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We bounced back up to the sliding centre, whistling a merry tune, ready to usher in more British success.

We'd had , and we were all set to do it again, to hop on for another wild ride to more British glory in the women's bobsleigh.

and came into the Games as world champions, and therefore labelled as legitimate "British medal hopes".

The union jacks were out, the media were there, and hup-hup-hup-hup, off they plunged down the icy track. But it didn't quite turn out how we wanted. And made it a damp night in more ways than one.

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in much the same way she raced here in Whistler. Smoothly, cheerfully, coolly.

British sports fans are traditionally used to a roller-coaster of emotions before any success, but the didn't put the country through the wringer, didn't slip up at the final hurdle. She just finished the job ruthlessly, professionally.

The only minor tremors were the protests against the design of her helmet, first by the Americans late on Thursday night, after Williams led after both training runs, and then again by the Canadians at the end. "Oh no. It's all over again," was the instant reaction, followed by "sour grapes, maybe?" But both protests were quickly dismissed.

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British sporting interest in the Winter Olympics has suddenly perked up and it's come from a slightly unexpected source.

, an aspiring artist from Bath, at the halfway stage and now represents Britain's first tangible chance of a medal at the 2010 Games.

in her first run at the Whistler Sliding Centre and was second fastest in her second run to eclipse both the Canadian pre-race favourite Melissa Hollingsworth and GB team-mate Shelley Rudman, the Turin silver medallist.

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Most know him as the "Flying Tomato", some prefer "Red Zeppelin". I would suggest the .

, the snowboarder with the long red locks, is back to defend his , after winning gold as a 19-year-old in Turin.

White was already a big name in 2006, a twin snowboarding and skateboarding prodigy. Now he is a global icon. A one-man brand.

The American is reputed to earn $9m a year through endorsements alone. He has more than 684,000 fans on the social network Facebook and more than 100,000 followers on Twitter.

He's a man in demand, and because of that, he's rather difficult to pin down for a chat.

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UPDATE (SATURDAY 1500 GMT): The men's downhill has been postponed until Monday because of bad weather. .

Go on then, name me the defending downhill champion.

What do you mean you can't quite remember who it is? The men's downhill is THE iconic Olympic event, the much-vaunted "blue riband".

Like the men's 100m at the Summer Games, this is one of the crown jewels of world sport.

These supermen in skintight spandex, flashing down the side of a sheer mountain at breakneck speeds, teetering on the icy edge between glory and failure.

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