Great Britain’s James Woods goes for freestyle skiing gold in Sochi on a day which also signals the start of the skeleton competitions where hopes for British medals are also high.
Ever since the confirmation of ski slopestyle’s place at the Sochi Games, Woods has been labelled as one of the leading British medal contenders, alongside GB’s skeleton world cup winner Lizzy Yarnold, who also begins her Olympic campaign on Thursday.
Nicknamed “Woodsy”, the 22-year-old developed his craft on a now-abandoned artificial slope in Sheffield before becoming a world silver medallist and X Games bronze medallist.
Despite suffering a heavy crash during training, he will be hoping to make the final in what will be his Olympic debut from around 9.30am.
Skeleton has been a sport which has banked Great Britain’s only medals of the past two Winter Games and there are strong hopes once again that two leading female athletes can lead the charge for more medal success this time in Sochi.
Great Britain boasts not only the world champion in 2006 Olympic silver medalist Shelley Rudman, but also this season’s stand-out athlete in Lizzy Yarnold, who has won four World Cup titles in the past few months.
The pair will be watching out for leading rivals Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States, who has denied both Rudman and Yarnold on several occasions in and may yet take the gold.
The first two runs of four take place on Thursday morning, with the final two runs on Thursday late-afternoon in the UK on Friday.
There could be more British hopes in short track speed skating as Elise Christie and Charlotte Gilmartin aim for a place in the finals in the 500m from 10.00am.
In an Olympics packed with new and exciting events, luge gets in on the act with the debut of Olympic team relay.
Each squad goes in the following order – female competitor, then male, then the doubles team, and then each time an athlete gets to the bottom of the track, they hit a touchpad which releases their next team-mate in line, similar a baton change.
The fastest overall time wins the contest and Germany, winners of the past 10 relay world titles, are the overwhelming favourites to claim gold in this unique event.
After the opening group games over the first few days, the Ice Hockey competitions get into gear today as hosts Russia take to the rink for the first time at their home Games against Slovenia.
The home team have not won the Olympic ice hockey title since the Unified Team, of which they formed a major part, triumphed in 1992 after the end of the Soviet Union.
This year’s team are under immense pressure to win, but Sweden, Finland, Canada and the United States are all major threats.
Also on day six, there is the men’s short program in figure skating and Great Britain’s curlers continue in the round robin phase with one match each in the men’s and women’s competitions, against China (women) and the United States (men).
You can access all the action from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics across BBC TV, Red Button and radio, with up to six live streams available online, connected TVs, mobiles, tablets and the BBC Sport app.
SOTB’s TV viewing guide to Day 6 of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games below:
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DAY 6: THURSDAY 13th FEBRUARY
05:00 – 12:00 |
SKELETON, FREESTYLE SKIING & CURLING Presenter: Hazel Irvine |
An action-packed morning sees four live sports in action on BBC Two’s morning programme with Hazel Irvine in Sochi.
It sees the start of the women’s skeleton, the only event in which Great Britain won gold at the 2010 Games.
Olympic champion Amy Williams is now retired, but Team GB have high hopes of another Olympic title – their team boasts current world champion and 2006 Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman, as well as Lizzy Yarnold, who has been one of the stars of the 2013-14 World Cup season.
Ski slopestyle is new to the Games, and Britain will be hoping that James Woods can write his name in the history books by becoming the inaugural Olympic champion.
In 2013, the Sheffield skier became Britain’s first freestyle skiing World Championship medallist for 20 years when he won a silver medal in Norway. Can he go one better at the Winter Olympics?
It is the latter stages of the women’s 500m short track speedskating, and Britain’s Elise Christie will be expecting to still be involved.
While the Scot will not be one of the favourites for gold, such is the unpredictable and precarious nature of this fast and furious sport, anything can happen.
Both Britain’s men’s and women’s curling teams are in action, and there is also live ice hockey.
Coverage switches to BBC One at 12.00pm (see below).
.| 05:00 |
CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v China (Women) |
| 06:10 | FREESTYLE SKIING – LIVE Men’s Slopestyle Qualifying |
| 07:30 |
SKELETON – LIVE Women’s Run 1 |
| 08:15 | ICE HOCKEY – LIVE |
| 08:50 | SKELETON – LIVE Women’s Run 2 |
| 09:15 | FREESTYLE SKIING – LIVE Men’s Slopestyle Final |
| 10:40 | CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v United States (Men) |
| SHORT TRACK – LIVE Day 2 |
12:00 – 13:00 |
SHORT TRACK & CURLING Presenter: Jonathan Edwards |
Coverage continues over on BBC One from midday as Jonathan Edwards takes over presenting duties on the Olympic Park.
This programme features the final of the women’s 500m short track speed skating, with Britain’s Elise Christie hoping to still be involved.
The event has been won by China’s Wang Meng at the past two Olympics.
Meanwhile, the British men’s curling team are in action against the USA.
David Murdoch will be expecting his side to win against the Americans, who had to come through a qualifying competition at the end of last year to reach the Games.
Coverage switches back to BBC Two at 1.00pm for the rest of the day.
.| 12:00 |
SHORT TRACK – LIVE 500m Final |
| CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v United States (Men) |
13:00 – 16:00 |
CROSS COUNTRY, SPEED SKATING & BIATHLON Presenter: Jonathan Edwards |
The action returns to BBC Two at 1.00pm and begins with the world’s best womens cross-country skiers contesting the 10km classic race.
Marit Bjoergen’s bronze over this distance in Vancouver was one of five medals the Norwegian scooped at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and she will expect to be among the front-runners today.
American duo Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe are likely to be the leading contenders for gold in the women’s speedskating 1000m.
Richardson has won three of this season’s four World Cup races, but Bowe broke the world record when she won the meet at Salt Lake City in November.
The men’s biathlon 20km is a gruelling test of endurance and skill, and one in which France’s Martin Fourcade will expect to excel.
The 25-year-old is the reigning world champion over the distance, and has been in excellent World Cup form this season.
His biggest rival may be Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen, who won Olympic gold in this event in 2010.
There will also be action from a key game in the men’s ice hockey tournament, either Russia v Slovenia or Slovakia v United States.
| 13:00 | CROSS COUNTRY – Women’s 10km Classic |
| 14:00 | ICE HOCKEY – LIVE Men’s Group Match – RUS v SLO or SVK v USA |
| 15:00 | SPEED SKATING – LIVE Women’s 1000m Final |
| 15:30 | BIATHLON – LIVE Men’s 20km |
16:00 – 19:30 |
LUGE & FIGURE SKATING Presenter: Clare Balding |
Winter Olympic history will be made this evening with the first-ever Olympic luge team relay competition as Clare Balding takes over for the final shift of day six.
Each team comprises a female athlete, a male athlete and a doubles pair. When the first athlete reaches the bottom of the run, they hit a touchpad, which releases the start-gate for the next athlete in their team.
The total times are added up, with gold awarded to the team with the quickest time – it will be a big surprise if that team is not Germany.
The men’s figure skating competition gets under way at the Iceberg Skating Palace. American Evan Lysacek will be missing through injury but there will be a queue of contenders hoping to succeed him as Olympic champion.
Heading the field will be three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada, who will be looking for a solid performance in today’s short programme.
.| 16:15 |
LUGE – LIVE Team Relay Final |
| 17:20 | FIGURE SKATING – LIVE Men’s Short Program |
19:30 – 20:00 |
TODAY AT THE GAMES Presenter: Clare Balding |
A round up of all the stories and key events from day six at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Sochi’s Olympic Park with Clare Balding and guests in a shortened highlights show.
Today included plenty of British interest. Shelley Rudman and Lizzy Yarnold begin their Olympic campaign in the skeleton, while slopestyle skier James Woods and short track skater Elise Christie look for medals in their events.
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| 05:00 | CURLING | LIVE China v Great Britain (Women) |
| 08:00-09:20 | SKELETON | LIVE Women’s Runs 1 & 2 |
| 10:00 | CURLING | LIVE Great Britain v USA (Men) |
| 13:00 | ICE HOCKEY | LIVE Men’s Group A – SVK v USA |
| 15:00-19:30 | FIGURE SKATING | LIVE Men’s Short Program |
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| 06:10 | FREESTYLE SKIING |
LIVE Men’s Slopestyle Qualification |
| 07:25-08:10 | SKELETON |
LIVE Runs 1 & 2 |
| 09:55-12:15 | SHORT TRACK | LIVE Session 2 |
| 12:30 | ICE HOCKEY |
LIVE Men’s Group A – RUS v SLO |
| 15:00-16:00 | SPEED SKATING | LIVE Women’s 1000m Final |
| 16:10 | LUGE | LIVE Team Relay |
| 17:35-19:30 | ICE HOCKEY | LIVE Men’s Group B – CAN v NOR |
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Alongside BBC TV’s main coverage on BBC Two, Winter Olympics fans have the chance to become their own TV directors and choose which event they want to watch at the touch of a button.
Full uninterrupted coverage of each individual session and event at the Sochi Games can be accessed in a number of ways.
Selected events can be found via the BBC’s two Red Button streams on TV – available via Freeview, Freesat, BT Vision, Sky, Virgin Media and YouView – by simply pressing the red button on your remote control (see Red Button 1/2 listings above).
All six live streams, featuring access to every Sochi 2014 event, will be made available via the BBC Sport website on all devices.
These streams can also be accessed through the BBC’s Connected Red Button service on TVs via Virgin Media TiVo and Sony Freeview Smart TVs and via the BBC Sport app for connected TVs.
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Men’s Individual 20km*
Lee Jackson
LIVE: 2.00pm-4.20pm BBC Sport Online
Women’s 10km Classic*
Posy Musgrave
LIVE: 10.00am-11.40am BBC Sport Online
China v Great BritainWomen’s Round Robin
Skip: Eve Muirhead
LIVE: 5.00am-8.00am BBC Red Button 1
Great Britain v United StatesMen’s Round Robin
Skip: David Murdoch
LIVE: 10.00am-1.00pm BBC Red Button 1
CLICK HERE for full Curling match schedule
Men’s Short ProgramLIVE: 3.00pm-7.30pm BBC Red Button 1
Men’s Ski Slopestyle Qualification James Woods
LIVE: 6.10am-7.25am BBC Red Button 2
Men’s Ski Slopestyle Final*
LIVE: 9.30am-10.40am BBC Sport Online
Japan v GermanyWomen’s Group B LIVE: 8.00am-10.30am BBC Sport Online
Finland v Austria
Women’s Group B LIVE: 8.00am-10.30am BBC Sport Online
Russia v Slovenia Men’s Group A LIVE: 12.30pm-3.00pm BBC Red Button 2 Slovakia v United States
Men’s Group A LIVE: 1.00pm-3.00pm BBC Red Button 1 Sweden v Russia
Women’s Group B LIVE: 5.00pm-7.30pm BBC Sport Online Canada v Norway
Men’s Group B LIVE: 5.35pm-7.30pm BBC Red Button 2
Team Relay Competition*LIVE: 4.10pm-5.35pm BBC Red Button 2
10:00 Women’s 500m Quarter Finals Elise Christie / Charlotte Gilmartin10:25 Men’s 1000m Heats
Jon Eley / Richard Shoebridge
11:10 Women’s 500m Semi Finals11:31 Men’s 500m Relay Semi Finals
12:05 Women’s 500m Finals* LIVE: 9.55am-12.15am BBC Red Button 2
07:30 Women’s Heat 108:40 Women’s Heat 2
Shelley Rudman / Lizzy Yarnold
LIVE: 7.25am-8.10am BBC Red Button 2 / 8.00am-9.20am BBC Red Button 1
Women’s 1000m*LIVE: 3.00pm-4.00pm BBC Red Button 2 All timings/channels listed above subject to change. *denotes event finals.
