

and her father was a baseball superstar but sadly for her at the

start of the Olympics cycle he passed away and she is sliding for

him. She has got people behind her in her home country. I would love to

see her up on the podium, she has worked so much and so hard over the

years and she is still out there. Without the excitement on her face.

We are getting excited about 0.02 of a second. When you consider that

that athlete leads by 0.78 of a second, Lizzy Yarnold has a few

nervous moments to wait. Elena Nikitina now. This is for a medal.

She sits in the bronze medal position. After three runs,

Uhlaender has put down a blinder though. A phenomenal start from the

Russian. A blinding start. But that Bob will have taken a lot of speed

from her. -- that bump. And again. She is leading but she is sliding

all over the place. She has lost a lot of momentum that she had. She is

skidding but at the same time, she is just in the lead. We have seen

this happen with the other Russians, do they know some lines that the

others do not at the bottom? She has stopped the rot. Will have to wait

and see for the next checkmark, and she has got it. This is so close.

For hundreds of a second, my goodness. Katie Uhlaender cannot

believe it, four hundredths of a second, that is ridiculous.

Telemetry that guarantees Elena Nikitina an Olympic medal. But of

what colour, I am afraid Katie Uhlaender, it is most likely to be

over for her now. Anything can happen, we have still

got lazy to go. No matter what colour medal she gets, Elena

Nikitina is delighted. But ten three macro has not won a medal for the

time being. -- Uhlaender. The home ice factor, it has helped,

Elena Nikitina has done well there. Noelle Pikus-Pace, she has done this

twice and done 5.16 in the start and this time she gets 5.20. It is not

as quick. She goes straight behind Elena Nikitina. She has lost so much

at the start, Elena is so quick. He is behind and a tap. That is not

good. Slightly messy from her, can she perfect those mistakes? She is

hanging on in there. She is slightly ahead now. It really helps to have

the extra body weight, she is a former shot-putter and track star,

and she has got that muscle strength. She is putting the

pressure on Lizzy Yarnold now, that was an amazing run. She is

guaranteed a silver now. That was an awesome slides to finish on. Look at

there! She knows she has got a medal. Oh, my goodness, America are

first and third. The pressure on Lizzy Yarnold now... The fans at the

back are absolutely silent, they are hoping that she has got a massive

margin. She has got nearly a 10th of a second but that was a crazy slide,

that was brilliant from the American. Lizzie does not have a

clue that this is going on, she is in her own little world, and about

to be calm and do the run of her life. 0.44 seconds ahead and that is

a bit she will be thinking about. There are Noelle Pikus-Pace's family

and children, and only that she has got a medal. Come on, Lizzy Yarnold.

She goes for gold for Great Britain. Can she get the track record again?

If she can, it is all over. That was a beautiful load by Lizzy Yarnold.

She is in control. She is having the run of her life. I believe she can

hang onto this. That was a horrible slide but she is still over one

second ahead. Not a great slide at all. She is making mistakes. But...

She is still in the lead by a comfortable margin. Come on, keep it

together. Go on, Lizzy! She hit that hard on the left-hand side by the

does not out, she is surely going to win the gold medal? ! Lizzy Yarnold

is the Olympic champion! Oh, my goodness! That is brilliant.

Unbelievable. Also work by Lizzy Yarnold. Lizzy Yarnold has taken

everything that the rest of the world has had and has thrown at back

in their faces. That is fantastic. That was not the best run. There are

tears in my eyes. I am so proud of her. This is an emotional time for

the whole of Great Britain. That is truly remarkable. We had never even

heard of Lizzy Yarnold four years ago. She has got to make the most of

this moment. And everything that follows behind, her life is going to

change forever. Her name is in the history boots. Maybe she will come

back in four years? I think she will, she has a lot more to prove,

she could be one of the best in the world. Let us relive this moment.

She did make some big mistakes but luckily for her, she had a huge

amount of time to play with. And she kept it going. Shelley Rudman, she

ends up in the 16th position. She can go to the medal party as well. I

will join Clare Balding. I want to give her a big hug! Look at this,

Lizzy Yarnold enjoying the moment. I wonder how the physique of the

skeleton athlete will continue to develop. Alex Cameron was very

slight and are getting bigger and bigger. She was much more powerful

and then we have Noelle Pikus-Pace and Lizzy Yarnold, all exceptional,

powerful athletes. There is mother and her father will be close by,

that is for sure. And both children as well. Shelley Rudman. Great

moments in the crowd as we look at the confirmation of the results.

Lizzy Yarnold takes the gold medal, she is the Olympic champion. Noelle

Pikus-Pace wins the silver. And Elena Nikitina wins the bronze

medal. Hoarse I am! She didn't quite have the start that Katie had.

Further down, Shelley Rudman, 16th position, ahead of the Austrian,

Lucy Chaffer. In the last one she just lost it a touch. But she has

got a medal from 2006, she has not quite got the hunger and the ability

of this woman, who is just for nominal. Lizzy Yarnold. She was

nearly one second ahead of the athlete in second place. That is a

German wedding the luge contest margin! -- winning. A quarter of a

second would be a massive margin but by one second, in skeleton, that is

colossal! I was wondering when you would get round to that. Absolutely

magical. She will be taken away and she will have some flowers presented

to her. She has not even seen any other competitors. That was

phenomenal. Just the scale of this achievement. It is unbelievable.

Fantastic. And great news for Britain, we have a gold medal at the

Olympics to add to the bronze medal. It has been fantastic so far but who

knows what else could happen here? We have the two men in the skeleton

tomorrow. And John Jackson in the bobsleigh. They are going for medals

for sure. Just to confirm the result again. Lizzy Yarnold of Great

Britain, 3.52 .89. Noelle Pikus-Pace in second place and Elena Nikitina

is third. No doubt about the winner. Just one second away. High five,

everybody! Amy has dashed away. It must be difficult for someone like

Amy Williams, they are such friends but she has lost her title, she is

no longer the Olympic champion. We have got to Olympic gold medallists

in the skeleton. Lizzy Yarnold is the Olympic champion.

We will wait for reaction from Lizzy Yarnold, Amy Williams is here with

their friends. Anja Huber, you missed out. That is a really rough

thing to happen? Katie, it was so close. I thought I had it. No

offence to her, but her run was horrible! Lizzy did not have the

best fourth run but she has such a big lead. You were talking about

Elena Nikitina? Yes, they had to get that speed on those last few

corners. She got lucky! I am really sorry for you, but Britain is seven

bidding success again in the skeleton. Yes, we heard!

Congratulations! Thank you to Katie Uhlaender, who finished just outside

the medals. What is your reaction to the way that Lizzy Yarnold has dealt

with this competition and how her fourth run went? She had already won

as soon as she did that first run. She had such a big margin. No one

was going to take that away. And that was not a very good run from

her, she had that huge skid at the top and that cost to panic and she

so tense, knowing she was in the lead going down. But she did not

drop that much, she was very lucky and she had such a big lead and she

is the Olympic champion! I cannot... I've been really emotional! I am so

proud that we have kept this within great button. You can see the

emotion. Lots of people will retire after these Olympics, hoping they

have that medal, and they have not. Lizzy Yarnold, her name is on the

history boots. -- boots. Her family is here. Roaring her home. , as all

of the British fans were doing. And a very rare situation to come into

the final run feeling that confident. Collins said she could

crash and still win! Which obviously is not true but she had a very big

margin and all that hard work, she said, I have done all of the hard

work and I want to prove to the world how good I am and she has done

that? All of the hard work is done years in advance, weeks and months

and you come here and you cannot do anything more apart from going on

performing. Keeping that consistency. And Lizzy is the world

leader coming into this, that beautiful bubble of confidence with

every race, every week, stronger and stronger, and her first Olympics,

and she has shown the world that she is a good slider and has managed to

maintain it. Noelle Pikus-Pace set a very strong pace with her run. Lizzy

Yarnold at the top of the run, she would have tried to block that I'd.

When she started, she knew she needed a solid start and to keep

sliding smoothly. And she would have the gold medal. We are having

another look. Talk through this. How much are you able to think,

travelling at 85 mph macro? --... You have a different plan for every

corner, you know how to get back onto the track and Lizzy had such a

big lead, she was always going to hang onto it and managed to stay

calm for those bottom corners. She would not have known she could keep

that lead. In her head, those mistakes could have been enough to

lose. Apologies if you lost the sound. We are hearing the voice of

the Olympic champion from Vancouver, whose crime has been handed over to

a woman who was inspired by her. Lizzy Yarnold, the new Olympic

champion in the skeleton. And she has held onto an advantage she had

from the very first run. She had a record-breaking third round and

fourth run, that could be a glory slide. She is about to receive

flowers, the minor presentation here. And her gold medal will be

awarded tomorrow. You can see her reaction. And her family. And what a

horrific moment for a 25-year-old who dreamt of being a heptathlete,

she looked up to Denise Lewis. She was spotted in it talent scheme for

girls and she was attracted to the skeleton and my goodness, the team

has done such a brilliant jump because once again, Britain wins a

medal. As it has done every time at the Olympic Games. Andy medallists

will come forward to receive their flowers. And the Russians will go

mad! -- and the. Elena Nikitina. Celebrating in style. She knocked

Katie Uhlaender of the perch and she takes the bronze medal. -- off the

perch. Andy flower presentation is being made. And in second place, for

the USA, Noelle Pikus-Pace. -- and the flower.

APPLAUSE. Noelle Pikus-Pace celebrates. And now the moment that

body Katharine Eustace has said she has gone to bed thinking of for five

years. Lizzy Yarnold from Great Britain is the Olympic champion.

Representing Great Britain... ! The cheers ring out, she responds

back to the crowd. And Daniel steel hands over her flowers. And

tomorrow, she will get to celebrate it all over again when she is given

the gold medal. Great Britain's 10th Winter Olympic champion. She is

Lizzy Yarnold. What a fantastic moment, Amy. You

have tears running down your cheeks because you know you are the only

one here who knows exactly what that feels like. I know, I am crying for

her, the whole team, everyone, all the hard work, everything that goes

into it. I knows exactly what she is feeling there, it will be a complete

blur for her and their hope she laps it up. If I could turn back time, I

would really have that memory all over again. It is incredible moment

for her, for the, for everyone who has had to get there. The coaches,

the conditioning, the physios, the technology, everyone, the funding,

UK Sport, Team GB, the lottery, everybody who has helped get behind

her and put her on that podium. And I think a huge credit to her as

well, her approach has been impeccable, she won four out of

eight races in the World Series, World Cup champion, the final race

came down to one month because of weather conditions and she knew she

didn't have to push it in that soap she saved her energy, came here --

sewed she says her energy. She put it into practice when it mattered

most, she led from the front will . This is a terrific testament to the

investment in British skeleton but also to the talent ID scout for

binding such a perfect competitor for this sport, both in terms of her

physique and her strength, and as Amy, you said, her technique on the

sled but also a mental strength which has been extraordinary. She

has got something in her that you cannot teach. She has worked very

hard with the psychologist but she is very special and unique, she

keeps her emotions in check, keeps calm, she has got something

different within her and within five years, there she is, Olympic

champion. That is pretty much unheard of in every sport. They say

it would normally take about eight years to get anywhere near this

level, and it has only been three in terms of ten competition. -- in

terms of full-time competition. She had intensive teaching in the first

year, getting hundreds of runs in, really good equipment, great

coaching and that is what it is all about, getting the most amount of

ice time, teaching the athletes how to slide, the theory and science

behind it and developing them as fast as possible to make champions

and that is what Great Britain is very good at. And the joy is that at

only 25, as we watch her final run again, she could be back for two

more Winter Olympics without blinking. She will be back, I am

sure she will take a few weeks or a month or two off and then she will

be back fighting, she loves the sport, it is her life now and you

get so involved in that sport of being away for six months, the

summer/Winter life and she loves this now, she will be on a roll and

you will be fighting to keep those medals in contention and she could

be here in four years time getting another medal. The great thing

is... Andi Schmid and Woody, the two coaches, they were involved in my

medal for much of years ago as well and the great thing is is that we

have got awesome slide is coming up behind Lizzie, Roseburg Randall,

Laura Dees, they came from the same development as her, but they are

fighting behind as her and they will be fighting to be on the World Cup

with Lizzy Yarnold next year and all trying to get as medals. In a sport

that is not taken up by the majority of youngsters at home, and from a

country that does not have a sliding track, we can celebrate two Olympic

champions back-to-back. It is all in the strategic plan. The theory of

how we gather athletes in the beginning, it is a speed sport,

power, explosiveness. If you choose the right athletes to begin with,

then in Great Britain we choose to work on the speed and teach people

how to push fast and then go onto the ice and teach them how to slide.

Other countries like Germany do it the other way round, they have got

four tracks to train on, they get a bunch of people and teach them to

slide and then they need to be fast and push them. If you can be the

best Bush in the world like Lizzy, it proves you can teach people how

to succeed -- the best pusher. If you can combine speed and technique,

we can produce champions in Great Britain. There is a chance that

somebody watching will know what she felt and what you did. And the

deeper the pool of talent, the better Great Britain will get.

Guess, as soon as These Games are over, back in micro-bath, they will

do a huge talent ID. If you are a interested, get onto the website --

back in Bath. We want good sprinters, people who are fast and

powerful. It is a short sprint, you need the power and explosiveness and

then we will teach you how to slide. If you are interested, get in

contact! Lizzy Yarnold got that inspiration from watching Amy

Williams in Vancouver, both of them now on a very select list of British

Winter Olympics champions. The British ice hockey team have

been got themselves in glory, they have played the team of Garmisch and

beat Japan 2-1. This is the girl who gave Britain its first Olympic

title. She has won the other big figure skating title. It looks like

a good start, Dixon safely aboard. A really fast run by the Britons, they

could be on their way to a gold medal.

Superb artistry, superb athleticism. John Curry, he did not put a foot

wrong. Robin Cousins brings his boat onto a round of applause conclusion.

The great gold medallist of 1980. The people are standing and

applauding, union Jacks flying around the rink. Jayne Torvill and

Christopher Dean have won the gold medal. It is looking good. She has

done it! It is Olympic gold for Great Britain!

Surely it is gold for Great Britain. Oh, yes! Amy Williams is the queen

of speed! Here goes Lizzy Yarnold, she will

win the gold medal surely, she will do it... Come on, Lizzie, last

corner. She is the Olympic champion! That is brilliant.

CLAIRE BALDING: A gold medal to add to the bronze of Jenny Jones and

this is how the medals table stands at the moment in these Winter

Olympics will top Germany out in front thanks to their fantastic luge

athletes. Switzerland having a very good Winter Olympics.

Norway very strong in the cross-country skiing and Great

Britain move up to 14th place by virtue of Lizzy Yarnold's gold

medal. We will see all of today's news, the headline makers, the gold

bubble that have been won in the highlights programme which will be

on BBC Two at PM and Lizzy Yarnold, that is Noelle Pikus-Pace you can

see there in the foreground, she is being interviewed by an American

television and right behind, Lizzy Yarnold talking to the host

broadcasters and then she will head down here to talk to you. I hope you

have enjoyed the coverage so far as these Winter Olympics continue. We

are about halfway through, the closing ceremony is on Sunday week

and Elise Christie will be the applet to look out for strongly

tomorrow, she goes out in the 1500 metres, she fell in the final of the

500 metres short track speed skating. And she will also be in her

strongest discipline of 1000 metres next week. Great Britain has already

won two medals, the minimum target was three. If Elise Christie can add

any, and that would be tremendous and exciting, it would be the most

successful Winter Games for many a year and the curlers going strongly

as well, the women getting better and better and the men as well. Here

she comes. And that is a hub between Winter

Olympics champions. -- eight couples. -- a hug. Let's get a

reaction then from the new champion, Lizzy Yarnold. Hello and

congratulations. Thank you, I don't think it will sink in for a long

time! It must feel like an out of body experience. The forefront I was

totally relaxed, same as Amy thought and it was a messy run but I am so

thrilled that I got myself here after five years. Very hard work and

as an athlete, you give up so much but on a day like today, for a

victory like today, it is so much worth it. You said all the way

along, "I have done the hard work, now I just have to show the world. "

Yes, show the world what I am capable of and I wanted to do myself

justice and I can't believe I won the race! I guess this is something

that will continue to sink in, the medals ceremony tomorrow, and lovely

that it is Valentine's Day today. Yes, romance in the air and my

sisters, bed best friends and my family watching me. -- my best

friends. The whole team behind me, massive thanks to them all and I am

so chuffed am Olympic champion! You have had so much composure and

confidence, you can now let rip! Della macro the Russian term for I

am champion, I can now say it in Russian! I knew I could do it if I

put in the hard work and dedication, I could do it and I have. Many

congratulations to you, a final message to everybody watching? Thank

you so much for all your support, I could not have done it without you

all, follow your dreams and never give up. Never limit yourself to

what you can achieve. Fabulous stuff, great performance, well done,

Lizzie! And we will reflect further with Lizzy Yarnold in the highlights

programme at seven o'clock on BBC Two, was beating her family as well.

We will talk to you later, thank you, Lizzy. The tears are running

again. I know, I can't control myself, it has only been here for

matter years later that I got a gold medal, it is really weird and it

will take time to fit Lizzy, and to see someone else in the skeleton

race, you see the emotion, it is a whole lifetime to get here and to go

and get your dreams like Lizzy has just done so it is a really

emotional thing and to pass over my title, my name is there but it is

still an emotional thing to do. We will be back on BBC Two, the news is

coming your way on BBC One. Our headline for the Winter Olympics is

that we have our 10th reddish Winter Olympics champion. Her name is Lizzy

Yarnold. -- British Winter Olympics champion.

COMMENTATOR: Another track record... This competition has got

off my trip to a blistering start. , on, Lizzie.

So far, this is unbelievable. Wow, that is just outside the track

record. Her fastest start so far. Lizzy Yarnold goes for gold for

Great Britain. A horrible slide... Come on, Lizzy, keep it together.

Lizzy Yarnold is the Olympic champion... Yes!