Winter Olympics Cold Snaps: Heeere's Johnny!

 

James Orr
Sunday 09 February 2014 01:00 GMT
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The remains of the door
The remains of the door

Trapped in a bathroom without any alternative, US bobsledder Johnny Quinn was forced to rely on his months of training in a different way. The 30-year-old was taking a shower in his hotel room when the door became jammed because of a faulty lock and, with no phone to call for help, his only escape was to smash through the door using his "bobsled push training" – and then post a picture of it on his Twitter account for the world to see, using the hashtag #SochiJailBreak. The result leaves an iconic image from the Games, reminiscent of his namesake Jack Nicholson's famous scene in The Shining where he breaks through a hotel-room door with the memorable cry of "Here's Johnny!"

Noisy village riles Kramer

Like Johnny's door-smashing break-out, problems with the living conditions in the Olympic Village have been well documented. The latest in a long line of irked athletes is Sven Kramer, who, despite becoming only the second man in history to win back-to-back 5,000m speed skating Olympic titles yesterday, complained that his preparations had been hampered because of the thin-walled accommodation. "The village is a noisy place and there was a lot of noise last night," the 27-year-old Dutchman said. "When you have so much pressure and you hear sound around, then your brain stops you from going to sleep."

The Cannibal feasts on gold

Sixteen years after winning his first Winter Olympic medal in Nagano, Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen defied those who believed his best days were well behind him by claiming a record-equalling 12th gong with gold in the men's biathlon 10km sprint in the mountains above Rosa Khutor. The 40-year-old, nicknamed "The Cannibal" because of his unstoppable hunger for titles, now has the same number of Winter Olympic medals as his fellow countryman, the cross-country skier Bjorn Daehli, who competed between 1992 and 1998.

Twitter treats

Come on Billy Morgan!!! makes it look so easy #goforgold

Andy Murray

My teammate got stuck in the bathroom. Barefoot, naked and alone he called his inner strength. @JohnnyQuinnUSA

Dallas Robinson (UW bobsleigh team-mate of Johnny Quinn)

WOW!! I just won the Olympics!! Bringing back the first Gold here to the USA! Love seeing all the support from everyone YOU RULE!!

Sage Kotsenburg, winner of the men's slopestyle

Well done Lee Jackson in the 10km sprint

Amy Williams MBE, skeleton winner in 2010

What's on today

What to watch?

It's an early start for the blue ribband event of the Games, the alpine skiing men's downhill. A fast, icy course has been prepared at Rosa Khutor and it may well prove to suit Bode Miller in his pursuit of a sixth medal. It starts at 7am (UK time).

Best of the rest

Medals are on offer in biathlon and cross country skiing as well as in the luge. The ski jumping starts with the men's normal hill held under floodlights with the final beginning at 10.30pm local time (6.30pm UK).

Stars of the day

It took Britain two days to win their first medal in London. Day two here marks the best chance of Russia claiming not just a first medal but a gold in the finale of the team figure skating, led by the flamboyant Evgeni Plushenko.

Brit watch

Amanda Lightfoot, a soldier from South Shields, competes in the women's 7.5km biathlon sprint, while Jenny Jones and Aimee Fuller go in the semi-finals of the women's snowboard slopestyle (6.30pm UK time, final at 9.15pm).

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