Shelley Rudman thumps her husband on the back before staring down the track. Eyes wide. Tunnel vision from the Briton. But she is slower than Austrian Janine Flock in the first part of the track, but makes up for it, gaining speed, and crosses the line in 59.33 seconds. Whooping and hollering for the British cheerleaders on the sidelines. A thumbs up from Rudman.

Britain have won medals in women's skeleton at the last three Olympics and there seems to be no reason why Team GB cannot make it four in four. Lizzy Yarnold will set off last in the second heat because she was fastest in the first heat. Shelley Rudman, silver medallist in Turin eight years ago, will be the next rider on the track.

Katie Summerhayes
Team GB, on BBC Radio 5 live

"It [the hot weather] is not really ideal but we ski on these conditions in the summer and at the end of the season," she says.

"It does make things a little tougher but they'll all try and push through."

Image source, Getty Images

The skeleton track has turned into a catwalk. Britain's sliders have opted to don plain blue helmets, but a number of other athletes are proving that they have a head for fashion. Top marks to Canada's Sarah Reid for her eerie-looking black and white helmet of a woman's face and Canadian maple leaf.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

The hot weather is really having a big impact on the slopestyle course now and those coming through during the final stages are really struggling.

The "slushy" snow is causing a few of the athletes to lose grip when they land.

This could be a major factor later today and could favour those who only scrape into the final and will complete their runs first.

Those, like GB's James Woods, who will compete at the end of the session will do so when the course is in the worst condition."

A supersized Stars and Stripes flag is hanging from the railings at the Sliding Centre and there are a number of Russian flags being waved, too, which is unsurprising considering there are currently three Russians in the top six. Lizzy Yarnold will soon replace her red bobble hat with a helmet for the start of her second run.

Julie Twist:, external I've never watched so much television before work, and so wish I could watch James Woods in the final.

Jonathan Armandary:, external It must be SO difficult being a slopestyle judge! Talk about eagle-eyed!

Nick Emsley:, external Skeleton looks so scary! Flying down an ice hill on a tea-tray!

Britain's James Woods has revealed he "twanged" his hip during the second run of qualifying.

"It really hurts," Woods, who injured his hip in training last week, tells BBC Sport. "It was the pain, and the fact that I realised the trick wasn't perfect.

"I certainly wanted both runs. My first run was good and I was happy with that. I didn't want to give up on my second run, but on that takeoff I felt a twang and we are chasing perfection here."

Woods will block out the pain to compete in the final which starts at 09:30 GMT.

In about 10 minutes or so Britons Lizzy Yarnold and Shelley Rudman will set off down the ice for the second skeleton heat. Yarnold has described the track as a "lot of fun to slide on" and she performed in the first heat like a woman who was enjoying herself.

"There is no more pressure than anyone else could put on athletes that we don't put on ourselves, but if the butterflies are flying in the right direction, it can really help your performance," said Yarnold, the quickest slider in the first heat.

Helen Pickford:, external Making a run for it, should make it to work for the start of finals. Come on James Woods don't let that hip get the better of you.

Beck:, external James Woods is amazing! I want to ski! Come on Woodsy.

Jimi Hodgkiss:, external Slopestyle looks much cooler on a board than it does on skis.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Interesting developments in the skeleton with the run of Russian Elena Nikitina. She finishes just 0.05secs behind Lizzy Yarnold (58.43) in second place after the first run and actually pipped the Briton's fastest start time.

Nikitina exploded out of the blocks in 4.89 secs, with Yarnold second fastest at 4.95 secs. It just goes to show it's not all about brute power because Nikitina is one of the lightest in the field, at 57kg, with Yarnold the heaviest at 75kg.

Noelle Pikus Pace is in third with a time of 58.68, but that's including a relatively sluggish start of 5.15s. The American finding some pace lower down, then. Shelley Rudman, the lightest in the field at 54kg, ends 12th after run one with 59.46.

Americans Joss Christensen (93.20), Nicholas Goepper (87.00), Gus Henworthy (86.40) and Norway's Andreas Haatveit (88.00) will join James Woods in the final, which will start at 0930 GMT. Six riders have yet to complete their second qualifying runs so we will have to wait a bit before learning of the full final line up.

Britain's James Woods qualifies to the final of the men's ski slopestyle thanks to his 87.20 score in the first run. The 22-year-old pulled up injured midway through his second run but he will apparently go for broke in the first run of the final.

Image source, Getty Images

Curling is the sport which is being talked about most on the world's streets, lanes and boulevards and that's understandable because watching athletes frantically brushing ice in the hope of getting their rocks to land inside concentric circles has a strange ability to beguile.

In the last 24 hours curling remains the hot topic on Twitter, with figure skating second and luge third.

Akito Watabe's silver medal in the Nordic attracted a peak of 6,980 tweets per minute, which was the most tweeted about moment of day five. The second most mentioned moment worldworld (in terms of tweets per minute on Tuesday) related to Monday's action, when Shaun White's fourth-placed performance in the men's halfpipe was broadcast on delay Stateside.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport, Sochi

There were gasps from the British fans and the BBC Sport commentary teams as James Woods pulled up in the closing stages of the second ski slopestyle heat.

Team-mate Katie Summerhayes, who was seventh in the women's final, is not too concerned though.

"I think he knew he wasn't going to get a better mark than he did in the first round so I think he just decided to take it easy and not risk any more damage to his hip," she told BBC Sport. "Pat [Sharples, GB skiing head coach] will say 'don't push yourself if you don't need to' and that's what he did."

We expect 'Woodsy' to progress to the final at 09:30 GMT following his first round score of 87.20.

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport in Sochi

Al McCulloch and Steve Biggs from Hertfordshire are in Sochi and are loving their first taste of the Winter Olympics.

Al: "We're living the dream watching the Brits doing so well. We've got tickets for the skeleton finals tomorrow and Russia v US in the ice hockey. Can't wait for that."

Steve: "I've loved Russia, everyone has been so friendly and all the fans and athletes mingle together at events. We've been stood with Chemmy Alcott and Billy Morgan, cheering on Woodsy. That would never have happened in London 2012."

Rich Kisbee:, external A track record for Lizzy Yarnold ... Brilliant.

Richard K Hornsey:, external Great start to the Skeleton ... Team GB leading.

Alfie:, external Nice run for Rudman too, but unlucky with those hits.

Lizzy Yarnold's time of 58.43 seconds in the first heat remains the quickest, with the Briton 0.05 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor Elena Nikitina. Shelley Rudman is plummeting down the leaderboard and last year's world champion is currently 12th after her 59.46-second first run.

James Woods is awarded 40.00 for his second run but his first score of 87.20 remains good enough for third place in qualifying. The Briton is as good as through to the final, which starts at 09:30 GMT, but will he be fit enough to compete?

James Woods is at the start gate. Can he improve on his impressive first run? He lands one jump, and another... It's looking good but he seems to have injured himself on the second landing and fails to finish, pulling up holding his injured hip.