Key events
On the BBC, they are discussing Team GB’s near misses.“There’s no shame in saying we wanted an early medal, but every single one of those three results could have been ours,” says the ever-optimistic Chemmy Alcott. “Our best prospects are in the men’s skeleton, they’re a tick in the box for me.”
Another horrible injury for a member of the Austrian team: as snowboarder Cam Bolton breaks his neck in training.
Today’s highlights
09:30 Snowboard Women’s Halfpipe Qualification
10:00 Freestyle Skiing Women’s Moguls Qualification
10.30 Alpine Skiing Men’s Super G FINAL
12:45 Nordic Combined Men’s Gundersen Normal Hill/10km cross-country FINAL
13:15 Biathlon Women’s 15km FINAL
13:15 Freestyle Skiing Women’s Moguls FINAL
15:40 Ice Hockey Men’s Group B: Slovakia v Finland
16:00: Luge Women’s Double, Run 1
16:51: Luge Men’s Double, Run 1
17:30 Men’s Speed skating 1000m FINAL
17:53: Women’s Luge double FINAL
18:05 Curling Men’s Round Robin: China v GBSweden v Italy, Czech Republic v USA, Canada v Germany,
18:30 Figure Skating, Mixed Ice Dance, Free Dance FINAL
18:30 Snowboard Men’s Halfpipe Qualification
18:44 Luge Men’s Double FINAL
20:10: Ice Hockey Men Group B: Sweden v Italy
Preamble
Hello and welcome to day five day of winter action in Milan and the hauntingly beautiful Italian mountains.
There are eight gold medals up for grabs today, mostly on the slopes. They go for glory in the high-stakes men’s Super G (giant slalom) and the men’s Nordic combined (a 10km cross-country race and ski-jump), while Australia’s Jakara Anthony defends her title in the women’s Moguls (more ski-ing, this time racing down a steep course of jumps, turns and aerial trickery). France’s Lou Jeanmonnot guns for her second gold of the games in the women’s biathalon (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting).
Over on the rink, the mighty Dutch are favourites in the men’s 1000m speed skating, while both sexes prepare to throw themselves down an icy shute in the luge double. Finally, flowing silks and rousing pianos accompany the free dance component of the ice dance finals. There, Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will be hoping to inch up from fourth to bronze. Incredible fact – 24 million tuned in to watch Torvill and Dean win gold in 1984, (and ten year old me was one of them).
Team GB are crossing everything that Fear and Gibson will kick-start the country’s haul of medals, which so far have dangled agonisingly just out of reach. “We always speak about winter sports and how it comes down to absolutely nothing and I think the last couple of days has been a prime example of that, hasn’t it?” said chef de mission Eve Muirhead. “Millimetres, milliseconds. But you know what, I’m really kind of, I’m positive.”
There’s also ice-hockey, snowboard half pipe, and more curling, where Britain’s men will start their campaign, against China. Grab a cappuccino and join us. We’ll be here all day.
