ALL THE NEWS, ACTION AND REACTION LIVE FROM SOCHI 2014 AS IT HAPPENS!

By Duncan Mackay and Nick Butler in Sochi
Click refresh for latest updates. All times stated are Russian

Goodnight!

00:41 We hope you enjoyed day one here and we can all expect more thrills and spills to come tomorrow.

Goodnight for the time being, but catch all the action here again on Sunday as our live blog continues throughout the day...

And to review what happened today, check out our latest report.

On day two?

00:37 Looking forward to tomorrow, its Miller-time when US star Bode Miller takes to the slopes in pursuit of a first Olympic downhill title. "The slope could kill you" he admitted this evening after leading the way through qualification.

But Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal is the reiging world champion and man in form ahead of the "100 metres of winter sports".

More medals are up for grabs in biathlon, cross country skiing, speed-skating and slopestyle snowboarding - while we also see the conclusion of the men's singles luge, normal hill ski-jumping and the figure skating team event. 

Bode Miller goes for gold tomorrow in the men's downhill final ©Getty Images




Medals Table

00:29 Norway, for what it's worth, are the early pace-setters on the medals table with two gold, a silver and a bronze.

Canada are second thanks to their moguls one-two, while the Netherlands lie third after clean-sweeping the speed-skating podium.

Just seven countries have secured a medal so far - with host nation Russia yet to register.

00:19 That brings to an end day one action here in Sochi. A day which has reminded the insidethegames team as much as anyone that an Olympic Games is, most of all, about sport rather than politics and an IOC Session.

And what a day it's been.

We had a shock first gold medal for Sage Kotsenburg in the always controversial slopestyle snowboarding. We had a flying dutchman winning in the speed-skating, a 40-year veteran taking a seventh Olympic title in the biathlon, and then two sisters netting an outrageous one-two finish in the moguls. 

Not to mention, of course, US bobsledder Johnny Quinn smashing down his own jammed bathroom door when locked inside. Scroll down to 14:40 for the evidence of his escape...

23:46 On the theme of siblings on an Olympic podium, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, of course, came first and third in the London 2012 triathlon final.

But not sisters, and not at a Winter Olympics, and not gold and silver.

There was also another Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, in the competition but she just missed out on the final. Some sibling rivalry that...

Funnily enough, with Justine 19, Chloe 22 and Maxime 24, it was the youngest who did best, followed by the next youngest, and then with the eldest sister bringing up the rear. 

23:28 Gold, not for Kearney, but for Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe after a superb final run. Unbelievably, sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe takes the silver. 

When was the last time that happened I wonder? Where is Philip Barker when you need him?

The two sisters embrace following their gold and silver finish ©AFP/Getty Images


Defending champion Kearney takes bronze while there is heartbreak for Japan's Aiko Uemura as she finishes fourth for the second successive time.

23:19 The final round of the three part freestyle skiing moguls final is underway with the United States Hannah Kearney going for gold along with Chloe Dufour-Lapointe, Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Britteny Cox, Eliza Outtrim and Aiko Uemura.

Hannah Kearney is going for gold in the moguls final ©AFP/Getty Images


23:15 If you are interested to know which IOC members are the most active on Twitter why not have a look at this blog David Owen wrote last month about who are the most prolific? You will probably be surprised to find out the winner...

22:40 Lots of IOC members around the Olympic venues today and, in terms of tweeting, the victory for Sven Kramer in the 5,000m speed skating has provoked the most reaction.

Sweden's Stefan Holm, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, France's Tony Estanguet and Germany's recently re-elected IOC Athletes Commission chair Claudia Bokel were among those tweeting about Kramer's successful defence.

IOC Executive Board Member and pole vault legend Sergey Bubka also posted this picture from the Olympic Stadium where he is with Ukrainian Chef de Mission Nina Umanets and Sports Minister Ravil Safiullin.

Sergey Bubka posting from the Fisht Olympic Stadium last night ©Twitter



"Some wonderful skating tonight from @TeamGB @N_Buckland @PennyCoomes @JennaMcCorkell remember how it felt and use it again next week."

-Lake Placid 1980 figure skating champion Robin Cousins after Great Britain performed well despite finishing 10th, and last, in the figure skating team event short competition.

22:14 Germany's Felix Loch leads the way after the first two runs of the men's luge - with two more to come tomorrow.

Russia's Albert Demchenko lies second some 0.309 seconds adrift - which is quite a lot in luge terms, I understand.

Felix Loch leads at the halfway point in the men's luge ©McClatchy-Tribune/Getty Images




22:01 In terms of sport news away from Sochi, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games organises have announced the marathon route for the Commonwealth Games. Read our report by Gary Anderson here

The route for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Marathon which takes place on Sunday July 27 ©Glasgow 2014



Figure skating panic but all is fine

21:59 All week Japanese journalists have been asking the rest of the world's media to predict who is going to win the women's figure skating gold - between their hope Mao Asada and South Korea's Yuna Kim.

After Asada just fell in team action, there was a brief panic that injury might put pay to that showdown. But she is back up and performing well as Japan lie fourth at this stage.

The noise of the crowd is all you need to tell you that Russia are in the lead.

Mao Asada in team figure-skating action ©AFP/Getty Images



21:34: On the subject of Kramer, and to return to politics, he won earlier in front of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander, with the Netherlands one of only a few Western countries to send their leaders to Sochi 2014.

The first gold medal of the Games, won by US slopestyle snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg, is from a country whose leaders are not attending - the US delegation being led by former tennis player Billie Jean King, two-time Olympic ice hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow, and ex-Olympic skating champion Brian Boitano, all of whom are gay.

21:31: After the success for Ole Einer Bjoerndalen and Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer, it has been an opening day for the big names in Sochi.

Can Swiss ski-jumper Simon Ammann add to that number and win a fifth Olympic gold medal? He has a bye through the qualifying round in the normal hill event and will come into the competition on Monday...

Simon Ammann carrying the Swiss flag in yesterdays Opening Ceremony ©Getty Images


It's difficult to compare us at this time because Bjorn was some years ago and now we have a lot more disciplines. Bjorn did not have as many chances to win, so for me Bjorn is and always will be the biggest athlete ever in Norway.


-Norway's gold medal winner Ole Einer Bjoerndalen on comparisons with fellow Norweigan skiing great Bjorn Daehlie after he emulated his record feat of 12 Olympic medals today.

Politics back on agenda for Putin  

20:55 The Opening Ceremony may have reinforced the message that the Olympic Games are not about politics but, after opening Sochi 2014 last night, Russian President Vladimir Putin has today been making the most of the opportunity to meet with several of the mass of world leaders currently in the city.

Putin has been welcoming political leaders to Sochi today ©Getty Images


Among those was a dream meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - to which Putin brought along his pet dog Yume for a reunion meeting with the leader who gave him the pet as a gift in 2012.

"She can bite sometimes", Putin apparently admitted. 

Lift off for jumpers

20:49 One of the great spectacles of Winter Olympic sport is underway in the form of ski-jumping - with men's individual normal hill qualifying.

Ski jumping is the latest sport to get underway in Sochi ©Getty Images


20:28 While a lot of the background focus on bobsleigh has inevitably concerned the return of the Jamaican team, it is interesting how many competitors in the sport are from military backgrounds. 

Of the 18 Germans selected to compete in bobsleigh at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, seven are serving in the military with most of the others police officers.

As part of their US Army World Class Athlete Programme, meanwhile, there are four military members of the US team, while several members of the British cohort are as well - including pilot and Royal Marine sergeant John Jackson. 

Captain Christopher Fogt served in Iraq in 2010 and will compete in the four-man event for the US in Sochi ©Getty Images


19:57 In some off the field news (or maybe, off the mountain/ice/snow would be better) the IOC have announced an extension of their TOP Partnership funding with IT company Atos. Full report to follow.

A much quieter day as far as the IOC are concerned today following the conclusion of the 126th IOC Session here yesterday.

Bjoerndalen wins again

19:47: One of the true greats of Winter Olympic sport has done it again as Ole Einar Bjoerndalen holds on to win a pulsating 10km sprint - his seventh Olympic gold medal.

Ole Einer Bjoerndalen en route to a seventh Olympic gold medal in the biathlon ©Getty Images


He also boast four silvers and one bronze so now equals fellow Norwegian Bjoern Daehlie's record tally of 12 Winter Olympic medals. He also boasts 19 World Championship titles.

Dominik Landertinger of Austria took the silver medal and Jaroslav Soukup of the Czech Republic the bronze.

Bjoerndalen's shooting may not have been flawless but he made up for it by - at the ripe old age of 40 - out-skiing his rivals.

Sport, sport and more sport

19:45 Amazing period for the "old men" of winter sport at the moment. Norway's 40 year old Ole Einar Bjoerndalen leads the 10km sprint biathlon as he chases a seventh Olympic gold medal, but he is a baby compared with 42 year old Russian Albert Demchenko in the luge.

19:37: Action is in full flow now on the first evening here in Sochi.

Canada have just started their quest for a fourth successive women's ice hockey title with a 5-0 thrashing of Switzerland. The men's 10km sprint biathlon is also underway with Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in contention.

We also have non-medal action underway in luge, women's moguls skiing, and figure skating.

Olympic rings malfunction now available on a tee-shirt

18:46 It has not taken long for last night's problems at the Opening Ceremony, when only four of the five Olympic rings (see 11:50), were displayed to be immortalised on a tee-shirt.

Formula One team apologise for offensive tweet

18:20 In one of the more bizarre gay rights stories during Sochi 2014, Formula 1 team Lotus have apologised for a tweet wishing athletes a successful 2014 Winter Games which included a picture of two men kissing.

The tweet, posted yesterday , was dismissed as "unauthorised" and now been deleted. 

Speed skating gold for Kramer

18:07 He's done it. In front of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander, Sven Kramer takes 5,000m gold by 4.95 seconds to ensure a 16th consecutive victory over the distance for the "Flying Dutchman".  

Not only that but there is a Dutch clean sweep as Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma claim silver and bronze.

The Flying Dutchman en route to a successful defence of his Olympic 5,000m title
©Getty Images


Opening Ceremony stats

17:48 I'm not sure what this proves, but Sochi 2014 Official Network Supplier Avaya analysed the data of Olympic Family members active on the wifi network in the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies and captured the top-five moments based on network activity. 



Network activity was measured based on megabits per second, which reflects the amount of demand being put on the network at any given time.

With a little help from our friends

17:36 Russia has come come to the aid of German wax technicians, who toiled into the early hours to ensure their athletes had their skis ready for today's  cross country and biathlon competitions after their machine broke down. 

"The Russians lent us their grinding machine for an overnight work shift in the wax cabins," Germany's biathlon head coach Uwe Muessiggang said. "Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to prepare the skis in time. I've never experienced support like that in my career. But then again, I hope I never have to experience it again. Let's just hope our machine will work for the next few weeks."

More from the speed skating

17:04 Netherlands have won 82 of their 86 Winter Olympic medals in speed skating and former IOC member and International Cycling Union President Hein Verbruggen is in attendance to cheer on Dutch hope Sven Kramer this afternoon.

Atmosphere is slightly muted in the Adler Arena - until home hope Denis Yuskov goes quickest so far that is. Still early stages though...

Opening Ceremony "goosebumps"

16:44 For one final reflection on last night's Opening Ceremony, insidethegames historian, stat-man, and all round font of all Olympics knowledge Philip Barker describes how it gave him "goosebumps". Read more here.

16:30 Speed skating competition put "on ice" for the time being as officials resurface the surface of the impressive facility at the Adler Arena. Poland's Jan Szymanski is the early leader but, in a sport which seems to resemble track cycling in terms of structure, most of the top contenders are still to come...

Early stages of the speed skating action ©AFP/Getty Images


16:12 After weeks of concerns over security, gay rights, corruption, hotel rooms, drugs, stray dogs, being abducted by aliens etc, it is great to see sport back on top of the Olympic agenda today in Sochi.

First gold medal winner of Sochi 2014, in case you missed it, was the United States Sage Kotsenburg in men's slopestyle snowboard.

"I'm really excited. It feels awesome - I don't know what to call it - I have no idea what's actually going on - this is the craziest thing that ever happened", the American reflected in a measured and calm way afterwards.

And why should he not be excited. He just won an Olympic gold medal!

More medal action

15:50 Great to see the action coming thick and fast and Sochi now with the men's 5,000m speed-skating. This is the long-track version, where competitors compete in a time-trial format, in comparison with the racing mayhem of short track that Steven Bradbury so enjoyed...

Hot favourite is the Netherlands sporting icon Sven Kramer - who defends the title he won in Vancouver and has also notched up a stunning 19 world titles...

More ice hockey action to follow as well

Olympic hero returning

I'm excited to be here, working with an Australian broadcaster. I'm commentating on the short track and also hosting a prime-time show back into Australia. It's great to still be able to get a ticket to the greatest show in the world, even though you can't skate at it any more.
- Australia's Steven Bradbury, who at Salt Lake CIty 2002 won one of the most unlikely gold medals ever when the whole field collapsed in front of him, on being back at a Winter Olympics...

Bjørgen wins fourth Olympic gold

15:15 Norway's cross country skiing legend Marit Bjørgen has secured the second GOLD MEDAL of Sochi 2014 in the women's 15km skiathlon - after a trademark sprint finish was enough to see off Sweden's Charlotte Kalla, while Heidi Wang of Norway took bronze.

Brilliant stuff by Bjørgen who won five medals, including three golds, in Vancouver and is entered in five events once again.

The skiathlon combines 7.5 kilometres in "classic" style and 7.5km in "freestyle" in what is surely one of the most gruelling sports on the programme

Exhausted scenes at the end of the women's cross country as the three medal winners collapse on the snow ©Getty Images




Better news for United States after ice hockey win

14:50 The US women have notched the first victory of the Olympic ice hockey competition after overcoming a battling Finland team 3-1. Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter added to Hilary Knight's opener, before Susanna Tapani scored a consolation goal for the Finns. Next up is Canada against Switzerland...

US Olympian forced to breakdown bathroom door

14:40 A spot of bother for United States American bobsleigh athlete Johnny Quinn after he was forced to smash down his bathroom door after unintentionally locking himself in.

What with all the criticism over hotels over the last week, the last thing the organises need is an athlete exacerbating the problem with a spot of vandalism...

Johnny Quinn was the latest to fall foul of the facilities here in Sochi ©Twitter




Quinn joined the US bobsleigh team in 2010 after previously being a wide receiver in American football. So you would presume he knows a thing or two about smashing things down...

Opening Ceremony

14:28 Looking back to last night's extravaganza for a moment, it is thought that a global audience of three billion watched on television, in addition to the 40,000 inside the Fisht Stadium. The three-hour show, which offered an epic overview of Russian history in 18 parts, involved a mammoth total of 12,000 staff and volunteers.

Slopestyle Final 

14:08 Interesting that two of those slopestyle medallists reached the podium after being among the four out of 12 who had to also compete in this morning's semi-final.

But the fatigues obviously had no effect on Kotsenburg who posted the best score of final - a winning 93.50 - in his first run.

Sage Kotsenburg is awarded the first gold medal of Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images


13:49: Sage Kotsenburg of the United States has held on to win the first ever men's snowboard slopestyle, and the FIRST GOLD MEDAL of Sochi 2014. Staale Sandbech of Norway took the silver medal after absolutely nailing his second run and - despite several of their top boarders disappointing - Canada's Mark McMorris held on, and defied a broken rib, to win bronze.

13:25 Sage Kotsenburg of the United States leads after the first round - so the halfway point - of the men's slopestyle final, Another Britain in Jamie Nicholls lies second with favourites crashing and receiving low scores all over the place.

Women's ice hockey action is underway

Ice hockey action is underway between Finland and United States ©Getty Images



12:48 An early goal by Hilary Knight has put the United States 1-0 up against Finland in the women's ice hockey opener in the Bolshoy Ice Dome. US are pressing for more but Finnish goalkeeper Noora Raty is currently holding firm. 

Slopestyle reaction

I couldn't be any happier. The final is so strong, it's going to be insane!'
I will have to pull out all the stops in the final - it's tough to keep up with the craziness that is slopestyle now.
- Britain's Billy Morgan is delighted to his first Olympic final in the slopestyle this morning

11:50 Chernyshenko is also optimistic about ticket sales and addresses the age old question of stray dogs, hotel problems, and the slightly newer one of malfunctioning Olympic rings.

Just in case you missed that elusive ring that failed to light last night ©Getty Images



Plane hi-jacking attempt 

We were not worried about this incident. There were not any threats, and I know that Ukraine and Turkish authorities did their best to fix this hooligan incident.
- Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko is providing reassurance about reports of an failed attempt to hi-jack a plane and divert it towards Sochi which emerged last night. 

11:01 Slopestyle action heating up now and its Great Britain's Billy Morgan - who on Thursday became the first athlete to compete at Sochi 2014 - who leads the way.

Eight athletes are already qualified for the final later today. Joining them will be Morgan, Sage Kotsenburg of the United States, Mark McMorris of Cananda and Yuki Kadono of Japan.

Always a volatile sport at the best of times the absence of Norway's Torstein Horgmo, who sustained a broken collar bone in training, and US superstar Shaun White, who pulled out to focus on the halfpipe, has thrown it wide open.

10:28 All sorts of reaction in the Press Room to the Opening Ceremony last night. Olympic historian Philip Barker sees it as "perhaps the greatest ever Winter Olympic Ceremony" while others are dwelling on the emotional words of Thomas Bach once again criticising world leaders for using the Olympics as a platform for politics.

Some people, of course, are choosing to be negative and highlight the failure of one of the Olympic rings to light at the beginning of the Ceremony. This was shrugged off by Opening Ceremony director Konstantin Ernst - who said that "One cannot possibly think that simply the idea that one snowflake hasn't turned into a ring would stop you watching the Ceremony".

Slopestyle semi-finals

The stage is set for slopestyle semi-finals day in Sochi ©Getty Images

10:04 There has been much criticism over the difficult nature of the slopestyle course here with semi-final action about to begin. For an update of the week so far, see here

Ice hockey blow for Finns

9:37 Bad news for Finland's men in ice hockey this morning after Mikko Koivu and and Valtteri Filppula were each ruled out of Sochi 2014 through injury. Koivu broke an ankle during a game with National Hockey League (NHL) side Minnesota Wild last month while Filppula also sustained an ankle injury.

The Finns will open their account against Austria on Thursday but their women plan in the opening match of the tournament this afternoon against the United States.

9:16 Five gold medals will be awarded today in: men's slopestyle, ladies' skiathlon 7.5 kilometres classic + 7.5km free, men's 5,000m speed skating, men's cross country sprint 10km and the ladies' moguls.

9:05 Click here to relive the Opening Ceremony be reading through our live blog from yesterday