Anna Thompson
BBC Sport in Sochi

"The crowd are a lot more vocal than they were in the women's semi-final before. It's also noticeably colder in the Ice Cube... it's certainly living up to its name this afternoon.

"GB skip David Murdoch looks cool and calm in the early stages but he can't prevent Niklas Edin scoring two so we are 2-1 after three ends."

Image source, AFP

Norway create history by becoming the first Olympic gold medallists in the mixed relay event, which has been contested for the first time in Sochi. And, even more impressively, it helps Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, 40, become the most decorated Winter Olympian in history by winning his 13th medal.

The Norwegian quartet of Bjoerndalen, Tora Berger, Tiril Eckhoff and Emil Hegle Svendsen finish 32.6 seconds ahead of silver medallists Czech Republic. Bronze goes to Italy.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

"In the men's bobsleigh event the Jamaican team stole many of the headlines due to their following which built up following the cult film 'Cool Runnings' which was based around their Olympic debut in 1988.

"The women's event could have their own version in the Brazilian team, who are making their first appearance at a Games here in Sochi.

"The pair secured last-minute qualification through victory at a second-tier Americas Cup event in Calgary last month - but have had something of a bumpy ride in Sochi. They're 18th out of 19 going into the final two runs and suffered a horror 'take-off' crash in training last week. Ouch."

Steve Cram
BBC Sport curling commentator

"Sweden get their two after a slight error from David Murdoch. There are not too many Swedish flags in the Ice Cube tonight but they have something to cheer about now."

Whatever the Swedes can do, Great Britain can do even better in the opening part of the third end. It is top quality stuff as the teams jostle for position before David Murdoch overeggs his final stone to give Sweden chance to grab two points with a free draw. Skip Niklas Edin makes no mistake and the Swedes edge ahead.

Image source, AFP

Russia are reeling from their men's quarter-final defeat by Finland and star man Alexander Ovechkin says his mind is feeling pretty vacant at the moment.

"It's all bad," says superstar Ovechkin, who has been named the NHL's most valuable player in three of the past six seasons."We started well, with a goal. But a few mistakes cost us the game. We tried to score, but just couldn't manage it. Emotions? At the moment I don't have any emotions."

Norway have a 43-second lead over Czech Republic in an event which is making its Olympic debut in Sochi. Norwegian male biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, 40, is set to become the most decorated Winter Olympian in history by winning his 13th medal - if Norway hang on to earn a place on the podium of course.

Steve Cram
BBC Sport curling commentator

"Dave Murdoch is starting where he left off against Norway yesterday. They did well, forcing Sweden into a mistake and it has been a good start."

Image source, PA

David Murdoch produces an inch-perfect effort with his penultimate delivery of the second end. It skittles two of the Swedish stones to set up a good position before he drops another into the house with his final stone. "That's fast. Lightning quick," says GB skip Murdoch. Sweden make a little mistake - allowing GB to steal and nick a 1-0 lead.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

"History could be made tonight if USA break-man Lauryn Williams can help her pilot Elana Meyers win the women's bobsleigh event here in Sochi.

"Williams, who claimed London 2012 gold as part of the title-winning 4x100m USA relay team, would become the first woman in history to achieve victory at both a summer and winter Olympics.

"The only other person to achieve that honour was Eddie Egan, who won lightweight boxing gold in 1920 before success in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 1932 Games.

"Great Britain pair Paula Walker and Rebekah Wilson are in 12th and desperate to climb into the top-eight which would most likely secure their funding through to the next Olympics."

Image source, AFP

Britain's John Jackson has steered his four-man crew to the third fastest time on the second run of official practice at the Sanki Sliding Centre.

Britain, who were seventh fastest on their first run, went down in 56.02 seconds, a time beaten only by Latvia and Russia.

Jackson's bid for a medal will come exactly 50 years since Britain's most famous bobsleigh moment, when Tony Nash and Robin Dixon won two-man gold in the 1964 Innsbruck Games.

Jackson and his GB1 crew of Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon will begin their quest for an Olympic medal with the first two of their four runs on Saturday.

Tuned in to roar on the British without having a clue what the heck is going on? You're not the only one. Thankfully, you can find out everything you need to know about curling in this handy 350-word guide. Meanwhile, GB make a decent start to the second end before Sweden rifle down a pacy stone to knock a couple of their opponents' efforts out of the house.

Indeed it will Crammy. There are going to be more ups and downs than a ride on the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. But the first end in Sochi plateaus as the teams play out a scoreless opener.

Steve Cram
BBC Sport curling commentator

"Strap yourselves in for another exciting ride, this will go all the way."

But the speed skating is just a sideshow in comparison to the real drama that has just begun - the men's curling. David Murdoch and his troops are going in their semi-final against Sweden at the IceCube Centre. So grab yourself a brew, pick up your Union Jack flag and stay glued to your laptop/mobile/tablet.

Image source, AFP

Martina Sablikova defends her speed skating 5000m Olympic title after a blistering performance in Sochi. Czech Republic's Sablikova records a time of six minutes 51.54 seconds which gave her a winning margin of 2.74 seconds over Netherlands' Ireen Wust - who wins her seventh Olympic medal.

The next stage of David Murdoch's quest for a first Olympic medal at the third time of asking is almost upon us. Great Britain's men take on Sweden, who won the European and World Championship titles last season - the first team ever to win both in the same campaign.

Watch the action on BBC Two and in the video stream at the top of the page.

Defending Olympic champion Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic produces a controlled display to nip into the lead ahead of the Netherlands' Ireen Wust. It is going to take a heroic effort from one of the last pair - Wust's Dutch team-mate Yvonne Nauta and Germany's Claudia Pechstein - to deny Sablikova another gold medal.

Seth Bennett
BBC Sport ice hockey commentator

Image source, Getty Images

"This result will be front page news in Russia. These players will be given a hard time in the newspapers in the morning. This team is far from a machine and the machine has broken down. These players are a shell of what we expected.

"It has been a horrendous tournament for the superstars. They have become, in many ways, the laughing stock of the fans in Sochi."

So we know one half of the semi-final line up as Vancouver 2010 bronze medallists Finland now turn their attentions to Sweden, the reigning world champions. Canada face Latvia and USA take on Czech Republic later today (17:05 GMT) to decide who completes the last four.