ALL THE NEWS, ACTION AND REACTION LIVE FROM SOCHI 2014 AS IT HAPPENS!

By Duncan Mackay and Nick Butler in Sochi, and Zjan Shirinian in London
Click refresh for latest updates. All times stated are Russian

Good night!

00:20 To keep up with all of it check out our day five live blog on insidethegames which will be up and running at 9am.

See you then!

And tomorrow?

00:14 Six gold medal tomorrow beginning with the women's downhill and ending with pairs figure skating.

In between - we have ladies halfpipe snowboard and men's 1,000m speed skating while action also begins - and produces medals - in luge doubles and nordic-combined.

Medals table

00:13 Norway lead the medals table from Canada and Germany. But only just. All three are tied on four gold medals. See our medals table here

A historic day in Sochi

00:07 A lot happened off the snow and ice as well with the news that India have been re-instated into the Olympic Movement and their athletes will mark under the Indian flag - rather than the Olympic one - at Sochi 2014.

This follows Sunday's news that after months of turmoil World Squash Federation (WSF) chief Narayana Ramachandran was elected as the new President of the Indian Olympic Association after elections watched and accepted by the IOC. 

00:04 It was a historic fourth day in Sochi which ended with gold for Carina Vogt of Germany in the first women's ski jumping competition. 

Germany also took gold in luge while there were two cross-county skiing wins for Norway. Gold medals also for South Korea in speed-skating, Belarus in biathlon, Canada
in ski slopestyle and, of course, for Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov on the halfpipe.

First gold in women's ski jumping goes to German

23:10 Carina Vogt ends day four by making history

Carina Vogt made history tonight by becoming the first female ski jumping Olympic champion ©Getty Images



23:04 Wonderful day for Germany as Carina Vogt becomes the first female ski jump champion.

She pips Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz with her final jump while Coline Mattel of Italy takes bronze. Japan's big hope Sara Takanashi misses out altogether in fourth.

22:59 Deep into the second round now. Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz leads but the three first round leaders still to come.

The baffling jargon and hysteria of a Winter Olympics?

22:53 If you are loving the sport tonight - this may get the blood boiling. Alan Hubbard on why he is not "the greatest fan" of winter sports. Click here to read it  and then comment or tweet @insidethegames with your opinion...

It got me some funny looks in the press room when I laughed out loud...

First female ski jump medals to be decided

22:42 Have all the Japanese journalists made a terrible mistake and missed out on two halfpipe medals in vein? Or were they correct to put all their proverbial eggs in the basket of Sara Takanashi and attend the ski jumping?

We shall see...

Halfpipe final

22:36 Iouri Podladtchikov simply cannot believe it.

He won the World Championships in 2013 but only in White's absence. Also goes by the nickname "IPod". Doesn't need much explaining that one, but very fitting for the image of this event...

Iouri Podladtchikov is overcome with emotion after taking the halfpipe gold medal ©Getty Images


22:28 Not enough. White goes fourth and won't win a medal. Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov takes gold! Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka take silver and bronze for Japan.

22:25 What have you got left Shaun White?

22:23 We have another Japanese star as Taku Hiraoka comes from nowhere to place second.

But Ayumu Hirano has nailed it again and takes back second place with Hiraoka third... Two Japanese medal winners?

22:20 Good effort by another Swiss in David Habluetzel, but only good enough for third - and unlikely to stay there. Heartbreak for US hope Danny Davis as he falls for a second time and will not win a medal.

22:15 The lead has changed on the halfpipe as Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov produces a stunning run to move from third to first.

Big backside air to start...front-side five....frontside 1080...double corkscrew with 1440 degrees of rotation! What an effort...

Mixed results for Japan

Ayumu Hirano of Japan is in the lead ©Getty Images


22:09 We're into the second run in the snowboarding. Even the Japanese never saw this coming, but 15-year-old Ayumu Hirano is in the lead.

But the comparative veteran, and gold medal favourite, Sara Takanashi only lies third at this stage in the ski jumping. Carina Vogt of Germany leads...

Farah to race at Kenyan Nationals?

22:04 Forgive a brief summer interlude to this winter shindig - but interesting reports that Britain's double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah is planning to run as a guest at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships this weekend. Considered the hardest race in the sport...

Though, of course, there is a school of thought that cross country would make a good addition to the Winter Olympic programme. It would certainly provide medal opportunities for Africa. 

Halfpipe final

21:59 Would you believe it. A poor run by Shaun White as two tricks go wrong. The triple gold hunt is not over - as it's best score to count with another go to come - but in Turin and Vancouver he nailed his first run. Just saying...

21:57 What is it with 15 year old's in Sochi? After the Russian figure skater we have the Japanese halfpipe snowboarder, as Ayumo Hirano delivers a record score of 90.75 to take the lead. 

Shaun White up next...

21:49 The last two moments have just reminded insidethegames of a blog last week about the power of photography and images in sport. In that piece Getty Images snapper Alexander Hassenstein wrote about the search for a photo which tells a story. 

The image below of the first ever female Olympic ski jumping Sarah Hendrickson leaping into the unknown really does this.

When asked who he would most like to see succeed in Sochi, as a German, Hassenstein answered Felix Loch and Natalie Geisenberger. 

He's done pretty well with that one. Read the blog here.

Double luge gold for Germany

21:45 Natalie Geisenberger wins the luge in a German one-two ahead of Tatjana Huefner. It also completes a Germanic double in the men and women's singles events.

Erin Hamlin of the United States takes bronze.

Lift off for ski jumpers

Sarah Hendrickson becomes the first women in history to ski jump at an Olympic Games ©Getty Images



21:37 We are off in the first ever women' ski jump as Sarah Hendrickson becomes the first ever woman to jump in the Olympics and soars 94m to set an early marker.

21:29 It is almost two years since women's ski jumping was unveiled on the Sochi 2014 programme at the 2011 SportAccord event in London. The insidethegames report at the time really jumped the gun with this headline. It must have taken a real leap of imagination.... 

Commonwealth Games Federation top job advertised

21:15 Away from Sochi 2014, the Commonwealth Games Federation have just officially launched the search to find a new chief executive to replace Mike Hooper, who is stepping down after Sochi 2014. Read full report here.

History in the making

21:10 In 20 minutes, Winter Olympics history will be made when Sarah Hendrickson, of the United States, makes the first competitive ski jump by a woman at a Games. Her jump will signal the start of round one of the normal hill competition, and she's certainly excited about it (see below). The final will get underway at just before 10.30pm. Hendrickson is among the favourites for the gold.

"I am bib number one today. That means I will be the first girl EVER to ski jump in an Olympic event. ALL SMILES :)"
- Sarah Hendrickson knows she is about to be a part of Olympic history.

21:02 We're winding our way towards the business end of the women's luge. Germany are on for a 1-2 courtesy of Natalie Geisenberger and Tatjana Huefner, ahead of their fourth and final runs.

IOC President cancels regular Sochi 2014 Coordination meetings

20:42 A sign of the early success of Sochi 2014 has come with the news that IOC President Thomas Bach today cancelled the daily Games Coordination meeting until further notice.
The meeting normally brings together representatives of the IOC, National Olympic Committees, International Federations and the Organising Committee to discuss the progress and main issues surrounding the Games, and to identify solutions where necessary.

"We are now four days into the Games and are very satisfied with the way they are unfolding," said Bach. "In light of the great success so far, I have decided to cancel the regular coordination meetings between the IOC and Sochi 2014 until further notice."

India reaction

20:25 India's IOC member Randhir Singh has been reacting to the news that his country have today had their ban from the Olympics lifted.

"It's great news for the Indian athletes," he said. "All [financial] accounts will be opened soon and we'll be getting our share of the Olympic Solidarity Programme to fund our own programmes.

"We got around $1.2 million last time. Because of this mess, many athletes suffered. Now that IOA has put its house in order, athletes can focus on preparation.

"Finally we got a new IOA leadership and I hope they will do everything to generate more funds. This is an important year for us because of Commonwealth and Asian Games, and now our athletes can start preparing for the next Olympics."

Medals table movers and shakers

19:49 We have a new country at the head of the medals table, thanks to that biathlon silver from Tora Berger. Norway, on silver medals count-back, is top ahead of Canada and the Netherlands. See the full table here.

19:44 Darya Domracheva of Belarus wins gold in the women's biathlon 10km pursuit. It's silver for Tora Berger of Norway, with Slovenian Teja Gregorin third.

19:40 Gold for Korea's Sang Hwa Lee, who powers to victory in the women's 500m speed skating. A big moment for the country, with is due to host the next Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018. Silver goes to Russia's Olga Fatkulina with Margot Boer of the Netherlands in third. That's the first medal for the Dutch in this event.

19:37 Huge roars from the Russian crowd as home favourite Olga Fatkulina goes into the lead. She's guaranteed a medal now.

19:35 Margot Boer of, you guessed it, the Netherlands, leads the women's 500m speed skating with four to go.

Ticket sales in numbers

19:20 Since the start of the Sochi 2014 ticketing programme until today, 924,802 tickets for Sochi 2014 have been sold, Russian officials claimed.

The leading cities for ticket sales as of today are Sochi (27 per cent), Moscow (16 per cent) and Krasnodar (7 per cent). Approximately 30 per cent of tickets to the Olympic Games were obtained by foreign citizens. In many countries, tickets are virtually sold out, and Japan and Germany have reported that their quotas have completely sold out, Sochi 2014 claimed.

Fans have actively purchased tickets from countries of Europe, Canada and the United States.

The most popular events are the Ceremonies, hockey, biathlon and figure skating.

Among Russian spectators, most tickets have been sold in the 1,500 ruble (six per cent) and 1,000 ruble (seven per cent) categories. Approximately 37 per cent of the total number of tickets purchased were in the of 500 to 3,000 rubles price range. 44 per cent of tickets purchased were obtained at a price up to 4,000 rubles.

18:53 The second race of the women's 500m speed skating is underway, while at the Sanki Sliding Centre, it's the third run in the women's luge. German Natalie Geisenberger has increased her advantage over her second-placed team-mate Tatjana Huefner to 0.766 seconds. Erin Hamlin of the United States lies third, half a second away from a silver medal. The fourth runs will begin at 8.20pm

Nodar Kumaritashvili



18:32 Tomorrow marks four years since the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at Vancouver 2010, who died after crashing during practice on the morning of the Opening Ceremony.

There is no official ceremony to mark the day at Sochi 2014, but several lugers and officials are expected to do something to honour his memory.

"We will never forget Nodar and his Olympic dream and his family," said Canadian luger Samuel Edney. "The luge community will always have him on our minds."

The International Olympic Committee included Kumaritashvili when it observed a minute's silence commemoration of deceased IOC members at its opening session at Sochi 2014. The International Luge Federation will also observe a minute's silence at their Executive Board meeting.

Flower arrangements from the IOC, the former Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee and FIL will also be placed at the Nodar Memorial in downtown Whistler, Canada.

Bubka's blog

18:25 International Olympic Committee Executive Board member and athletics legend Sergey Bubka is writing a daily blog from Sochi 2014. If you want to find out what he's been up to, click here.

18:24 The finals keep on coming in Sochi, and we're heading back to the Olympic Park in a few minutes to see the women's 500m speed skating. 

Sang Hwa Lee of Korea clocked the quickest time in race one, with Russian hopes pinned on Olga Fatkulina, who lies 0.15 seconds behind in second. China's Hong Zhang is third.

With the best placed Dutch athlete Margot Boer in fifth, this might be one event at the Adler Arena Skating Centre not going the way of the Netherlands. The times of the second runs, which start at just after 6.30pm, will be added to the race one times to decide the medals.

Double delight for Norway













18:11 Beaming smiles on the faces of Norwegian cross country gold medallists Maiken Caspersen Falla and Ola Vigen Hattestad, and rightly so.

17:51 So what's that done to the medal table? Are Norway back on top? Take a look here.

17:46 Ola Vigen Hattestad of Norway gets the gold from Sweden's Teodor Peterson. Twenty seconds behind is Emil Joensson of Sweden, after a mass crash at the halfway stage of that race.

17:45 Ola Vigen Hattestad leads Teodor Peterson for the gold. High drama in the sprint as the crashers pick themselves up to race for bronze.

17:44 THREE racers have crashed!

17:44 Ola Vigen Hattestad of Norway leads. 

17:43 Teodor Peterson of Sweden leading in the early stages.

17:42 A false start - that won't help the nerves. A clean start at the second time of asking.

17:40 The men's race is next - they're lining up now on a course that is longer than the women's. Three Swedes, two Norwegians and a Russian in this one.

17:34 It's a 1-2 for Norway! Glorious gold for Maiken Caspersen Falla ahead of Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg. Bronze goes to Vesna Fabjan of Slovenia after a photo finish for second.

17:33 It's the fourth time these women have raced today. They must be close to their physical limit by now.

17:32 Six women in this final as they set off - three Norwegians, a Slovenian, an American and a Swede.

Cross country sprinting



17:29 Here we go then, time for the women's and the men's cross country sprint finals. The women are up first.

16:54 Still seven gold medals to be won in Sochi today. The cross country sprint finals for the men and women will be up next. The women's final is at 5.30pm, the men's final 10 minutes later.

16:45 We've had some tight matches in the men's curling this afternoon. Defending champions Canada lost a tight battle with Sweden 7-6. Vancouver 2010 runners-up Norway just about held on to their early advantage over Russia, coming out on top 9-8. Great Britain overcame Germany 7-6, while China had a slightly easier time against the United States, with a 9-4 win.

16:31 Over at the ice hockey, Sweden's women have beaten Germany 4-0, with three goals in the final period.

16:29 A brilliant run from Shaun White - 95.75. No one's likely to touch that. Many have struggled for speed on the course, but White looked in total control as he bids for his third straight Winter Olympic halfpipe gold.

Halfpipe run delayed

Japan's Ayumu Hirano pulled out plenty of tricks during his halfpipe run ©AFP/Getty Images


15:48 The second qualification heat in the men's halfpipe has been delayed for 20 minutes. All eyes will be on Shaun White, no doubt. Ayumu Hirano of Japan did not improve in his second run in the first heat, but stayed on top with a score of 92.25.

Ice Hockey blow for United States

15:40 United States' ice hockey general manager David Poile will miss Sochi 2014, it was announced this morning.

Poile was hit in the face by a puck last week while watching a practice session with NHL Nashville Predators, where he also serves as general manager. The incident required surgery, USA Hockey have revealed.

He is being replaced by Ray Shero, general manager of the Pittsburg Penguins. "My priority is to adhere to the advice and counsel of the medical team and, as a result, I will not be travelling to Sochi to be with Team USA during the Winter Olympics," said Poile.

Russian hopes for ice hockey gold

15:36 The Russian men's ice hockey team held a press conference in the Main Press Centre today. To say it was the most popular media opportunity of these Winter Olympics so far would be an understatement. There was standing room only with a large proportion of the seats being taken by young female volunteers, for some reason.

NHL star Alex Ovechkin knows how much the gold medal would be worth to Russia. "It means gold only costs $50 billion," he said - a reference to the reported sum the country has spent on preparing for these Games.

If they do win. Ovechkin will have half the number of gold medals his mother owns. Tatyana Ovechkina was a member of the Soviet women's basketball team that won at Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980.

15:34 The cross county men's sprint qualification round has been run, with Norway's Ola Vigen Hattestad top. Russia's defending Olympic champion Nikita Kriukov lies 11th, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final up later.

Over at the Shayba Arena, Sweden lead Germany 1-0 in the second period of their ice hockey clash.

Canada on top

Gold medallist Dara Howell (left) and bronze medallist Kim Lamarre have added to Canadian glory after their ski slopestyle masterclass ©Getty Images



15:21 It's early days, but Canada are sitting pretty at the top of the medals table at the moment, with four golds, three silver and two bronze - that's nine in total.

They won gold in both women's and men's moguls, as well short track speed skating and ski slopestyle today.

The Canadian team already have more than a third of their Vancouver 2010 medal count, which was 26, but will be doing very well to get close to their record haul of 14 golds four years ago.

15:04 After Russian ecstasy at the Ice Cube Curling Centre earlier, the hosts have fallen back to earth with a wallop. Their women defeated the United States 9-7, but the men are toiling against Vancouver 2010 runners-up Norway, trailing 5-1 at the moment. 

Halfpipe course comes in for a hammering

14:44 Several snowboarders have been critical of the quality of the slopestyle course at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park (see below tweet).

The men's qualifying round is underway, with plenty taking tumbles. The current leader, by quite a margin, is Ayumu Hirano of Japan. Shaun White of America goes in the second qualification heat.

O boy. Doing all they can to polish the turd. Yeehaw!
- Snowboarder Danny Davis is less than complimentary about the halfpipe course.


14:19 Qualification for the women's cross country sprint is up and running (see what we did there?) at the Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Centre. Sixty-seven competitors in the field. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are on later, ahead of the final at 5.30pm.

BBC criticism

14:14 The BBC received more than 300 complaints over their excessively partisan commentary as Jenny Jones won bronze in the slopestyle on Sunday.

Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood Jones' team mate Aimee Fuller and trio were accused of sub-standard commentary and celebrating when rival competitors fell.

The BBC said that "excitement had got the better" of all three. A statement added:

"This was a truly historic occasion for Team GB and the commentary team were understandably very excited. However we acknowledge that on occasion this excitement got the better of them and this is something that we will work on for future events."

Slopestyle final

14:10 The warm conditions made it tougher for the skiers than the snowboarders on days one and two, and Howell was the only one to really find her best form. 

Dara Howell wins the gold medal in the slopestyle...Canada's fourth of the Games ©Getty Images


13:59 Gold for Dara Howell as no-one can match her superb first run. In an all North American podium Devin Logan of the US takes silver while Howell's compatriot Kim Lamarre steals the bronze from Australia's Anna Segal

13:52 Bad news as Canada's Yuki Tsubota falls and is taken away on a stretcher. Britain's Katie Summerhayes also finishes outside the medals.

Canada's Yuki Tsubota is carried away on a stretcher after a slopestyle crash ©AFP/Getty Images


13:49 Anna Segal also falls but stays in bronze thanks to first run. It's best score to count in this event. Emma Dahlstrom of Sweden lies fourth.

13:45 Problems left, right and centre for the skiers in this toughest of events. Italian Silvia Bertagna loses a ski during her second run and it's a poor 21.80 mark for her while US star Keri Harmen will be disappointed with 50:00. Britain's Katie Summerhayes crashed spectacularly on her first run but will be hoping for better luck second time around.

Ice Hockey love

I love the inside of a hockey rink at the #Olympics #perfection #happiness #GoUSA pic.twitter.com/VPzKxZSdKw
- IOC Athletes Commission vice-chair Angel Ruggiero getting excited to see her US team in action

Ski slopestyle

13:30 We are well underway in the women's ski slopestyle final and a phenomenal score of 94.20 for Canada's Dara Howell. Surely that is the gold medal right there.

Devin Logan of the US currently second, with Australia's Anna Segal third. All 12 competitors have completed the first of two runs.

Olympic Park latest

13:10 Fair to say it is still a little quiet in the Park on the, rather long-winded, route back from the curling centre. Plenty of people around but lacking the throngs of crowds we saw during London 2012...

Just journalists left in the curling arena now ©ITG



Ski slopestyle

12:12 We've also had ski slopestyle qualification action this morning with the final to come in an hours time.

Canada look poised for more medals after Dara Howell and Kim Lamarre led the way - with Great Britain's Katie Summerhayes qualifying third. 

Canada's Dara Howell in action in the ski slopestyle qualification ©AFP/Getty Images


Break in the sport

12:05 Right. After a frantic hour or so there is a break in the sport for a little while. The crowds have filed out of the curling arena. Just a few journalists typing away left... Tainted Love is playing on the loudspeaker. "This is one of the greatest songs ever written" a journalist next to me exclaims. I'm not too sure...

11:53 Back to politician watch with Vladimir Putin spotted (again) on Sunday night at Austria's Tirol House. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Austria Tirol House  on Sunday night and meets skiing legend Karl Schranz






Media interest was already at a peak with the celebration of Matthias Mayer's gold medal in the men's downhill earlier in the day - and it was further intensified by the arrival of the Russian President.

Back to the sport

11:46 And another deafening roar as Russia confirm their 9-6 curling victory. Elsewhere, Canada thrash Sweden 9-3 and South Korea beat Japan 12-7 in a high-scorer. Best match though is Switzerland versus Denmark - the Swiss edge a thriller 7-6.

11:43 In case you are wondering the curling action is still going on. I have been blotting out the crowd noise to focus on India but it's still very loud - which means good news for the home fans - as Russia lead 9-6 over the US in the women's round-robin match!

More on lifting of Indian Olympic Ban

11:41 As well as World Squash Federation President Narayna Ramachandran as the new President, the elections on Sunday also saw Rajeev Mehta and Anil Khanna chosen in the positions of secretary general and treasurer respectively.

11:40 There are three Indian athletes competing at Sochi 2014 - Shiva Keshavan in luge, cross country skier Nadeem Iqbal and Alpine skier Himanshu Thakur.

11:38 The IOA elections on Sunday were observed by an IOC delegation headed by IOC member Robin Mitchell.

The observers told the IOC Executive Board members that "the elections were held in full respect of the recently passed constitution, which complies with all IOC requirements, including the clause that no person convicted or charge-framed can run for a position within the organisation."

Warm weather

11:34 Sochi 2014 officials are now having to deal with questions about warm weather and what effect it will have on snow venues.

"We have strong contingency plans," said Sochi 2014 spokeswoman Aleksandra Kosterina. This includes using snow stored from last season.

Doping tests

11:25 More news coming through from the IOC briefing currently going on concerning drugs tests during Sochi 2014.

So far a total of 1,116 doping tests have been conducted: 891 pre competition and 225 post competition.

They are still being analysed for results.

11:20 This comes after World Squash Federation (WSF) chief Narayana Ramachandran was elected unopposed as the new President of the suspended Indian Olympic Association on Sunday. Read our report on his election here.

Indian athletes marched as independent athletes under the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony ©Getty Images


11:18 The decision was made by an ad hoc IOC Executive Board meeting held this morning specifically to make the decision

It is the first time a suspension has been lifted during an Olympic Games

11:14 BREAKING: It has just been announced that the Indian Olympic Association has been reinstated by the IOC.

This means that Indian athletes can compete under own flag, including marching under their own flag at closing ceremony

The Indian flag will be raised in Olympic Village at special ceremony.

Crowd go wild

11:00 Brilliant by the Russians in the curling as they score twice in the seventh to go 7-5 up over the US. Great comeback this and the crowd go wild. Chants of RU-SSI-YA echoing around the arena...

Four curling matches are going on simultaneously but the crowd only have eyes for one ©ITG


2022 Olympic and Paralympic race?

10:56 Moving away from sport for a moment, over the last three days we have seen three of the five applicant cities in the 2022 race hold press conferences to provide updates on progress as they attend Sochi 2014 as official observers.

See here for a report on Beijing, here for one of Lviv and here for an update on Oslo.

Krakow unfortunately had to cancel their proposed one yesterday after bid leader Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak was forced to make a sudden return to Poland due to personal circumstances. They are still hoping to hold some sort of event later in the Games.

Still no word on Almaty yet and, as far as we know, nothing is planned.

10:42 Tactical time out in Switzerland versus Denmark. Score locked at 3-3. Tense stuff.
Canada, meanwhile, are beginning day four as well as the nation ended day three by going 6-2 up against defending champion Sweden. A repeat of the Vancouver 2010 final this one...

Overbearing security

10:40 A rare example of the security system not functioning perfectly here as, after I and several other journalists were told we did not have the right accreditation to the media centre before being told at every other entrance to go to back to the media gate.

Luckily we had the perfect remedy for the situation in the form of an angry Australian photographer who wasn't prepared to comply. A bit of effing and blinding, and some common sense, and the situation was resolved...

Curling action

10:36 Not a sport you can drift in and out of - curling - but rather like cricket, once you get gripped it can be utterly pulsating. So different to the speed and immediate visual appeal of many other Winter disciplines - like the ski slopestyle soon to get underway

10:32 Chose a good time to check into the curling as the crowd go wild because Russia net two points in the fifth end to edge 5-4 ahead against the United States



Already underway

09:54 We are already underway in the Olympic Park with four women's matches in that most early morning of sports - curling. In the big match between Sweden and Canada - silver and bronze medal winners respectably at the 2013 World Championships - it is the Canadians who have takes a 2-1 lead. Still early stages though.

Elsewhere, Japan are 3-2 up against South Korea while Switzerland lead Denmark 3-1.

A superb fourth end for the United States - scoring three points - sees them move 4-1 ahead of hosts Russia in the other match.

Relive the action

09:44 Why not relive the action on day three? It was Canada and the Netherlands day in Sochi and to relive what happened check out the new live blogs page of our website. It can be accessed from the Olympics section, or - and this may be slightly easier - by clicking here.

Please do....

Ski jumpers ready for lift off...

09:42 The first ever medals will be won in women's ski jumping later today and the Japanese are getting very excited about the prospects of 17-year-old Sara Takanashi...

Japan's teenage star Sara Takanashi is favourite for gold ©AFP/Getty Images




On Day Four?

09:32 Eight gold medals up for grabs today with the morning session including medals in women's ski slopestyle before men and women's sprint finals in cross country around lunchtime. 

The Netherlands will be bidding to win their fourth straight speed skating gold this afternoon - before more medals are offered in luge, biathlon, ski jumping and halfpipe snowboarding this evening - where Shaun White is chasing a third successive gold medal.

09:28 Its looking like another warm day, on the coast at least, in Sochi today

Good morning #Sochi2014 ! A beautiful day for #IOCAC Coaches and Entourage night in the Coastal Village pic.twitter.com/WQa5NPcOk2
- IOC Athletes Commission chair Claudia Bokel manages first tweet, and picture, of the day ahead of the fourth day of action in Sochi

Claudia Bokel captures the early morning scene in Sochi ©Twitter



09:00 Good morning. Welcome back to day four of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, and of insidethegames' exclusive live blog