Highlights Winter Youth Olympic Games

Hello and welcome to Lillehammer. This is the host city to the second

ever win the youth Olympic Games. You can certainly see why they chose

it. Beautifully covered in snow but with that comes freezing

temperatures, I can tell you. It has not stopped more than 1000 teenagers

from more than 71 countries to taste a week as elite athletes and maybe

win some medals. Amongst them, 16 young people representing Team GB.

This is the story of their Olympic Games.

Winter sports are played on snow or ice, while Great Britain has

traditionally enjoyed plenty of success on the ice, the same can not

always be said for snow. One athlete here in Norway but that trend to

make Winter youth Olympic history and the senior Winter Olympic

medallist Jenny Jones was there. I am heading to Oslo to watch the

halfpipe because I really want to see Madi Rowlands in action, she is

only 15 years olds and is already making a name for herself. She won

the British Slopestyle Championships in 2013, the youngest athlete to do

that and she is going for a medal here. This is the first time I have

seen the halfpipe and it is not for the faint-hearted. These girls will

have to hold their nerve in this contest.

There is Madi at go on, she is safe. Madi just put it down, a lovely 540

and a brilliant 720. I am really excited for you, do you know why?

Olympic champion, Madison Rowlands. Well done, how does that feel. What

does it mean to you at this event? Everything, I am just so happy. You

will have the phone your mum. Yes, I will. What will you do to celebrate?

Have a lie in tomorrow. Smashed it. So happy. Did you know she could do

it? The macro yes. But you didn't want to say. In practice, I knew it

was there for the taking, that has been the hardest part, to keep a lid

on it and not get ahead of ourselves. Were you trying not to

get too excited? I was fine. She was good. I thought there would be more

nerves. I don't get nervous. I think I was more nervous. How did you

actually get into skiing in the first place? My family owned an

apartment and they chucked me on a pair of skis at about two macro and

I grew from there. What do you love about halfpipe? It is the height,

altitude, it is an amazing feeling. In the result in the halfpipe here,

do you set your sights on peon Jan? Definitely on an Olympic event but I

am only 15 so we will see how it goes, if I get there, I do, if not,

2022 will be fine. We wish you luck with the rest of the skiing. Thank

you. While Madi Rowlands won of gold on skis, some others could not put

in such great performances but Iain Innes and Yasmin Cooper did gain

knowledge from the worlds most winter sports star. Lindsey Vonn

leads the way. This lady is absolutely unstoppable right now. ,

Hey, guys. Nice to meet you. How is it going? How are you enjoying this?

Will occur it has been great. So cool. We have lots of questions for

you. How old were you for your first World Cup start and how did it feel

to make the World Cup team? I'd -- I was 16. My coach said I was too

skinny but to be in the World Cup at 15. I almost didn't make the Olympic

team because I didn't have the talent. That is another thing that

motivates me. If you want me to do well, just tell me I can't do

something. Which of your winds means the most to you? The Olympic gold

medal was the biggest accomplishment of my career for many reasons.

Mainly because my family gave up a lot for me to be a racer and I

always had the dream to be an Olympic champion since I was seven.

I cried, I never cry at races but I cried for hours afterwards. It meant

a lot for me and my whole family. Does it help you to come to an event

like this where it is not a full senior Olympics? It definitely would

have helped me, when I got to the 2002 Olympics, it was shocking, the

magnitude of it all. If I had this opportunity, it would have prepared

me. You think it is like a normal race and it is not. It is different.

I am 17 and just started my skiing career, if you could go back to your

17-year-old self, what would you say? I would say to keep working

hard. I always thought when I was racing, growing up, just be

determined. You speak French? You speak German as well? It is great,

it feels more like to Europe of it, you feel more involved. You have had

multiple injuries, what motivates you to come back from them? Reid I

love skiing, I want to win of course but I love what I do, the last

injury I had, there was only a 50-50 chance I would come back. When you

are faced with odds like that, it makes you appreciate what you do. I

love skiing and that is what inspired me this time round.

Everyone has injuries but you have to pick yourself back up and keep

going. Would you say there is a secret to your success? There is no

secret, it just takes hard work. Some others are not willing to do

that. If I have bad races, it makes me a stronger racer and person.

Every experience leads you down a certain path. One last question, can

I have your number? LAUGHTER Thank you, I don't know if you are

my age, buddy. After the sliding sports, Great Britain have a great

deal of success, particularly in the skeleton, in the last four games

they have brought home medals and with Lizzy Yarnold and Amy

Williamson bringing back old. It looks like the future of the sport

is in good hands. Sometimes you are scared. Trying to go faster every

time but it is a great feeling. All of the little tweaks, trying to be

more aerodynamic down at the finish and having a good time, amazing.

Good times are sadly what Ashleigh Pittaway posted all week in

practice. Now she had to do it when the pressure was on.

And exciting point in the skeleton race, Ashleigh Pittaway was top of

the leaderboard in the first race but it all lies on this second run.

Going last she knew she would have to fend off German Hannah Neise to

take the gold medal. Until two years ago, they were national team-mates

until Ashleigh Pittaway switched from Germany, where she was born to

Great Britain. LAUGHTER

She has done it, Ashleigh Pittaway has won gold for Great Britain. How

does it feel? Amazing, I am blown away by everything. So many people

came to watch and it is amazing. I am blown away. Your nearest

competitor, from Germany, you are really good friends? We are best

friends and we are happy to be on the podium together, that was our

dream we have been dreaming about that for four years. To be head

together and now standing next to each other on the podium is amazing.

How does it feel now you have the gold medal around your neck? Good,

but heavy, it is very heavy and scratched a little bit but otherwise

I am very proud and happy. I hope to be in the senior Olympics, maybe not

2018 but 2022. Following in the Mendis footsteps, Lizzy Yarnold, Amy

Williams, they have all done the best. Interesting, it is a lot of

pressure but I have already done my job.

Ice hockey is one winter sport which is hugely popular and although GB

did not send a team head to Lillehammer, they had one athlete

involved in the ice hockey skills challenge, her name is Verity Lewis

and she explained what it is all about.

All these skills look really difficult to me, how long have you

been playing ice hockey? I have been playing since I was eight, seven

years. How did you get into it? I went once with my family and

afterwards we stayed to watch an ice hockey match and I was amazed by how

fast it was and I really wanted to start. A new experience, what has

the experience been like? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the

atmosphere is great. Everyone is so nice to each other. You make friends

so easily, from other countries, getting to know other people is

great. The ice hockey skills challenge, what does it consist of?

Allen slap, skating agility, passing accuracy, shooting accuracy and puck

control. What is the most difficult of the six skills? For me it is

hardest shot in what I am quite small and it is hard to get a really

good shot. Once in a few occasions I will. How far do you want to go?

Soon I want to start playing hockey in Canada and then hopefully make it

onto the GB women's team. I am already in the under 18 GB team but

I hope to make the women's team and see how far we can get. I have a

confession to make, I have never skated before in my life. That is

all right. Bend your knees. Push out of the side and then go forwards.

This is not a walking stick? I guess it can be used as a walking stick

but not really. I am not as bad as I expected. One hand at the top grips

the stick and then this one is loose. Then, backwards.

That was pretty good. Start, on the back of your heel. Backwards behind

you. It is like a pass, but a lot harder. That? Yes. This is not as

easy as it looks. Thanks for the lesson. I am going to have a break.

One more thing. Can you help me get off the ice? Sure thing. Let's go.

Elsewhere, Team GB's mixed curlers won six of their seven group games

to make the quarterfinals but they were stopped 9-5 by Russia. It was

going really well, but we struggled in that game, Russia were better

than us. I have another week in the village, I look forward to that.

Disappointment for the team but the GB skip Ross Whyte had success in

the mixed doubles where he was paired with China's Han Yu and won

the silver medal. It is an incredible feeling. Not only is your

team-mate from a different country, a different language, you cope?

Curling is universal and luckily we can give signals. Going home a

little disappointing but getting the medal is brilliant. Verity Lewis was

close to making the final but missed the cut by one single point to

finish 10th. Having already won ski halfpipe gold, Madi Rowlands was

looking to do the double. But it was the bronze medal this time. I am so

happy because I did not expect a place. You have a bronze medal to

add to the gold medal, did you expect it? No. Practice was not too

good, but I am happy, everything is fine. When it comes to bobsleigher

you have probably heard of the two-man bob and four-man bob but at

Lillehammer, for the first time in Olympic history, they have

introduced the monobob. One person in a bobsleigh. Team GB never shy

away from a new sport and they put up four athletes, including two

world number ones. I played rugby for five years. It

helped having the power, being able to push the weight. I was put

forward for a trial and it went on from there. Kelsea Purchall has gone

to the top of her sport so big hopes for her in Lillehammer.

After her opening run, the 17-year-old found herself in fourth

place. She followed that up with a solid second run to move into the

middle spots. And after a tense wait, she was confirmed as a bronze

medallists. It feels amazing. I cannot describe it, I am

overwhelmed. I have had so much support from friends and family at

home, from the coaches, of the Team GB members. The other number one,

George Johnston, began the spotlight. I got to carry the flag

at the opening ceremony. I have been followed through the games from

being announced as the flag bearer through to competition and I talk to

cameras a lot. At first it was getting used to it but now it is

really fun. Come competition day, George put down a fine first run and

at half way he was on course for a bronze medal. But glitches in run

two meant the medal dream ended as he dropped to sixth, the frustration

clear. Being ranked number one in the world and labelled a medal

favourite by a lot of people and having the attention on me

throughout the games, the expectation, the pressure got to me.

After the first run and being in third place, I think I really

started to get nervous and on the second run, I got a little bit too

into it and when I got on the sled I was not able to calm down quick

enough and I drove harder and then, due to those factors, achieved a

slow time and fell out of the medals. No podium this time, but

valuable lessons to take away. I have learned the biggest factor is

not to think about the pressure and to enjoy being here. It has been a

good experience and I would recommend it to anybody. I hope to

go to the games but I know from the experience here, if I go to a senior

games, I have learned to deal with the expectation and pressure better.

If I look back at myself two years ago, I would not expect to be here

now, coming from a rugby background. I thought I would stay in that sport

and it has shifted quickly and I never expected it to happen.

Slopestyle skiing is a new sport for the youth Winter Olympics. It is

basically like skateboarding on a skate park but on slippery snow. You

are judged on your skill, creativity and effort. Team GB put up Cal

Sandieson will stop I am here to watch him train.

# I've got soul. Wow, impressive. How was that? It

was good. A little bit windy, but not out of normal. How do you feel?

A bit tired but a late start tomorrow so it should be all right.

What is the plan now? Probably go on the trampoline and eat a bit of food

and then I will be done. Chilling out, and then I suppose trampoline

is training. It is, for awareness. It is so impressive. How much effort

has it taken you to get to that level? Robert the quite a lot. I

have been skiing since I have been nine. Quite a while. You have to

carry on in training and I will watch you on the trampoline. I want

to see your best tricks. I am impressed. Let's hope the

judges are also. Two runs to get on the podium with

the best score counting. A good start until he was marked

down for falling near the end. Sixth place at halfway. But room for

improvement in run two. No slip-ups. But he was just out of

the medals. Fourth place, how do you feel, it is amazing? Not bad, could

have done better, hopefully, but it was really fun. I landed a pretty

good run and I am happy with what I have done. The win to use Olympics

are new. This is the second one and there have only been two summer

games. At the ice hockey venue I caught up with the head of the

Olympic movement to get his thoughts on Lillehammer and the use games

format. -- use games.

Thanks for coming outside the arena. It is a great sport but really

noisy! We are in the Olympic Park, what have you made of the games? The

games are going really great. You see excellent facilities. You see

the weather, the athletes are happy, the organisation is flawless. How

important is the Youth Olympic Games movement to the international

Olympic Committee? Very important, with the Agenda 2020, one of our

pillars is to approach the youth. We cannot just wait for the youth to

come to us. We have to go to the platforms and areas where youth is.

What do you hope the young people here take from these experiences?

That they take the love and enthusiasm for sport and they take

the social engagement with them, because if you speak here with the

younger leaders, the change-makers, ambassadors, they are young people

who make me optimistic for the future of sport. This is great to

see. How do you see the future of the Youth Olympic Games movement,

summer and winter, evolving? We have now had the first editions of this

Youth Olympic Games. Now we are taking stock after this. We will

make an evaluation of the four edition is. Then we will see.

Nothing is as good that it cannot be improved. There are new sports,

maybe we will see something like the monobob going into the senior games?

That is one point we will have to do is discussed, how much can we take

the Youth Olympic Games as a testing ground for the Olympic Games? We

have seen encouraging new events. Thanks for your time. It is gold out

here, I will let you get back inside to the hockey.

The next board is the luge. Team GB have never won a medal in the luge.

In the last senior Olympics no athlete was put forward and the

sport receives no official funding in the UK, but a young man with the

fitting title Mr GB, could be about to change that.

Ve HE SPEAKS IN GERMAN. That blend of heritage could be the

perfect recipe for helping Lucas in his sport. My mother is German, born

and raised, and I grew up with the German language, it was one of my

first languages. I am bilingual. Germany is the best luge nation and

I travel and train with them. He has been sliding in Whistler since he

was ten. One of the fastest, most technical tracks in the world, he

has gone off the main slide in Whistler since he was 12. He came

wanting to slide for his home country and he has so much

potential. It helps Lucas is not afraid to go fast. Around 75 mph

fast. I like the adrenaline rush. It is fun if you screw up and you have

to think where you have got to be in tiptop shape. It is an all-round

good sport. On this occasion he was not fast enough, although he set a

new personal best time. I am pleased with myself, top ten is a good

place. I can do better. My first round was not on point. I came out

for the second run and killed it and had a really good run and it was

awesome. His progress comes despite the fact that British luge must find

its own money to keep going. There is a strange luxury to being part of

an underfunded sport, it makes you tough and resilient. When you pay 35

euros for a training track, you make sure the track is optimal and use it

to the best. He has talent and the belief of his coach. The future is

bright for Lucas, combined with his natural ability and what he has got.

His arts training. If he makes a mistake he is instinctive in fixing

it. We are excited about his prospect. That was Team GB's Winter

Olympics. The athletes leave with medal

successes but most important, they have lifelong memories, new friends

and amazing experiences. And who knows, we might see these as future

stars of the senior games in the not too distant future.