Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Watch: Day 8 on BBC TV

Following Lizzy Yarnold’s skeleton gold for Team GB, Sochi 2014 reaches its second weekend with the conclusion of the skeleton events, men’s ski jump reaching its peak and the “Miracle on Ice” is relived when US take on Russia in ice hockey.

Yarnold won Britain’s first gold medal of the 2014 Winter Olympics on Friday evening after dominating the women’s skeleton from start to finish.

Great Britain’s only serious medal prospects today come in short track speed skating where Elise Christie, who missed out on an Olympic medal after receiving a penalty as the women’s 500m final descended into chaos on Thursday, returns to race in the 1,500m.

One day after Valentine’s Day, Canadian duo Charles Hamelin and Marianne St-Gelais also have the chance to recreate some Olympic magic in the short track arena.

When he won gold at Vancouver 2010, Hamelin shared a globally televised kiss on the ice with team-mate and girlfriend St-Gelais. Can he reproduce the feat in Sochi? Hamelin is currently the world’s leading athlete over today’s 1,000m.

The “Miracle on Ice” of the Lake Placid 1980 Games, in which the US defeated the Soviet Union, lingers long in American memories.

That was the last time the US won men’s ice hockey gold. More than 30 years later, this meeting between two of the tournament’s strongest teams, on Russian ice, promises to be an intense and gripping spectacle.

It is a day for partnerships – Kristan Bromley, Shelley Rudman’s partner, races for Britain in the finale of the men’s skeleton.

However, beating Latvian legend Martins Dukurs will take some doing. Dukurs has won a string of World Cup races heading into Sochi.

He was deprived of gold in 2010 by Canada’s Jon Montgomery, who has since failed to qualify for the 2014 Games.

The men’s large hill ski jumping takes place and Poland’s Kamil Stoch comes into his third Winter Olympics as a leading contender for his first gold medal, having won the last world title and led the season standings to date.

Switzerland’s Simon Ammann, who won both individual ski jump titles at both Salt Lake City 2002 and Vancouver 2010, should mount a strong bid for a fifth Olympic win.

Great Britain’s curling campaigns also continue with games against South Korea and Switzerland for the women and Canada for the 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 8 of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games below:

DAY 8: SATURDAY 15th FEBRUARY

05:00 – 12:30

ALPINE SKIING, CURLING & ICE HOCKEY

Presenter: Hazel Irvine

The morning’s menu includes alpine skiing with the women’s super-G taking place in the Rosa Khutor resort.

The field is likely to include Tina Maze and Lindsey Vonn, both of whom won medals at Vancouver 2010.

Down in Sochi, there are two gold medals up for grabs in the short track speedskating.

Britain’s Elise Christie is the reigning European champion in the women’s 1,500m and so will have hopes of a medal.

It will be a tough competition, however, given the quality of the field, which will include South Korea’s Shim Suk Hee, the form woman of the 2013-14 World Cup.

Charles Hamelin looks to be the man to beat in the men’s 1,000m final, and the Canadian will be desperate to make amends for what happened in 2010, when he went out too fast and finished in fourth place.

Great Britain’s men’s curling team face Olympic champions Canada, while their female counterparts play South Korea, plus there is live ice hockey.

05:00

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v South Korea (Women)

06:50

ALPINE SKIING – LIVE Women’s Super-G

08:00

ICE HOCKEY – LIVE Slovakia v Slovenia (Men)

10:00

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v Canada (Men)

10:30

SHORT TRACK – LIVE Women’s 1,500m & Men’s 1000m Finals

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v Canada (Men)

12:30 – 16:30

ICE HOCKEY, SPEED SKATING & SKELETON

Presenter: Jonathan Edwards

This afternoon in men’s ice hockey, there is live coverage of the eagerly awaited clash between the USA and Russia.

The meeting will inevitably revive memories of the Miracle on Ice, when an inexperienced American side stunned the Soviet Union in one of the greatest sporting shocks in history. Commentary comes from Seth Bennett and Brent Pope.

The men’s skeleton enters its second and final day at the Sochi Sliding Center.

Britain will be hoping that one of their sliders will be in a position to challenge for a medal, but it will be a tough ask against the likes of world champion Alexander Tretiakov of Russia and Latvia’s Martins Dukurs, who won silver at Vancouver 2010, and who has dominated the sport since then.

The curling competition continues and, after facing South Korea in the morning, Eve Muirhead will now be attempting to propel Great Britain to victory against Switzerland.

And in speed skating, American Shani Davis will be hoping to land gold in the men’s 1,500m, having claimed silver over this distance at the past two Winter Olympics.

12:30

ICE HOCKEY – LIVE United States v Russia

14:50

SPEED SKATING – LIVE Men’s 1,500m Final

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v Switzerland (Women)

15:15

SKELETON – LIVE Men’s 3rd Run

15:45

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v Switzerland (Women)

16:05

SKELETON – LIVE Men’s 4th Run

16:30 – 19:00

SKELETON, CURLING & SKI JUMPING

Presenter: Clare Balding

The men’s skeleton reaches its conclusion and will there be a fairytale Olympic medal for veteran British slider Kristan Bromley?

Great Britain also take on Switzerland in women’s curling, while the world’s best ski jumpers compete in the men’s large hill.

It is one of the most spectacular events at the Games, with competitors soaring through the air and covering distances of around 125m.

Switzerland’s Simon Ammann won the large hill at both the 2010 and 2002 Olympic Games, and is chasing his fifth gold medal in total.

Other likely medal contenders include Poland’s Kamil Stoch and Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer.

16:30

SKELETON – LIVE Men’s 3rd Run

16:50

CURLING – LIVE Great Britain v Switzerland (Women)

17:30

SKI JUMPING – LIVE Men’s Large Hill Final

19:00 – 20:00

TODAY AT THE GAMES

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare Balding looks back at the action on day eight of the Winter Olympics as Sochi 2014 reaches its second weekend.

Highlights include a mouthwatering men’s ice hockey clash between the USA and Russia, and British hopes for medals in the women’s short track speedskating and the men’s skeleton.

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