Day 8, Part 1 - 5.00am to 9.00am Winter Olympics

Good morning. Are you larks or owls this morning? Some of the Yarnie

army will have had a very late night and indeed may even be seeing in the

dawn with us this morning. Because there is much to celebrate today

after Lizzy Yarnold's daring but ice-cool triumph in the skeleton.

And that's sure to inspire the other members of the British team who're

in action on this eighth day of the Sochi Games. Claire, Vicki, Anna and

Eve are rockin' and rolling now. The GB women have built up a head of

steam going into a big day in which they play two matches. Meanwhile,

the pace picks up considerably in alpine skiing with the second of the

women's speed events, the Super G. Slovenia's Tina Maze and

Switzerland's Lara Gut amongst the favourites. Dave Murdoch's men face

defending champions Canada. The British rink have been building up

to this all week and doing so rather impressively. And mix in some

mayhem, madness and more GB medal chances at the short track arena,

and you've got the makings of a pretty marvellous Saturday morning

of Olympic sport. We are starting with the curling. They are on the

up. They're now joint third in the table after five of the nine

matches. But they've got two to play today, against the Swiss tonight

and, right now, Korea. Jackie Lockhart has been keeping an eye on

everything here in the Ice Cube. How significant a win was that against

Japan? That's definitely gave them the boost of confidence they need to

go into the rest of the Round Robin matches. The opposition skip was

trying to put the pressure on Eve Muirhead but she stepped up. Two

Olympic records. That has to help the confidence. Without question.

That will boost their eagle to finish it off with hopefully an

Olympic medal at the end of this week. Two matches today and the

final two matches on Monday. What is that like? It is a tough programme.

They are sitting in third place amongst a patch of -- a pack of

tough people. Quite often there is downtime between Games and the girls

have to stick to their routine. Will fully they will have a victory under

their belt, they will refuel and do their usual routine. It is a long

day. There is ten hours between matches. Yes, that seems a long time

for us, but for the girls that is normal and they know what they have

to do so the preparation has been looked at very finally for this

competition so I am hoping they are on the up. It is significant for

Dave Murdoch because they have a match against defending champions

Canada. Quietly going about their business effectively. Yesterday's

game was very difficult to watch and to commentate on. What looked like a

massive defeat turned around. Dave was not putting the pressure on the

opposition skip button the second half of the game he did and we won

the game. We have a tough game this afternoon against Canada, the hot

favourites, who have not started well, but they are slowly getting

better. Jackie's personal best from here to the commentary box is

approximately a minute and a half, but she, like the GB women, is

improving every day. The clock starts now, and, in the meantime,

I'll hand you over to Steve Cram. Good morning everybody. Hopefully

Jackie will go past the coffee shop on the way down! It is a sparsely

populated morning here, nor Russian interest. Two big Games, if they win

them both they are in a very strong position.

They want to try and build on win against China and the emphatic win

against Japan. Korea is a tricky match. They have had a couple of

good wins, but two wins and three losses. The last time they met in

2012 it was Korea who came out on top, 7-2. A couple of good shots to

begin with from Claire Hamilton. Korea with a hammer -- the hammer.

Eve's draw was not the best. You got the feeling over the past couple of

matches they have been more assured. Particularly strong

yesterday. That match finished early with this steal or five. -- off

five. Korea will be posting the next Winter Olympics in four years. They

have targeted Carling as a sport they want to be particularly good

at. -- curling. We should not forget how young this British team is. This

British quartet have a big career ahead of them and an opportunity at

these Olympic Games. If you are looking at the table, Canada are

playing this morning against Japan and they can pretty much assure

themselves of a place in the semi-finals with a win today. No

team with six wins as ever not made it to the final four. The Canadian

matches against Japan and the other match is Sweden against China. China

sitting just above Britain in the table.

Vicki being asked to put up the centre card. The skip for Korea is

married to one of the Chinese players. The Chinese men have been

surprising everybody with a fantastic competition. Top of the

table with Great Britain with five wins. Not sure how much they have

been seeing each other. Nice double from Lee. Jackie has joined me.

Unfortunately she did not bring coffee. You never said! Hazel gave

me a minute and a half to get down to the commentary box. Maybe

tomorrow. Somebody has brought me a muffin, that will keep me going. It

is going to be a long day. You were talking to his all about the fact

that they have to come back this evening. I was chatting to even

about the win over China and after that match after the interview she

said they would love to be coming back tonight because they had the

evening off and when you are playing well they want to be back on the

ice, so if they get a good win today then they can continue the momentum

later. Anna Sloan is normally full of

smiles in the introduction beforehand. A little smile from an

when she was introduced to the crowd. A small crowd but plenty of

British support. A little bit of Korean support as well. Nice shot

from Anna Sloan. There is a little group down to your right, about ten

guys who were cordial death in their chants -- who were planning their

chants. Since the game started they have been quiet. I am sure they will

get going. It is early. Not as early as it is back home for those of you

who have got up to watch this. The vice skip is 24. She has relate

right to make the sort of commitment we have been talking about -- really

tried. She has dropped out of university to focus on qualification

and the Olympic Games. She will pick up her studies again after. I was

saying, this team beat the Scottish team in the World Championships in

2012, so not to be underestimated. Without question. We always knew

these girls could be a surprise unit to come out and play against. Rhona

said that at the beginning of the week. They have been practising in

Aberdeen, my home town. Not a good start for Eve. The draw that they

makes for last stone advantage, it was not Eve's best. Unfortunately we

do not have the hammer. She will try to make it difficult for Eve to

remove both. It has started pretty well for the

Korean women. A nice shot from their skip.

Yes, she has placed that Stone very well, just on the tee line. If you

tried to hit the top yellow at the top of the house, it would give a

simple draw. It looks like we are going to try a skinny double, she

just wants to catch the edge of the top yellow, roll across, and take

the other yellow. It is an accurate shot to be playing

this early in the match. So, even, trying to take at both these Korean

stones. To leave us with a chance for one.

Unlucky... Will it go? That was unlucky, a really nice attempt. A

nice, clear house to draw into for the Korean skip. It was a good

effort, it was the first stone which was a problem.

I think the match, if I remember rightly, against Japan yesterday,

didn't Japan, Britain Starts of the two. So, it looks like it will be to

hear for career -- Korea, two here for Korea.

All of that excitement last night. It's funny how in the last couple of

Games, Eve and the team have had an odd competition, I would say, these

Olympic records, picking up a steal of five. Twice they have scored 12.

An odd competition for them, really. That big shot of either against

Canada, remember. Big swings one way or the other. Whereas the men have

had tight matches, right at the end, last night was a good case in point.

She has picked up some of these Olympic records along the way but

that doesn't automatically tell you that everything is going your way.

As you know, this is nine Games of a round robin match. Against ten

teams. One shot is great, but there are many... One shot pulling off an

end, but there are many ends, ten ends. Nine Games. This is a really

long week for the girls. It will be comforting to have these statistics

behind them. The lead for Korea gets underway,

two shots after that first end. That shot from Eve Muirhead, the charts

for Korea to take the two -- the chance. Claire Hamilton played

tonight stones in that first end. Just about made it. Yes, that is a

little bit higher than I would like it. As it was getting slow, it takes

much more of a bigger pull, you end up losing some of the rings there.

Her 23rd birthday in February, Min-ji Um. A couple of weeks ago.

It is interesting that she is one of those who took up the sport in

school. In Korea, we talked about the development of the sport, Korea

particularly targeting cuddling with quite a lot of youngsters playing

now. -- targeting curling. They expected it to comfort it up to

that yellow, but it dug in, it died at the end.

They really will have two plates close attention to the ice and the

stones. We have seen that all week. The ice has been running fairly

well. It is difficult to know if it will hold up for the whole week.

A little bit of a panic that, the skip running to help. I think they

were worried it was going to be very short. It is still pretty short.

The girls have decided to play an in-turn, to try to come down here on

the left-hand side, as we saw in your picture, onto the edge of the

yellow. They are working hard to get to this

front yellow. Pulling hard here. That has opened it up a little bit

more for the girls. They had a couple of Games yesterday

where, for the first time, the clock became an issue. Germany claimed

victory, they played the last sodium as the clock reached zero -- at the

last stone. They had to rush towards the end. They just managed to close

that game out. The German men have had some close matches, including

against Great Britain. They were delighted to get the win in six.

But, unfortunately, poor Switzerland, who had come here with

reasonably high hopes, the Swiss men, they find themselves joint

bottom now. So, we are going to try a similar

shot again here, from Vicki Adams. Managing with the line on the first

time, it does finish big on the end. Yes. A shooter there. It has just

rolled across. It has spread cover at the top of the house on the

left-hand side as can see. -- as we can see. And it is a sitting shot as

well. It is amazing how... I was chatting

to the men, and it was in the seventh and where Denmark had won,

and we weren't sure whether they had to or not, the two stones were so

close together. There was a discussion, it was so close. Then

the skip walked in and said, just one for us, Denmark. Chatting to

them, they were saying they weren't sure at all. A bit of a surprise. I

don't know whether that affected them. They were needed at that

point. The team said afterwards. You wonder whether all these little

edges definitely affected them. So, Korea couldn't afford to sweep

Batstone early because it was going to catch one of their own yellows.

-- that stone. We still live a shot at the back. We will try to put

another on the other side. Outturn. Knockout here. They want to

hit this stone and try to get an inside throw. It is starting to get

busy at the front. Yes. She needs to make sure she has a route in. Not a

bad shot in but doesn't quite get the roll in. That line dance there

is still clear at the moment. -- line down there. She wants to get

the two back. Anything else is a bonus.

Anna, yesterday, a little frustrated with her round play. But Eve was

playing so well. That is good. Again, it didn't quite roll in. Anna

seems to have come out this morning, playing her shots nicely. That was

well executed and well looked after by the team. I think, on this sheet

de that we have been on, we have been on here quite a few times, you

have to be careful. If you don't have the weight, it has a big pool

at the end which becomes very dangerous. So, delivering that shot

as accurately as you can. From the other end, you are probably

only going to see half of this red stone. The same line again for

Ji-sun Kim. It looks very tight. Yes. They are having to work this

very hard. She took a much tighter line. And now Britain are lying

three. Another good shot from the skip.

We want to try to block this. There is a bit of traffic upfront working

in the skip's flavourful is -- favour. Korea will still have the

chance to utilise the yellow on the other side of the house which could

come across the face of it. She only has to tap it a little. Even that

would not be too easy a shot. The first stone of the previous end

was not her best but the line here is looking good, it is just a

question of weight. It is not bad. That is exactly where she wanted it

to finish. Kim Ji-sun had a bit of bother in this second end.

That our stones sitting out in front, thing hard bother -- causing

her bother. Maybe trying to lift a double but what will happen is the

stone she has thrown well out count some of the others sitting. She has

to be careful. She is either looking at damage limitation, hopefully

removing two of our stones or there was a difficult catch on that

yellow. To tap it into the red, sorry, the white and maybe give up

one. I think she is looking at hitting the red to the left. If she

catches this wrong, she might get rid of the red, but you have a

chance of at least three mac. We still have last stone. An important

shot. If she can, trying to get the double

take-out. She has done well. The British stone just going out. Damage

limitation, she did pretty well. I thought the third was going to hang

on, but it spun out. That would have given Eve the chance of four but as

it is she has the chance of three. The girls have played this end

well. She just has to draw enough onto the nose of the red that she

laid with her first stone and that should give her three stones.

A similar shot to what she played a few moments ago. Nicely done. That

is a good start for Eve Muirhead after her first shot of the match

not being the best, but since then it has been good. A good response

after Korea took a two shot lead. Tied up on the far side, Canada and

Japan. Canada took the first and Japan responded in the second. China

against Sweden, I was musing over this this morning wondering if three

teams pull away, if we get to the point where Canada are assured of

going into the semifinal, if Sweden were to win, and we pick up a couple

of wins, we have three pulling away from the pack. Sometimes it is nice

to let the winning team keep winning.

And leave the rest of the pack to fight it out. There is such a lot in

the middle, three wins, two losses, what we have today is Sweden and

China playing at the moment and China have picked up a two in the

first end, so all to play for. This is a crucial game for us. We

definitely want to win, keep them into going. -- the momentum. I do

not think you want to lose too many more. They would have four wins and

three losses, but if you want to be assured of getting into the top

four, six wins, five might get you there ought you might end up in a

tie-break on Tuesday. You start to look at other teams, you cannot

affect how they lay, but you will start to look at the table, and the

main thing is to have it in your own destiny, do not rely on other teams

losing. The last matches against Russia, that will be tough -- the

last match is against Russia. Often the teams at the bottom are the

hardest to play because they have nothing to lose. We also have

Switzerland tonight. That will be a tough match. They have played each

other many times. That is big for Switzerland who won their first

three mac and then lost three. They have been playing all five players

and moving them around and it has not worked out for them at all. It

looks as if they are a little uneasy. They have been chopping and

changing positions and I am not sure it is working for them. Just

catching the guard slightly. Claire Hamilton has started well this

morning. Vicki Adams going second. Vicki is playing and out-turn draw.

Using the stone that Korea stopped. Might be slipping a little bit too

far behind the tee. A little unfortunate. Korea going to clear

this out a little after the previous shot gave them a little bit of

bother. Lee does well. Just moves across in

front of that other one, two of them think they're no -- sitting there.

They have left us with an opportunity to better Vicki's first

drop. They will try for a clockwise rotation of the stone which should

pull to the right depending on the swing, perhaps two or three feet. We

want this to stop on the eight foot. Nice shot. Well played, Vicki

Adams. There is a relaxed feeling about the

British team this morning. Warming to this match. A good start. The

second end was what they needed. Going back to the point about

playing all five, the Black Cats have done the same -- Korea have

done the same. The last couple of matches it has

been Lee playing second. There was talk about the men before we came

here, talk about how that was going to work, whether there would be

rotation of Dave Murdoch and Soren Gran said in the press conference,

he put everybody right. Teams who do operate that system, if it is not

out of necessity, what is the thinking behind that? It must and

settle the balance of the team, communication, camaraderie. For that

to work, if you play a five-man British and Andy take a fifth man

with you there is no point in that fifth man having no match practice

to keep up their good play and you find a lot of the teams will rotate

them in the front end saw the lead will constantly rotate back and

forward. It becomes difficult if you bring your fifth man to replace vice

or the skip because the dynamics of the team are difficult to manage.

There is an advantage to playing with five but we generally play with

four and we do not utilise the fifth man until we come to the

competition. The preparation for the Olympics was a five-man team and it

is difficult to leave that fifth player sitting out doing nothing for

radio and not having practice on the ice -- for a year. We'll coach sits

down and said, you are playing second, because otherwise you are

putting pressure. If you tell them beforehand, it makes it a bit

easier. Yes, you do not want to be messing with people's heads and

somebody on the ice worrying that they might be replaced. I have seen

it working that they will change every other game and then they will

know when they are on and win they are off.

Out of the four Korean players, she has looked the best in the early

stages of this match. Eve, with the out-turn hit. She will

be hoping to catch maybe half of this yellow and roll across into the

centre, use the cover she has in the middle of the house. She has some

protection. It is going to be interesting again

in this match. To see if Britain have a nice early advantage. These

two young skips, Eve Muirhead with an awful lot of experience already,

playing well, and a little bit of an up and down tournament for Ji-sun

Kim. She has a good chance to strike back

for her team. Number two here, a good shot.

Got those three stones out there. Not bad. Eve Muirhead will be able

to see this. They would have liked a little bit of a role there. By the

same token, didn't want to lose it either. I think Eve should see all

of this. We just heard her say, she would

like to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela to the right-hand side, as we look to

the picture -- like to roll. Hopefully making it a lot harder for

Korea to move the stone and potentially thank the end.

Applying some early pressure. It should be a shot that Ji-sun Kim

should be able to make. But, so many skips, when they seem to have

straightforward shots, make the errors. Great Britain, making sure

that nothing is too easy. She should be able to take this out and blank

this end, and move on to the fourth. It is starting to fill up in here.

Still plenty of Russian flags even though Russia are not playing this

morning. Ji-sun Kim, trying to get round, to

pick up this British stone. Korea will want to check this out

and not stay in the house themselves. There will be quite

happy with the blank here. Roll over the end, taking the hammer into the

fourth end. Well played by Britain. Some good shots. Anna Sloan and Eve

Muirhead, all four of them played a really good end there. So, advantage

still with Great Britain. Canada have moved out to a 4-2 lead in

their match against Japan. And, China have had a steal in the

second, sorry, third end, against Sweden. They now lead 3-0.

Wang, getting her team off to a good start.

I was just wondering, Jackie, because obviously the Winter

Olympics has a different feel to the summer Olympics, in the sense there

are the ice events in the coastal cluster, then the events in the

mountains. A gold medal for Great Britain with Lizzy Yarnold, a

brilliant performance yesterday in the skeleton. They wouldn't be

mixing with the rest of the team. I presume, I know the guys came off

the ice and were told about the gold medal performance. In the summer

Olympics, there is a feel-good factor when people come back with

their medals, it gives everyone a lift. I wonder whether the colours

will be keeping an eye on this. -- the curlers.

I am sore Gracnar I am sure that the whole of team GB will be keeping a

night on the rest of the team. In Vancouver, it was great to see Amy

Williams bring the medal in. We all got to see how heavy it was. It

gives you a tingle in your tummy when you think, we have the chance

of doing the same as they have done. You don't always get the chance to

see everybody. You tend to have to keep doing the same things as you

would do, especially when they are mid-competition. It is thrilling if

you are on your way to the food tent, you pass a medallist and you

see the joy in their face. I am sure it will have given the whole of Team

GB a boost. Undoubtedly. None more so than our boys and girls. We hope

they have medal chances here. Eve is just going to try to utilise

that centre guard. But, a clear lead on for us. To get one tucked right

in behind it. Hopefully, T-high. To make it very difficult for Korea to

better it. You want to come round in behind it

but also give it a little bit of space, you don't want to make it an

easy promotion for Korea. I am not sure she could have placed it any

better, that is a wonderful shot. If you are just joining us this morning

for your morning fix of curling over breakfast Great Britain, as you can

see, leading. Two matches for the women today could put them in a very

strong position. With three wins so far. If they were to go to bed

tonight with five wins, two losses, two more matches to come, nine

matches in total in the round robin, that would be just what the

doctor ordered. Two losses for Great Britain, Canada

and Sweden. Sweden are down against China. Those two teams stand at the

top at the moment. Before we arrived here, they were the three teams,

perhaps with Switzerland, although they are having a difficult time at

the minute. The three teams everyone was talking about, Great Britain,

Sweden and Canada. At the start of this competition when we had two

losses, a few people were worried by that and wondered how the

performance would go. If you had asked the before we had come here,

if they were going to lose two Games, it would be likely to be

Canada and Sweden. They knew that and knew they had to panic. They had

to make sure they would win against all the others.

They have to treat every game as their first, with respect for the

opposition you are playing against. So, that has cleared some at the

front. But she has left a yellow stone sitting up there, which will

give us cover. We will just try and double guard that red we have

sitting in the four foot. Anna Sloan has made a good start

this morning. Just wanting to try and put it right

on the centre line. As Jackie was saying, to guard the red sitting in

the house already. That is pretty good. Again, they have left good

space between the yellow at the top of the house and the actual read in

the house. It makes it a lot harder for Korea.

That may just have turned a half too much, and has left a little bit of

an edge that Korea can see. This is a heavy drop, hoping to come down

and maybe tap the red in the house. She would worry if she only captures

the edge because she has the yellow she has in the corner she can hit

and rolled across. This is straight on to the nose -- she can hit and

roll across. A diminutive stature but, goodness

me, they can shout, to try to encourage each other to work hard in

sweeping. I was going to say, which match was that, Russia versus USA,

it was so loud in here. The guys were struggling to make each other

heard. Not quite as noisy in the stand this morning, but noisy on the

ice. Anna might have played another good

shot here. Not quite. A little unfortunate there. I think Eve was

trying to call that, to try and take a read, no, a red stone -- take a

red. With that small error there, there

is now the opportunity for Korea to hit two stones. She is sweeping hard

because she wants a little roll behind. Just haven't got that, so we

should still be able to see I think both stones.

There is a line of guards that, if Eve Muirhead can take that back

stone and rolled across. -- roll across.

Even the Test accuracy at 71%, the first two stones of her three won't

so good. But she has been playing well. Another good shot here.

This really need to get the roll across if they can. A good shot from

either your head. Just a little bit too much, will it go? Unfortunately,

they do a lot of pulling at the end. They did think it was good most of

the way down but with the lighter weights, you get a bigger braked --

break. The decision for Korea is where to

put the second shot. They do not want to leave any chance of a double

against Eve Muirhead. Did you catch that? I could your watches said --

here what she said, but I need a translator! They will need to come

down on the right-hand side. I think probably tap big yellow or tap it

back here. A tap anywhere as long as they leave

enough space soul there is not the possibility of a double for Eve. She

has most of the house to play with. She has played a couple of nice

draws already. She has to get this right. It is coming round.

They maybe slightly over swept that, because they did not want the second

stone to come behind the T. It makes it a very difficult shot for a two.

This shot has to be right. Otherwise we could give up the chance of a

three. Eve has been playing some very good draws.

Watching this, if Eve plays another good shot, they are going to try to

hold the line. That is a nice shot because it has come in behind and

put some pressure on Korea. She did not get the freeze she was looking

for but it was well judged by the girls. It depends what she feels

like, is she going to draw in? She should be able to tap that back. I

wish we could see the lines better. It is hard to see. I want to get up

from my commentary seat and head across to see the line from behind

the sheet. It is a lot of ice she has taken which makes me think she

is happy to play the draw. This might not be good enough. Once

again, a good shot from Eve Muirhead asked a question and they were not

able to come up with a reply, so it is a steal for rate Britain. --

Great Britain. They have taken their opportunities. A good shot from Eve

Muirhead. The Korean has been struggling. -- skip has been

struggling. Canada could guarantee themselves pretty much a place in

the top four if they when. It is for-4 against Japan who beat Great

Britain yesterday. If you get into this sort of

position, the men came back from a 5-1 deficit at the halfway point

yesterday when Denmark pretty much fell apart because of good play from

Great Britain. The women have shown that when they get their noses in

front and they can start to dominate matches, they are very difficult to

beat. This young Korean team making a future many errors at the moment,

particularly Kim Ji-sun, the skip. Corner guard from Lee Hyun-jung.

Trying to get something going again. Each time you struggle it carries

on, Korea have the hammer, the last stone. If you're skip is not playing

well it seems to permeate through the rest of the team. We know the

skip is the one who gets the glory, but they have to carry the

responsibility if the last shots start to struggle. If you cannot

finish off the end, when the opportunity has been presented, you

find yourself in the position Korea are in.

Fighting this. It should be OK. To get round the front guard. Tuesday

is the day all the matches will be complete in the Round Robin, the

Round Robin will be complete on Monday and Tuesday is for

tie-breaks. If you have one or two, you still

have the chance of picking up three wins to finish to finish final four

and have a chance of qualifying. All of these matches, even if you get

towards the end you can be in a qualifying position. This is a must

win for Korea. They will need this if they are to have any chance of

hanging in. Everybody wanted to win games for different reasons. Once

you get four losses, you are one match away from knowing your

campaign will be over. The way the standings are panning out, five wins

give you a chance of top four. The girls are going to have to work hard

to get past the guard in front. Good sweeping. It has unfortunately, out

the other side, but she did the first job in hand which was to get

stone removed. -- this stone removed. Lee playing second, we

talked about the fact she has been alternating with Shin Mi-sung, who

is the more experienced player. Putting that pretty much where her

skip had asked. I was reading a quote from Shin Mi-sung who was

talking about the funding that they are receiving, millions of dollars

going into Korean curling and she was remarking about how you have to

remember where they came from, they were borrowing equipment from other

teams and they were envious, going over to Canada, it was almost a hand

to mouth existence to begin with for them. It was a similar situation for

the Russians when they first darted, borrowing second-hand shoes,

anything they could get their hands on sole they were playing with good

equipment, and look at them now. Will fully they can get some money

behind them -- hopefully. With future games moving to Asian

countries, the Winter Olympics, where is the next one? Korea. The

governor of the province where these four come from, they have a big new

training centre, and he has funded all of their travel. That funding is

going to be close to $10 million leading up to the next Olympics just

for this sport, built around the women's team at the moment, but they

could have a men's team as well. This Korean team will have put in a

lot of preparation, but I fully expect to see after another three or

form -- four years' experience, they could be doing a similar job to what

Eve is doing. She skipped the team in Vancouver in 2010 and they

managed to get to the play-offs, but the experience has been very good

for her, she has grown into a much more professional young lady in her

approach to the game. Our experience has increased tenfold.

She has been playing well, Gim Un-chi. Not quite coming off for

her. I felt her pain. Every time these shots are not

coming off, they know how good Eve is when she is on her game, and

giving her any opportunity, and the Korean skip at the moment is not

matching Eve Muirhead. We are going to seek Eve with the

apt turn -- see Eve with the out-turn.

Eve would have liked that to sit in front of that stone. Nonetheless,

what we have seen, even when there has been an opportunity for Ji-sun

Kim, she has struggled to capitalise. We can see a bit of that

stone. Shooting 69% overall today. They

have only played four ends, so that can obviously change. She will need

to improve. Has she got that one right?

This gives Eve the opportunity to certainly prevent Korea scoring well

here. Again, putting on the pressure for a steal.

Eve Muirhead, she wants to come down and catch this on the nose if

possible. It needs to turn a little more.

Allowing to -- two. Is she looking to see whether she will take this

on? A big shot here. There is the chance because that has rolled a

little to the left. This is it. If she does miss it, it will be another

steal. Whether you take this on, or take your one.

I think she is going to try to take this on. I know if it was a shot

facing Eve Muirhead, I know which one she would take.

She only has two, obviously she has two judge the angle well, come

across and take the second British stone out, sitting at three o'clock.

But, miss it, that will stay in there for shot.

It would give them a chance to score big. They are not touching this at

all. That is right on the nose. Another steal. A steal for Great

Britain. Going Eve Muirhead's way. Another opportunity missed by Korea.

So, Eve Muirhead, guiding her team excellently this morning. After five

ends, halfway point, they lead by three.

Jackie, you said that was a shot Eve would have taken on. If the skip

isn't playing well, maybe the team will say, let us go in one down. If

the skip was playing well, then go for it. We saw that in the men's

match with Denmark yesterday. But she has been struggling. I think you

have to be almost pumped to play these shots. If she had made that

shot, it would have raised her whole confidence to go into the next half

of the game. But she hasn't been quite at the races today. I don't

understand. If that was the end, you have to take the risk and go for a

big shot, they could have scored big. She had to make sure she was

going to get some sort of a roll. She overthrew that. She never even

gave the stone a chance to take a turn. Looking back, if you are just

joining us, the highlights of the first five ends, a good start for

Korea, they picked up two in the first end. Britain responded by

taking three. Eve had, her first shot of the morning, wasn't her

best, but since then she has been playing some really nice stuff, well

backed up by her team, setting up the yen is really well. After

picking up three in the second, blanked the third. Ji-sun Kim has

not been able to make the shots as she did there. An opportunity in the

fourth and fifth to score but didn't take it. This steal on both

occasions both going to Great Britain. Some happy British

campers. Where are they camping! It is warm enough outside to be

camping! People going for a little jog along the Black Sea path.

Yesterday, people work in shorts and T-shirts. Unbelievable. We have to

keep reminding ourselves we are at the Olympic Games, the Winter

Olympic Games. We know plenty of people will be

watching at home in the early morning. Whether you are off to

school or at work. If you are with us... Actually, it is Saturday,

goodness me. A few kids have jumped up and said, what! I think it is a

break for some of the kids, from school. I am sure there will be lots

of young mums, or mum is up with their kids, we are offered early

risers. This will be something to watch. If there is anybody out there

who is not enjoying this game of curling, I have said before there

are a couple of websites you can visit, to get inspired, to find out

lots of events at this Winter Olympics. And a come and try website

on curling. If you are even in an area up in Scotland, I know at the

moment the Scottish Championships taking place. There is also the

world seniors in Dumfries at the end of April. Lots going on, if people

want to continue this great sport of curling, to watch it and see how it

is played. That is a fixtures clash, the Scottish Championships during

the winter Olympics. There has been a lot of debate. These girls

competing at the Winter Olympics and not getting the chance to play for

their own home country. It's not just that, curling fans going to the

Scottish Championships, but this is once every four years. I did hear

all the players in Perth were glued to the television, when they are not

competing they are sitting in the conference rooms watching these

Games on the big screen. Whether you are a curling fan or at the Scottish

Championships, at work, we won't tell anybody, seriously!

If there are kids watching this morning, well done! Early on a

Saturday morning. It is going well for Great Britain.

Both our men's team and women's team building momentum. Sitting at the

top of the standings for their first six bit -- matches. They will be

back tonight, a big match this afternoon. At 2pm here in Sochi.

10am back home. The British men are taking on Canada. Brad Jacobs and

his brink -- rink. They like to wear the tight T-shirts. They had a

tricky start, the Canadian men, getting a bit of stick back home.

The expectation is particularly high particularly for the men. The women

are sailing through the competition. Although, I can tell

you Japan have stolen one, taking a 5-4 lead in that match. They need to

win that want to assure themselves of qualification. Not quite going to

plan at the moment. And Sweden have pulled to back in the last couple of

ends. 3-2, China lead that one. Sweden are closing that one up a

little. Not the best of starts here it --

for Britain in the sixth end. We were talking through that break. I

caught David Hay kind of saying that, although they are in a good

position, they have to be careful. It is more the opposition's

mistakes. If we look at these stats, there is not much difference

in it. The Korean skip, Ji-sun Kim, it is slightly struggling. We have

to keep our ion this game. -- our eye on. Another slack shot but she

would have preferred to have that T-high on the centre line.

I am going to give a shout out to the dads up with a young kids. I did

same arms earlier but, in this day and edge, it is a 50-50 opportunity

to watch with the children now -- in this day.

Nowadays, lots of dads are watching with their kids. A big shout out to

all of you dads. Have resorted everybody at, kept

everybody happy? I am trying my best here. -- have we sorted everybody

out. There is one group we haven't

mentioned, that is the teenagers. If you are up this morning, well done

to you. Using these two shots at the back.

They wanted to be a little closer there. To make it difficult for

Great Britain to remove the yellow stone. Because of this, I am sure

Eve will be happy to throw some heavyweight at this -- heavy weight

at this. Yesterday, let us not forget,

Britain were 5-1 down against Denmark. Although Great Britain are

up against Korea... That is a very nice shot. Even though things have

gone your way, it is easily turned around. Things can turn right

around. And start going against you. That was a nice shot, just clipping

it. She is happy with that one.

Seul-bee Lee, trying to play a similar shot to last time. Still

those two stones for her to come up against.

This makes the margin of error less in a smaller surface area. She has

played that stone very well. Ill has the possibility to come down on the

in turn. I think left-handed players are a great asset to any team. That

is a nice shot. That is a smile we have seen plenty

of from Anna Sloan. These four, they have all known each other a long

time, all of a similar age. Anna had plenty of success in her junior

career and is now backing up Eve Muirhead really well. This has been

a great little unit they have going. They get on on and off the ice and

that makes such a difference in this sport.

They did not have the weight for that shot. Plenty of volume. We

thought the crowd was loud. They have been particularly quiet. There

is a little Korean contingent who were practising their chants, they

have not had much to say. Great Britain keeping control.

I think once again we are going to try the about -- out turn raise. You

want it to sit right on top of it and have no space between yours and

the opposition's stone. Something like that. Another couple of inches,

but to be honest she has been playing really well. She has been

setting the skip up, combating Anna Sloan, it is probably frustrating

for her, but she has to keep playing her shots and hope that her skip

comes to the game. I suppose that is what the coach will have said, keep

setting up the opportunities and hope that Kim Ji-sun starts to play

a little better. It would be good if that could hang

in. That was a nice try. It came across the face a little bit too

much and it has jammed the yellow and it has not removed from play. It

gives people back the opportunity to draw one down and rest in front of

the red stone we see on the right-hand side of the back. She has

to play a straightforward shot and set things up for herself. Both of

those last steals, her shot was not good enough. The team have set it up

and created the opportunity and as a skip you have to finish it off.

She did manage that. I think we will see Eve Muirhead remove this yellow

stone. She is going to try to come down and take that, as she looks at

it, the stored on the right -- stone. I have said this a couple of

times, Kim Ji-sun would have a great opportunity to come back and take

the two. She needs to make sure that Eve Muirhead get this right and hits

it on the nose, which she does. That should be a fairly straightforward

shot for Kim Ji-sun. If she gets this wrong, she might not have too

many friends amongst the team. She has a play a similar shot to the

one that Eve Muirhead has just done and close the gap . She is shouting

at them to close the line. They take their two, finally and Kim Ji-sun

will breathe a sigh of relief. The very first end she has managed to do

that. Great Britain will have the hammer in the seventh end.

She seemed more worried than I think she needed to be. It is probably

more to do with what has gone before. A few union Jacks kicking

around. Canada still trailing Japan full.

China still 3-2 up and have the hammer.

Looking at their match, there are nine stones and you could just about

the roll your jacket over them, a big jacket!

Great Britain have last stone advantage, the hammer, in this end,

and we really need to stop tee high. Why is it called the hammer? Do not

look at me like that! I am not sure. I think it is a Canadian term. I

will have to look that up. You got me out! It visually strange -- is

really strange because the girls have one slow piece all and one

grippy Saul and a rubber attachment and we call it a cap. -- a kipper.

It probably looks like a kipper and smells like a kipper! That is your

homework. I knew you would put me under pressure.

You can hear a little frustration. Struggling with weight this morning.

Eve came to put the pressure on. The team is playing 81 against 81% so

you have to keep your eye on the game.

Over the next four ends, you should have the hammer in the ninth.

Eve Muirhead wanting to clear things out a little. Those guards could

cause her trouble later. That is pretty good. Good result for Vicki

Adams. That has cleared things out up front. The British stone that has

stared -- stayed there might comment to play later.

With one stone, trying to get onto the centre line. That is pretty

good. Eve calling for Vicki Adams to come

in and tap this one back. Just biting that one at the bottom,

the Korean stone. It has gone across and sat behind the corner guard that

I said might be come useful at one point. She said she could not see

any of it. There is a draw in there and if we can get past the top guard

there is a possibility. With them hitting and rolling

out... The Korean stone just scoring at the moment.

We are going to try to put one round behind the corner guard, to utilise

that. Hopefully, get a mistake. On the challenge you have set me. Do

I get a couple of options, to ask the audience, phone a friend? If you

have given me a couple of options, I am not going to ask the audience

because I am not sure they will know. I might have two phone a

friend. That is the same thing! -- have to phone a friend.

Actually, why did you pick a friend who hasn't got up yet, they would be

delighted you ringing them on a Saturday morning. Wakey wakey!

A nice shot played by Anna. Korea are now having to follow.

Another decent shot from Un-chi Gim. They have lifted themselves up a

little bit. Obviously, they have been encouraging each other well.

You can tell they are sensing they might have a chance to turn this

around a little. They have picked up two in the previous end which has

given them some encouragement. As you can see, Britain lying shot

here with the skips to play. She really does have two, Ji-sun

Kim, it has really been her indifferent play over the last five

ends which saw them 5-2 down. A couple of decent shots in the

previous end have helped her. A good try. It stayed pretty

straight down there. It did, it held the line. It is behind the centre

line in the back half of the ring. Eve, I don't think, will be too

worried by it. There is a really nice am a good

finish on this outturn. As long as they judge and control it

well, they can leave that, drawing until the very last minute, behind

the centre. Another good shot from either your

head. Maybe slid on a little too far if I am being picky. It would have

been nice to sit on the blue, the other side of the blue on the top.

But it is still lying shot at the minute. The Korean skip, Ji-sun Kim,

will have to play a good shot if she is to force a one or two steel one

-- steal one. Otherwise, there is the possibility

that Eve could try to promote and take it out.

Ji-sun Kim trying to follow up the good shot she played a few moments

ago. To try to force Eve Muirhead perhaps to take the one, it is still

out there. This one has deftly got much more weight. She has been

caught a couple of times here. Once again, Ji-sun Kim not playing the

shot her team needed. Even if she had come across in front of the

stone, it would have been much better than that. She has tapped her

own behind said Eve has more protection of the red stone sitting

there. A fairly straightforward draw for

Eve Muirhead. The British skip, looking to pick up

the two here. It has been another good end for Great Britain and

another end where the Korean skip, Ji-sun Kim, has struggled.

So, another nice shot from Eve Muirhead. Perfectly played. And

watched by the sweepers. Another two for Great Britain. It is 7-4, as

they head into the last three ends. Korea will have the hammer in the

eighth. Their skip is really struggling. For Great Britain, it is

very much as planned, so far, looking good.

STUDIO: You can see the end of this match on the red button. This is the

first of two matches. They have the Swiss. If you want to keep watching,

the red button. Dave Murdoch has a potentially

significant day. At 10am your time, against the Canadians. A very big

match. If you have set your alarm, good morning, welcome to coverage of

date eight of the Sochi Games. A reasonably gentle start. But I am

going to turn on the bonus, with the Super-G. It stands for super giant

slalom. Plenty of straight line speed but a few turns to keep it

interesting. We are heading up to the Rosa Khutor

Alpine Centre. The mountain peaks have been a real feature. Everyone

commentating how beautiful the scenery has been. And everybody

talking as well about the conditions. Yesterday it was 14

degrees in the mountains for the combined event which produced

another surprise winner, Viletta winning, from Switzerland. We are

starting to see some interesting results. Liver Tim called these

funky results. Whilst we could get some crueller temperatures at the

end of the weekend, I wonder what we will get this morning on the

beautiful but warm day. Emma Carrick Anderson and Matt Chilton are in the

commentary box. Three out of the four of these Alpine events have

produced some eyebrow raising results. Any hints of disquiet up

there? We are looking out of the box now

and the views are fantastic, a sensational day. The top of the

Super-G is firm, very icy. From where we look, the snow looks

lovely, the kind of snow you would enjoy as a recreational skier in

April. Racing, not so ideal. The early numbers will do well.

Hopefully, the course will hold up. Switzerland have had two gold medals

already in the Alpine events. It is Lara Gut, the big Swiss hope today.

Lara but will certainly be looking to make amends. She is currently

third in the Super-G standings. And looking to make amends after missing

out on a downhill gold medal, finishing third, to Tina Maze and

Dominique Giffen. -- Gissin. We are just seeing her on the screen

from the other day. Who else is there?

Interesting, a few who could put an upset in there. Yesterday, we saw

Ivica Kostelic, whose coach and father set the slow -- slalom.

Today, it could go the way of Anna Fenninger. For me, Tina Weirather,

she will be strong as well. Tina Maze, you can't write her off. It

will be a great race. From 16-22, we will be on the edge of our seats.

Looking at the start list, tell us more.

When you come from a family with great heritage, you are destined for

great things. This youngster is a fighter, rarely out of the top five.

To come back from a nasty bump to the shin the other day in downhill

training, well done to get up and put one down today. Good morning,

Matt. Her father won six World Cup races as well. And her uncle Andy

was an Olympic medallist, she comes from a terrific ski racing pedigree.

I understand Graham Bell has just completed a course run less than

five minutes ago, this is what it is like.

The skies have cleared and conditions could not be more perfect

for the women to tackle. At the start, a couple of little turns

before you head towards this jump. Really important to keep the skis

flat which fly over onto the gliding exception. They have done their best

to clear it but it is not running that fast I have to say.

Approaching the telephone turn now. Over a little jump. It is going to

get going a little later on. Now, into the Meadows. Lots of big,

sweeping turns. Lots of terrain in here, you have to be strong,

pressing forward over the outside ski. Quite dark and shady. Now, into

the forest. Close to that gate. And out, past the net. Now, the tunnel

jump and into the bright sunshine. Avoiding the bumps. Now into the

legendary compression. Over there, take a little bit of air. This is

where you can really let the speed run. Inside, to the finish.

Those of you who are eager light will have realised that is in fact

file desire -- Val d'Isere. Rosa Khutor is where we are. I don't know

why the confusion. Sorry, Hazel. There is a tunnel jump

here. That is the only comparison to Val d'Isere. I think we are ready to

start the race now. So, on another perfect morning in the mountains, it

is all systems go for the women's Olympics will budget, the newest of

the pine disciplines, combining the rush of downhill with the technical

demands of giant slalom. It is high-speed, hard work from top to

bottom. It will be the Spanish skier, Carolina Ruiz Castillo, who

opens this race. It really is a steep start. We are coming from the

right. It is a sheer drop from here. Number one in the gate, Carolina

Ruiz Castillo of Spain, the 2014 Olympic women's Super-G. She pushes

out of the gate. We have alternating red and blue gates here. It is

high-speed, high octane turning. And that is her Olympics over. Ending at

gate number three. What a terrible start for the Spanish racer. She

will be kicking herself. The boat clips hit the snow, and there was

nothing a racer can do. It is over. We saw her banging her poll on the

snow. She will be furious. What a shame. How frustrating for her and

her Scottish coach. She has been on good form in the last six months as

well. She will be wanting to talk to nobody as she finds her way down the

side of the cause. If she is anything like me, I would not speak

to anybody for days. I remember! So an earlier start than planned for

Leanne Smith of the USA, from New Hampshire. She is from near where

Bode Miller hails from, on the east coast. We are just waiting for the

timing controller with the headphones on. She will have seen

that mistake, so she will have a heads up on that. This top section

is very slippery. It does not really get any son. Leanne Smith,

26-year-old American, ready to race the Olympic Super-G. Lots of words

of encouragement from the American coaches behind. She charges out of

the gate and gets down to work. We have a group of Americans in front

of us, so they are going crazy. She is on to the Bolshoi to reverse.

This is straight. Turn four and five are important. This is where the

race could be won or lost. This section is a wake-up call because

you have been on that left leg for some time. It might be flatter here,

but there are lot of terms. The distance of this course is just over

2000m, 2100, starting at 1580 metres, dropping down to 965 metres

above sea-level. A vertical drop of 600m from top to bottom. Leanne

Smith is coming in and out of the tuck, as you often see on these

flatter sections. When you are in the tuck, you can't move your legs

as well. A huge mistake, terrible direction of that jump. It is over

for her. She landed poorly off the solitary jump, and then she had to

make a couple of emergency manoeuvres, skiing extra mileage to

put herself back on the racing line. No medals for her today. The course

at the bottom is more like a giant slalom than a downhill. At the top,

it is closer to a downhill. It is a real test that the Austrian coach

has set for this Super-G. She had to have a lot more direction. I think

she was surprised by the amount of air she took off that jump. Huge

disappointment for Smith. Daniela Merighetti, from Italy. 32 years

old, one of the veterans. Just missed a medal in the Olympic

downhill. She was fourth on Wednesday. Oh, but mistakes! -- but

mistakes. It is proving very difficult. There will be a lot of

radio contact going from the bottom back up. If these girls do not go on

weak no attacking where they are doing, this is the big thing in

Super-G. This is what makes it such a difficult discipline. You are

still skiing at such high speeds, 50 or 60 miles an hour. You get one

inspection for 45 minutes. Unlike the downhill, where you have a feud

training runs and inspections, these girls see it once and then it is

flat out or nothing. It is a very difficult -- discipline to ski a

fast, clean line. But she has used that mistake to her advantage. She

is pushing hard and skiing well. I would think this course might play

into the hands of Lara Gooch, who starts at number 20 today -- Lara

Gut. It is icy and demanding, the sort of course she would normally

thrive on. But this is going to be a serious test this morning. We are

going to lose a lot of the starters. You can see that it is trapping up

already. Again, Daniela Merighetti did not have enough direction on

that solitary jump. Jessica Lindell-Vikarby could do well today.

The technical demands of this course will suit the Swede. She did not

race in the super combined to the downhill, so she is making her first

Olympic appearance in 2014. And making the best of the top section,

better than anybody so far to the first five turns. Maybe a bit round,

but in hindsight, she could have attacked it a bit more. So many

mistakes were made by the three girls before her, she thought, maybe

I will take it easy and get through the difficult section. She will

enjoy this bit. It might be flat, but this course is a work from top

to bottom. She has a win under her belt already this season in the

giant slalom. She gets very vocal when she comes down these courses.

You can hear her screaming and grunting her way through some of the

terms. I did not hear any grunting, but we might be grunting! Come on!

That section really is difficult. What a shame. She was skiing so

well. They have to come in with way more direction. It is a left-footed

turn. Then you take off on the left foot, but you have to land very

quickly on the right hand. She lands too far to the left. It is the

solitary jump that is catching them out, and that is in view of the

crowd, so there was a collective groan when they saw another one fail

to finish, remarkably. They are falling like flies here. Marie

Marchand-Arvier -- Marie-Michele Gagnon dislocated her shoulder

earlier. They popped it back in quickly, and she decided to race

today. Another one bites the dust. Has anyone finished yet? No. So,

maybe a little bit too tough. It is very slick up there. I think the

girls have got to back off, especially on this top section. They

should skim it rounder, giving themselves more space, like a giant

slalom. Actually, Leanne Smith did finish. It was a shoddy finish, but

she did make over gates. So she still leads the way. We have one

racer in the finish. And so far, four did not finishes. The next

racer is another one coming back from a fall, Marie Marchand-Arvier.

She had the biggest fall of the Olympics so far, when she clattered

headfirst into the safety netting at the top. I am amazed that she is

racing today, but she is clearly battered and bruised, but feeling

fit enough to tackle this Super-G. The two way radios are working

overtime with instructions from the bottom and the middle part of the

course, via the coaches to the racers at the top, giving them

instructions. They are saving medals to be won today, with all the

fallers we are going to experience. There is a chance for somebody from

outside the top Super-G rankings to get in amongst the medals. Marie

Marchand-Arvier failed to finish the downhill. Can she make it to the

bottom of the Olympic Super-G? You can see her skis bouncing around,

and she is out as well. My goodness, this is proving so tough at the top.

Graham said after his run on the course that it is so slick. You can

see the skis bouncing around. Good on them for putting their injuries

behind them. It shows how tough these athletes are physically and

mentally, that they can come back a few days later and try and put it

behind them. If she is the only one to finish, they will give her all

the medals, Leanne Smith! That would be a first! So, five failed to

finish. Six have started. The person who set the course may now be

thinking it is a bit too tough. Lauren Ross of the US will be next

to go. Let's give you a heads up of some of the big names. Julia Mancuso

starts in 14. Nicole Hosp in 16. Tina Weirather in 17. They are

gathering hard and fast at the side of the course. That is such an

unusual sight to see. Laurenne Ross's turn next. So, we have one

finisher, Leanne Smith, 1:28.38. If Lauren Ross gets there, we will have

a USA 1-2, but this is a really unusual situation. She needs to be

gentle with these terms, not push too hard on the edges. She has that

clean, high line. She is one of the lucky ones. A team-mate Smith is in

the finish, so she will have had contacted via the two-way radio. She

will know how it feels to ski it. The coaches can only radio back and

say what it looks like, so she is in a strong position. 11th in the

downhill on Wednesday. She has got to be dynamic. This is the thing

with the soft snow. From here down, it starts to get soft. From Laurenne

Ross, it will feel nice to ski on. It is not so nice once it chops up,

but she's loving it at the moment. Good, clean skiing. She has still

got the solitary jump to come. If you have come unstuck here. Ross

damns them sideways, but makes the next. And she is out! I can't

believe it. Stays on her feet and skis home, but no time. And yet

another one. We have got one from seven in the finish now.

Unbelievable. You very rarely see a 360 on the middle of a very steep

supergiant kissed. The ten out of ten for acrobatic skills, but

unfortunately, no time for her. Next to go, Kajsa Kling from Sweden.

British interest today, Chemmy Alcott. Will be interesting to see

what the state of players among the leaders by the time she comes down a

little later on. Let us keep our fingers crossed she can at least get

a finish today. Kajsa Kling on her way. We don't. Leanne Smith has

18.7. This is more like it. Kajsa Kling, what a great top section.

Very good. The strongest top part by far. She started the turn and

finished it early and let a little -- let it run a little more. A clean

start. She had a second in December. She knows how to put the hammer down

and she knows what it feels like to ski to the podium. Seventh in the

Super-G standings. Looks pretty comfortable here. Nice and light and

easy on her edges. Toughest part of the course, keep part of the course,

coming up. Solitary jump. Got away with it so far. No! Another one. I

actually cannot believe this. She took so much direction over the

roller. She was in a perfect line. Perfect line. She made a quick edge

change and in my view it almost looked like in her head she thought

I cannot make it. She looked to me like she could make it. Quick edge

change. She is late but I think she could have fought just that little

bit more. Leanne Smith cannot believe what is going on. She was

not exactly fast at the bottom but she is still leading. She skied

extra mileage all the way down with loop terms. -- turns. Next, Fabienne

Suter. This course is set by one of the Austrian coaches. The way things

are, he will not be very popular. Certainly not. If I was eight

coats, I would be banging them around me had by now that macro if I

was a coach -- if I was a coach, I would be banging them around the

head by now. She stays long on the left ski, coming out of Bolshoy

Traverse. Not a big jump today but they have to make a move. She was a

little bit late there. She is up. Good. Fifth in the downhill. Solid

Olympic result under her belt. Relatively straightforward flat here

but then suddenly the ground drops away as she gets airborne off the

solitary jump. She has got a fast section in towards the finish to

negotiate. She has got to judge the line correctly and be nice and high.

Here we go. A little bit direct. I think they have to actually take the

speed off. Good. She is there. She has made it through. They have to

take the speed off as they come into the big turn and then they can

safely manoeuvre themselves through the last gates. Unbelievable tension

as they watch. Finally, a finisher. Fabian Schar route at skis into gold

medal position -- Fabienne Suter skis into gold medal position. The

two finishers so far out of nine starters. Fabulous it, such a strong

run. Almost error-free. When she came over the last jump, she made

snow contact very quickly. Next to go, Nadia Fanchini from Italy. This

course should suit her as well. She has a whole stack of DNFs on her

name against the result. If anyone will ski out, Nadia Fanchini. Maybe

today she will turn it around. Fearless skier. Can she make it

count today? She is not .52 behind. Losing a pole on the Bolshoy

Traverse as she tried to regain her physician. But now she is off again

and she is enjoying her turns. -- regain her position. Losing speed

all the way down. Still could be good enough for second position. She

has to harness the speed and control her arrival of the solitary jump.

Now things get tough. She gets some sideways and then she is back in

control. She has got or dynamic balance. This is a nice Highline,

one of the best we have seen, on the final pitch which has caught so many

out. Can she become the third skier to finish the Olympic Super-G? She

is home and dry and second, in silver. Fabienne Suter still has the

best time. Leanne Smith in bronze at the moment. Nadia Fanchini drawing

on her slalom skills as she had to make quit quick changes. The turn of

the joint Olympic downhill champion, Dominique Gisin. Shared the downhill

gold. Tina Maze joined her with an identical time, 1:45.57. Coming in

with a load of confidence. Maybe a little bit late in the line into

Bolshoy Traverse. Gates four and five, you have got to be early and

quick out of it so you can carry the speed into the Traverse. Gold

medallist in downhill, fifth in the super combined. Not .86 of the place

of team-mate Fabienne Suter who leads the pace -- 0.86. She

generally prefers the more open higher speed turns. This Super-G

maybe a little bit too tight, playing into the hands of the giant

slalom specialist. This is the key part. She has got to come from left

to right and rise the arms forward. This is good and clean skiing. Very,

very clean. She is in trouble. She ends up horizontal. No finish for

her today. I hope she is all right. It was a fairly innocuous looking

slip. Let us hope she has done no damage. I think she just caught an

edge and maybe this is the part of the course that they have been

throwing a let chilly lot of chemicals and salt down on it to

soften it up -- throwing a lot of chemicals and salt down. We have

only three finishers at the bottom of the course. Fabienne Suter is in

gold. I am happy to say, she appears to have got away unscathed following

the slide. I cannot believe we have three finishers out of 11 starters.

Wow. A long way to go. Everyone is learning. They are watching at the

top and they are discussing at the top what needs to be done.

Especially off the solitary jump. The control that needs to be exerted

on that final steep pitch. 11 turns, that is the key part of the course.

Next to go for Italy, Verena Stuffer. Here we go. Racer number

12. She is away. Good Super-G results this season. She has been

getting better all the time. She had a fourth place just before the

Olympics. They find she is hitting good Super-G form. A bit scruffy at

the top. A little bit heavy on the left ski. It shows in the time. What

a shame. I would just like to wreak upon what makes Super-G so

difficult. They get one inspection. I was like that happens all the

time, going out of the course. One inspection of 45 minutes. They fly

at speeds of up to 60mph. They have rollers and tight turns and jumps.

It is so tricky. It is not like the downhill when they get for five

training runs. -- four or five training runs. She is still on

target for a medal position. She sets up for the solitary jump.

Minimum air time there. She is drifting outside of the ideal racing

line but she is holding her balance. Verena Stuffer of Italy, looks like

she will finish for Super-G. That is an achievement in itself. She is

home in bronze for the moment. Good finish from Verena Stuffer. Fabienne

Suter leads. Leanne Smith has been bumped off the medal positions into

fourth. They cut the top of the turn off, you see it a lot in giant

slalom. Certainly a lot going on here in the Super-G. The first of

the Austrians to go, Regina Sterz. The coach of the Austrians set the

course. Potentially could be a good day for Anna Fenninger, the best of

the Austrians, number 18. Regina Sterz has made a promising start. In

touch. Did not look metered enough to me. A bit heavy on the edge.

Maybe she thought, I will get through the difficult top section,

and now she will pick up the speed. The Austrians won in Vancouver. It

was their only Olympic gold. That when I did not get picked. There is

no automatic selection. Such depth in the Austrian squad, they felt her

form was not good enough so she was not selected to come and defend her

title. Good line from Regina Sterz. She knows she is coming into the

tricky part of the course. Good turns here. She makes a little

mistake as she comes onto the flat. Fabienne Suter leads for

Switzerland. Regina Sterz is three games from completing the Super-G.

Huge amounts of nervous anticipation at the foot of the course. She skis

into bronze medal position for the moment. Now at last we are getting a

regular stream of finishers in the Olympic Super-G. We see her coming

off the difficult jump. They know they have got to get the skis back

onto the snow, makes no contact, as quickly as possible but, -- as

possible, you have got to be ready for the next turn. Julia Mancuso

next to go for the USA. Bronze medallist in the super combined. Let

us see how she goes in the Super-G. I think she will involve the league

enjoyed this course. She likes things slightly alternative.

Straight into the truck on Bolshoy Traverse. She trains in Hawaii. She

does all her training in the beach and on the sea. She does sprints in

the sea with rocks in her hands. A bit bizarre, but it works. Half a

second behind and getting further removed. But there was still an

opportunity on the final pitch to make up lost time. Nobody has skied

it perfectly yet. Nobody has gone anywhere near perfection on the

final ten turns. Maybe Julia Mancuso can get in amongst it here. She is

getting closer. Within half a second of the lead now. She is loving the

snow through this section. She is like on her skis and should be good

here. She likes the turns. She has got to get off them quickly and she

does just that and carries great speed into the flat. Fighting for

ballots. -- balance. She is silver medal position for the moment. She

made up a whole chunk of time, skiing the bottom pitch better than

just about anybody so far. But it is Fabienne Suter who leaves for

Switzerland. What a great one for Julia Mancuso. She let rip for about

a third down. Beautiful skiing. Big angles on the ski and she was really

smooth. That is the key on this soft snow. You have got to be liked.

This is the first of the Germans to go. She could pose a threat to the

leaderboard. I think the girls are taking it easy getting through that

very tough part. Good start for Viktoria Rebensburg. She is looking

for the most aerodynamic position she can get the wind. These are

dynamic turns. It is great skiing. Now, approaching the key part of the

cause, the solitary jump and then the steep, fast turns where the

speed has to be harnessed and controlled. She is dead level with

Suter. The green light is on, showing that Viktoria Rebensburg has

a good speed at the top. This is where things get sorted out. A

little ride and a little late. She has got them sideways and she is

having to come from way out of the ideal racing line to recover her

balance. I think her chance to lead the Olympic Super-G has possibly

slipped away. Just outside the winning time. It is a bronze medal

position. Suter leads, Mancuso second. She let it go. She lost it

on the solitary jump. She landed too far back. She lands on the back part

of the scheme . The front does not grip, so there is nothing happening

from the shovel. Frustration for the Germans. And delight in the

leader's enclosure, as Suter holds onto first position. There was a

long way to go. We have still got some of the big names to come. They

will be coming in quick succession. What an extraordinary race so far.

Most have the big DNF alongside their name, meaning did not finish.

So, this is the true test. Lauren Ross, head in her hands. Did not

happen for her. For the next seven racers, the vision at the top will

be crucial. The course is running different to how they expected. The

next race will know the two sections that everyone is struggling with

running tougher than in inspection. There is Tina Maze, already the

joint champion in the downhill. Seems like a strange thing to do to

put snow down your neck, but when it is as warm as it is, they have got

to keep cool and be ready to move. Nicole Hosp is the silver medallist

from the super combined. Nice and high through gates one, two and

three. She has got all the experience. She has listened to the

coaches. She is thinking about this and skiing probably the best line we

have seen so far. The speed is good. The ayes to the right a confident

start. The top five so far in this season. She loves the Super-G

terms. She is now on par, but a little mistake, which is a shame

because she was coming to the flat section. You can make a mistake on

the steep, but not on the flat. It is very difficult to claw back the

time. Nicole Hosp gets the green light. She is so sensitive. This is

the tricky part. Got to land quickly on that right ski. Again, a little

error. She might have let her lead go. The crowd are watching on the

big screen, and then the racers are in view. Has Nicole Hosp done enough

to take the lead away from Fabienne Suter? Yes. Suter smiles through the

pain as she is demoted to second. Nicole Hosp leads the way. She had

us on the edges of our seat. What a great skiing. It was not error free,

but she let them run. She will be thanking the Austrian coach for

setting a course like that. There is the head of the Austrian ski

Federation. He is happy. The ayes to the right a huge advantage. Tina

Weirather, from an incredible skiing pedigree. Her mother won Olympic

gold in 1980 in Lake Placid in GS and slalom, silver in downhill in

the same year. 33 World Cup wins for her mother. Her father has six.

Uncle Andy had 14 World Cup wins. Actually, it is not Tina Weirather.

It is Anna Fenninger for Austria. No Tina Weirather. We have gone

straight from number 16 to number 18. This is Anna Fenninger from

Austria, going well. She loves the Super-G. Working the feet under her.

Great snow contact. She whacks it hard. Did not seem to lose too much

speed, remarkably. But now she is drifting outside of the ideal racing

line. Very gentle on the bases of her skis, seems to have kept the

speed up. It is Fenninger's lead! Despite a shaky finish, she has done

enough to lead the race. So, two Austrians in the lead now. Its As

many as are of the opinion, say "aye". To the contrary, "no". Clips

that gate. Brilliant bottom section. -- Fenninger clips that gate.

It is an Austrian 1-2 at the moment. Suter deferred. Tina Maze is next to

go. If anyone can put the cat among the pigeons, it is Maze. Already a

gold medallist, shared the downhill title with Dominick is in, one of

the iconic images of the game so far -- she shared the title with

Dominique Gisin. We had mistakes on the bottom pitch from Anna

Fenninger, so there is room for improvement from Tina Maze. She's

another one with a soft at almost no. Fenninger was so hopefully this

section. Now she comes into the tricky part of the course. That was

a perfect landing. Now she is fighting for grip on the bottom part

of the course. That might have blown her chance of taking the lead away

from Anna Fenninger. Tina Maze, looking for her second gold of the

games. The damage has been done, and she is in bronze. Austria first and

second, with Fenninger and Hosp, Maze in third. That mistake cost her

dearly on the bottom steep. The snow is soft and tricky.

Lara Gut is the best Super-G scale of the season so far. That is Maria

Hoefl-Riesch. Her turn is coming up. Lara Gut was bronze medallist in the

downhill. Feisty start. She has three World Cup Super-G wins to her

name so far this season. This course could play into her hands. Beautiful

angles at the top. She will not be far from Fenninger's time. She went

for it at the top, really throwing her feet out there. She was so

disappointed the other day with her bronze. If anyone can do it, it will

be heard today. Riding nicely through the forest. Pockets of

sunshine and shade. This is solid from Lara Gut. She is closing in on

the dog Anna Fenninger. Fenninger had a couple of errors on the final

steep bit. Now she is fighting for balance over the skis. Now she is

drifting further from the racing line. Lara Gut is third. Fenninger

holds on. Hosp in second. She took a very risky line. This was where she

put them sideways, and it cost her two tenths of a second. Then she was

sensational, but coming into the solitary jump, she went for a risky

line, straighter than she could have done. There is our leader, Anna

Fenninger. Waiting nervously. Still some very talented skiers to come.

Elisabeth Goergl, double world champion in 2011 in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Let's see what she can produce in the Olympic

Super-G. She is on fire. This woman knows only one speed, and it is top

speed. She will not hold back. It is those exciting watching her. But

sometimes she pushes a bit too hard for the ski, so in the software

section, that could -- in the softer section, that could faze her. Look

at her attack this gliding section. Not holding back. This is where the

course starts to sort them out. Oh, off-balance! Sideways, and out of

the course. That was a shame. She came in far too straight. If she

could have held on to that, she could have been in the mix for the

medals. There was no coming back from that. She should have been

about four metres further to the left. Cool too far for -- too far

for Elisabeth Goergl to control. Let us get a check on the standings

here. No, we are heading back to the top. We will be seeing Maria

Hoefl-Riesch next to go for Germany. Already an Olympic gold medallist

from these Games. She took the title in the super combined. Maria

Hoefl-Riesch 's ready to race the Super-G, 22. Out of the start gate.

C how she handles this exceptionally difficult course. -- let us see.

Second and third recently in the Super-G. She likes it but I think

this course is going to prove a lot will be tight. She does not look so

comfortable on the top section. She is a great glider, she likes the

faster, more open sections. Coming with a load of confidence and you

cannot underestimate the amount a confident skier can do. Way too

close. The coursework. That was almost a horrendous moment -- course

worker. The coursework was repairing the gate panel as she raced at high

speed within three metres of him. She is clocking the fastest speed so

far despite the near miss. She is flying down the Olympic Super-G. She

looks for Gold medal number two. Out into the soft snow. Her chance of

gold has surely just slipped away. Had to put the brakes on. It might

have cost her the chance to deny Anna Fenninger the win here. Maria

Hoefl-Riesch skis into silver medal position to split the Austrians.

Fenninger holds on. Maria Hoefl-Riesch in second. Hosp drops

to third. She is celebrating but it could have been gold. And it could

have been a disaster with the course worker so close. She skied the top

and the bottom with errors, but the middle section was fantastic. She

let them run and glide into the perfect line. Look at this. There is

already a little track there, but that gate... What was he doing?

Played havoc with her mind for a split second. Let us get a check on

the standings. Fenninger is leading by half a second to Maria

Hoefl-Riesch. Ben Temple -- then Hosp. Chemmy Alcott still to come.

She will be starting with bib number 34 in her final Olympic race. Anna

Fenninger is the champion in waiting. Maria Hoefl-Riesch thinks

she might have claimed another Olympic medal. They gold and

potentially a silver so far. It could be Anna Fenninger's first goal

today. That was when Lara Gut realised she would not pick up a

medal. Standing next Maria Hoefl-Riesch's husband. Joy for one

and disappointment for another. Proving to be a very exciting and

very difficult Super-G. Probably one of the toughest I have seen. I am

not even sure it is over yet. No one has skied it anywhere near

perfectly. No. Maria Hoefl-Riesch made big mistakes on the bottom

section. What she did well was she put the brakes on, she had to,

because she went sideways, but then on the finished section, she tried

to let the speed take her to the finish. Ilka Stuhec. She can ski

fast Super-G when she puts it together. She has had top five

results this season. Plenty of time to analyse what has gone before via

the monitor at the top of the course. She took a risky line there.

Tried to dive down into the fall line rather than coming higher and

finishing the turn-off. She was seven tenths back there. It was

costly. Time is slipping away slightly. You can see small ruts

forming. Nothing too drastic. It is the bottom section in the direct sun

that is proving tricky. She is not .99 off the pace. -- 0.99. She comes

into the bottom section, very tricky part. It was there we saw Maria

Hoefl-Riesch made a big mistake and again, Ilka Stuhec is a bit wild on

the bottom section. Anna Fenninger is the quickest of the race so far.

Ilka Stuhec is some way removed, she is 12. No change in the medal

positions. Fenninger has the gold, Maria Hoefl-Riesch the silver, Hosp

the bronze. There is Maria Hoefl-Riesch with her husband. Great

scenes at the finish. What a champion she is. Lotte Smiseth

Sejersted for Norway starts with number 24. Had a really good result

in the downhill on Wednesday. Posted the sixth fastest time there. She

has a good high line. I cannot say it is soft snow she got caught up

in, but she certainly got stuck in an awkward start. 88.3km threw the

gun. The long traverse that plays havoc with the left leg. A little

wide and a bit low and slow on the edge change. It is costing her. She

has got a lot of work to do. She is trying to get the arms forward to

get back into the top. -- the tap. This was where Anna Fenninger won

the race. She stayed in the attack for the flat section. When you are

in the top, you limit the movement you have. You cannot move your feet

from side to side quickly. That is why you see the girls coming in and

out of the cup so much year. -- the top so much here. Carrying a lot

less speed. Good line from Lotte Smiseth Sejersted. She is certainly

attacking the bottom half of the course. This is fast, aggressive.

How close can she get? Can she improve on her downhill result? 13.

She was sixth in the downhill. That is a shot from above. I'm

trying to decide where it is. Also traverse, I think. Nicole Hosp

holding onto bronze medal position. Larisa Yurkiw is next to go. From

Canada. She was disappointed the other day in the downhill. Lovely

story behind her. Big injury in 2009 was kicked off the Canadian team and

has had to fund her programmes. She was insistent she would not give up.

She has worked so hard and her goal was to make the Sochi Olympics and

here she is on the biggest stage bearers. -- stage there is. She gets

a little late on some of these terms. OK so far. Big dynamic

turns. More upright than she could be. The flatter section, big

sweeping turns. The more streamlined you can be, the better it is on the

time. She is losing time all the way down. On the edge check, a little

10th slipping away. She is out. She has gone. She is not the first and

she will not be the last. We have seen an awful lot of this. Tough

bottom section. Sorting out the best from the rest. That is how it should

be in the Olympics. Fenninger is talking to her family. I loved the

scenes the other day when Dominique Gisin was talking to her mum on the

phone, so much emotion. It shows how much they have worked over the last

four years. To win at the Olympic Games, it does not get bigger and

better than that. Francesca Marsaglia next ago for Italy. She is

away. Roared out of the start. Best of the Italians is currently Nadia

Fanchini down in ninth at this stage. You kind of get an idea of

how steep it is when you watch the scene from the start gate. Big

mistakes here. Into the solitary John. Must come

from left to right. She too is out. -- the solitary jump. Landing miles

from the intended target. Unable to make the next turn. Apologies that

we lost commentary for a while there. Hopefully we will be back

with you now all the way through to number 34 coming down which will be

Chemmy Alcott for Great Britain. Mixed emotions here today. Tina Maze

soaking up the sun at the bottom of the course, unable to get in amongst

the medals. She is fifth at the moment. And there is the leader,

Anna Fenninger of Austria. Next to go, Ranhild Mowinkel from Norway,

the rising star of the Norwegian team. Sixth in the super combined.

Bouncing sideways, not quite the ideal start. A little bit hard on

her edges. Get the legs working now as she comes across the flat. It

shows. That is a hefty chunk to lose in 22 seconds, 1.04. The little

mistakes are so costly. Already a second down, now it is getting on

for two seconds. She is pushing too hard. We often talk about that. It

is difficult, as a ski racer. You have got to be aggressive but you

cannot push hard through the ski. If you do, especially on hard snow, it

pushes you sideways and you get bounced around. Then you come onto

the soft flat section, the ski digs in if you push too hard. Not the

ideal run so far from Ranhild Mowinkel. You can see she is hardly

taking off. The girls with more speed, they take off and they have

got a much tougher job. She stays online and it is going to be safe

into the finish. Anna Fenninger's timers looking rock solid in gold

medal position at the moment. Ranhild Mowinkel is one of the

slowest of the finishers, more than three seconds behind. We see Ranhild

Mowinkel's seat here as she gets bounced around. There is nothing she

can do. -- feet. It is just sideways for her.

Marusa Ferk for Slovenia, 10th in the super combined. Really high

line. Maybe just going for slightly too high a line. We saw Anna

Fenninger high but she let them run. Marusa Ferk holding onto the turn to

much will stop they have to ski safely. They have to ski it with

their head. They have got to think about it. They do not hold back, but

they have to think about the line they ski. On the cable camera,

winding down the mountain above the racer, gives you a good impression

of the speed at which they travel across the snow. 99.9 kilometres per

hour. That is what Marusa Ferk has clocked. A little low on that jump.

She is getting later and later in the line, but controlling the speed.

Really quick off the edges. Marusa Ferk is into 14th position. Tears

for some, joy for others. That was Elisabeth Goergl in the finish. You

can see how much it means. It is devastating. She had such a good top

section. That will be her last Olympic race as well, I imagine, at

the age of 32. Stacey Cook, getting words of encouragement from the

Americans. She is from California. The crowds are going wild down

here, but it was short lived. She flattened that control gate, to add

insult to injury. She was already on her face, and then there was fairly

unforgiving control gate is arrived to add to the bruising. We have seen

a lot of that, putting out on these super-hard, super icy conditions. It

is a fine line between getting the angles and being on your hip or your

side, as she is. She is OK, but there will be a slight delay now

while the control gate is repaired. It is nasty when you click a gate

going at that speed. There is no slowing down here. The gates are

drilled into the snow and they are in solid ice, so it does not move

when you hit it. Fraenzi Aufdenblatten will have to hold for

a few seconds until the course is ready. She is from Switzerland. She

will have to refocus now for an extra minute that she did not expect

to have. She can relax for a minute and then get back to the focus.

Nicole Hosp, coming back to the leaders' box to join team-mate Anna

Fenninger and Maria Hoefl-Riesch. The gold, silver and bronze

medallists, two Austrians and a German. That is how it stands at the

moment. She has been a World Cup winner in Super-G in the past, but

not for a few years, battling back from injury. She has had plenty of

time to think about this waste this morning. Not as committed as she

could have been up there, but still in touch. The course is holding up

really well. I was not sure whether it would, but it is. That was a big

mistake to have made before the flat. And another late one. She was

well off the ideal line. I love this shot from the top. You get such a

great view. The top six are separated by 1.37 seconds, so there

is room for one of the late starters to come through and make an impact.

I am not sure a medal is possible, but let's see. Chemmy Alcott is

still to come, with bid number 34. It was a top six here for Fraenzi

Aufdenblatten, an excellent run for such a late start number. It was a

messy run and she was off-line many times, but she carried the speed.

She will be delighted by skiing into six position.

This is the comparison of first and second. You can see Maria

Hoefl-Riesch with the stripes on her legs, right of screen. And Fenninger

of Austria in the blue and white. Fenninger really got ahead of

Hoefl-Riesch in this top section. She was a bit quicker and more

dynamic. Straight into the tuck. This was where I thought Fenninger