British Olympic Association statement on Britain's Rowan Cheshire: "Team GB halfpipe skier Rowan Cheshire was injured this evening during halfpipe training. She was immediately taken from the course and is currently at the polyclinic in the Mountain Village, where she is being evaluated by Team GB medical personnel." Follow the latest news on Cheshire by clicking this link.

Seventeen bobsleds have hurtled down the ice and the Russian first team remain in the lead, with the American first team 0.09 seconds adrift in second and the US second team 0.20 seconds behind in third. It would be a whopping surprise if the lower-ranked teams were to ruffle any of the top three's feathers.

Team GB's Rowan Cheshire was knocked unconscious after falling heavily on her face while training for the women's ski halfpipe. She reportedly remained unconscious for several minutes and left the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park halfpipe on a stretcher.

The Briton, 18, is ranked seventh in World Cup standings and is the top woman on the British halfpipe team. She came to Sochi having just claimed her first major victory at a World Cup event in Calgary, Canada.

It is too early to say how the fall will impact on her ability to compete in the event's Olympic debut on Thursday.

Peter Davies:, external "The aggression shown by the bobsleighers is intense!"

Rachel Marshall:, external "It's amazing how the slightest knock loses so much time."

Sam Bold:, external "So far the Winter Olympics is proving catastrophic for the progression of my dissertation."

Matthew Pinsent
BBC Sport reporter in Sochi

Traditional order for sliding goes: luge, skeleton, two-man bobsleigh and then four-man bobsleigh. That keeps the ice in good condition. The bobsleigh is going to take chunks out of it.

Colin Bryce
Former GB bobsledder on BBC TV

Jamaica pilot Winston Watt is at his fourth Olympic Games. He is no mug and a phenomenal pusher. At the 2002 Games he annihilated the start record, but now he is 46 and the question is - will he still have that big start? We'll have to wait and see.

Britain's team of Lamin Deen and John Baines will be the 25th bobbers to set off in the first run. Jamaica's Winston Watts, the man carrying on the legend of the Cool Running bobsledders, is 28th on the list. Cool Running, the Next Generation, should begin in about ten minutes or so. Thirteen teams have so far negotiated the ice and the Russian number one team still leads.

The Russian spectators, manically waving national flags, are continuing to blow their horns at ear-splitting levels and that is because the hosts' number one team is still leading the pack with 11 teams having competed their first runs. Russia's Alexander Zubkov, world champion in 2011, has a 0.09 second lead over United States 1, driven by Steven Holcomb.

Sue Barker
BBC Sport figure skating commentator

You can tell just from the warm-up that this next set of pairs will be a lot faster. The moves will be more difficult, the scores will be much higher.

The first eight pairs have completed their short dance routines in the Iceberg Skating Palace. France, Italy and Russia sit at the top of the pile and are guaranteed entry to tomorrow's Free Dance final.

Still to come, the GB pairing of Nick Buckland and Penny Coomes, the defending champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada and gold medal contenders rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White from the United States.

Jack Walker:, external "It's everyone's favourite sport on the winter programme! Bobsleigh has finally arrived."

Bethany:, external "I don't care what country you're from - if you're not rooting for Jamaica in the bobsleigh, you're wrong."

Matthew Pinsent
BBC Sport reporter in Sochi

For those asking. Yes, it is the same track for skeleton and bobsleigh. The luge has a different start ramp with the handles and incline for the hand flaps.

Image source, Reuters

Thunderous whooping and hollering at the Sanki Sliding Centre and that is because the Russian's first bob has, so far, clocked the fastest time.

For the first run, pilots choose their place in the starting order and this is done according to world rankings, which means the top-ranked pilot has the first choice and so on and so on. That helps explain why three of US bobbers have already gone.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

Away from the furore of seeing the Jamaicans in action, let's not forget about the US number one team, led by pilot Steven Holcomb, who has a fascinating, but also traumatic back-story.

He attempted suicide back in 2007 having been unable to cope with developing a degenerative eye condition which was sending him blind.

Holcomb's attempt on his life fortunately failed and he underwent pioneering surgery which reversed the condition. Four years ago he won Olympic gold in the four-man event and is a favourite here in Sochi for success in both competitions.

Colin Bryce
Former GB bobsledder on BBC TV

If Britain get inside the top 20 it will be a good result. Top 15 will be exceptional. It's a long track with three uphill sections. We've seen a lot of crashes in training. Hopefully they will get it together. Hopefully they can horse [this is a bobsleigh-approved verb - Ed] off a good start, that's very important.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

Image source, Craig Pickering

John Baines will partner Lamin Deen in the Great Britain bobsleigh after Beijing Olympic sprinter Craig Pickering was ruled out with a serious back injury.

Pickering posted on Twitter:, external "Wish more than anything I was racing today, but so proud to watch @team_deen and JB. I'm kitted out and ready to watch."

The first heat is under way in the two-man bob and now is probably a good time to explain that there will be four heats (or runs) and the gold medal will be awarded to team with the lowest aggregate time.

The action continues at the Ice Cube Curling Centre as the men's round-robin session approaches the decisive stages. The top four teams from the 10-nation group will progress to the semi-finals, all quite simple. Unless some teams are tied, and then it becomes hellishly complicated.

After today's defeat by Norway, the Great Britain men are in that precarious fourth slot with just one match to come on Monday against China. So David Murdoch's men could do with fifth-placed Norway losing to Switzerland in their current match. The score after four ends - Norway 2-1 Switzerland.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

Although some newspapers have been talking up the prospects of the Great Britain two-man team and making comparisons to Robin Dixon and Tony Nash who won gold 50 years ago in the event - this is not a realistic medal contention event for GB.

The reality is that pilot Lamin Deen and John Baines - in for the injured Craig Pickering - would see a top-20 finish as a very good result.

Great Britain's main chance of finishing on the podium comes in the four-man event which takes place next weekend.

Jamaica's ranking was nine places short of the top 30 spot necessary to guarantee qualification, but they earned a place in Sochi because nine nations already had their maximum number of sleds. Driver Winston Watts is 46 years old and says he has spent over £100,000 of his own money financing Jamaica's qualification bid.