Matthew Pinsent
BBC Sport reporter in Sochi

Four-time Olympic gold medal winner Matthew Pinsent on Twitter:, external "Up to Sanki Sliding Centre for Team GB two-man bobsleigh Lamin Deen and John Baines. Jamaica also in for first time since 2002. Runs one and two tonight and three and four tomorrow."

Image source, Team GB

Team GB, external on Instagram: "The bobsleigh kicks off from 4.15pm today. Who's excited?"

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Britain's four-man bobsleigh team have arrived in Sochi in confident mood after putting the final touches to their Olympic campaign at a training camp in Germany.

Pilot John Jackson and brakemen Joel Fearon, Bruce Tasker and Stuart Benson have been working on their starts on a track with a similar profile to the Sanki Sliding Centre in the hope of forcing their way to the front of the pack when the competition starts on Saturday.

"The [Sochi] track seems to suit my driving style quite well," said Jackson, who ruptured his Achilles in July but astounded medical experts by returning to competition in November.

"We gelled with the track straight away. We came fifth in the Olympic test event in February so we are hoping to make the step up into the top three and see how we go from there."

Steff Brawn, external: "So excited to see Jamaica compete later - Cool Runnings II!"

The excitement seems to be slowly building up at the Sanki Sliding Centre ahead of the first run of the two-man bobsleigh. John Baines and Lamin Deen will represent Britain, but judging from performances in practice the two leading contenders are Switzerland's Beat Hefti and Russia's Alexander Zubkov.

US skier Bode Miller, external won bronze in the men's super-G this morning to become, at 36, the oldest alpine skier to win an Olympic medal. He dedicated his sixth Winter Olympic medal to his brother, saying: "Thanks for all the support, today was one of the most emotional days of my life. I miss my brother."

Miller's brother, Chelone, died last April aged 29 after suffering an apparent seizure.

These are testing times for Slovenia goalie Luka Gracnar. He was unable to stop US forward Phil Kessel from scoring two early goals and had to hold firm as another six shots from the Americans headed his way. The second period is under way in that contest.

It's a bit David and Goliath over at the Shayba Arena because the Slovenians have only won one Olympic match in their history (which was a 3-1 win over Slovakia on Saturday), while their opponents have two gold medals, eight silvers and a bronze in the trophy cabinet.

Image source, Gigi Martin

John Duff, external has tweeted an answer for Gavin Boak,, external who wanted to know what differentiates curling brooms from their kitchen counterparts: "Carbon Fibre pole which tapers. Head can rotate in two directions, the pad is waterproof hi-tech material."

The Russian supporters are getting rather restless as Slovakia are still managing to contain the hosts. They're into the second period in that Group A game. The underdogs parking the proverbial bus in front of goal but whether they're playing 19th century ice hockey, I don't know.

Earlier we asked you what sporting kits rivalled the Norwegian men's curling team's clobber for, erm, style and garishness. Kyle Faraday-Drake makes a case for Norwich's unforgettable kit worn during the 1992-93 season and referred to by some as the "bird poo kit". "I'm a Norwich fan," says Faraday-Drake on Twitter. "But this kit looks like pavement pizza. Unfortunately I had it too."

Image source, Kyle Faraday-Drake

Team GB's Zoe Gillings, external who finished ninth in the Snowboard cross this morning: "So many messages of good luck, thank you all so much, will read them all. Gave it my best today."

In the other round-robin matches being played at the Ice Cube today, there were victories for Denmark's women, who outdid South Korea 7-4, and Japan - who did Eve Muirhead and co a favour by defeating Switzerland 9-7. The Canadians did what they usually do, which is win, and this time their victims were the Americans. It ended in a 7-6 victory for the imperious Canadians.

Russia's men are looking to bounce back after Saturday's defeat by the USA, but so far it's not exactly going to plan. The hosts have looked a bit lacklustre at the Bolshoy Ice Dome and have managed just five shots to nine from Slovakia as the teams are locked at 0-0 after one period.

Image source, Skeletonamy

In just over three hours Britain's John Baines , externaland Lamin Deen, external will compete in the two-man bobsleigh at the wonderfully named Sanki Sliding Centre. Former skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams, external has managed to gather Britain's bobsleigh team for a picture in the Sochi sunshine.

Sweden's victory over Russia means Margaretha Sigfridsson and her team join unbeaten Canada in the semi-finals. The Swedes are second in the table, having won six and lost two. It leaves Britain tied for third, alongside China and Switzerland. Just when you thought curling couldn't get any more tense...

Sneaky, Sweden, sneaky. The Swedes pip the Russians at the post by taking two at the final end to secure a 5-4 win and a place in the semi-finals.

Over in the Shayba Arena, Slovenia are already 2-0 down against the United States. Slovenia won their first Olympic match on Saturday, beating Slovakia 3-1, but can they upset the Americans? It seems unlikely.

Image source, @Tinystipple

As the Beatles once said, all you need is a broom and a bottle of wine. Curling fever seems to have gripped the country and employees at a Manchester off licence , external prove that curling doesn't have to come with ice.

The much-hyped group-stage match between Russia and the United States ended in a shoot-out and the match was the talk of Twitter with more than 900,000 tweets about the match which ended in a gripping finale.

"It's one game," said Russia captain Pavel Datsyuk afterwards. "We need to play at the same level every time and we'll be OK." It's currently goalless between Russia and Slovakia in the first period.

It's highly unlikely that any athlete will leave Sochi not knowing whether they have won a precious gold medal. Indeed, if Russia's men win ice hockey gold the world will know about it. The hosts are looking to bounce back from Saturday's defeat by the United States so today's opponents Slovakia need to watch out. That group-stage match is under way.