Russia's former Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko, who announced his retirement after withdrawing from the men's individual event in Sochi with a back injury, appears to have performed a U-turn by telling Russian TV that he may try and make it to a fifth Olympic Games.

Plushenko, who took individual gold in Turin in 2006, individual silvers in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010 and team gold in Sochi, said: "I don't want to leave sport. I may well carry on skating."

Graham Bell
Five-time Winter Olympic skier on BBC TV

"It is thick snow at the moment. The judges throughout the Olympics have been looking for absolute perfection, including technical difficulty and aptitude. The landings have to be spot on."

Image source, Getty Images

Faceplant! Thomas Krief tumbles into the soft snow and merely gets 4.60 points for his efforts. Beau-James Wells is next but the long-haired New Zealander cannot better Aaron Blunck's score and he is second with 62.00 points. The conditions making the Sochi scenery look like a Christmas card.

Aaron Blunck sets off to get the men's ski halfpipe final under way. The American succeeds with a switch 180 and although his final two tricks were a little ragged he makes it through to the end. A 68.60 score for the 17-year-old.

Image source, James Woods

Great Britain slopestyler James Woods on Facebook, external: Great fun commentating on BBC Sport Winter Olympics halfpipe with Tim Warwood and Ed Leigh

What might hold us back is the weather because snow is falling all around Sochi, but the halfpipe skiers should still be able to play and have some fun.

It's too early for drum rolls but you have permission to begin a countdown for the men's ski halfpipe final. Canada's Justin Dorey achieved the best score in qualifying, topping the leaderbaord with 91.60 points. There are no Brits competing but that won't hold us back.

"The second run felt much better and an improvement from training," says Rebekah Wilson. "We might see a bit of movement in the rankings tomorrow and a top-10 finish would be good."

Image source, Getty Images

Paula Walker also promised better times in Wednesday's third run, saying: "I made it clear that this track hasn't been in love with me in training but it clicked with me today. Maybe tomorrow it can get even better for us."

The remaining men's play-off matches are under way, with quarter-final places at stake in Czech Republic v Slovakia and Latvia v Switzerland.

So, the American first team lead at the halfway stage of the women's bobsleigh and enjoy a +0.23 advantage over Canada 1. The Canadians dipped under 58 seconds, which was quick but not quick enough. It's as you were for the Brits, starting and finishing in 12th place.

Whiz! Whoosh! Whoop! A 'start record' for American first pair Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams and they continue to zip down the track at the speed of a scud missile, gaining the lead with a fabulous 57.63-second drive.

A puff of the cheeks from Germany's first pair, Sandra Kiriasis and Franziska Fritz, as they watch the Dutch first team finish a hundredth of a second slower. But they cannot relax because the Belgian team are next. What can they do? Take the lead by 0.09 of a second.

Germany's second team bump into the first corner. It's as if they're fooling around in a fairground ride. A disappointing second run and there's no waving at the cameras as they finish +0.14 adrift of the Russian first team. In fact, pilot Cathleen Martini does not even remove her helmet.

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The selection of former hurdler Lolo Jones caused controversy Stateside. American network NBC denied it had put pressure on USA bobsleigh to select Jones in the hope that her profile and good looks would boost ratings, while Katie Eberling, who was named as a reserve, complained of an "agenda". We're more than halfway through the second run and Jones and pilot Jazmine Fenlator are currently third.

Image source, Reuters

Britain eke an advantage in the latter stages and manage to maintain it, crossing the line in 58.40 seconds which is a 0.30 advantage over Canada 2. The serious contenders have yet to go, though.

A wave to the camera from the Canadian second team as they leap to the top of the leaderboard thanks to a 58.63-second run. Britain are next.

The second run of the women's bobsleigh has kicked off and Britain's Paula Walker and Rebekah Wilson have two sleighs ahead of them before they can shoot down the ice once more.

Image source, Getty Images

Russia's superstar ice hockey forward Alex Ovechkin - the reigning NHL MVP, leading scorer with the Washington Capitals and fiance of tennis star Maria Kirilenko - is staying positive ahead of Wednesday's quarter-final showdown with Finland, despite having scored just once in four matches in Sochi.

"Everybody knows we have such a good, talented team on offence," said Ovechkin. "We just try to keep our energy, and keep our emotions [in check]. Tomorrow we're going to need emotions and strength for the quarter-finals against Finland."

Image source, Skijumping Austria

Less than 24 hours ago they were rivals, eyeballing each other in what ended up as a shoot-out for team ski jumping gold. But Olympic champions Germany and silver medallists Austria have put all that behind them and are celebrating together with a beer or two, or three. From adversaries to buddies - that's the power of the Olympic spirit, and a gallon of beer...

Skijumping Austria wrote on Facebook, external: "The Olympic Spirit as it is meant to be celebrated! Gold and silver having an after work beer at the Austria Tirol Haus!"

The 12-man line-up for the first Olympic men's ski halfpipe final is confirmed. Unfortunately, there is no place in the showpiece, which starts in under two hours, for Great Britain duo Murray Buchan and James Machon. Buchan's best score of 62.40 puts him in 17th place, just 9.60 points behind the qualifying mark, with Machon down in 23rd. But he will be delighted to be even competing with the best in Sochi after battling back from a cruciate ligament injury.