Is what a win for Great Britain. Well done, the boys. This will be a
huge win for Kyle Smith and his team.
For Great Britain, this has been a disappointing match. It's so
disappointing match. It's so -- it's a must win game.
Four years ago in Sochi, the GB women won bronze
and the men won silver.
The women are into the semi-final tomorrow at 11am.
The men had to win a play off against Switzerland to have any
chance of a medal this time around.
We'll show you what happened shortly.
Rhona Howie is here with me.
She's an Olympic gold medallist, competed
at six European Championships, Scottish National Championships
and has been inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall
of Fame and she's got an MBE.
I thought I'd better say all of that because I felt so awful yesterday
not knowing about the worlds. That's OK. We are still friends. OK.
Here's what we've got between now on 1pm on BBC One.
It was win or bust for Kyle Smith and his rink in a play off tie
breaker against the Swiss.
We'll hear the latest from Elise Christie on the day
she was hoping to skate for glory in the 1000m.
Lots of short track from 10am.
Only three alpine skiers have ever won three gold medals -
Marcel Hirscher was already on two as he stood at the top
of the mountain for his favourite event -
the slalom.
Could Dave 'The Rocket' Ryding crash the medal party?
Having grown up skiing on the plastic slopes of Lancashire,
he has no issues with the artificial snow in PyeongChang.
For the first time in Olympic history,
and almost certainly the last, the American superpowers on skis
Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin were up against each other
in the Combined.
And its two decades since Canada's last defeat in the women's ice
hockey. Could arch rivals the USA deny them a fifth consecutive gold
medal? Oh, there is some good action here. You will miss this.
medal? Oh, there is some good action here. You will miss this. There are
only three days left.
The men's curling semifinal will be on the red button. And you have got
to watch the women's ice hockey final. You have got to watch that.
It was such an exciting match.
final. You have got to watch that. It was such an exciting match. So,
Rhona, when you won your gold medal in 2002, you played two tie-breaks
and you have always maintained that there is no problem with tie-breaks,
they are good for you? Yes, it was good for us to play them. You keep
motivated, you are keeping fighting and you are continuing to play.
There is no day off, so there is no rest day. I liked to keep playing. I
know you went to bed for a couple of hours and then you set your alarm
for five past midnight which is when Great Britain started against
Switzerland. They started well. You must have been feeling good about
it. Kyle Smith is relatively inexperienced, IRA young side, all
in their early to mid 20s -- they are a young side, all in their early
to mid 20s, first time at the Olympics but they started well.
to mid 20s, first time at the Olympics but they started well. They
started really well. They were 2-1 up by the third and they were in
control of the game, playing really, really well. Every single shot was
inch perfect. They had gone 4-1 up there in the fourth. In two and
eight and the schools were very tight again. Great Britain with the
hammer. At end eight, Great Britain really want to score two here. They
are trying to set a two here. The Swiss optically here and played
really, really well. So when Kyle came to play his shot, he was facing
force with stones. And that was just for a 1-mac. That was a shame. We
head into the ninth end with things very tight, Great Britain leading
5-4.
So that is a lot of eyes they have taken but these guys just seem to
play a slightly different. I'm not sure if they put as much rotation.
We will have to see what he's going to play here.
It sounds like he's got a fair bit of weight on it. He just wants to
come in a little bit here if he's coming on that line. He's just going
to come right on the top of the red. This has actually sat down. I'm not
sure they were sure what to do that. That's kind of betwixt. Yes, that
actually sat down a lot. Can he move a couple of these? Like you said,
there is a double there. He would leave one British stone. You would
be asking him to draw in for two. He would have to be accurate with it.
This one has lined up with the other red. There is an opportunity for the
boys to call a time-out here. Let's have another look. He can see the
double, or he thinks he can. Maybe it has just tucked in a little more
than he would like.
than he would like. I think that is our only shot. That red might stay
then, though. Wouldn't it? I think the guys will have to come down that
right-hand side as we look at the picture and just popped one another.
You are just going to sit it on the top but then you are saying to them,
I'm only going to give you two. Giving the two is fine. We are lying
third shot, so they are sitting two at the moment. It would be greater
coming on top of those. Is that the idea, to come on top of the red on
the center line then? Yes.
the center line then? Yes. Or is he? He's not. Is he going to try to hit
them? Is he coming across to try to guard the other two yellows so he
can't try to hit them out? That might well be the case. Sneaky. You
see, I thought that's what Schwartz might have been doing, to try to
protect himself and coming with his last one. Yes, that's exactly what
he's doing, he's just trying to cover these double yellows. Well,
he's going to invite him to draw in down the other side, isn't he? Is
there still a hole through that? The trouble is the yellow it's going to
catch on the back red, it just depends on the back red. I'm not
sure about that choice of shot. There are plenty of options now
force winds and. That is the one, just to tap it in. He has got loads
of room to come around. I'm really not sure about that shot. Do you
think there's enough room to come around there and get onto the top
bread. You could come around and tap it for three. He really wants his
three here.
How is your French? I'd love to tell you it's good. I think what he's
saying there is that even if the... If he misses that top one and
doesn't tap that in, he's got the chance of... I think he's coming
through the tide line to catch the red just on the forfeit. As much as
he can see, straight into the pack and the yellow will go. Let's see
how this pans out. Kyle Smith looking on. He's left an opportunity
here. Albeit maybe a difficult one for Benoit Schwarz to get more than
two. To get three here would put Switzerland in the driving seat very
much here. He has got through the gap. Has it? It has.
gap. Has it? It has. Oh my goodness, that is an absolute toaster! That is
a stunning shot. They spotted it, he played it, and that may well be
curtains for England. What a shot from Switzerland. They
went into a tenth end but there was no hope really for Kyle Smith and
his team. What an extraordinary turnaround. Let's hear from the guys
and then get Rhona's boards. Guys, you are obviously hugely
disappointed. Kyle, we will start with you. Talk us through that ninth
end. It is always a tricky situation. You don't want to give
them a blank in the ninth end so we were trying hard to force them to
one and things weren't looking that great early on and unfortunately we
missed a few and we actually had our chances to hold them to two in the
end but he played a really nice shot through the hole and that was the
end. You guys came out really firing really well the first three, four
ends, it was going perfectly. Yes, it was probably one of the better
games we've played this week but unfortunately there were a couple of
half shots in the ninth end out that whether turning point of the game,
probably. Aside from that, it was probably our best performance of the
week. Massively disappointing. That's a word you will be using a
lot, disappointment. Kyle, probably the worst experience of your career
so far, I guess? Yes, worst and best. We will come back, be back
here in four years and tried to get back to wherever it is next. We have
played pretty well this week. We had a couple of chances. We had to beat
USA last night, we never managed it, and as Tom said I thought we played
pretty well here, but a couple of shots at this level are enough to
lose a game. It's disappointed. It's hard to find those positives
particularly after you've just come off the ice, but what have you
learnt this week? I think it's been a great week moving forward as a
team. We've had the odd missed shot here and there would have cost us
but moving forward, we need to look at those and see how not to make
them and do our best moving forward, I think. Kyle, your reflections on
the week. You are the skip. A lot of people weren't expecting you to do
particularly well this week. I know your expectations would have been
higher but what are your reflections overall? It's tough to reflect so
soon after a loss but we came in our first Olympics and we gave it our
best shot. We made the play-offs. In the end, we had a good game today,
but it wasn't to be, sadly. A couple of things didn't go our way and a
couple of half shots and that's all it takes against a team as good as
them. So there's plenty to look forward to, to go forward, and I
just need to take some time and reflect on this experience and what
we can take from it. Guys, well played this week. Bad luck today.
You can see from their voices and see on their faces how incredibly
upset they are. Rhona, as they said, they played very well for the
majority of this match. Absolutely. The best stats of the week were in
that game. They were in control of the game up to the eighth. Then
Switzerland seemed to step up again in the second half. It's a couple of
shots here and there that made the difference. They didn't play badly
at all. They played solid, clinical curling. And the trouble with
curling is that you have got thinking time before the shots and
my word Kyle Smith will have a lot of thinking time afterwards to try
to formulate what he could have done differently. He can't change it now.
No. But he decided to play the guard. What could he have done as an
alternative? I think they had quite chuffed about it because if he tried
to come in the house, he could have left Switzerland with an easier
shot. He knew the only chance of a big end was to leave those yellow is
open. He tried to guard it. He said, have your tee, I am happy to play
the last end. He was more than happy to say have your two. We are talking
minimal is here. Kyle's guard over cold maybe two millimetres. If it
hadn't, Switzerland would not have had that shot and would only have
had two. We can look at exactly
had that shot and would only have had two. We can look at exactly what
you meant. You rarely see a house as crowded as this. For Kyle to come in
here and try to do anything could have been dangerous because the
Swiss could have that another one in. He had to guard bows to yellow
stone is so that Switzerland couldn't hit them.
He plays the shot, and he is not that far off, is he? He probably
wanted to be slightly closer to the house so it was a bigger distraction
for Switzerland, but because it was lighter, they couldn't sweep it,
would it have over cold even more, so they just wanted to leave it and
let it stop on that line, but it just kept going, and even at the
time, they were quite happy with it. They think it is very difficult to
get a stone through that gap. So it leaves a gap, how big? A stone
width, with a millimetre either side. For them to try to get
through, to play the master shot. It has been so close all the way
through, and I think Kyle doesn't think it could end up awful, I think
he was still thinking, I could do this. When did they know was big
trouble? They knew it was big trouble, but they properly didn't
think it was an easy shot to make, because when you see this going
through the guards, there was nothing to spare on either side. He
played the line, and what a shot. And the Swiss knew that was that.
Great Britain knew that was the game, and Great Britain didn't do a
lot from there. And we will Kyle Smith and the gang go next? Do they
come straight back, do they go to nationals, what happens with that?
When they go home, the Scottish championship last week, the winner
of that will play against Kyle's team in a best of three games, and
the winner of that will be the World Championships in Las Vegas. So they
are not guaranteed World Championships, and nor is Eve
Muirhead? They still have to qualify. They still have to beat the
winner of the championships, but Kyle has had a great week, and they
have played so well, and a good thing is they will learn from every
stone that has been played out there, and they have played some
really good curling. I think a lot of countries will have noticed just
how they have played the game, because they will be back even
harder. Exactly, and they will have been in those ten situations, they
will no far more what it is all about. So if you were to reflect on
what they have done here, although they haven't got through to a
semifinal, in the end do they get ranked fifth?
Fifth place at the Olympic games, is that a fair enough result? Yes, they
finished halfway up the table, and I think as they said in a interview,
if they had won that last game against the USA, and gone straight
into the semifinals, they were in the top four, and that would have
been a great result for them, so they are one placing behind that top
four. But for a first Olympic Games, first big multisport event for them
all, it is just a fantastic performance, and there are so many
positives for them to take out going forward. They will take awhile to
pick themselves up from this. Yes. And now all attention turns to Eve
Muirhead and her rink. How do you feel they have been playing so far,
and what is your feeling about the semi tomorrow against Sweden? Is the
week is gone on, the team have got more and more consistent, and they
seem happier with the ice and the stones. Against Anna Hasselborg, it
is a repeat of the European gold medal game a couple of months ago,
so even came out and taught there, but Anna Hasselborg is a tough
cookie. They play well, they are good Swedish team, so Britain will
have to bring their A-game, but I'm confident they will because of the
way they have been progressing through the week. They have had this
day off, so it is time to put the round robin to bed, it is finished
and this is a new competition and this is what we are going to do. So
I think they will come out the same as the boys, they will come out
firing and try to stamp their authority early on. You know the
team really well, and you have coached them, you have coached Eve
specifically. When the round robin finishes they are into knockout, is
she even better? When they get to the knockout stages, they just seem
to up their game, the weight is off their shoulders that they have got
through the big round robin, because anything can happen in a round
robin, teams start beating each other but it is in their control
now. They are in control of how to win a medal now, and hopefully the
gold medal, but hopefully they just play better and better. When the
pressure is on, she will be firing. And we can guarantee that this game
against Sweden won't end of the round robin one did, because this
was the
round robin one did, because this was the controversial hog line
violation when the red line came on the stone, indicating that she had
held onto it or even tapped it once it had already got to the red line,
and it meant that Stone was null and void, and the end was conceded and
Sweden won that game. So that went to an extra end, and
Sweden won that game. So that went to an extra end, and these two teams
always have close games, so they will I'm sure have a very close
semifinal, but hopefully Britain have just got that edge, and it will
be close for so many ends of the game, and then that last third of
the game, Eve will step up a gear. I love it when you say things like
that, because I just believe her! Chinos. Rhona, thank you so much. 11
o'clock tomorrow morning, Great Britain, if they win it, they are
into the gold-medal game, and who knows what might happen. We are
going to switch our attention now to slalom, because David Ryding, who
grew up on the plastic slopes of Lancashire, was out there in
Pyeongchang aiming to become a first real medal contender for Great
Britain since Alain Baxter, and we got so excited about his prospects,
because he really doesn't mind artificial snow, and quite a lot of
the other contenders don't like it. Marcel Hirscher has been the
dominant force in the slalom through the World Cup, and right there
behind him has been Norway's Henrik Kristofferson, so he is expected to
follow him all the way. Let's follow the first two runs.
COMMENTATOR: The 2018 Olympic men's's slalom in Pyeongchang is
under way. Kristofferson, the 23-year-old Norwegian, what can he
produce here? He had a really good giant slalom, in the medals, and he
started positively here.
started positively here. He is 0.27 in front of Moelgg, and that is
where he stays. The protectors around the ski pole handles, and
with the Sinn protectors as well, and he is really moving up through
the gears now. He is really flying through the final few turns, off the
rainbow roll, and at the foot of the course, he will lead the first run,
and that is a healthy lead as well, 0.60 eight. He shows his true
colours. He got excellent acceleration, and he has skied into
first. Marcel Hirscher next. The double
gold-medal list from these Olympic Winter Games. He now begins his
quest for a third. The champion in the combined. The gold-medal winner
in the giant slalom, on his way in the slalom. Taking a risk or two on
the steep section at the top, but he is just about matching, and then he
makes a mistake, but doesn't seem to lose too much speed. Wonderful
ability to recover, but not today. Marcel Hirscher will not win a third
gold, it is over for him. That is a huge surprise.
He goes out, upper body twisted, fighting, but gravity took control,
and his slalom is
and his slalom is over next to skied, Andre Myhrer, one of the
tallest men in the competition. Can he produce something tasty in the
early stages here? Nice start, just 19 hundredths of a second off the
pace of Kristofferson. The course is cutting up quite quickly. 0.53,
wonderful shots that you are seeing in glorious high-definition, with
blue sky, fresh snow on the track, barely a breath of wind, it is just
about perfect here this morning, and Andre Myhrer is absolutely flying on
the flat. He is not far away from the time, and he has gone into
second. That was a brilliant finish from Andre Myhrer. So, there is our
leader, and the next man to skied, the number 13, David Ryding from
Great Britain. He was the runner-up in the Kitzbuhel slalom last season,
became the first man in more than 30 years to stand on a World Cup
podium. He has had a really good training in the lead up to today's
race here. He likes this hill and has made a really good start here.
Within half a second of the lead of Henrik Kristofferson. It is smooth
and accurate for the man who learned to ski on the dry slopes of Pendle
in Lancashire. Really relaxed style, this is beautiful slalom racing from
the man they call the rocket. Comes down off the steep and onto the
flat, and he starts to attack. He has got to relax and go for it here.
It is a fine finish for David Ryding. The key is how close he can
go to Henrik Kristofferson's lead. 1.37, he is in the top ten. David
Ryding has a chance to strike for a medal in the second run. Clean,
accurate, would have hoped to have been slightly quicker. So, after the
first run, Henrik Kristofferson leads the way, with Victor
Muffat-Jeandet coming into third. And look down there, plenty of
French flags on that first page, with the Union flag alongside the
name of David Ryding, who is 12th after the first run. The top 30 will
go in reverse order. From Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Dave
the Rocket Ryding. Ever so slightly cautious on the first leg from the
man who learned to ply his trade on the upturned toothbrushes of the
Pendle dry slope in Lancashire. No real damage done to the first ten
turns, and his lead remains. Here is his first split, that gives him an
advantage of 0.08, but now he moves into the favourite part of the
course, and the Rocket starts to get acceleration on the flat. This is
where he is at his very best, and he is opening up a significant lead
over the Norwegian. David Ryding skiing for gold-medal position in
the Olympic slalom, and his for the moment. 15 hundredths, David Ryding
leads the elliptic slalom. Michael Matt next ago, his older brother
Mario Pasalic Champion four years ago. It is never happened that
brothers have won Olympic gold medals in successive games.
medals in successive games. Sisters have done it, 1964, Christine
Goitschel won gold in France, and four years later her sister Marielle
won in Grenoble. This has started to unravel very slightly, had to ski
sideways. His advantage over David Ryding was half a second, now it is
a quarter of a second. Michael Matt racing through the final few turns,
putting pressure on Dave the Rocket Ryding's lead here. Has he done
enough to go into gold position for Austria? He has. Michael Matt into
top spot. David Ryding will leave the gold-medal enclosure. Andre
Myhrer, tallest man in the race, he was the winner of the Stockholm
Parallel Slalom just prior to the Winter Games. -- Zenhaeusern, the
tallest man in the race. He will meet another big man, Andre Myhrer,
in the final. His lead remains almost fully intact. Zenhaeusern
isn't built like a typical slalom skier, but he has incredible skills
from edge to edge, and his ability to recover is incredible. He is
putting in some fine turns here. Now he is in the red zone for the first
time, six hundredths of a second, and back to green for Ramon
Zenhaeusern. And this is a lovely finish from him. He is carving it
up, and he is skiing into top spot. The new leader here,
The new leader here, Ramon Zenhaeusern, and Switzerland have
not won the Olympic men's's slalom since 1948.
Victor Muffat-Jeandet is ready. Sixth in the giant slalom, bronze
medallist in the Alpine combined, he has had an outstanding Olympic
Games. His advantage over Zenhaeusern is 0.32, can he convert
that into leadership of this Olympic slalom? The breeze is still up,
still a factor, it has been for everybody.
He can't afford any mistakes now. He is going to have to open the
throttle and drive and push through the final few turns if he is going
to overturn Romans and Howson 's lead. He trails by 600th of a
second. Now he is letting it run. Is this quick enough? Can he beat
1:39.33? Not quite. He is best. There will be a medal for Ramon
Zenhaeusern. The Swiss are celebrating that. He is guaranteed a
bronze at worst.
bronze at worst. No luck for Victor Mo Farah John Daly. Now it is down
to Henrik Kristofferson and Andrei Mera to sort things out. Romans and
Howson, the tallest man in the lead leads. The second tallest man in the
race is adding to his lead here. That is beautiful skiing from Andrei
Meara.
Meara. There is the first mistake. It will not catch up with him until
the next clock stop. His lead has been reduced to a third of a second
after the mistake at the top. Catching up with Andre Myhrer as he
starts to accelerate. Can he be first? He can. Gold medal position
for Andre Myhrer. He can finish in no worse than silver. And the Swedes
are celebrating. Henrik Kristofferson, staring out of the
start line, visualising what lies ahead. He has memorised the pattern
of control gates time and time again. Bronze medallist in such
cheap. His advantage over Andre Myhrer is two tenths of a second. A
fast start for Henrik Kristofferson, one of the smaller, lighter men. Oh,
he is down, he has struggled. It is over 400 Kristofferson. Andre Myhrer
is the Olympic champion, Ramon Zenhaeusern has got the silver and
Michael Matt whose brother won gold four years ago celebrates the
bronze. Myhrer, the slalom champion. The first Swedish winner of this
title since the great Ingemar 's Denmark in Lake Placid in 1980.
Marcel Hirscher failed to finish the first run, Henrik list and failed to
finish the second run. It's the third ranked slalom skier of the
season who has skied to solid runs to claim the Olympic gold for 2018,
with Ramon Zenhaeusern there to congratulate him in silver and
Michael Matt takes the bronze with Dave Ryding of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland finishing in ninth and Laurie Taylor in 26.
So, Dave, top ten in the Olympics? Yes, I am not complaining at top
ten. A solid day. I wish I could have had that little bit of extra
skiing I knew was in me but in the end I gave it what I had out I did
what I did today. Was your aim for a solid performance today? Did you
think you could let it go enough? I thought the second run really suited
me. I just made a couple of mistakes that cost me the flow of the course.
I know I could have had a bit more in me but at the same time it is the
Olympics and everyone is feeling the same thing, probably. Ninth is
respectable. Were you surprised that Kristofferson couldn't handle that
second run? I'm not sure if I am right, but I think that is the first
time he has been leading and not one. It shows what the Olympics
does. It is tricky. And word on the winner? I think I will be a similar
aid at the next Olympics and Matt was his age at the last one, so
there's hope for us. But well done him. Well done, Dave, you did us
proud and would lorry coming up, that that shows the depth of the
team. Yes, the future is bright. I am 31 but there is life in the old
dog yet. It motivates me for another four years and I know I can improve
on that still. And you will be the team leader going into the parallel
at the end of the Olympics. You have got America in the first round. How
do you feel about that? It will be cool. I'm sure we can give them a
run for the money and I wouldn't be surprised if we can knock them out.
We have got good skiers. Look forward to it. Anything can happen
and hopefully I will bring my best. Well done, Dave.
Chemmy Alcott interviewing Dave Ryding there. Ed has slipped into
this space Rona vacated and he competed in nearly everything in
Vancouver. Laurie Taylor finished 26 which isn't bad for the future of
British technical skiing.
British technical skiing. It certainly looks good. The future is
definitely right. Hopefully be speed boys can pick it up again and
hopefully
boys can pick it up again and hopefully some medals next time.
Dave Ryding, a top ten medal for him. Do you think that was an
opportunity missed or should we be happy with that? I think that is a
double-edged sword for him. We should be immensely proud of a top
ten finish in the Olympic Games but I am sure Dave will look back at
what could have been with Marcel Hirscher and Kristofferson not
finishing. The door was wide open. He was a tiny bit they and when you
are talking about this standard, safe makes a difference. It was a
slalom shocks and Kristofferson going out on the second run,
Hirscher going out on the first run, but happened ever? They are the top
two at slalom. Hirscher has one six out of eight World Cup slaloms this
season. I don't think he has not finished since February 20 16th, so
that is a shocker. His coach set the course, so it will have been set to
suit Hirscher and not suit Kristofferson, so for him to not
finish and none of the Austrians to do well is a big no-no. We will look
at it again and hear what went wrong. When you lose it in slalom,
if the gospel to get it back. It's really hard to find their rhythm,
yes. With the snow being artificial, it's really aggressive. Any tiny
move, you feel it. He loses that outside ski and it does all the
turning, so when you lose it, that's it. He will have been absolutely
devastated. There is a rhythm change here, you want to get right on the
front, the skis pitch and grab and unfortunately for him, that the
chance of the bird gold medal at these games done. And Kristofferson
standing at the top of his second run must have thought, I have got
this nailed. Maybe that is what made him come unstuck today. He is by far
the second best slalom skier bear and by far the best left in the
competition, so I wonder if that played in his mind. He knew he
didn't have to do everything, he just needed to give what he normally
did, nothing special, because he had a quarter of a second Myhrer at that
point. I think he may be rested a little bit on his laurels and came a
cropper. Let's talk about the winner, Andre Myhrer. Who is he? Was
this unexpected? Not really. He has won World Cups but this season at
classic slalom events, they have not gone his way. He has won in the city
events where they are head to head because he is so powerful, he
demolishes the track. He is a big lad, very, very friendly and it's
nice to see him win. Chemmy Alcott was watching it all live and she
joins us now. It is looking quite windy there, Chemmy? Has it picked
up again? I have a chilly left a waiting for you. You spoke today
just after and it was think it will be a double-edged sword because he
might look back thinking, darn it, that was my chance. What did you
sense was his mood? I completely concur. It was a massive opportunity
to get on that podium either with Hirscher and Kristofferson who we
thought were dead cert is on the podium, there was one position he
could battle for. Especially when you think that Matt started off just
after Dave, I think there was a chance, when he finished on the
podium. You had to charge, you had to take a risk. We saw a lot of
risks not take off, but for those who took risks, it did pay
dividends. He is taking heart from the fact that Andre Myhrer is a
their bit older than him, though it is not over for Dave Ryding yet and
actually not either at this games, because he was talking about the
event. Definitely. Dave has peaked quite late in terms of his age. He
has really become quite competitive in the last be years. He is hungry
for success. He works incredibly hard. He will still be around in
four years. And by the and Laurie Taylor were hungry when I
interviewed them about the parallel. We thought they had a bad draw
against the Americans, but the American team is actively looking
quite weak, with one skier saying that he will pull out if Shiffrin
does. I looked at the track, it is quite flat, we know our guys are
competitive under starts, so I am excited for that. Talking of
American stars, we had the very rare, I think first time ever, site
of Lindsay Vonn against Mr -- against Mikaela Shiffrin in the
combined. That wasn't short of drama. What happened? Oh my God, the
most amazing day in the combined for the beam out of athletes. If Lindsay
had skied the downhill today -- yesterday like she did today, it
would have been a real battle. Today, she was skiing so hard, and
though she doesn't have that much training under her belt in slalom,
she was on fire. But Shiffrin really put one down. And then kissing, who
had a crash yesterday, I thought that might be on her mind, skied
really well in the downhill and had a good slalom. Then Lindsay was
standing at that start gate and you just pushed it too hard and
straddled unfortunately. It is very difficult. Downhill skiers don't
often make good slalom skiers. We are just being Lindsay's mistake
here. It is not for lack of trying? No, slalom is a special discipline.
The athletes whose ski well at slalom ski day in, day out. Lindsay
put a heart on the line. She was really bald lead to even take part
today because we know she hasn't done much slalom training in the
past with all these injuries. She put herself in a great position to
attack for a podium, maybe not gold, but it wasn't to be. But a great run
from giving.
from giving. She was really emotional yesterday because her
reign as Olympic champion was up, so the Gisin family lost and Olympic
champion yesterday but did day they brought it home with Michelle Gisin
and that could be the last ever Alpine combined we ever see in the
Olympic Games, say she will have that title for life. I'm sure it has
happened with brothers, it may have happened with sisters before as
well? Once before. The French Kershaw sisters, they really
dominated our sisters back in the day. They won both gold and silver
in the giant slalom and slalom. The other story of siblings was with
Michael Matt today whose brother four years ago won the slalom. Mario
Matt. His other brother won the ski cross. These things run in the
family, they really do. Chemmy, thank you so much for your time. And
thank you to Ed as well. We are going to short track speed skating
now because we have a very busy programme. Sadly no British skaters
but as you know from watching their short track, it doesn't mean their
way to be drama and they went to be crashes and incidents. Our
commentators will make sure you know plenty about this gated you were
going to be seen. Men's 500 metre quarterfinal action coming first.
COMMENTATOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the
Gangneung arena. We can expect some fantastic racing tonight, starting
with this men's 500 metres, which is a pretty open field. It certainly
is, and I think the fireworks will take the roof off this arena
tonight. It could go anyway really, it is all about the start, generally
speaking. Lame one will be the fastest skater, lane two the second
fastest, and it could really go any way whatsoever. So in this first
race we have Ren Ziwei from China, with position number one, and
Aleksandr Shulginov from the OAR, the 19-year-old. Shaolin Sandor Liu,
the world champion from 2016 in position three, Bartosz Konopko from
Poland in four, and on the far side, Denis Nikisha from Kazakhstan, who
was sixth in the World Championship couple of years ago.
The start is key, and a good start made by Ren Ziwei of China. And the
hunger area and just moving into third place at the moment, but it is
an excellent start made by Ren Ziwei from China, the Polish skater
Bartosz Konopko has got away really well as well, and Shaolin Sandor Liu
from Hungary, the former world champion, in third place, with a bit
of work to do. The first two qualify, and Shaolin Sandor Liu goes
through on the inside, he is having quite a battle with Bartosz Konopko.
Ren Ziwei has a battle at the front of the race, this is tremendous for
him, and he comes across the line in first place, and Shaolin Sandor Liu
in second place, 14.05 is the time, and that was a superb time. That was
superb, and I think it is a new official Olympic record. I was
predicting here, the ice is extremely fast indeed, and that
Olympic record of course has stood all the way back through to the heat
they had earlier this week, and that was Wu Dajing of China, so his
team-mate has now skated a new Olympic record. Let's have a look at
the race here again, and right from the start, Ren Ziwei made a start,
and the Polish skater causing a problem, but these two will go
through, Ren Ziwei of China. Aleksandr Shulginov and Bartosz
Konopko the two to hit the deck then gouge a nasty carving the ice
surface here. And they prepare to leave the service from the time
being. Confirmation of the result, and that Olympic record time, it has
taken a couple of tenths of a second off the previous record, 40.03 to,
Ren Ziwei and Shaolin Sandor Liu of Hungary both going through. And of
course Ren Ziwei has a superb time. In the semifinal, if nobody escaped
any faster, he will draw all a number one, and that is really so
important. In the past used to be drawn randomly by the computer, and
nowadays they have given the advantage to the fastest skater, and
that skater gets the inside lane. So they are still just patching up the
track, we are very close to the start line after the first of the
quarterfinals, and the second quarter finalists are out onto the
track now, and the home crowd with plenty to cheer for. Hwang Daeheon
has been much hyped in these Olympics, but he has finished 14th
and 17th so far. For a Korean, they have won so many gold medals as a
country, the him to be finishing in those places is disappointing for
him personally, and obviously he will be looking to take away goal
here, and later this evening they have the 5000 metres men's relay as
well. So, the skaters are waiting to take to the ice here. Number nine on
the hat, that is another Chinese skater they're just on the outside
of the upper padding. This is taking some considerable time here to patch
this up, and it was quite a collision between the Olympic
Athlete from Russia and the Polish competitor, and clearly they have
made quite a dent in the ice, but the magic spray has gone down, and
hopefully we can resume any second now, just a little bit longer for
those waiting to come out onto the track. Now, Wu Dajing is in this
one, and Wu Dajing is one of those we really need to keep an eye on
here. The Olympic silver medallist from four years ago, won Silver last
year in the World Championships. Roberts Zvejnieks from Latvia in
two, Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev in three, finding all of Korea in four,
and Watanabe on the far side, and they will have to do it again. Wu
Dajing of China on the inside, he was clearly the culprit, he made the
false start. And this means that this race is only allowed one false
start, you can see the Chinese skater on the inside, just
fractionally moving before the rest of the group. Position three, the
false start, so that is Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev from Kazakhstan in the
blue in the middle. They get away this time, and they certainly have.
Wu Dajing goes to the front, and Roberts Zvejnieks who has performed
well for Latvia in these Olympic Games has settled into second place
with plenty of space around him as well. Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev who
started in position three is in position three as well. One
position three as well. One -- Hwang Daeheon has an awful lot to do, but
he is giving it his best go. The Chinese skater is in the front, but
one day Honda is going around the outside, desperately trying to catch
up. It was a photo finish, but I think Hwang Daehon has got it. 39.81
is the time, which would be a new world record. That is an amazing
time on this ice. That world record has stood since 2012, believe it or
not. Done at altitude in salt lake city. I think the ice conditions are
saying at all. I was predicting that there would in fact be a world
record. Look at it again here. Wu Dajing led from start to finish, and
we have to wait to see who will get the second place. That is going to
be a photo finish. Look at this. We look at the race again, the amount
of ground that Hwang Daehon in the white from Korea had to make up, but
here is the new world record holder, Wu Dajing, he finished second in
Sochi four years ago, and has no intention of finishing second again
this time round. And the world record has been confirmed to for Wu
Dajing, and Hwang Daehon from Korea has qualified as well. So we have
seen a world record, and the home crowd are happy. Disappointment for
Roberts Zvejnieks from Latvia who was in a great position all the way
round. I think he panicked, what am I doing in second place qualifying,
and of course the Korean athlete stormed around the outside and
managed to scrape through. Coming in here, Hwang Daehon was one of the
big hopes for Korea, and short track is popular in this country, of all
the Olympic sports, this is the one for many of them. Indeed, and I
think the blue riband event that everybody would want is the 5000
metres relay which will be later on this evening. And we look forward to
that, because the women's race was exciting, if not without its
controversy. Which has been rumbling on ever since, I have to say. China
are still not very happy about the outcome, where they were
disqualified. We have this third quarterfinal coming up now, and this
could be a really good race here. We have Seo Yira from Korea, who won
the bronze medal here in the thousand metres as well, Samuel
Girard, the new Olympic 1000m champion, Ryosuke Sakazume from
Japan, who was fifth in the thousand, and Han Tianyu who was
fifth in this event in Sochi. A really high quality field, and Seo
Yira of Korea has drawn the inner lane, so we will see whether he can
lead from start to finish. Seo Yira with the long hair from Canada,
number three on his helmet. Won Olympic gold medal, and a fourth
place so far. On go, the first time, Seo Yira get into the first bend the
lead. Samuel Girard right on his tail, and bringing up the rear at
the moment is Han Tianyu from China. A lovely move their by Samuel
Girard, looking smooth and strong and confident, as you would expect
for somebody who has already won a gold medal here. And Seo Yira has
crashed, the world champion from Korea has gone down. Samuel Girard
leading now for Canada, and Ryosuke Sakazume from Japan in second place,
these two can skate around and presumably qualify for the
semifinals, unless there is some skulduggery that is discovered by
the officials that maybe involves them. But those two cross the line,
Samuel Girard in first place and Ryosuke Sakazume as well, and the
crowd a little bit stunned, because Seo Yira hit the deck, and so did
Han Tianyu. And Han Tianyu tried to move up the inside after Ryosuke
Sakazume, the Japanese skater, close the door a little bit of preventing
him coming through, and then they both at this very high-speed, 55
kilometres per hour, the slightest touch will knock you off balance,
and it will be interesting to see who gets a penalty, and maybe
whether a skater will not be advanced. This is going to be an
anxious wait here for Seo Yira, the world 1000m champion here. Let's
have a look at it again here. As hand tries to come through, he is
very wide, swipes all the way across, so I would actually think
Seo Yira would be the culprit to get the penalty, but of course the
Chinese skater isn't in a qualifying position, so theoretically, there
should be no advantage, and these other two skaters who will qualify
through to the final. Samuel Girard looking very comfortable indeed. It
seems as if the rivalry on the track between China and Korea is intense
in the extreme. We have seen that in other events. We have seen that in
other events. It has not been greater short track for China, they
are used to winning things, and they have got just one silver medal here,
whereas Korea topped the medal table in short track with three golds on
the bronze. But here it is again. Clearly you can see here, if we are
remaining consistent with the penalties that have been given
earlier, the skater from the outside clearly moves in, clashes blades. So
we are still waiting for the official result, I believe. The
official result is as it stands. Nothing has happened. And the other
skaters are ready for the fourth and final one of these quarterfinals, so
it was Samuel Girard and Ryosuke Sakazume going through. Now, we have
got Lim Hyojun, Gold medallist in the 1500, Shaoang Liu, bronze
medallist with number five on his helmet, Dylan Hoogerwerf from the
Netherlands, Daan Breeuwsma also from the Netherlands, and finally,
Abzal Azhgaliyev from Kazakhstan. Not for the first time, they are
seeking to get going, false start. It was the skater on the outside,
Abzal Azhgaliyev. He is in the worst position. It was position three
that. Did. That is Dylan Hoogerwerf, European Championship medallist from
last year. Away we go this time, the mad dash for that first bend, and it
is quite a run. And they are going to stop the race because of the
entanglement involved in Dylan Hoogerwerf and the Korean, Lim
Hyojun, and Lim Hyojun has had an outstanding Olympics so far. Gold
medallist. But he looks as if he had injured himself there, or been
injured in that incident. There you can see him holding that right
shoulder. You can see it here again in slow motion. Both the Korean and
the Hungarian fighting around that first corner. And you can see Dylan
Hoogerwerf sort of pushing the skater away, doesn't want to get
involved. That was Shaoang Liu, the Hungarian, a real shoulder to
shoulder battle as they fought for the same space on the ice. And the
skaters some of them having their blades checked at the moment. One or
two of them, we saw that earlier, what are they actually doing?
Checking that the blades are still sharp and there is nothing in the
clash of blades, you imagine two knives pitting one another, so some
of the skaters in fact do completely change the blade, and in the past,
when I was skating, as I said earlier, this was not allowed, and
this is again a new rule, and hopefully in the future we will
actually instead of being awarded a penalty, will actually be told what
the reason was.
Will it be third time lucky here with this start? Let's hope so.
Let's hope we can have this third quarterfinal in the men's 500
metres. Good to see that Lim Hyojun is OK. And away they go. And another
mad bash ensues and this time Lim Hyojun does come to the front. And
Shaoang Liu in second place and Daan Breeuwsma has done well to move up.
Lim Hyojun is right where he wants to be, out of the traffic at the
front, but Shaoang Liu is right behind him in second place. The
Cavazzani is in third place and the two Dutchmen are struggling at the
back of the field at the moment. We are on the last lap here and Lim
Hyojun is going to lead them home. Second over the line is Daan
Breeuwsma from the Netherlands but having appeared to injure his right
shoulder in a previous start to the event, Lim Hyojun was able to pick
himself up and still finish in first place. There will certainly be a
penalty, I would have thought, because one of the skaters was in
second place in a qualifying position with one lap to go.
position with one lap to go. With one lap to go, one of those skaters
will have to have a penalty and I think it might be the skater from
Kazakhstan. This is the first corner and the rotation of the camera, so
we can see it at speed, coming through on the inside and he is on
the inside now, so I would have thought the area would have got the
penalty. So you are saying that Shaoang Liu wasn't wronged in that
manoeuvre? No, I would have thought, at this angle we are seeing it from
now, because the referee is the from a different angle, I think he
believes he was in the right and I would agree with that from the angle
we saw it from and that Shaoang Liu of Hungary would have got the
penalty. It is interesting that your opinion on certain situations can
change depending on which angle you are looking at. What we need to see,
I think, in the future is exactly what they are looking at each time
so that we know when a decision is made, exactly the picture they have
made a decision on. As you can see, Kazakhstan's representatives and the
skater himself are waiting to see what the outcome is here. That
challenge coming from Shaoang Liu from Hungary on the outside. Ahead
of them all was Lim Hyojun, looking to continue his outstanding Olympic
Games. The two Dutchmen there, certainly one of them in Daan
Breeuwsma, able to profit having been right at the back of the field
up until the end. By quite a bit of a difference as well. -- quite a bit
of a distance as well. The referees on one side of the screen are seeing
something different from the referees on the other side of the
screen. They are going to change the rules so that going forward
hopefully from next season there will be an announcement on the
Tannoy hopefully by the referee on the ice like in the NFL, as we have
a look, it looks like there is going to be a penalty. Looks like there
will be a penalty potentially for Shaoang Liu. Yes. If they are
remaining consistent with the calls they have made today, that would
have to be the case. And a penalty to Shaoang Liu of Hungary, which
means the skater from Kazakhstan is advanced so rejoins Lim Hyojun and
Daan Breeuwsma into the semifinals. That is a decent result for Daan
Breeuwsma, he has never finished higher than 14th at this distance in
his whole career and he has been around a while at 30 years of age
now. There is a confirmation of the semi-finals line-up in the men's 500
metres and we have lots of tremendous racing to come. Take your
pick from that lot, well. All the Koreans have got quick times, so
they will all be in lane one or two. There are still three of them in
there, so it could go anyway, still. Next up onto the track is an event
in which Elise Christie in the current world champion, as we all
make, having been given a yellow card, despite thinking she had made
it three it is nine laps of the track here. We have got Kim Alang,
Marianne St Gelais, Kim Boutin, then we have got there a need the run and
Bianca Walter. Walter is the rank outsider here having not won any
World Cup races yet. She is very much the outsider in a high class
field. Marianne St Gelais in second and moving up -- in third and moving
up to second. As the Korean moves smoothly through into third place.
Leading the way is Kim Boutin, as the Canadians are still smarting
from their disqualification in the 3000m relay the other night. They
felt they haven't done anything wrong. Kim Boutin first, Kim
wrong. Kim Boutin first, Kim Alang second, opening up each small
advantage is Kim Boutin, with her two bronze medals already from these
Olympics. Kim Alang is in second, Marianne St Gelais is looking to
challenge. In the end, Marianne St Gelais couldn't find her way
through. Kim Boutin first over the line, Kim Alang second and despite
her best efforts, Marianne St Gelais could not get her toe over the line
in time and she finishes third. This will be, of course, last Olympic
Games. This is her third time competing at the Olympic Games and
one of the all-time best skaters for the Canadian team. As we can see in
the replay, Kim Boutin really dominating. Her strength in this
race, leading from the front, making it look very simple, actually.
Skating away from Kim Alang of career. She hasn't had a very good
Olympics, has she, by her own standards, Marianne St Gelais,
standards, Marianne St Gelais, with no fairy tale Olympic ending for
her. No. You can see she was stretching trying to get there in
second but couldn't quite make it and Kim Boutin and Kim Alang are
confirmed as qualifying from that first quarterfinal.
Just about to line-up for the second of these quarterfinals now.
of these quarterfinals now. Arianna Fontana from Italy won the 500
metres last week and is the most decorated short track skater in
history. She has seven medals now.
Li Jinyu already has a silver model as well from the 1500m. And more
running repairs on the ice. They fill the give it and then they
re-freeze it. It is like a fire extinction. Making sure that none of
the skaters in the next race accidentally go into the rut.
Worth noting as well that all of the figure skating is here as well. Do
you think bearing in mind they use the ice differently, it has worked
well? Bearing in mind we had a world-record today, it has been up
to standard for short skating that they haven't been able to train here
very often, alternating between a training venue and here.
training venue and here. Arianna Fontana, Valerie Maltais, Li Jinyu,
Hitomi Saito, and away we go first time. Fontana going straight to the
front, Valerie Maltais from Canada wasn't having any of that. She
wanted to assert her authority but Fontana wed be far-away. Hitomi
Saito from Japan bringing up the rear at the moment and Li Jinyu
already has the silver medal from the 1500, just 17 years of age.
Fontana having a little look on the inside and she glides through. She
has and I think on paper Fontana and Valerie Maltais, first and second at
the moment, they should be the two who qualified through to the
semifinals. As Fontana goes through again. Keeping this speed up, making
it difficult for skaters coming around the outside. At the moment,
these two skaters look to be in control. The door was closed in the
base their full Li Jinyu rapidly by Fontana there. Trying to put a spare
time and squeezes on ahead of Valerie Maltais. Still with Li Jinyu
third and Hitomi Saito bringing up the rear. Hitomi Saito now trying to
have a go, only one lap to go. Also Li Jinyu in third place is putting
the pressure on. The Japanese skater almost crashing into the back of the
Chinese skater. Fontana first and Valerie Maltais in second place I
think, Li Jinyu just pipped to the line. Those are the skaters I was
calling for this race. On paper, Fontana is tenth racked -- tenth
ranked, followed by Maltais, then Li Jinyu and Hitomi Saito was 26 in the
world, so almost making up the numbers. The pace was high enough,
fast enough that it was too difficult for other skaters to come
past. How consisted is Fontana?
past. How consisted is Fontana? -- how consisted is Fontana? Yes, that
was clearly Maltais. No need to look at a video replay. Arianna Fontana
delivers so often in the Olympic Games. There is competition --
confirmation of the results. Going with the seeding. That is what we
expected. The ice bucket is out on the ice again. Times are not that
important depending on the start line, because it more, located with
the four and a half laps.
Choi Minjeong has been the star of the games so far in skating for the
Koreans, and just 19 years of age.
Lara van Ruijven is from the Netherlands, and Magdalena
Warakomska from Poland.
Nine laps.
A clean start this time, and Qu Chunyu makes a decent start, but it
is Lara van Ruijven from the Netherlands in front ahead of
Magdalena Warakomska from Poland. The Chinese have so many penalties,
or it'll be interesting to see whether they adapt to different
strategy. They need to go to the front early on in the race. She has
gone straight to the front, and Lara van Ruijven from the Netherlands
second, with Choi Minjeong at the back. We have seen this before, with
Choi Minjeong, she sails along the back and then suddenly burst of
pace. They want to be in front, but they don't want to suddenly find
themselves at the back. It looks as though she has got rocket fuel
skates when she requires it, Choi Minjeong, so keep an eye on the back
and the attempted move. As you were suggesting, Qu Chunyu is getting as
far away from everybody else at the front as possible, and now Choi
Minjeong starts to have a little luck. Here comes the move from the
back from the two-time gold medallist already. She is going the
long way round, but it absolutely doesn't matter, and she is going
straight to the front. It looks as if she is just out for a training
skate here now. Taking the bell in the lead, Choi Minjeong suddenly
opens up a very sizeable gap indeed, and Qu Chunyu will slide home in
second place. Magdalena Warakomska inferred, and Lara van Ruijven in
fourth. I'm generally not speaking a betting man, but I would put my
money on Choi Minjeong for the gold medal in the 1000m. She licks as if
she hasn't even started the race. You can see her moving around the
outside, and tactically very good skating by Qu Chunyu of China,
because she knew she would be coming, and she was pulling her away
from the other skaters in third and fourth place at the moment. So,
intelligent skating there from Qu Chunyu of China, as you say, and
Choi Minjeong was always the big threat in that race, but she did
everything she could to prepare for that, she knew that was coming. So
there is confirmation, Choi Minjeong and Qu Chunyu both going through,
with Magdalena Warakomska and Lara van Ruijven both out of the
competition. We have one more quarterfinal to come, the last heat
coming up any second now. And we have five athletes in this one. We
have Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands, the bronze medallist in
last year's World Championships in Rotterdam. Ekaterina Efremenkova
from the OAR, Andrea Keszler, European Championships silver
medallist from Hungary, Shim Sukhee with three medals in Sochi, and boy
who already has two medals, including silver in the 500 metres.
And it is Suzanne Schulting from the Netherlands who was originally at
the front, in the orange helmet, but coming through is her compatriot,
never 21, boy. On the Dutch are playing the same strategy here. It
is all about being in front now, because when Kim does come around
the outside, it will be all about who will be in second place at that
time at the moment. Yes, Shim Sukhee is from Gangneung originally, she
ended up having to go to Seoul to further her career, but she is local
and they are rooting for her. So at the moment, we have got Suzanne
Schulting on the front, and in second place still is boy. They need
to really pick this speed up if they want to finish won and two, the
Dutch. It is a Dutch 1-2 at the moment, Shim Sukhee on the outside.
Round the outside, Shim Sukhee still has that gold from the relay, the
crowd roaring. Suzanne Schulting is holding onto second place, Ekaterina
Efremenkova challenging as well, but it is a comfortable win for Shim
Sukhee, and a little celebration for Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands
finishing in second place and going through to the semifinals. A
comfortable race there for Shim Sukhee of Korea. It could almost
have been a clean sweep for the Koreans if they all get to the
final, of course. We have the semifinals to come in both the men's
500 and the women's 1000m, but very impressive there from Shim Sukhee,
impressive once more. And because of all the penalties we have been
having, they are not trying to cut in again, they keep same line on the
outside, and she made it look very easy indeed. And Shim Sukhee is
still a very young skater, very interesting indeed. I don't think
there is any controversy surrounding the fourth and final quarterfinal in
the women's 1000m, which means that Shim Sukhee from Korea qualifies
along with Suzanne Schulting from the Netherlands. So, with that
completed... CLARE BALDING:
completed... CLARE BALDING: We will be back for
the semifinals very shortly. Johnny and Sarah are alongside me. Are you
watching these quarterfinals thinking I wish ill Elise -- I wish
Elise was there? Of course, but now we can relax and just watch it. And
some of the big names are not performing so well here, it is not
just Elise Christie. Yes, we have seen some of the girls go out there
and not do so well, and one of the Korean guys who did well at the
World Championships, he has had a shocker as well, so it is the
pressure of the games. They have got great form coming into it, but when
it matters to deliver, they have found it difficult, and every body
else has upped their game as well. And it is such a tough sport, as we
have come to recognise the last couple of. Now, what of Elise
Christie? How is chic psychologically? We will show you
the full interview just after 11, but he is a taster. Backstage with
her boyfriend, he is through to the semifinals of the 500, she is on
crutches with a boot to protect her ankle, and this is what she has been
saying. It has obviously been a tough few days, I have been in quite
a lot of pain, not feeling very well from all the pain. I have been up
and down, I don't feel like I did after Sochi, and I have had so much
support back home which has been incredible, overwhelming, just like,
so I'm doing OK, I have my moments, when I realise I have got injured at
an Olympic Games, and that sucks, but it is done now, I can't do
anything about it except focus on the next four years. And in terms of
your ankle, you are sitting here with the boot on. We saw what
happened in the 1000m heat. What is the prognosis and treatment plan?
The prognosis I was given originally was 4-6 weeks completely off the
ice. My brain was telling me, you can't be in the picture now, but my
heart was telling me otherwise, and I didn't think I could win now, but
I thought I was still capable of meddling, and I believe that.
Everyone back home, there were messages from everyone, but there
was one specific message in my head from a young girl who had got her
mum to say, can you text Elise and tell her she is my hero, and that
stayed with me, and I knew she would be watching, and I had to try, and I
tried, and as far as I have is concerned, I had qualified, and I
thought it was unbelievable, I finished the second place in an
Olympics, top 16 with ligament damage to my ankle, and I think that
shows you how physically strong I am. Elise Christie, still fighting
talk from her, and we will see the full interview
full interview just after 11, but one of the major headlines is she
has committed her future to short track speed skating, there won't be
any dipping off to a different sport or indeed dipping out. And you can
see the determination, and as soon she came off the ice, she was
saying, I want to do this again, she hasn't had a full crack at that
1000m, and she wants to have a go. She is aware of her ability to
influence young girls, and I wonder if that is because she had such a
rough time as a kid at school. Maybe, she had some bullying and
stuff when she was younger, and it is nice that people look up to
her and can be inspired by her strength and determination, and her
ability to try and turn things around, and she is ready talking
about the next four years of the next Olympics. I would like to see
her have a little bit of downtime, sometime away its time to reflect
and get her head around what happens before she starts to focus, because
after Sochi she didn't have a time off, and I think this time round she
really does need a break. I think the injury will force that break,
won't it? Yes, she needs to get back and have some recovery and start a
rehab, but it is so nice that as an athlete you trained so hard, you
work so hard for the games, the World Championships and so on, and
many have these other things that you are inspiring young kids, and it
is something you don't think about but when you hear their messages it
is so nice that you are working hard for your goals and it is paying off
other people to see that. What tends to happen in the modern world is the
better name you get, the more people love you and the more people hate
you, and you have to keep that in perspective. Do you think Elise
having promised before the game is not to go on social media, she
hasn't followed that rule. Would you like to see her be firm and not see
some of the rubbish that is written that she shouldn't give credit to?
It is so tempting when you are given positive messages, you want to read
them and reply and respond to people, and show them that that is
helping you and say thank you. But obviously she is naturally if you do
that you are going to see some of the negativity as well, but
hopefully she just ignores that. Sometimes you can use it to channel
your energies, you can use anger in a positive way if you want to. I
think what she said there, it inspired her to get on the ice for
that last go and really give it her best shot, so it does work in
positive ways, but it is difficult at an Olympic Games, because
normally for us in World Championships, she has got time in
between where if she has had a bad day, you have got three days to wait
to put it right, so it is a very different format, and somewhere she
would have to get used to finding time to relax and switch from
things. She needs to get into box sets! Sit and watch the Crown
endlessly.
endlessly. Britain's won gold medallist so far from the games
Lizzy Yarnold took a long time off after she completed the grand slam
and won the World Championships on the World Cup and all of that. She
just went completely away from the sport. How would you plan Elise 's
programme between now and Beijing? She needs to work out watch was to
do. She has a great team around her, but every athlete is different and
it is how she will find time now to be able to switch the mindset and
find that courage and motivation to go for four more years, because it
is all well and good to speak after a race when emotions are high and
say, I am going to do it again, but when you sit down and think about
it, it is another long four years of results being up and down, and she
needs to find a way to keep motivated for that time. I think she
will need to be held back a little bit to start with, because she is
motivated, and she is going to want to get back out there and start
doing her thing and doing what she does best, but I think the support
staff probably need to force a little bit of rest on her. She has
this injury so she will take a few weeks off, but I think she needs
more than that. So you think until the end of the year maybe? Maybe six
months or something, a significant amount of time to mourn what has
happened, get over that and spend some time away, see her family and
friends, because you don't get to do those things when you are training
all the time. What is the next major event, John? Porcini to be back for?
They have the World Championships in the middle of March which she won't
be able to compete at with the injury, so fast that is the end of
season. It would be good to see her other home championships in April,
but that won't happen. So it won't be until the autumn, September,
early October. So a six-month break is perfectly possible? And she won't
want to come back without doing awful lot of training, she is very
competitive so she went come back until full strength. And she enjoys
training? Physically she is in traffic nick apart from the ankle.
She is a very hard worker. She really does put the grafted, and a
lot of emotion goes with that, on a day you are skating very fast and it
feels amazing in your winning the Olympics, then on a day when you
don't compete quick, it feels like it is all falling apart, so you can
get addicted to the highs and lows that happen training just as
that happen training just as much as in competition. We can see the crowd
getting involved ahead of the men's 500 semifinals, and Elise is there,
and we have seen her backstage, supporting her boyfriend Shaolin.
Let's hand you back to the team.
COMMENTATOR: The synchronised support echoes around the stadium.
We are concentrating on this
We are concentrating on this race now, Wu Dajing, the new
record-holder, in this first semifinal, and Shaolin Sandor Liu as
well,, Samuel Girard, Danbury Huws, and it is quite a battle already.
You saw somebody pointing Dann and it will be interesting to see what
happens. The Canadian skater there will be allowed to change his blade.
They are picking the piece of blade off of the eyes. A broken blade. A
broken blade. I know one about it. But he is in a rather more fortunate
position than you. I don't want to bring up old problems. It must come
flooding back to you in a situation like this. Can you explain? It was
that the 500 metres quarterfinals in Lillehammer when I clashed blades
with an American. You can see it here again, you can see the Canadian
just looks down at his blade. He can't but his left foot down on the
ice almost. These blades are one millimetre thick. You can see a
clash of this gate. So everybody is redoing their blades now. Because of
these speeds being so high, it is dangerous to allow the skaters to
continue on in the race with a broken blade. It would be like
sending someone out on Formula 1 with a punctured tyre. Well you
wouldn't litter the track with knife blades or tax or nails, would you?
That's what the situation was, because that's the area where their
hands could end up going down. A quick repair of the track and blades
sorted out shortly and they will be able to continue. That was quite a
tussle between Shaolin Sandor Liu and Girard going into that first
bend. What a lot of the skaters will do, they change their blades in
training. He looks quite relaxed about it. It is something they tried
to get down and the Dutch team have a record of how fast they can change
blades.
blades. Hopefully we will be ready to go shortly. Girard knew
straightaway there, didn't he? He didn't even attempt to skate on. I
hope there are no pieces of blade secretly left on the ice. All of the
stewards looking onto the ice making sure it is completely clear. I think
we are ready to go now and the skaters are all sliding up to the
start line. There is Girard ready to race. Wanting to get into this final
and add to the fourth place he has already had. And the gold. Shaolin
Sandor Liu, Samuel Girard and it is a fast and clean start this time.
Girard centres and opening and slides into second place at the
moment. Leading the way at the moment is Wu Dajing, looking on
fantastic form at the moment. Followed by Girard of Canada and
Shaolin Sandor Liu in third at the moment. So far at the moment, as
Gallia can't get involved. It is not looking good for Shaolin Sandor Liu
as Wu Dajing crosses the line. Girard not terribly happy with his
Chinese opponent, waving his finger at him. But Shaolin Sandor Liu who
won this distance four years ago just couldn't get into the top two.
Wu Dajing winning that race will ensure he gets lame one or two. They
will go into the a final whilst skaters three and four go into the B
final. You can see that Liu from Hungary makes a slight mistake
there. Possibly, he has got a new blade. That always a slightly
different. You are talking about thousandths of a millimetre. Would
you notice that? Yes, you certainly would notice that. There is the
official result. Wu Dajing and Samuel Girard will get to race for
gold later on. Shaolin Sandor Liu and Daan Breeuwsma will be in the B
final. Second semifinal coming up shortly. What will be interesting is
whether the Chinese skater can finish first. That would mean China
were one and two in the final. You are not meant to race as a team, are
you? Not really, but I think the Chinese have had such a poor result
until now that you never know. Ren Ziwei, Lim Hyojun, who has been a
star for career in these games. Ryosuke Sakazume for Japan in three,
stumbled at the start there, and it is Lim Hyojun in second place at the
moment. Ren Ziwei will take this one out from the front. Second place for
career is Lim Hyojun. There will be quite a battle between the two
Koreans and the Chinese skater in front and at the moment, the skater
but Japan can't get involved in the race at all. One and a half laps to
go. Skating through on the inside. Can he hold back inside lane? Now
the Chinese skater finds himself out of it. It is Korea one and two up to
the line. Tremendous skating from the two Korean skaters and Ren Ziwei
from China who was in such a good position for a long time that. They
were so relaxed. They waited and waited, straight up three the inside
of Ren Ziwei of China. That left a gate open for weighing to also move
through as well. These two came into the games as the next big things in
the Korean team but lym is the only one who has so far delivered in the
games. That's right. We can see Lim Hyojun comes through there, in my
opinion, quite safe, no problem at all. Comes through here. That isn't
a problem. I is only problem here at all. This could be... Oh, we are not
seeing it. When he came out of that bend, he came quite wide because he
went in narrow and tide of the blocks.
blocks. They both qualified for the a final four the eight final and Ren
Ziwei and Ryosuke Sakazume have to settle for a spot in the B final.
What a final that will be. That was tremendous stuff there in that
semifinal and coming next, we will have the women's 1000 metres
semifinals. Here is the line-up for final A. And for final beep. Not
where Shaolin Sandor Liu wanted to be. He certainly felt he was capable
of getting a medal in this event. Of course the level is so high at these
Olympic Games. We have had an Olympic record. And the final will
be obviously, the world-record holder in division one. It is the
question of whether he has the guts to go out and take it from the gun.
Conveyor belt of action that it is here, they are lined up already for
the women's metres semifinal. Kim Boutin from Canada, we mentioned
before in our coverage this morning she has two bronze medals from these
games already. She is on the inside lane. Number 24, Arianna Fontana in
the blue of Italy next to her. Valerie Maltais, number 47, from
Canada as well. And Kim Alang from career. This is going to be a battle
of who is prepared to go to the front, very much like John Henry
did. The American. In his 100 metres -- his 1000 metres. They will all be
going as fast as possible. It's about saying, who can be at the
front at the right time? Here we go then. Semifinals of the women's
thousand. Nine laps, two to go through to the a final. Away first
time. And leading into that first corner is Kim Boutin of Canada. No
surprise there, she is a very quick start-up. Very quick indeed. Arianna
Fontana was just in front of their and... There is a real confidence in
the way Fontana skates and Maltais was just sliding through there. It
is Canada one, two at the moment, Boutin, Maltais, and then Fontana.
If the Korean skater going to loiter at the back there and then going to
make a move? Boutin leads with Fontana second. Slowly, the pays
winds up here. Boutin is in the best place here in my opinion. She likes
to skate from the front. Fontana Way to be trying to challenge her yet.
Boutin still leading the way, Fontana though stalking her prey, at
the pointy end of the race. No sign of Kim Alang yet.
of Kim Alang yet. Leading the way as they take the bell, Kim Boutin,
Arianna Fontana, Kim Alang now tries to make a challenge. Maltais is out
of it at the back. Rambo come towards the bell. Kim Alang from
Corriere didn't quite make it. Kim Boutin wins that semifinal and hair
and Arianna Fontana are through to the final. She had the chance to go
for her second gold medal of these games. She already has a gold and
silver. What will be interesting if there was a collision earlier in the
race between Kim Alang and Maltais. That is what caused him from Korea
to drop back off the pace. That was Fontana moving into second place and
we not seen the here. There was clearly an incident where Valerie
Maltais gated through and may have clipped Kim Alang's skate and that
actually caused the problem.
actually caused the problem. Clearly Kim Boutin has no doubt whatsoever
that she will be going through to the final. There was a little bit of
discussion going on near the judges table at the moment below us here in
our commentary position in this magnificent arena. There is Fontana
looking pretty relaxed. It's a very assured way that she skates. It
maybe they will show incident now. We can see it again. That was
Valerie Maltais and it almost caused a fall therefore Kim Alang. We just
had to wait for the official result. Kim Alang has qualified for the B
final. Boutin and Fontana through as expected and Maltais is penalised.
And of course had Kim been in a qualifying position that, she would
then have been advanced to the a final. We will see higher in the B
final with the other two remaining skaters. That means the B final will
be skated at the moment with re-skaters. What a cracking line-up
we have got here. And we have a false start. No, we don't. They are
carrying on. I thought it was a false start, they were going so
slowly that for a moment, but they carry on. At the front, Choi
Minjeong from Korea with huge new of China in second place, Schulting of
the Netherlands
the Netherlands in third. Schulting moving
moving around and with two Koreans behind you, that is the family the
best tactic. The the lap time, six laps to go. Schulting I think is
going to try to take this from the front just as she did in the
quarterfinal, stay at the front for as long as you possibly can. She
knows the speed that is behind her but it is not behind her any more
because Choi Minjeong moves in front. If Choi Minjeong really opens
up now in terms of opening up the speed, but she's not doing that at
all. She's staying consistently at the front with the Chinese athlete
in second place. Eugene you pushing through an Schulting the pay gap and
she's going to go for it here. She hits the front of the last lap and
Schulting goes up to the line first with sim Suky second. What a shock
there, Choi Minjeong down in third place. If that result stands, she is
not in the final and will not have a chance to go for a hat-trick of gold
medals here at the Olympic Games. That has stunned the crowd into
silence. I think there was a little bit of frustration, because Choi
Minjeong was at the front and didn't turn her turbo speed on, allowing
Schulting to come round on the inside. A little bit complacent?
Yes, definitely. This is sensational for Schulting? 20 years of age in an
Olympic final. We still need to wait for the official result. I don't
know if you heard booing in the background but the crowd just saw a
little incident there. The officials having a look but Schulting they're
celebrating. That is quite a scalp for her, beating those two, and as
you can see there is deliberation going on. It's not unusual to have a
video review of the action and quite often there's an awful lot for to
review. A clear incident, but unofficially Schulting and sim Suky
were first and second. Here it is between them, shoulder and shoulder.
It is amazing how they don't end up on the ice or into the padding were
often when ECB physical contact between the skaters on the ice that
such high speed. Absolutely and it is all about keeping your line. You
are not allowed to change line and I think there will be a penalty,
possibly even on cue from China. They are awaiting the announcement
now. They have come to a decision. There is a penalty and you are spot
on, Wilf.
Qu Chunyu has been penalised, and Choi Minjeong has been advanced to
the Afinal. Other reaction is as though they have won gold-medal. So
there is the line-up for that
there is the line-up for that final.
So, two Koreans in the women's 1000m, and two Koreans in the men's
500 and is. They love it, they really understand it, and they are
hugely supportive, and Choi has been their star. I think I can see why
the referee has made that decision, but a bit soft. She got stuck into
the racing and sometimes that doesn't pay off, but she has had
that call from the referee. We saw a fair few incidents there, and we saw
the Canadian, Samuel Girard, having his blade replaced. You can see how
slender and shop that blade is. It is 1.1 millimetres thick, and they
will be sharpened between races to make sure they are as sharp as
possible. When you do clash, like we have seen, they are likely to break.
They always carry spare blades around with them, and they are
allowed to change them, which is a new rule that has come in over the
last
new rule that has come in over the last couple of years, and the
support team is so important on the side of the ice. They had gone quite
far through before they recall the start, so they had already done a
100% start and then had to take a few minutes to change blades and get
back on, so your preparation is quite disturbed. But even if you get
one little scratch on the blade, you will feel that, and you could lose
the edge and can't corners. When they have taken out a chunk of the
blade this much, it is impossible to skate, and they have now changed the
rules so that you can go to the barrier and change the blade, like a
pit stop if you like. Which is what
Wilf was expending he wasn't allowed to do. When we talk about skeleton
or bobsleigh when the technology is important, some countries invest
more than others in it. Who has the best kick
more than others in it. Who has the best kick in short track, and where
do you get it? It is not everybody that has got better equipment than
anybody else. A lot of the teams will have the same stuff, this boot
is very similar to what they skate, the same with the Blades. So it is
not that they have got different equipment, it is maybe the way they
set them up that is more advanced in other countries, so the way they set
the skate up on the boot, and it is down to the feel, so we have a bend
in our skate, so we are only skate in one direction, so it is setup to
turn left. So it is slightly off centre? And there is a curve in the
blade, so when they get round the corner and they are leading around
the corner, they are able to still have full contact with the blade on
the ice, and when you have a piece missing, it makes a big difference.
So trying to figure skating those blades, you would fall over very
quickly? We wouldn't look very graceful, no. And how have the suits
changed? We used to skate with just Lycra, so just normal micro on your
skin, so when you do fall over and you have got these blades are your
feet, more than one person falls, there is more of risk of getting
cut. Now they made of Kevlar, which is a cut resistant material, do much
less likely to get injured. And lots of people will have noticed the cool
gloves with the buttons on the bottom, what are they made of? They
are made of epoxy resin, and they are like little ping-pong balls, but
some of the others have got just like fingertips made of carbon
fibre, and again, it is so that when they go round the corner and put
their hand down as they lead through the corner, it is to make it feel
that the smoother, and like I said, they like to make them look as cool
as possible as well. And what does that feel like on the ice? It will
slide really nicely, and if you don't have those on and it is just
leather, that can stick to the ice, so it doesn't feel as good. And you
have got to be physically incredibly fit in this sport. Where are the
muscle groups that matter the most for a short track speed skating? You
are the fitness expert, you train people. Legs and Butt, mostly.
Nobody does any upper body work in the gym, but you have to have huge
strength in the quads and glutes and around the hips as well for control.
And we saw in the second men's semifinal, all of
And we saw in the second men's semifinal, all of that demonstrated,
but also the racing instinct. You have got to get through gaps, you
have got to take your opportunities and do it without breaking the
rules. And as Wilf said in the commentary, it is very difficult
when you are not at the first two lead in the start, but that comes
down to your skills, you can't just be in lane four and think my race is
over, so these guys are patiently waiting for the gaps to open up, and
continuously making speed. And as you see here, this is a great
overtake, and he sees the gap as he steps out to go for the corner, he
takes the spot. And holds his line there, he is very agile. I think the
fact that he is small definitely help so he can fit into the small
gaps, and take advantage of those. We're just having another look at
that undertake, because it was such a classy, quick move. He drift out a
little wide, but comes across quickly as well. Is as when we're
talking to some of the younger kids in the sport and talking about the
basics of skating, the skills and your skates, it is not about skating
round in circles, it is about being of the change direction and fitted a
gaps, and being able to take bombs and still carry on your speed. How
many clubs are there in the UK if kids want to get involved? We have
nine skating clubs across Scotland and England, so we have some good
clubs out there with great coaches, and they have been doing such a
clubs out there with great coaches, and they have been doing such a good
job to develop our skaters, we're just looking for more numbers to get
involved, and from what we have seen, it is a great sport and we
would more than welcome anybody to come and have a go. It is a very
exciting sport, yet we know you have to be mentally resilient, because
things are going to go wrong, but it must be great fun learning to do it,
it looks exciting. It is, it is a really exciting sport participating,
and the good thing about being part of a small sport is that when you go
to a club, you are looked after. We are looking for new people and new
talent, so straightaway you are helped, they will lend you skates
and you get a lot of coaching. They are trying to discover what your
skill set is and how to help you, so you are well looked after, and
welcomed into part of the short track family very quickly. And to
find out your nearest club, have a look at the BBC website, typing get
inspired and your postcode. Obviously, the poster girl, the
poster person of short track speed skating in this country for the last
six years, ten years, maybe? Six years certainly. Has-been Elise
Christie, and as you will be well aware, for two
aware, for two Olympics in a row, she has had time to reflect, to try
to process what has happened in these games, and David McDaid took
the opportunity to sit down with and discuss all.
It has obviously been a tough few days. I have been in quite a lot of
pain, I have not been very well from all the pain, and I have been up and
down, I don't feel like I did after Sochi, and I have had so much
support back home, which has been incredible, overwhelming. So I'm
doing OK, I have my moments. When I realise I have got injured in an
Olympic Games, and that sucks, but it is done now, I can't do anything
about it now, just focus on the next four years. And in terms of your
angle, I can see why sitting here with a boot on. We saw what happened
in that 1500 metres heat, the 1000m heat, rather. What is the prognosis
and the treatment plan? The prognosis I was given originally was
4-6 weeks completely off the ice. My brain was telling me you can't be a
living champion now, but my heart was telling me otherwise. -- Olympic
champion now. I hoped I was still capable of getting a medal, I
believe that, and everyone back home, there were messages from
everyone that really influence this, but there was one specific message
in my head from a young girl who had got her mum to say, Kenya text Elise
and tell her she is my hero, and that resonated with me, stayed with
me, and I knew she would be watching, and I had to try, and I
tried, and as far as I was concerned, I had qualified, and I
thought it was unbelievable. I finished in second place in an
Olympics, top 16, with ligament damage to my ankle, and I think that
shows you how physically strong I am. You mentioned the support you
have had and all the tweets and messages, overwhelmingly positive,
but not all positive, right? You have had to respond to some people
who have not been so kind. I am happy that people have an opinion,
and I have a right to my opinion and they have a right to theirs, and
that is fine, they can share it with me if they like, but it is not going
to affect me, so you might as well not bother. I know what I've done,
and I know everything I've gone through to get here, and I know who
I am, and what they say isn't going to change that, so they are wasting
their time. We have been following your story for many years now, the
highs and the lows. After Sochi, you went on to the World Championship,
and you admitted that once you stopped competing, that is when it
really hit you. How do you feel it will pan out emotionally once you
get back home after this? Obviously there are times it is going to be
tough, but it's like I said, I am not in the same place I was then. I
suffered from depression and everything else at that point, I am
not in that position now, I have got all my team around me, I still have
a lot of things I want to achieve, I want to be the first girl to go
under 42 seconds, I want to win that 500 gold that I haven't got, and I'm
improving, I am getting faster. There was only one girl beating me
of the start, and she is just insanely fast off the start. But
there are so many things I want to achieve. And you are not done yet,
you said after our last interview, straightaway you were talking about
Beijing 2022. Was that a spur of the moment thing? It was a bit of both,
I had been thinking about retiring, and it just came out. Really? Yes,
but then I knew that I was going to keep going, because I wouldn't have
said it if I didn't mean it, but I would like to try and come back and
do both long track and short track at the next games if I can.
Obviously it is difficult because we don't have a long track in Britain,
but I want to try and do both, which probably means sacrificing one of
the short track events, which would probably be the 1500. But that's OK
because I am going to get myself so strong, it's not going to matter.
That's interesting, really interesting. And watching you over
the last week, it has been a lesson to us all in resilience and grit and
courage. Unfortunately couldn't get the medal you wanted, but you have
inspired a lot of people back home. Thank you, and that is just as good
as any medal. She can certainly look to the
history of someone like Stephen Babri who was disqualified at
consecutive Olympics and still managed to win a gold medal in the
end when everyone else fell over, because that can happen in short
track. And Elise will be there supporting her boyfriend, Shaolin
Sandor Liu, and you can win a medal by winning the B final.
COMMENTATOR: Absolutely, we saw that the other day where the Dutch were
not even in the final, and two of the four being penalised ended up
with a bronze. Shaolin Sandor Liu, World Cup number two this season, we
have Ren Ziwei from China, ninth in the World Championship last year,
this is the second final line-up. Ryosuke Sakazume from Japan, fifth
in the 1000m here, and Daan Breeuwsma from the Netherlands,
ninth in this year's World Championship, Knight in Visio's
European Championships. -- Visio's European Championships.
This is worth winning, not least because she might get a medal. False
start. Ryosuke Sakazume remaining rooted to the spot. That was clearly
Dan Breeuwsma on the outside from the Netherlands, when you are on the
outside you are at the slowest skater. I think that was a little
bit too soon!
bit too soon! Position four, false start. This race has won false
story. Lining up again, ready to go.
Keenly await this time. Shaolin Sandor Liu gets to the front. Third
is Ryosuke Sakazume. Dan Breeuwsma from the Netherlands has work to do.
Three laps to go. Shaolin Sandor Liu leads the way. Renzi Way is ready to
make a challenge given a chance. Ryosuke Sakazume right on the
backside of the other skater from China, lost a bit of ground. Dan
Breeuwsma from the Netherlands in third. Shaolin Sandor Liu will lead
this when from gun to tape and he takes it despite a late lunch from
Renzi way. Shaolin Sandor Liu wins the B final. If we have a couple of
penalties, there's not that much of a chance of that happening, he could
potentially end up with a bronze medal. That's the best of the rest.
Essentially what happened, the person moves up in terms of the
classing and ranking of the skaters, winning this race at the moment, he
will be the ranked fifth skater, if there were two skaters receiving a
penalty in the eight final, that means the fifth skater in the B
final, moves up into the third spot. You just never know with the line-up
we have in the final, a Chinese, a Canadian, and two skaters from
Korea. It will be tight as you would expect in an Olympic final. Easy to
find them ending up in a heap on the floor. One false move. There is the
confirmed result.
Now it's time for the big one. The Olympic final. In the men's 500
metres. It's absolutely packed here. Just finishing preparing the ice.
Nail-biting stuff, what are your thoughts? Lim Hyojun from Korea.
Samuel Girard from Canada. Wu Dajing, who broke the world record
earlier today. Samuel Girard who already has a gold medal. For
Canada. The two Korean skaters looked the stringy quick in the
semifinal. Woo would urging from China has strong the first lane.
However it good Lim Hyojun and Hwang Daeheon are... The first bend, that
is the key. And then being controlled. It's an effort, you need
over four and a half laps. It's not about an effort happening in the
first lap. The skaters are on the ice, limbering up.
ice, limbering up. Hwang Daeheon, here is the line-up for the final.
Seeing all the penalties that the Chinese skaters have had, I think he
may have been told and given instructions you go from the gun!
They will be introduced, one by one. Starting with position number one.
From China, the world record holder, Wu Dajing. Silver medallist in the
World Championship last year. Hwang Daeheon from Korea, ranked number
four in the World Cup this season. Lim Hyojun, Gold medallist in the
1500 metres, 21 years of the judge, a new star in Korean sport. Samuel
Girard, 21, from Canada, gold medallist in 1000 metres, fourth in
the 1500.
Four and a half laps of the track to decide the Olympic champion.
Final few moments for the four of them to compose themselves. Go to
the start. Here we go.
False start. I'm sure that was the Chinese skaters on the inside, Wu
Dajing. Number six. Skaters only allowed one false start. Not
remaining perfectly still on the left of the screen. Just by a
fraction.
fraction. Position one, false start. Looking to gain that millisecond of
an advantage. Await this time. A struggle for the first corner, Wu
Dajing gets there first. Little bit of a gap. Signing into closing is
junk. Girard off the back for Canada, three laps to go. Wu Dajing
will try and take this from the front for China. To Koreans chasing
after them. Hwang Daeheon is second, Lim Hyojun is inferred. They come to
take the bell. Would urging leading the way, the two Koreans cannot
close the gap, Wu Dajing bleeding, Samuel Girard is out of it, Wu
Dajing takes the gold! He has broken his own world record! That was a
superb piece of skating, exactly the strategy he needed to take. Had a
little bit left, very controlled, you saw him going down the straight,
two arms up his back, made it look so easy. The Chinese team extremely
excited about winning that gold medal. At last, China have a gold
medal in male short track speed skating through Wu Dajing and for
the first time, I think pretty much all week, China are smiling because
they haven't really enjoyed some of the decisions and the judges, they
have been complaining about it, felt hard on by. They have forgotten
about it now, China have a goal to go with a silver one earlier in
competition. Confirmation it is a world record for Wu Dajing. He
bossed the final from start to finish. That was a perfect race.
Controlled, timed effort. Of course, the disappointment that the Chinese
team have been having, this is something, they needed to get and
put behind them. Wu Dajing has shown the public and the rest of the
world... Wait for him as well, he was second in Sochi four years ago,
second in the World Championship last year, knocking on the door that
has knocked it down. Disappointment for Lim Hyojun, finishing in third.
Hwang Daeheon gets on the podium having had disappointing results at
14th and 17th in the other individual distances but in the NT
was able to stay ahead of his compatriot and claim the silver
medal. Samuel Girard left dead for speed. Winning the thousand, fourth
in the 1500, maybe he did well to get into the spinal with that
shorter, punchier distance. No match for the other three on the day.
Wu Dajing got away at the second time of asking. It means the skater
has two weight on the outside. There is confirmation. The result of the
final.
Samuel Girard leaving empty-handed on this occasion but he has the
other gold as consolation. STUDIO:
We will be back shortly for the women's 1000 metre final, the
Chinese first gold medal in short track speed skating but the first
gold medal of the Winter Olympic Games here, they will be the host
nation with the next Winter Olympics happening in Beijing, there will be
an awful lot of attention on this 23-year-old, Wu Dajing, smashing the
world record. John and Sarah, talk is through the scale of this. Such
an impressive performance. We were watching this, the Korean boys could
not keep up, you thought, is Wu Dajing trying to be tactical? He
cruises through the finish, smashing the world record like that. We
thought he was saving something to the end, he looks like he's
chilling, we thought he was going to pick it up and wait for the Koreans
and make sure he has something in the tank to respond with. They are
of the pace, class performance. From start to finish. He nailed it.
You've got to skate so clean. You look at the regularity of his lap
times. Yes, there's nobody involved in the race with him, Alp, a clear
run, he can time trial it and skater to his best race, obviously, smashed
the world record. I think the best thing about that performance, pretty
much not breaking the world record but he has gone near it three times
today, to do it within an hour and 20 minutes is proof that Mac
impressive, worthy of a gold medal. That is it, so little time out. 15
minutes to get off the ice, take off your skates, get warmed up, jog, get
your skates on again. It would be like asking Usain Bolt to do the
quarters, semifinals and finals in the one day. They put everything
into it, not like they are doing a chilled qualifying round, but the
maximum effort into each race and had to come back out there quickly
and do it all over again. I love the shots we get from these cameras. Is
40 seconds a magic barrier in this discipline? It has only been broken
once before in Salt Lake City, sorry, Calgary in 2012. For him to
go and do it twice today is phenomenal. Everybody in that race
broke the 40 barrier, I think. We have just seen the best of our sport
and the biggest days when it matters. Lizzy Yarnold, performing
when it matters. The fastest 500 metres ever run. We have witnessed,
gold medal to China. What will happen in the women's 1000 metres?
COMMENTATOR:.
COMMENTATOR:. Here they are. You can see Jong bringing up the rear. Note
the final. Kim from Korea was the only one who would be skating. One
of them was advanced, Choi was advanced. And two were penalised. Of
course she will be ranked as the number six skater, five skaters in
this final cause of the advancement of choice. -- Choi. The skaters are
on the eyes. This will be there third race of the day. What a
line-up we have.
line-up we have. Probably the best line-up we have. Will they go all
the way to win another gold? Or is it the turn of someone else? Getting
ready for the announcement of a line-up. Boutin is first. The inside
line. Position number one, that is watch it once but bad news for
everyone else, a quick starter. World ranked number one. Fontana
from Italy, gold medallist in the 500, silver in the relay, seven
Olympic medals. Position three, four the Netherlands. World bronze
medallist last year.
In four, from Korea, Shim Sukhee. She is local. Gold in the relay. And
she won a medal of every colour in Sochi. And here, Choi Minjeong from
Korea, going for a hat-trick of gold medals at these Olympic Games. She
won the 1500 and she won a gold in the relay, alongside Shim Sukhee.
Final thoughts ahead of the race? Nine laps, make sure you are at the
front with seven to go. You could hear a pin drop here. The Olympic
final. Nine laps, and they are away first time, and Suzanne Schulting
gets a good start. Kim Boutin at the front around the first bend. And now
coming around Shim Sukhee. Shim Sukhee took advantage of a momentary
lapse of concentration perhaps from one or two of the others. She goes
to the front. One from the back, Arianna Fontana, content to sit and
watch everybody else for now. It's about picking up the speed now.
Negative splits every lap, making it more difficult for the skaters to
pass from the back. Do Suzanne Schulting and Kim Boutin need to
make this fast all the way? They are fighting among themselves, but the
two Koreans are waiting to pounce. Choi has a blisteringly fast turn
pace. Arianna Fontana starting to have a look. Suzanne Schulting
leaves with two and a half laps to go. Three to go. Suzanne Schulting
leaves, Kim Boutin in second, Shim Sukhee M3. Arianna Fontana in four.
Suzanne Schulting still leading, nobody able to make a challenge.
It's going to be tight around the bend. Suzanne Schulting leads the
way, Choi Minjeong tries to go around the outside. Suzanne
Schulting leads. Second place is Kim Boutin, Arianna Fontana is finishing
in third. It's a disastrous finish for Korea. Suzanne Schulting can't
believe it. She is the Olympic champion. What an upset! What a turn
at! Suzanne Schulting takes gold for the Dutch, but what a disappointment
for the home crowd. Choi Minjeong and you couldn't you ending up in a
pile on the floor. She'd really showed her power and strength with
that, taking the race as John Henry did in his 1000 metres. Taking the
race by the scruff of the neck, showing some guts, some
assertiveness, taking responsibility. Trying to keep it
fast, trying to stay out of trouble and say, well, if you're going to
win, you're going to have to come past me, and nobody did. Absolutely,
being at the front, making it more difficult, we knew there were five
skaters in the final, it was always going to be difficult. Bitter
disappointment for Shim Sukhee and Choi. You can see Suzanne Schulting
at the front, Choi trying to come around the outside. Interesting to
see whether there was contact with Arianna Fontana on the inside from
Italy, and the two Koreans take each other out. An almighty thump into
the padding. The Korean coach, the hand on the head says it all.
Clearly, Suzanne Schulting was at the front with Kim Boutin in second,
and I don't know whether a penalty will be awarded to Arianna Fontana,
but these two will be first and second. Suzanne Schulting crossing
the line clearly in first place, and what an Olympics Kim Boutin have at!
She now has a silver to go with the two bronze medals she is already
won. Superb. Coming here, not too many people would have said Suzanne
Schulting would win the women's 1000 metres. Such
metres. Such disappointment for the Korean skaters, and Shim Sukhee have
been penalised as well, to add insult to injury. Shim Sukhee, the
local skater, penalised, finishing at the back of the field. Arianna
Fontana, congratulating Suzanne Schulting, another medal for Arianna
Fontana, which we should note as well, because she is now up to eight
Olympic medals. She is the most decorated female short track skater
in the Olympics of all time.
We seem to have lost Simon, but we'll be back there shortly for the
3000 metres relay was the less reflect on that final. Suzanne
Schulting, we are used to seeing the Dutch wing... Kim Boutin have had a
fabulous games. We are used to seeing them win gold medals in long
track. They can be successful in short track but this wasn't
predicted. We were not expecting that from Suzanne but it shows how
important it is to get high up in the ranking early on in the race, so
that you are near the front of the race, leading, and out for the
crashes and the bumps it showed that even the Koreans are not commit you
know, they still have to try and get into good decisions and they can't
rely on the big overtake. Look at this! It's brilliant! They've had a
great couple of days, the Dutch girls, after their relay record, the
world record they skated in the relay. She can't believe it. It will
be a fun night for them. An impressive skate, and a lesson to
young skaters, a commitment to go into the front and taking the race
on at the vital time puts pressure on the goals behind. She really
can't believe it. That's when it's so lovely. It's one thing where you
look on paper and you go, Suzanne Schulting has done well to make the
final, but it thinking in now that she's the Olympic champion, and she
wasn't prepared for that. -- it's sinking in. She was brave, she
deserves it, and it's great to see somebody when you celebrate. Look
what it means to her team-mates. They all probably worked so hard
together. We saw somebody commit their relay team and win a medal
with that. Let's look at the race again. Four lapsed ago, she moves to
the front, and she was near the front for most of the race, and then
she starts picking it up, and it puts more pressure on the girls
behind. They start to think, the race is getting up now, I need to
move to the front, but is raising a great race and pushing it on. They
are all having overtakes and bumps behind, and she isn't getting
involved. Fontana is the inside line, and she's got to hold it. The
main thing that Arianna doesn't do is she doesn't push back. She makes
sure she holds her line. Her arm looks like she's about to push but
she keeps it strong in that position and doesn't attempt to push Shim
Sukhee away. She makes sure she is only on one skate, flying through
that turn, to keep her balance? Yes, and she did well to stay on her
feet, having taken a knock. And sent Shim Sukhee and Choi crashing to the
side barrier, and you can see the reaction from their coach. I think
that shows the mental toughness of Arianna, two Koreans bearing down on
her, and she stayed strong, leading to her winning another Olympic
medal. For the Dutch, they've won six medals in speed skating and one
in short track, so their seventh gold of the games, and now in the
medal table. There will not be many more loudly celebrated than this
one! It's really nice to see people enjoying the celebrations. It's not
like she's not won medals before, but to see her go out and win a
gold, she's taken it to the others, fantastic. She is barely contained
until her team-mates arrived. It's your fellow athletes, they
appreciate everything you've been through and they want it so much for
you. This feeling you are seeing is what an athlete you are always
chasing. It's not really the medal, it's the feeling it brings you, and
that's what she's got, and they understand that and know what she's
been through. They get to share a bit of it. Although she's out there
on her own, the training that goes into it, they train together as a
team. It's so important to have a good team around you, both on and
off the ice. Very special for a team-mate to win a gold medal,
because they've contributed. Short track have a habit of producing
fabulous stories, and it's done it over the years, and no story is
better than that of Steven Bradbury, because he was a guy who got
disqualified in two Olympics running from his favourite event, a
three-time world champion, he had a bad injury where he broke his neck
and lost a load of blood, about four litres on the ice. He came back for
his fourth Olympic Games in 2002. Let's describe what happened.
Dear Isabel.
Let's describe what happened. Dear Isabel. -- here Isabel. China
ominously placed. They have all gone! That has left Steven Bradbury
to cross the finishing line and, if he has one, that will be the most
amazing gold medal of any Olympic Games. -- if he has won. Steven
Bradbury skates home first, but who took out who? And you wouldn't want
to have to sort that out. There is where it all happened.
where it all happened. Ono timed his move, there is the contact, the man
in front had the right of way, and it looks like Lee might have impeded
Ono. It appeared the contact was with Ono, and it was the Korean who
took him out. And Steven Bradbury skates home first, and Ono
recovering himself to get over the finishing line in second place.
finishing line in second place. And Ono was on his feet at that stage
and would have come home first, and it was the Korean falling who
skittled him. Steven Bradbury gets across the line first. Ono sliding
over on his bottom. First of all, there was contact on Ono from the
Chinese skater, Lee. And then the Korean fell, and he took out the
Canadian and Ono. The man in front is always deemed to have the right
of way. 1.29 is the time. It's incidental. The Chinese skater, Lee,
is disqualified.
incidental. The Chinese skater, Lee, is disqualified.
is disqualified. Apollo Ono scrambling to try and finish and get
the silver, one of the great names in the sport, now working for
American TV. You guys must have no Steven Bradbury. We shared a
changing room at that Olympics, Salt Lake City, and he and Nicky Gooch,
our current coach, were very close. He to get through each round a bit
by default, not to take it away from him, and his coach was asking Nick
for the tactics for each race because, when you are an underdog,
you want to get stuck in and yourself a chance. Nick turned round
and said, sits behind, relax, there's going to be a crash, a fall
or a disqualification, so you'll pick up a medal, but he didn't
predict it would be gold. That was the first Australian Olympic gold
medal, and they have since won the women's moguls. That was sort of a
typical at the time but, having watched a lot of short track since,
its more familiar, not that uncommon. I think it's the growth of
the Olympic Games for us as a sport and how important it's become when
athletes are getting into these competitions and the Olympic finals,
they are pushing as hard as possible, and things like that
happen. The 5000 metres relay is coming up, and that might be
chaotic! We will be back for that just after midday. Let's take a
chance to catch up on some of the other stuff that's been going on
overnight, and first of all, a brand-new event to these Winter
Games, the Big Air competition, and the women had the first chance to
win medals. She took a gold
She took a gold medal before, -- in slopestyle, Jamie Anderson is the
most experienced woman in freestyle snowboarding right now.
snowboarding right now. She wants that double gold medal, doesn't she?
Look at this! The grab tail, she stomps it. Jamie Anderson crankset
with 90.
with 90. -- cranks it. Massive strategy from Jamie Anderson. I
think she wanted to come out early and put pressure on everybody.
That's what she's done to Anna Gasser. Yes, perfect. Couldn't have
done that any better. Anna Gasser just tapping the accelerator, going
to 85.5. Back up to the top. Jamie Anderson puts so much pressure on
everyone with the frontside, flat speed of 10.80. Wow! How did she
hold on into that? That is years of experience. Second run, and in the
enviable position of having two huge scores under her belt. Synnott Zoi
Sadowski, the New Zealander, we saw a switch back from her in
qualifying, and I think we going to see it again now.
That was amazing! I love this. For me, that was more impressive.
Massive, beautiful, hardest rotation. Yes. 92! So deserved. Anna
Gasser, the Austrian, stands atop the running for her second jump. A
5-.5 on the board at the minute. -- Eddie 5-.5. She stands it. The
take-off, that was amazing. Look at her, so deserves this.
her, so deserves this. 89... I thought she would have got a lot
more than that.
Cab 10.80 two the line. How did she not explode into a million pieces!
That was sick! Unbelievable. She knew she had to do that. She knew
Anna Gasser was dropping out after her and she would be doing that same
trick. Jamie Anderson with the drop has potentially left the door open
for Anna Gasser. This is going to be one of the most interesting jumps.
Synnott Zoi Sadowski, the switch backside 100. No way! The front
side. Well, this is so good to watch. Could have been gold. Looks
so relaxed, doesn't she? So relaxed. Nervous. Not really saying much. Me
too. OK! My gosh! This is coming down to the wire. I did not think
she had bad, I thought the first corkscrew was a little vertigo. Look
out made up she is. We talked about this being the best example, the
best exposition of women's riding, look at this, this is what it means
to them, to be able to lay down in perfect conditions, what it means to
them. The opposite scenario of what we saw in women's slope style a week
ago. The style. She went deep as well. Watch the back leg through
this second corkscrew. 96! She has done it! The gold medal! Anna
Gasser. Well deserved. Very, very well deserved. Did I just called the
point is exactly right again? STUDIO: always, always right. We
will hear Tim again alongside James Woods, now he's finished competing
he is actually sounding rather good as a commentator, this is the main's
ski half pipe. COMMENTATOR: the defending Olympic champion gets the
respect from the start marshal. Huge start. Massive switch.
start. Massive switch. This is incredible. I can't believe this is
how went. Came down really nicely as far as I could see. A little bit of
pressure, too much on one ski. Click the deck. Alex Ferreira back in the
hot seat. Land is flat, keeps his speed. The switch. Down the pipe,
10.80. Back tens. Ramping it up. Here goes. I can't do it. Even
better than his first run! He is stepping up. The Harry Potter of the
half pipe world, wizards his way through this. Ludicrous. My
goodness!
goodness! All my God! I think he will explode if he wins the gold
medal, he will actually explode! Woods asked me in that break if
nerves were anything in this world. Ask David Vice right now. Ask him,
he's won more than you could possibly imagine. Not as clean,
little bit of a wriggle. Left side, double Cork, and he's put it down.
Perfect. Switch, left, the right side 12 to finish this. Boom! That's
it! History here, the first man to do all four double Cork is. In an
Olympics. Impeccably done. This, right here, not a stress run for
him. Switch, double, following the 10.80 with the double 12 points 60.
Dipping very late. Not opening up but stamping it perfectly. His hands
in the air, his hair flowing.
in the air, his hair flowing. And the defending champion. Post the
proverbial rabbit from the heart! First after his first run, first
after the second, can he be first after the third? If ever there was a
time to rip the lead from it, this is it. Come on, Alex Ferreira.
Absolutely huge. The time he was in the air. The biggest we might have
seen all day. Perfect. Fizzing inside, running on pure adrenaline,
massive! Going so, so big. Squeaking in. My goodness, Alex Ferreira has
not knocked it out of the box, he stripped to a space rocket and has
centred on the outer space. Well! They grab on the 12th of the top. No
way of maintaining that amplitude. You need to do everything perfectly.
He takes it around, all the way around to switch and leases at
perfectly at the top of the wall. Landing right away over the top of
the bindings, generating speed through transition. I am going to
put my head on the line, I am going to go all an balloon on this. Cover
your eyes, I'm not quite sure of what is going to happen... Oh! You
can see the message from the judges. It cannot stand up to David Weiss
is's technicality but everyone on their feet. The main's ski half pipe
final. STUDIO: David Moyes retaining his title for the USA, if you want
to watch curling, go to the red button, the semifinal between Canada
and the USA is 1-1. We hoped Great Britain would have been there but
currently Sweden leading to one against Switzerland, Team GB having
been beaten in the tie-break and knock out late last night. This time
tomorrow we will be live on curling, Eve Muirhead and her rink will go in
the semifinals against Sweden. Quick quiz question for John and Sarah.
Have you seen the film icon that tiny? It's really good.
tiny? It's really good. Based on a true story, a winter Olympic true
story which sort of came to its culmination in 1994 when Nancy
Kerrigan and Tonya Harding made to the Olympics. Here is Robin Cousins
to talent.
to talent. -- to tell it. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lily hammer
in Norway, the rival between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding came to
its conclusion.
its conclusion. Kerrigan was seen as the all American princess, the ice
cream, Harding the skater from the wrong side of the tracks, had all
the talent.
the talent. At the 1991 US championships she was the first
American woman to perform a triple axel in competition. I'm going to
prove to everyone I'm number one. A year later Kerrigan took the bronze
medal at the Olympics am a Harding was fourth.
By 1994 the girls were the talk of the town, the US media loved their
contrast in styles but at the US championships, Nancy Kerrigan was
attacked after a training session.
Hit across the knee by a heavy club, the injury so horrific it took her
out of the US championships and put her appearance in a second Olympic
Games in jeopardy. It emerged Harding's husband had hired a hit
man to take out Kerrigan, Harding claimed her innocence, saying she
had no prior knowledge of the assault but admitted afterwards to
hiding pertinent information from various authorities. The US Olympic
Committee tried to ban Harding but she threatened to sue. This Court
has just concluded a series of meetings representing Tonya Harding,
Tonya Harding will skate in the 1994 Olympic Games. Kerrigan showed
remarkable resilience, it wasn't long before she was back on the ice
and on to full training proving to herself and the Olympic select
Versace was capable of performing at the highest level and that she
deserved a place in the US Olympic team, to Lillehammer they both went,
their lives changed forever. Good morning, Miss Harding, will you have
a meeting with Nancy Kerrigan this evening? I don't know. Does this
have an effect on your nerves before the competition? All this media has
linked? Under incredible scrutiny from an un-trusting media Harding
was struggling to cope and her form deteriorated. A disappointing short
programme left in 10th place. And then, following a bizarre false
start to her free programme she was allowed to start again, eventually
making up two places, finishing eighth overall. Let me off. In her
short programme Kerrigan performed with beauty and athleticism and
going into the free programme she was third. The crowd loved her even
more. COMMENTATOR:
Tremendous reception. Nancy did not win the gold, she was big, Nancy did
return to the USA and Olympic silver medallist and hero. Tonya Harding on
the other hand returned home to an FBI investigation and a $100,000
fine, she would never escape competitively again. -- never skate
competitively. Tonya Harding then bent and
competitively. Tonya Harding then bent and tribe and's boxing for a
while. The most extraordinary story, I recommend the film. The skating
scenes are so good. The medals will be decided at the moment's singles
to and it is a battle of Russian teenagers, the free programme
starting at 1am, and bearing in mind the Olympic Athletes from Russia
have won 13 medals but no gold, they look pretty nailed on. The
15-year-old, leading, a fair old app to third place. You would think one
of them would take a gold medal. We note Elise Christie started in
figure skating and went to short track, Sarah, did you start? There's
not many start in speed skating, you get talent spotted doing a different
discipline. I got spotted as a hockey boy. But where I started,
decided to have a go at speed skating. We are going to show the
final in the ice hockey, Canada against the USA. I don't want to
give it away. I always wondered with ice hockey, why isn't there more
than to take ice hockey teams from great written? You would think that
is your chance to involve the most amount of table who want to be on
the ice? It would be fantastic to have men or women in a team there,
that team sport, then again, a big sport in this country, bigger than
people think. The Elite League in Britain is a well followed league,
it is a shame they cannot do that but I think it is something British
ice hockey will hopefully get right. You mentioned there are seven short
track speed Skating clubs in the country, how many ice rinks are
there and how much access do you get to it if you want to train or play
ice hockey? You have to go to one of the actual clubs if you want to try
speed skating, can't just put on a pair of speed skates and go onto the
ice rink, there are lots around the country but if you want to try speed
skating you have to go to a specific club. When I was in South Korea the
kids on the there would be someone doing figure skating and then they
would be speed skaters from the outside. Definite lessons that can
be learned, they use the ice so well there and in this country we talk
about not having many speed skating sessions or clubs for people to get
along to but if you want to get along and do any kind of skating get
along to the ice. There is no opportunity to do long track.
Unfortunately we do not have a long track version, it's a 400 metre,
like a running track and the cost of running one of them would be very
expensive. Unfortunately we don't but we do have quite a good UK long
track system that is working and working quite well with the Duchess
is the Asian. You combine with the Dutch.
When Elise left school, she went to Nottingham to base herself there, is
that where you have to be? That is where the national ice centre is,
and where the national team are based. Once you qualify for the
national team, it's best to be in Nottingham. They've done a great job
of making it feel like home for us, and they pulled out all the stops in
preparation for the games, and I know that every night I had been
racing for the short track, there has been a full house in the arena,
because the staff at the national ice centre have been great. How
young do you have to start? I think you should start quite young, as far
as developing some ice skills, but you can move into speed skating,
like Elise has proved, in your teens. I didn't start until I was
12, 13. Elise really started at about 14, 15. They're big
opportunities to move into the sport later than some of the other
disciplines. We've just had the second final of the 5000 metres, the
USA won that, but they are not in the a final, we've got career macro,
Hungary, China, so you can anticipate who the crowd will be
supporting. -- we've got Korea.
We've got Hungary in position number two. Hungary on the outside of
Korea. China, with Wu Dajing, who won the race over 500 metres
earlier, and a three Olympic gold medallist, Charles Hamelin, who will
be leading for Canada on 45 laps of the track. Four men in each team. An
awful lot to keep your eye on, for us and the judges, in a race like
this, as they slither and slide their way up towards first. Hungary
on the front, Korea two, China three and Canada at the back. What happens
is you don't have to do a set amount of time at the front actively
involved in the race. The team can work it out as they go along.
Generally, all the teams will change every one and a half laps. The
teams, if they skater wants to do two, three, four laps, that's
allowed, but after a number of years we've come to the conclusion that
one and a half laps appears to be most effective, allowing the skaters
to skate as fast as possible, but allowing those on the inside to
recover before they go back out again. There will be some tired legs
when they go out at the end.
when they go out at the end. One of the Korean racers, about to be
thrown into it, huge and limb, just raced in the final of the 500 metres
-- Lim Hyojun. In Samuel Girard is out there as well, on the ice,
trying to find a way through, with Canada in fourth. He hands over to
Pascal Dion, his team-mate. China one, Hungary two, Korea three. China
want to be staying out of trouble, with all the penalties they've been
receiving at these games, so clearly they are changing their tactics.
They are saying, come and get us, very much like in the 5000 metres,
as Korea moving country into first. Wu Dajing momentarily the much out
of first place by another skater. The changeover is one of the key
areas the judges need to keep looking at. Sometimes people can
loiter in the lane, getting in the way, blocking, not moving out of the
lane early enough, which can cause problems. Canada moving into third
place. At the moment, still 29 laps to go, with China on the front.
China still leading from Korea, with Chen Dequan out of them.
Chen Dequan out of them. China, with Han Tianyu. A slight slip from
Charles Hamelin from Canada. Charles Hamelin with ground to make up. He
hands over to Samuel Girard, a good changeover, as he thrust Samuel
Girard back into the race, still at the back, but on the tails of
Hungary. Nine second laps, so it hasn't really opened just yet. Teams
still juggling oppositions.
still juggling oppositions. Chen Dequan leading for China. Oh, and a
crash! That is going to cost Korea in a big way. A big blow for Korea,
as China are still in front, with 21 laps to go. China can sense this
could be their opportunity. It will be a wild chase for Korea, with so
much to do. They are about three quarters of a lap behind, and no
wonder the place has gone up at the front. China leading the way, with
Han Tianyu, followed by Samuel Girard of Canada, and also for
Hungary. Behind him, handovers
Hungary. Behind him, handovers being made to Viktor Knoch. It could be
the first medal for Hungary in an Olympic Games. Canada on the front,
with Charle Cournoyer, an experienced campaigner. Leading the
way, having a look, trying to find a way through. The handover to Wu
Dajing, the new world record in the 500 metres. Korea not gaining
ground, because the others are in full pelt. If one of these three
teams fall down, Korea could still be in a chance with a medal. Or if
there was a penalty incurred, or by more than one team, as we saw in the
women's final. A dozen laps to go. Canada in front, China's second,
Hungary third. Canada trying to pull away. Hungary have one week skater,
so they are trying to make the race as fast as possible. China, a bit of
bumping and barging. Canada second, Hungary hanging on by their
fingernails to third place at the moment, as Charles Hamelin put back
into the race once more. He had to get through some traffic there.
Still leading for Canada. Having a look to get through is the
Hungarian. Korea chasing in vain and not gaining ground. Leading the way
for Canada, Samuel Girard. I'd say, with seven laps to go, Hungary
looked very comfortable. They haven't done much work on the front,
and they are really relaxing here. The Hungarian could do something
very special.
very special. Slightly outmanoeuvred, the Hungarians on the
handover. Rafael Behr once more, Charles Hamelin thrown into the race
for Canada. He leads. It's now with Wu Dajing for China, China into
third, Hungary very competitive. Shaolin Sandor Liu on the track at
the moment. Did well to avoid a collision with Samuel Girard.
Hungary in the lead, almost lapping Korea. Canada in second, not for
long. Samuel Girard has been taken. Read the final bend, and Hungary
have done it. They claim the gold medal right at the last! Shaolin
Sandor Liu leads them to victory. What a moment for Hungary, what a
disappointment Korea, and for everybody else, and Elise Christie
at last has something to celebrate at the Olympic Games. She is here on
crutches to support her boyfriend, and there is a gold medal to
celebrate. As we said, the Hungarians were there comfortably,
waiting, waiting and waiting, and sometimes they can panic, but they
clearly didn't, and it was a fantastic race for the Hungarians.
What a result. They stayed in the hunt on the way through, without
really showing their cards, right until the last, but you know what,
as soon as Korea fell, I think China thought it was going their night.
The Hungarians have been skating well at the World Championships, the
European Championships, and they were so relaxed, waiting, as if they
almost knew they were going to win. What a final, and what a result. Big
disappointment for the home crowd, but a rare moment of Winter Games
success to celebrate for Hungary, and it may well be an Olympic record
time.
time. 6:31.99 is the time, which means, if that's ratified, it will
be a new Olympic record for them to celebrate as well, to go with those
big, shiny golden medals. But what a disappointment for Korea. We
expected more from them and they expected more from themselves. It's
this crazy sport short track, and one of the things... We
one of the things... We can see, Viktor Knoch moving onto the inside,
but that could be very tricky. It will be a big call for the British
referee. Maybe the incident has happened earlier. Suddenly they were
all over the place. You could see that momentary confusion among the
Korean skaters. What do I do? How do we stay in the race legally? Look at
this pushing and barging. Bittern involved,
involved, that was Xu Hongzhi of China. -- the two involved. Never
straightforward, the relay, with so many athletes on the track at the
same time. But look at the joy on the face of Shaolin Sandor review.
As he crosses the line, arms in the air. That will more than make up for
his disappointment in the individual events. And at last a smile and a
joyous moment for Elise Christie as well, as she celebrates with her
boyfriend. And the result is confirmed. Hungary the winners in a
new Olympic record time. China wins silver, Canada take the bronze,
Korea a disappointed for. -- fourth.
That concludes events at the short track, which has given us
everything, and Sarah and John were cheering on the Hungarians, because
you know them pretty well. Yes, and Shaolin Sandor Liu has come over and
done some training with us, and it's nice to see him win an Olympic gold.
What a great finish, great overtake and storming it to the end. I think
that might be Hungary's first gold of these games are looking at the
medal table. So no wonder the celebrations are so strong. It's one
of those things are big team needed, you need depth in short track, and
at the moment that's what we are lacking in Great Britain, we don't
have four men that could go out there. Not to this quality. We have
some good skaters who will be training hard for Beijing, but we
need to continue to grow the sport and find new, talented athletes to
push each other on. There, you've got great skaters from all the
nations, with multiple opportunities to win medals. When you finish the
Olympic Games off with a relay medal, its special for the whole
country. Yes, almost the best thing of all. Elise Christie on the
right-hand side, she spent a bit of time in Hungary. Where is Shaolin
Sandor Liu is? In Budapest. What a great support he has been to her,
and with his brother as well. Keeping it in the family. And he
brought them home, the final lap, he took over, and legs must be really
burning. It's the toughest race in short track, the longest, and they
go in multiple times, so you don't just have to keep the speed going,
you've also got the time in the middle where you are trying to
recover to go back in, and that's when you really get a sense of the
atmosphere, the crowd, those moments when you switch off and then go
again. Right at the end, the guys are going full out here. A bit of a
different tactic from the Hungarian and Canadian teams to the Chinese,
different places of change. In the last two laps, your real race is on,
and a great entrance from Shaolin into the corner, to make the speed.
He knocks the Canadian guy's glasses off, Samuel Girard, probably a bit
shocked, but a great finish, and the Chinese coming from. Not surprising,
because the Canadian couldn't see any more! Is where you see, you need
to be short in short track on things, but with those longer legs,
Shaolin, you are not beating him to the finish line easily. Rate seems.
To see -- great themes. And to see a Elise Christie with a smile on her
face is great of a gold medal for her boyfriend will do. She spent a
lot of time in Hungary and she knows the team well. When the relay team
wins, the whole team celebrates, and she will feel a bit part of that.
is the Asian. You combine with the Dutch.
You see here the referee would have been licking at a lot more footage.
That's work career could not change over, before the changeover, went
sideways. -- the referee would have been looking. There is no one
covering them for the relay change, they've got too little time to catch
back up. Do you know what? Watching that again, I'm not sure that Sam's
classes did not just fall off, I'm not sure how much they were knocked
off. Kept his cool, incredible overtake, the last two labs, did not
panic, what an amazing kick out over the line. Good celebration.
Fantastic, the joy of it. It's not only hungry's first gold of these
games, their first ever Winter Olympics gold medal. That is
incredible, huge story! No wonder they are celebrating as much as they
are an bad guy there are brought it home for them. What a great result,
what a great way to finish. Really nice. It is the blue riband event,
the relay, more people involved, a real team atmosphere, nothing better
than celebrating on the ice with your team-mates. The last time they
won a medal was Lake Placid, silver, 1988. This is rare, completely
unique. Let's look at the short track medal table and the nations
that have done the best. Out in front... The host nation.
Spread a lot further than one might have expect that, another medal for
the USA and for the Olympic Athletes from Russia, not on that table at
all, Great Britain, the target was 1-2. This is how the British got on,
as we note Elise Christie finished fourth in the 500 metres, got
through, had a fall towards the end of the race, finished, for the first
time she gets a finished result in an Olympic race, but should sit
fourth in the 500 metres. In the 1000 metres, disqualified in the
heats and as we saw in the semifinals of the fifth team hundred
crashed. Charlotte Kilmartin, a crashed, went out in the heats of
the 1000, crashed in the semifinal of the 1500, Kathryn Thompson,
younger developing athlete, crashed and then went out in the heats.
Farrell Tracey and
Farrell Tracey and Josh Chetham, I think Farrell Tracey would have them
trying to make the quarterfinals but come the result he did, it's
fantastic. Look at the statistics, is appointing the team, brought
their heart and soul to the preparation, they will be very
disappointed coming out with their results but as you see, in short
track speed skating, it's very spread over a lot of nations, it
shows how open the sport is and the growth around the world. That should
give you lots of hope and John, you are involved in the programme,
wanting to develop it further. Despite what has happened to Elise
Christie have you seen an upturn in interest from kids? The sport has
been growing slowly for the last 12 months, over the last two weeks come
through the website we have had over 200 people are disturbed their
interest like you mentioned today, join a club, come along, try it.
It's not fantastic, not great news for the results but interest lies,
and what we said earlier, it's fantastic. How worried are you as a
set of at your going to be affect it by the fact Elise Christie could not
win a medal and is it fair it's all on her? I think it is tough,
especially for her, everyone looking for her to try and win a medal but
we've had some great performances from Charlotte over the last couple
of years and she would have liked to have been in a share of the medal
but for us as a sport we have got to be patient and see what comes. We
have a great strategy in place for the next Olympic cycle in Beijing,
we've done the groundwork for that, we need to be confident we have done
for we have done. Where does that funding come from? That's a lot of
money. Over four and a half million. Where does it gets them? That's just
for the performance end. One of the real challenges for the development
of the sport, we don't have any grassroots funding, UK Sport only do
funding for the performance end of the sport. We don't have any of that
in this country but that for 7 million is for the performance. It
is to pay for all the coaches, kit... You have to pay for ice time?
We are fortunate, we have a deal with the lottery funded holding, the
National ice Centre, it's a training centre, that's not one of the costs
we have to incur but to go round these different places in the world
is not cheap, to get athletes to the competitions, it's not cheap. Sarah,
do you think Elise Christie felt not only the pressure of the attention
she was getting coming into the games but also that a heavy feeling
you get when you know a whole programme is dependent on you, all
the others are depending on her to win a medal for their future. It is
a lot of pressure, comes from all different places as well but she has
to try and focus on not putting the pressure on herself. All the wing is
that aren't in her control, she wants to win that medal, not just
for her but for everybody so the sport can continue to grow. Can
continue to get funding. She will have felt that I'm sure, it's
difficult to pretend that does not exist. I am sure that's why she came
out and tried to skate in
exist. I am sure that's why she came out and tried to skate in the
quarterfinals. John, do you think there are other skaters we haven't
seen who might appear in four years' time and if so, who realistically
apart from Elise Christie can win medals? We haven't seen the best of
Kathryn Thompson who came to these games as a first-time Olympian and I
think she only get better over the next four years. Farrell Tracey who
finished their teams, new to the scene. He's only going to grow. --
who finished 13th. We have other guys rolling up in the sport and
developing. That is the main thing, we need to get strength in depth to
push from the knees, we don't want to leave the top athletes to crack
on and bring pressure to the teams. The best news that your sport has
had, Elise Christie being re-fired, absolutely wanting to be back in
four years. A lot of unfinished business, it is early for her to
feel it that, to say she will continue to Beijing but I think, she
knows her own mind and she know she does not want to finish now. She is
the fastest in the world, she has not performed at these Olympics, she
is that good, I don't think you can quit when you are the best. When you
still feel you haven't had a chance to show that. On the biggest stage.
The World Championships for a skater is the highlight, for you and
everyone else, the Winter Olympics is where she wants to be. Thank you
both so much for all of your time, you've been fantastic on your
insight but that connection with Elise Christie and feeling the
empathy for her and knowing her so well, and celebrating with Hungary
today. That is our Vic areas gold medal, if you like. Argue both so
much. Let's catch up with the headlines overnight and this
morning. This day 13. Great Britain bowed out of the curling. Losing a
tie-breaker against Switzerland to played a stunning shot. Austria's
Amat Gasser took the winning gold in the big air, turning on the style,
relegating Jamie Anderson to Sauber. The surprise winner of the men's
slalom. Masoe here sure failed to finish his first run. Dave Ryding
finished ninth. Four years after her sister Dominique won the downhill in
Sochi, Gizen claimed the Alpine gold medal ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin.
Lindsay Bonham competed in Ford is almost certainly her final Olympic
contest, leading after the downhill race but not risking her as fragile
knees in the slalom, as she tried to turn, it did not happen and she
tried to ski out.
tried to ski out. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has announced
Alexander Krushelnitsky who tested positive for a banned substance has
been stripped of his medal in the next curling. Those are the
headlines. -- the next curling. Let's hope Britain has a reason to
celebrate tomorrow.
Come on, baby! He, brother. Keep cam, curl on. This time tomorrow
will look the trying very hard to keep cam, Great Britain and Anna
Sloan, Vicki Adams, Lauren Gray will be in semifinal action against
Weedon, the winner of the semifinal going into the gold medal match. But
we'll come tomorrow. Women's ice hockey now and for five out of the
last six Olympics the final has been between USA and Canada, Canada
winning everyone. They are unbeaten at the Winter Olympics since 98.
This is a stub of a final, don't take your eyes from it. Here is Seth
Bennett and
COMMENTATOR: hockey superpowers in the final again, a rematch of four
years ago and eight years ago, Canada walking away with victory on
both occasions. Four years of hurt for the Americans. Can they turn the
tide of history? In Pyeongchang. Good skating to keep it in the zone
for the Canadians. Russell will blow. Good speed in the zone.
Turnbull coming from the bench. The putt came around, -- the puck came
around. Short side, along the backhand, a real nice job for
Rooney, keep tighter to the post, pad down, Wakefield lurking. Feeding
this in. Out to August.
Canada spreading the puck around well, tipped out in front, a chance
for Megan Agusta. Maybe too tight. The high-tech, good recognition.
From the defender. Slap the past right onto the stick, didn't quite
make it through, good job from step man, she was ready for the shot.
Canada just staying onside. The US trying to clear that away, huge hit,
penalty coming. Grant comes in, makes her own body check after the
play. We'll be officials call both of these? This is Jennifer
Wakefield.
Wakefield. Two minutes, illegal head. No doubt about it, the body
check, all these women know you cannot body check in this game, and
just let you know the intensity is so high... Quiet tournament for this
woman, the shot comes in. Grateful love. Hangs onto it. 49 seconds for
player advantage for the USA. Ed big shot. The Canadian defender doing a
good job of making sure there is a clear lane. I really don't like the
way Canada is managing the puck. A couple of instances, the Americans
running around in their own zone, making back passes, putting the puck
into not create situations. The Americans being able to break it out
from there, Canada got to be smarter, most taking a deep breath
and looks like they are going to get their first chance on the power
play. Hannah brand. No, it's purse. Two minute interference call. He
writes mile from the coach.
Fairly legitimate, tough to argue that one. That was behind the play,
so a third undisciplined penalty that Canada has taken, and you can
only play with fire so much. As the US built into the zone, what a time
it would be to score. Under a minute remains in this first period of the
women's ice hockey final. Tipped out in front. Going hard to the net. The
Americans have a chance. And they are going to keep looking for more.
Irina night is the player right in front of the net. -- Hilary knight.
And she scores! 25 seconds remaining of the first, and it is first blood
to the USA in this Olympic final. So often, it's been silver for the US,
but is that a golden touch from Hilary Knight? USA leading by one.
You had a sense this would happen. Look at all the time and space that
Cindy Moran has. She recognises where Knight is, and a beautiful
play to the right background of Knight. She was right on top of it.
Good save. That was a good opportunity. Very nearly snuck away,
wriggling free again. Round behind the net.
the net. USA in space, too much space, from a Canadian perspective.
Forced to make the save. Not held in this time, and now maybe Canada can
win this race. Johnston. Getting all wrapped up. The USA will come back
the other way. Taken wide. Pushed to the front of the net by Hannah
brand, and given away. Three on two braking. The Canadians have done
terribly well. Turnbull puts it to the net, and it's there! A little
tip, right in front, and Canada are right back in this, as they level
things up. It was a nothing play as they went to the net, just enough of
a stain on it to put it home. -- just enough of a sting. What a play
this was on the boards by Turnbull. What a play by Turnbull, and look at
her going to the net. She picked this one right out of the air. About
two and a half feet, and she which is out for that puck gets to Rooney,
and deflected past her on the short side. You said something out of
nothing. One thing the Americans do so well is they do not give that
puck away. When it's on their stick, they know where they wanted and they
are not content throwing it to anybody. Canada, on the other hand,
sometimes happy just getting it off their sticks. 2-1! Another Olympic
final goal for Poulin?. The USA punished and that combination of
Augusta and Poulin? sending Canada back on track for gold. No sooner
than we were praising the Americans, but it's a problem turnover, right
out of the stick of Augusta. This pars, -- is pass, a one-time shot
short side, screaming Rooney, the netminder, terrific shot, love that
pass from Augusta, right through the legs of Castle. Quick shot to the
net.
net. Letting it go through traffic. Quick hands, quick kick. Safe. Nice
pushback from the Americans. The Canadians were in between line
changes. It wasn't their full unit out there. The
out there. The likes of Knight? came through pretty big, and this was an
own deflection.
own deflection. That has to be a penalty. Canada still have it.
penalty. Canada still have it. They work this one up to the top, penalty
coming. Off the outside of the net. It looked like the USA dropped that
one. They definitely did. Don't know how the whistle didn't go. Here is
space. Can she use it? The netminder massively out of position.
massively out of position. Finally, the Americans touch up. The
whistle-blowers. First power play of the game for Canada. A great job
here. Moved down to the fourth line. She's got terrific speed. She chips
it
it past Morin, and a hard knock off the stick of Johnson. Canada goes to
the power play for the first time this evening. A nice pass to force
it up. Works it to the near side. Stick goes flying up in the air.
Only three of the four have got sticks for the Americans. Punched
away. The only thing she can do as it goes down low. I think she's over
the line. You can't go into the blue paint if you are a skater unless the
puck is in there. It's an automatic whistle. Having it explained to her
by the revelry. Rebecca Johnson tries to throw it in. You can see
the right skate standing in the blue paint, not allowing Rooney to come
out. Eventually separated, trying to move the puck round. They're going
to have to build this from distance, as now they bring it down. What an
opportunity that was!
Now Wakefield. Nurse latches on. Couldn't find the player out in
front.
Canada get it back towards the blue line. Through traffic, bounces out.
The Americans can clear, and they will.
will. What an opportunity for Canada. Terrific job. It started
with the point shot, and that got the Americans running around.
Rooney, the American netminder, add the stance. The rebound came to
Wakefield, Nurse was there. The Americans come into these big games
as favourites, they come in and play well, as they did in the semifinal,
yet, combat big moment, the Canadians just seem to find an extra
gear. -- come that big moment. What a chance, and now it goes the other
way, two on one. Can the US score? Great defensive play. Oh, my word!
There's a player down injured on the ice. A player has her stick gone.
Decker took the full force of that. It was wonderful play at one end.
Then it comes back the other way. Two on one, a lovely pass by Knight,
and Decker, how she wasn't able to finish it, and the coach is going to
have a word in the ear of the referees. What a remarkable
sequence, back and forth. A huge save from Rooney at one end, and
then look at this, too on one the other way. A beautiful backhand
pass, and
pass, and then Poulin went right through Khan Decker. In the men's
game, that's a it to the head who -- that is a hit to the head. That is
elbowed head.
elbowed head. Can Canada withstand that pressure? Can they get an
insurance marker? Can they clearly zone? They can. Good save by Rooney.
Is that a golden medal saving save? At the other end, what a chance!
2-2!
2-2! Lamoureux levels! Rooney makes the stock at one end, US breakaway,
and who else do you want it on the stick of? Lamoureux. Thoughts of
1998 back in focus, thoughts of Sochi vanishing. The US is gunning
for gold again. What a save from Rooney, getting about half of this
puck, and then Lamoureux so confident, firing that puck over,
under the glove of the opposite number, an amazing finish. Is there
one more twist? Canada may have one more chance. They want now. They'll
run out of time on this one. And, for the second successive Winter
Olympics, we are going to overtime in the women's ice hockey final.
Next goal wins it. Can they use this? It goes wide. And now it goes
back the other way. Deflects off a stick and up into the netting. 2.27
of sudden death overtime it is, golden goal, literally. The next
goal wins. Look at this
goal wins. Look at this chance from Genoa, just loses her handle on it
at the last second. And look at this shot of the stick.
shot of the stick. And Canada don't really have a dynamic defender who
can leak into the play. Keller nearly wins it. And what a save. And
what a play from Marvin to spring the defender, Keller. She tries to
go high blocker, and what a save. She is absolutely shattered.
She is absolutely shattered. Poulin taken down on the play. Penalty.
Looking up to these guys. 1.35 to go, and Canada have a four on three
power play. It's a penalty, it is. Two minutes, illegal hit. On the
blue line,
blue line, there is Fortino, off the post, I think. Canada nearly win it.
They go again. Fortino has to control her skate. USA, only three
skaters on the ice. It opens up, and the shot goes wide. Cleared away.
Surely the Canadians are going to find a way to get Poulin back out
there. Time ticking down, penalty shot. Too hard a pass. It's going to
be cleared away. Eight seconds. No icing here. What a drama. It will
continue. 80 minutes can't split these two teams in an Olympic gold
medal match, and now it is over to a shoot out. The first shooter for
Canada, Spooner, looking to set the tone early and get a goal and put
the US on the back burner. With British links, from Swinton just
outside Manchester. And an easy one for Rooney first up. She came in
with a tonne of speed but just lost control, not sure what she was
trying to accomplish. You can see her losing control under her stick.
Very easy for the American netminder. These teams have
practised this an awful lot. In the build-up, because they know just how
important it could be. Here is the exploring just -- experienced
Marvin, stepping in with a move and scoring. The US take the lead.
Marvellous from Marvin.
She lost the handle of it briefly but was able to hammer it through.
Just enough. The accidental move. For the Canadians. So many goals she
scored in Olympic leg. She steps in. Rifles it home. Canada level! So
much confidence on this shooter. Goals left, goes right, comes in
from the angle. Upstairs, past the blogger. Rooney gets outside the
post here. Got taken to wide by the experienced veteran. Brand. Her
sister played for the Korean team. And now, here she is in the final.
Saved. Tied at two after two. The netminder looked behind her, knew
she got a piece of that was not sure how much, it stays out. Went between
the legs. Shutting the door.
Poulin, can she add a third medal? Good said, Rooney. Stayed big and
tall. And it raises a smile. She tried to do the same thing, Rooney
was there all the way. Great stop.
The first defence man to go. Walking in. Great save on the backhand side.
Nothing complicated about that. Still level. Three Down Main St.
Tries to go to the back side, it was read beautifully. 1-1 after a three
shots.
shots. Now, maybe the best Canadian player in the tournament, composed.
Stepping in. The move! My word! That was incredible! Shades of 94. With a
shoot out goal to save her. Are you kidding me right now? You've got to
be. Look at this, amazing. One-handed.
One-handed. Moves one way, sells it, with one hand gets it past the
netminder. The US trailing 2-1. Here is Kessel, the American. Scores,
levelling things.
levelling things. That was a thing of power. The patient wait. Up over
the glove. What a shot.
the glove. What a shot. For the Canadians. Can she put pressure on
the Americans? Saved. Rooney smiles. She knows she's given the Americans
the chance to win gold with the next shot. Jenner with the move. What a
stop right there.
stop right there. She knows, the coach knows. Hilary Knight, the face
of women's hockey in the USA, this is the gold medal shot by the US,
saved! And we go to sudden death in the shoot out. And who do the
coaches picked now? I don't even know what disabled stop Hilary
Knight, robbed. -- I really don't know what to say.
know what to say. They might be taking a little bit of a break. The
US goes first. They flip, don't they? Yes.
Slowly, slowly, great goal! Shake and bake. The USA go up and now they
anxiously wait to see whether this is good enough for the gold. What a
move, what a move. That is just perfection right there. It's going
to be Megan Agusta. Already scored once. She has two score to keep
Canada in with a chance. Saved! The USA win gold for the first time
since 98.
since 98. Canada's run of 24 straight wins in Olympic hockey
matches is over. They are devastated. As the Americans are
crowned at the Olympic champions for the second time. The Queens of
the second time. The Queens of ice hockey, USA, when it on a shoot out
in the most dramatic of circumstances. 20 year wait for
gold. Ends, back in a shelf where it all started. And they will start
celebrating with tears of joy. And on the other side, tears of
disappointment. The Golden girls of American hockey. I just took each
player, one at a time, when it came down to one shooter to win it, I
said like, it is one more. And then the gold medal. This group of women,
they mean so much to me and I can't believe we did it, thanks everyone
for the support. Shoot out, over time, we knew we were going to get
it, no doubt in that locker room, we believed, we have played this game a
thousand times in our minds, over and over, the last four years, we
did not care how we got it done. The sisters there, you heard from, and
Maddie Rooney, the netminder, taking gold at the Olympics but the first
time. Canada tasting defeat for the first time. That is extraordinary. A
great final, a great result. And it means the USA move up onto the tale
of Canada, they have 12-macro gold medals today, David Wise taking the
half pipe, the ice hockey, 21 overall. Norway and Germany tied at
the top. The USA Canada is a battle that is continuing right now on the
ice. That scene at the curling, low scoring semifinal, 2-2 so far, into
end Ed, you will see live coverage on that when we switched to BBC Two
with Hazel at one o'clock.
on that when we switched to BBC Two with Hazel at one o'clock. Kent
Simpson is alongside me. How often does go through extra time with no
goal and penalties and onto that long? That was the first time in a
women's gold medal game, 60 minutes of hockey, 20 overtime, the first
five shooters, nothing, then go to one extra shooter. You are Canadian,
what will the impact be, we are used to seeing them take the gold, it's
normally a take, that will happen. Looking at the reaction back on,
there is a camp that looks at that game and says that was outstanding,
one of the best ever played, so proud of the women on both teams,
remarkable. And then there's the other side, disappointment, a lot of
people that say do you use penalty shoot outs to finish the game, it's
a team game? Wide EU have individual one-on-one but from a Canadian
perspective, were so gassed, going to a shoot out was probably the best
for them. Some of those players would normally play about 20 minutes
on the ice, you were saying some of them had done about 35. They would
have been skating in quicksand. Nothing left. The skill in the
penalty shoot out, some of these scored, I just board was immense,
the change of pace and power, look at that. And then go! There is only
a handful of people in the world can pull that off, the magnitude of the
moment, your hands have to be shaking, your heart is growing like
crazy, to do that, control the puck and slide it into the net. On the
flip side, to be able to calm herself, follow the puck all the way
through and make sure she has the presence of mind to get it with her
glove for it has the potential to go over the line. The celebrations for
ice hockey players, he looks so ungainly, you have all of that kit,
the gloves come off, litter all over the ice, the helmets, the sticks go
down. It's kind of let's get as much as we can offer so we can have the
celebration but you're right. With the defeat, you're never going to
take your helmet off, you want to hide behind the mask and the helmet.
It's a fabulous sport to watch, women across North America
certainly, it is really high of the list of choices that you make. If
you want to get into a team sport, ice hockey would be second or third,
in Canada, probably most popular. This is the exact reason why, so
many young girls that stayed up late, said to their parents I'm not
ready for bed, five more minutes. And so, what you are doing, grabbing
these girls at a really young age, and this is the stuff of dreams. You
are getting them on the ice at an early age, they are having a blast,
having fun, you see it building. And a victory like this for the United
States is massive. Four years in a row, for Olympics in a row.
Heartbreak after heartbreak. A lot of young girls waking up to say, mum
and dad, I want to do that. In the 21st great result for the USA. USA
against Canada in progress in the curling, this time tomorrow, curling
will be taking our attention. Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams
and Lauren great know it's a game of patience if they are to win the game
of stones.
In Corriere, we like games of strategy. We like games that take
their time, progress slowly, take you under their spell. We like a
game called paduk, the oldest board game played for thousands of years.
A game of stones, probability and calculations. The aim of the game is
to place your stones to control a desired territory. But this isn't
the only game here that is played with stones!
with stones! This game is not! -- hypnotic. Superior tactics.
hypnotic. Superior tactics. Brasher opponent's stones away.
opponent's stones away. And your adverse is chances. So complex it
carries heavy mental weight. In South Korea we have a new love. We
love curling!