Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

"'Looking good'," a journalist from American broadcaster NBC shouts at me.

"I think he means for Great Britain and Lizzy Yarnold, although never rule out their countries' star Noelle Pikus-Pace.

"She missed Turin after being injured by a stray bobsleigh whilst crossing the track, she was then fourth in Vancouver and retired but she came back and has real fight"

Colin in Lancs: Can we spare a thought for Shelley Rudman and remember the massive contribution she has made to skeleton racing over the last decade? This could likely be her last Olympic appearance, but as in Vancouver, she is being overshadowed by a team-mate. Lizzy Yarnold has been flawless, impressive to watch.

Incidentally, as Rudman was preparing for that slide, TV cameras saw Yarnold, the most relaxed lady in Sochi, strolling around behind the scenes in her blue Team GB puffer jacket.

She may be on the verge of the most important 57 seconds of her life, but she was calm enough to wave at the camera and wish us all a happy Valentine's Day.

And to you, Lizzy...

Amy Williams
2010 Olympic skeleton champion on BBC TV

"Shelley Rudman was a bit too high into the uphill section, so that took away a bit of her speed as she travelled down. She made a few little mistakes on her run, minimising her overall speed.

"It was a solid run, with a few little mistakes in it."

Image source, Getty Images

58.82 seconds for Rudman, the silver medallist eight years ago. That's faster than she went yesterday, but it's not quick enough for her to improve on 11th place.

As Colin Bryce tells you, it's the turn of Shelley Rudman...

Colin Bryce
Former GB bobsledder on BBC TV

"The target for Shelley Rudman is to get into the top eight. The medal places are too far away."

Yarnold, a school heptathlete, attended a Girls4Gold initiative, designed to identify women with the potential to become Olympic champions. Now, we know that the scouting process was pretty accurate.

But, it begs the question, what do you look for when searching for a potential slider? Speed? Strength? Bravery? What raw materials does an Olympic slider need?

Ollie Williams
BBC Sport in Sochi

"I've found the only Briton in a hundred-mile radius who did not know Lizzy Yarnold was leading this event.

"Steve Biggs, from Hertfordshire, is here with his friend Al McCulloch. Al organised the trip as a holiday - they're taking in slopestyle and short track as well. But Steve's blank face when I started talking about Lizzy Yarnold's overnight lead told its own story. 'I knew that,' he said. No, no he didn't."

The thing about Lizzy Yarnold, though, is that she hadn't even started her skeleton career when Rudman won silver in 2006.

In fact, until six years ago, she didn't know what skeleton was. Allow me to explain...

Zachary Fox:, external The skeleton is the most soul-destroyingly frightening sport I can imagine. Respect to all, I feel sick watching.

Surprised that a Briton is smashing it up in skeleton? Don't be. Britain has a proud history in skeleton, with four different male and female World Cup champions since 2000 - including Lizzy Yarnold this year.

Since women's skeleton was introduced at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Britain has won a medal in each event. Alex Coomber took bronze in 2002, Shelley Rudman silver in 2006, and Amy Williams that wonderful gold four years ago.

Amy Williams
2010 Olympic skeleton champion on BBC TV

"Elena Nikitina is a lot lighter than Lizzy Yarnold, so that means she is able to carry less momentum down the track which limits her speed."

Image source, Reuters

So what happens now? If - as is looking likely - Lizzy Yarnold stays in top spot, she will go out last in the fourth run, which begins as 16:30 GMT. We suspect she will slide for gold at about 17:15 GMT. If you have plans for this afternoon, cancel them.

Stuart, a physics teacher: Some info, 0.44s at 85mph is a lead of 16.6m. GOLD ALL THE WAY LIZZY!!

Will the rest of the field fall further behind Britain's Lizzy Yarnold? There are 20 sliders in total, the third of which, Russia's Elena Nikitina, remains in third place, nearly a second behind Yarnold. So far, it's looking like no-one can even pressure the Briton.

Great Britain's men cede another shot - they are 3-0 down against the Danes after three ends

Harry Scott:, external Track record from Yarnold there. One run left, surely on for the gold. Do Kent proud.

Second-placed Noelle Pikus-Pace is next down the ice, but she can't come close to matching the pace of Lizzy Yarnold. 0.34 seconds slower on today's run, 0.78 seconds behind overall.

Amy Williams
2010 Olympic skeleton champion on BBC TV

"Lizzy Yarnold would literally have to fall of her sled now not to finish ahead after her final run. That would be unheard of.

"The pressure it puts on all the other competitors is enormous."