Great Britain's women have been beaten 7-4 by United States of America in the curling earlier today, but how will the men's team get on?

They play Japan from 05:05 GMT and it has already been a mixed bag for the British men's group.

Yesterday, they had a tight match against Switzerland where the score was tied at 5-5 in the 10th end before skip Kyle Smith secured a 6-5 win with a simple shot.

But Britain could not build on that as they then lost 6-4 to defending champions Canada.

You can watch the win over Switzerland below.

Image source, Reuters

It is almost time for Pita Taufatofua to cover up and front up.

The Tongan, who repeated the shirtless, oiled up display from Rio 2016 in Pyeongchang's opening ceremony, will compete in Friday's 15km race.

"I've had 12 weeks on snow in my whole life. On Friday I'll have close to 13 weeks on snow if the race takes me a week to finish," he said.

When asked on his goals for the race: "Don't ski into a tree."

And on how much advice he has got from his more experienced rivals: "You want to talk to them but they keep flying past you. By the time you get to the finish line, they've already gone home, had coffee, had dinner and gone to sleep."

And, finally, on braving the sub-zero temperatures with his shirt off once again.

"If my ancestors could sail across the Pacific Ocean for a thousand years, not knowing where the next piece of land was going to be, not knowing where their next meal was going to be, going to war, then I can walk for 25 minutes through an opening ceremony without a shirt on and represent a thousand years of heritage.”

Good story and a good protagonist to tell it.

Image source, Getty Images

Watch Norway star Aksel Lund Svindal's winning runs as he claims downhill gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and becomes the oldest Olympic alpine skiing champion at the age of 35.

The sun has come out in Pyeongchang today and Zoe Gillings-Brier is making the most of it ahead of making her bow in South Korea.

Catch her in action in the women's snowboard cross finals on Friday morning.

Image source, Zoe Gillings-Brier

It is time for the second run and final run of the ladies' giant slalom. The 67 skiiers who completed the first run go again, but in quite a bizarre order. The top 30 go in reverse order, and then the other 37 competitiors, but, in effect, we will know who has won the gold after Manuel Moelgg has competed her run.

She was fastest earlier on and these are the top 10, in reverse order.

But these 10 will still also feel that a medal is up for grabs for them.

It is among the most unpredictable sports at the Winter Olympics, with medals won and lost in less than a heartbeat - just as American Lindsey Jacobellis discovered in 2006 when she was winning in the women's event, started showboating, crashed and ended up with a silver.

It's that jeopardy and all-out head-to-head combat which makes it one of the most fascinating events to watch and Pierre Vaultier is a Frenchman who enjoys risking it all - winning Olympic gold in Sochi, just two months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

He claimed the most recent World Championship title and leads this season's World Cup standings, but Australia's Alex Pullin and Austrian Alessandro Hammerle are other strong contenders.

Watch Jacobellis' 2006 disaster at the start of this video, which also features a variety of crashes, unpredictable finishes and mistakes.

Gregory Mandapat: Such grace, elegance, and beauty on the ice tonight from the mixed pairs. Can't wait for the ice dancing as well as the individual figure skaters.

Lucy Tredwin: With Germany just winning the pairs figure skating and Christopher Dean helping to choreograph and train them, can we part claim that as a British gold?

BBC Red Button

We now have coverage of the men's snowboard cross on the Red Button. The medals for that are set to be decided sometime around 05:45 GMT.

Image source, Reuters

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

Great Britain's Dom Parsons has been speaking after an excellent start in the men's skeleton, where he lies fourth at the halfway stage.

He wasn't happy with his first run but was pleased with a "tidier" second run.

So can he win a medal on Friday and become Britain's first medallist at the 2018 Winter Olympics? He would also become the first male GB skeleton athlete on the podium since 1948.

Parsons, a mechanical engineering student, flat-batted it: "It's what I've been working on for the last four years but let's not get ahead of ourselves too much. I'll just focus on the next two runs first."

What are his plans tonight?

"I think blocking it out is a bit counter-productive. I'll be just make sure I've done all the work I need to do before I try to switch off and use something to distract me, a TV show, reading a book or whatever.”

Robin Cousins
Olympic gold medallist figure skater on BBC TV

Their performance was absolutely glorious. Aljona Savchenko has been fighting for this moment for a few years.

She has two Olympic bronze medals but she is now an Olympic champion at the age of 34.

Tears of sadness from Evgenia Tarasova, tears of joy from gold medallist Aljona Savchenko. The lows and the highs of professional sport.

BBC Red Button

We saw absolute delight from Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford when they thought they had a silver. But now they are down to bronze with Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong replacing them.

But there are no smiles, no celebrations from the Chinese pair as they sit stone-faced as the scores are announced. They wanted the gold, but their total score is 0.43 behind leaders Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany.

Olympic Athletes From Russia Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are the only pair that can deny the Germans another gold.

BBC Red Button now.

Time for a quick ice hockey update. Finland are 2-1 up against Germany in the men's preliminary round Group C match, while Canada have taken the lead in their women's preliminary round Group A tie against the United States. Both matches are in the second period, so plenty of time for Germany and the US to turn things around.

Amy Williams
Olympic gold medallist skeleton racer on BBC TV

Dom Parsons lies fourth after two heats in the men's skeleton, just three hundredths of a second shy of a medal with the final two heats tomorrow.

We can see the difference in Dom Parson's confidence after that first run. He loves this track. I texted him a good luck message the other day and he said he just couldn't wait to race.

To see him putting out a solid start is great.

Image source, Reuters

Sat On My Sofa: Bit over the top in the celebration by the Canada female skater, nowhere near as good as the German couple, calm down dear!

Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany still lead the way, but we have a new pairing in silver medal position.

Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have their team-mates on their feet after their performance. They look happy with it, and the judges agree. Up to second they go, and the Italians Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek are bumped out of the top three. Two pairs left.

Image source, AF

Mab: Ice skating, wow!! The gauntlet well and truly thrown down by German couple! Precise, artistic, full of emotion and grace! Huge congratulations to the German couple!

Neville's knitwear: No matter who wins this, I'm still gonna be ugly crying. And to think I never really used to watch pairs! Glad I saw the error of my ways a few years ago. Pairs is where it's at my friends!

Image source, EPA

Over in the figure skating, and Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot (Germany) have produced a beautiful display to lead the way.

French pair Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres are now in silver medal position with Italians Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek in third.

But that could all still change with three pairs to go.

BBC Red Button is the place to go figure skating fans.

Laura Kane
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

I see your cheese wedge hats and curling stone headgear at the skeleton - and raise you a cuckoo clock hat.

This German fan is definitely upping the game in the unusual head attire stakes down at Pheonix Park.

Image source, BBC Sport