Jack Linstead:, external Might be a couple of minutes late for work #bbcsochi waiting for @ChemmySki go go go!

Stewart Scanlon:, external Loving the #downhill this morning. #bbcsochi. It seems like the bottom of the course is getting slower as it warms up.

Keep your thoughts coming via the #bbcsochi hashtag.

The Men's ice hockey gets going later in Sochi, tweets BBC Radio 5 live's Eleanor Oldroyd., external She says there is a brand new Olympic event going on right now, and it sounds like something you would order after a few flaming sambucas in your local Italian: synchronised Zambonis.

Image source, Eleanor Oldroyd / Twitter

We've got tears of joy at the finish line, as Dominique Gisin, currently tied for gold with Tina Maze, blubs down the phone. I wonder who she's talking to. We've still got 12 to go, including Chemmy Alcott, to take to the snow.

Emma Carrick-Anderson
Four-time Winter Olympic skier on BBC TV

"There is so much emotion, so much sweat for four years that go into this event. If it goes wrong it is just devastating but if it goes right, there is no better feeling."

What do you think of the women's downhill so far? Do you think Britain's Chemmy Alcott has got a chance of winning Britain's second medal of the games? Have you been inspired to give skiing, or indeed any other winter sport, a go after watching Sochi 2014?

Let us know your thoughts by tweeting #bbcsochi or texting 81111 (UK only).

If you're just tuning in, don't worry, you've not missed Britain's Chemmy Alcott's run. She's number 35 to go. Just the 14 to go before her. Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin currently sharing the gold medal.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at the Rosa Khutor alpine centre in Sochi

"Reckon this is just like any other race? Definitely not, if Lara Gut's reaction is anything to go by. Gut, one of the pre-race favourites, misses out by 0.10 secs to team-mate Dominque Gisin and is inconsolable. She bangs her helmet, throws her arms to the sky and doubles up in grief. Combined champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch is well down and just hangs her head. Tina Maze clocks exactly the same time as Gisin and gives the stands a fly-by, arm raised, screeching. The crowd roar when they realise it could be joint gold medals."

Image source, Getty Images

Co-leader Switzerland's Dominque Gisin stands at the bottom of the downhill course tied for first. The emotion on her face with every skier who descends to try and challenge her position is pronounced.

With every competitor that passes she is a basket of smiles and grimaces. We are not yet halfway through the field so she still has some wait ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

Tina Maze (pictured) is really on it as she cleanly negotiates the top half of the course to set the quickest opening sector. A tiny mistake sees her advantage narrow and as the Slovenian dips for the line, the clock stops at exactly the same time as current leader Dominique Gisin. "If it stays like this, they'll have to find another gold medal," says BBC commentator Matt Chilton.

It's disappointing from Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who won the super combined title on Monday. The German had targeted the downhill as her main event, but she's well off the pace and can only achieve the ninth best time, 1.2 seconds adrift.

Austrian Elizabeth Goergl, who won bronze in Vancouver, makes a series of errors in the top half of the course, and while she irons out the kinks in the bottom section, the 32-year-old can't claw the time back. She slots into 10th, more than a second off the pace.

Dominique Gisin retains the lead in the women's downhill, with Italian Daniela Merighetti second and Swiss Fabienne Suter third after 13 skiers. Favourite Maria Hoefl-Riesch will be on the snow shortly, with Britain's Chemmy Alcott 35th up.

Injured British bobsleigher Craig Pickering on Twitter: "Really happy to see that John Baines is replacing me in the 2-man. He's an excellent pusher and I can't wait to see what he can do!"

Image source, BBC Sport

Team GB have announced that John Baines has been selected to compete in the two-man event with Lamin Deen as a replacement for the injured Craig Pickering.

"Going to the games has always been my dream and now I'm finally here I can say hard work and determination pays off," said Baines.

"Training and racing with Craig over the past year has been a honour, and when I race this weekend I will do him proud.

"I have competed in the two man on World Cup before and achieved top ten results and feel confident for the weekend."

The two-man event takes place on 16 and 17 February. Read more about the sport here.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"Passionate lot, ski racing fans. There's flags of all nations in the stands here at the women's downhill, plenty with messages of support for their racers daubed on them. There's even a Union flag with 'Go Chemmy Go' but I can't get any closer, or talk to them because the over-zealous security won't let me in the stand without a ticket. Huge cheers from the US contingent as Julia Mancuso sets off, fading to a whisper as she crosses the line in fourth."

Switzerland's Dominique Gisin displaces her team-mate Fabienne Suter at the top of the charts with a time of 1:41.57 with 31 skiers still to go.

Julia Mancuso gets some huge air as she nails a super landing in the top section, but the bottom part of the course is littered with mistakes and the American finishes out of the medals in fourth.

Where in the world are people getting most excited about the Winter Olympics? According to Twitter it is Japan., external

There is no doubt what Tuesday's biggest talking point was though, with snowboarding legend Shaun White - the only athlete at Sochi with more than one million followers on Twitter. Despite only finishing in fourth in the halfpipe, the American attracted 9000 tweets per minute.

The most mentioned sports worldwide in the previous 24 hours were once again curling, followed by snowboard and then luge.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at the Rosa Khutor alpine centre in Sochi

"And what of Britain's Chemmy Alcott, who has defied a double leg fracture in an horrific crash in Lake Louise in 2010 and a further break last year to line up on her fourth Olympic downhill start line.

"The 31-year-old, who has had to raise cash through private sponsors after alpine skiing lost its lottery funding, is hoping to improve on a best of 11th in the downhill in Turin and 13th in Vancouver.

"Alcott's right leg is full of rods, screws and pins and she says she knows when she is skiing well because the positions she gets into make the metal dig in and hurt.

"She came 16th in the downhill section of the women's combined before pulling out of the slalom to preserve her leg. Let's hope it hurts like hell today. Start number 35 for Ms Alcott."

Medals won today: Alpine skiing (women's downhill), figure skating (pairs), luge (doubles), Nordic combined (normal hill), snowboard (women's halfpipe), speed skating (men's 1,000m).

Britons in action: Chemmy Alcott (alpine skiing), GB curling teams.

Day in a sentence: Without Lindsey Vonn, who will shine on the Sochi slopes?

For those of you who are desperate for your morning curling fix, you can watch via the BBC Red Button or via one of the live streams on this website. Norway v Germany, China v Switzerland and Denmark v US are all in action right now.

GB women (who have won one and lost one of their games so far) begin their next round-robin group match against Canada (who have won both of their games) at 10:00 GMT.

GB men will be seeking their third win from four when they take on Switzerland (1-1 record) from 15:00 GMT.