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What is it? Fast and frenetic. Four to six racers compete round a tight 111m oval track over distances ranging from 500m to 1500m.
What do I need to know? Athletes must be able to look after themselves – there is plenty of pushing and shoving, and falls are the norm.
Tell me something I don't know Steven Bradbury recovered from a broken neck to reach the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. His tactic was to skate at the back and wait for the falls. In the final the entire field was wiped out apart from the Australian, who skated through to win a last-man-standing gold.
GB chances Good – Elise Christie was world No 1 at 1,000m last year.
One to watch Victor Ahn, the Korean turned Russian, carries home hopes.
Show all 79 1 /79Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 24 February 2014 Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) poses for a photo with Russian athletes, winners of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 23 February 2014 Hundreds of dancers join together to form the Olympics logo, with the fifth ring purposefully representing the malfunction in the opening ceremony.
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 23 February 2014 Fireworks explode around the Fisht Olympic Stadium at the end of the Closing Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics at the Olympic Park in Sochi
Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 23 February 2014 Alexander Zubkov’s four-man bobsleigh team celebrate gold for Russia
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 23 February 2014 Pilot John James Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon of Great Britain team 1 make a run during the Men's Four Man Bobsleigh
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 22 February 2014 Silver medalist David Murdoch of Great Britain celebrates during the medal ceremony for Men's Curling
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Jianrou Li of China slides into the way of Elise Christie of Great Britain while competing in the Short Track Women's 1000m Semifinals
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Elise Christie of Great Britain, Seung-Hi Park of South Korea, Marie-Eve Drolet of Canada and Veronique Pierron of France compete in the Short Track speed skating quarter-finals
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Despite still winning a silver medal, David Murdoch reflects on what could have been after his Team GB curling rink lose 9-3 to Canada in the gold medal match
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Ukraine win their first gold medal of the Games with Vita Semerenko shooting at the range to help secure the Women's Biathlon 4x6 km Relay title
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Sweden’s Fredrik Lindberg shouts out orders to his teammates as Sweden go on to claim bronze in the curling, beating China 6-4
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 Franziska Preuss of Germany competes during the Women's 4 x 6 km Relay in a Sochi sunset behind her
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 21 February 2014 David Murdoch pictured during the curling final which Team GB lost 9-3 to Canada
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 20 February 2014 Eve Muirhead in action in the bronze medal match, which Team GB won, beating Switzerland
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 20 February 2014 Great Britain's Anna Sloan, Eve Muirhead, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton celebrate after winning the Women's Curling Bronze Medal Game at the Ice Cube Curling Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 20 February 2014 Great Britain's Anna Sloan, Eve Muirhead, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton celebrate after winning the Women's Curling Bronze Medal Game at the Ice Cube Curling Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 20 February 2014 Great Britain's Anna Sloan, Eve Muirhead, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton celebrate after winning the Women's Curling Bronze Medal Game at the Ice Cube Curling Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 19 February 2014 Finland's goalkeeper Tuukka Rask (L) celebrates with a team-mate at the end of the Men's Ice Hockey play-off quarter-final against Russia, which they won 3-1
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 19 February 2014 Canada's Skip Jennifer Jones celebrates after throwing the last stone to win the game against Team GB
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 19 February 2014 Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams, and Claire Hamilton of Great Britain console each other after losing to Canada in the curling semi-final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 19 February 2014 Norway's Marit Bjoergen crosses the finish line to win in the Women's Cross-Country Skiing Team Sprint Classic Final at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 19 February 2014 Gold medalists Finland's Sami Jauhojaervi (bacK L) and Finland's Iivo Niskanen (16 R) react at the finish line of the Men's Cross-Country Skiing Team Sprint Classic Final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 A fan takes a snap at the Sochi games
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 Violinist Vanessa Mae pictured competing in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 Cameron Bolton of Australia (yellow bib) leads the field in the Men's Snowboard Cross 1/8 Finals
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 Vanessa-Mae competes before finishing 74th after her first run in the women's giant slalom
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 Scott Andrews of Great Britain throws the rock while playing Norway during the Curling at Ice Cube Curling Center on day 11
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 18 February 2014 Team GB men's curling captain celebrates his two-point haul in the final end of their tie-break 6-5 victory over Norway
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 17 February 2014 Rowan Cheshire posted this picture on Twitter showing the extent of her injuries from a skiing accident in training
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 17 February 2014 Rui Liu of China competes against Great Britian during the Men's Curling Round Robin on day ten of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 17 February 2014 Great Britain skipper Eve Muirfield guided her team to a 9-6 victory over Russia to qualify for at least a tie-breaker for the semi-finals
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 16 February 2014 Alisa Agafonova and Alper Ucar of Turkey compete during the Figure Skating Ice Dance Short Dance
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 16 February 2014 A view of the Ice Hockey in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 16 February 2014 Ilya Nikulin #5 of Russia talks with Zdeno Chara #33 of Slovakia after defeating Slovakia in a shoot out during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 16 February 2014 David Murdoch of Great Britain looks on during the Curling Men's Round Robin match between Great Britain and Norway
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 14 February 2014 Lizzy Yarnold celebrates her victory for Great Britain in the skeleton in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Lizzy Yarnold looks delighted after her first two runs in the skeleton
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Lizzy Yarnold goes on her first run in the skeleton
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Elise Christie crashes out in the 500m speed skating final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Great Britain's James Woods competes in the Men's Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Great Britain's James Woods competes in the Men's Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 13 February 2014 Eve Muirhead in action against China
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi Lizzy-Yarnold.jpg Lizzy Yarnold pictured practicing at the Games
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 12 February 2014 Eve Muirfield guides a stone across the ice during Great Britain's 9-6 defeat to Canada
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 12 February 2014 Chemmy Alcott finished in 19th place in the women's downhill skiing
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Shaun White of the United States congratulates gold medalist Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Seamus O'Connor progressed to the men's snowboard halfpipe semi-final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Andrew Musgrave qualified for the cross-country men's sprint quarter-finals
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Dara Howell celebrates her gold medal in the ski slopestyle final with Devin Logan (L) finishing second and Kim Lamarre (R) taking bronze
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Katie Summerhayes qualified for the ski slopestyle final with two solid runs but could only manage seventh
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 11 February 2014 Lizzy Arnold topped the timesheets once again during the skeleton training heats
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 10 February 2014 British medal hope Jack Whelbourne crashes out of the 1500m speed skating final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 10 February 2014 Eve Muirhead of Great Britain watches Margaretha Sigfridsson of Sweden during the round robin match against Sweden
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 10 February 2014 Lizzy Yarnold tops the timesheets on the opening day of training in the skeleton competition in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 10 February 2014 Team GB men's curling captain David Merdoch had a perfect record in his side's 7-4 victory over Russia
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 9 February 2014 Ireen Wust of the Netherlands becomes the first openly gay athlete to win gold in Sochi
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 9 February 2014 Jenny Jones with her Bronze medal
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 9 February 2014 Great Britain's Jenny Jones celebrates after finding out she won Bronze in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 9 February 2014 Jenny Jones of Great Britain celebrates an historic bronze on the snow after the flower ceremony of the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle final at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 8 February 2014 The remains of a door kicked in in the athletes village
Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 8 February 2014 Sage Kotsenburg of the USA took gold in the snowboard slopestyle
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 8 February 2014 Jamie Nicholls finished sixth in the snowboard slopestyle final
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 8 February 2014 Marit Bjoergen took gold for Norway in the cross country skiing
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 7 February 2014 Fireworks go off over the Olympic Park at the end of the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games at the Fisht Olympic Stadium
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 7 February 2014 The Olympic Rings as presented by Sochi 2014, where the fifth metal ring failed to illuminate
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 A general view of the ice in the Ice Cube Curling Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Short track speed skater Richard Shoebridge of Great Britain practices at the Iceberg Skating Palace
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Severin Freund of Germany jumps during the Men's Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping training
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 A ski jumper (R) is seen during practice at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Austria's Miriam Kastlunger races during a women's Luge training session at the Sanki Sliding Centre in Rosa Khutor
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Jan Laco #50 of Slovakia tends goal during a Men's Ice Hockey practice session
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Marika Pertakhiya of Russia competes in the Ladies' Moguls Qualification
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan competes in the Figure Skating Men's Short Program
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Volunteers skiers take part in the cross-country training session at the Laura Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon Centre in Rosa Khuto
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Germany's Biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle prepares to shoot near the Olympic rings
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 An Alpine Skiier in practice
Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Winston Watts of Jamaica pilots a bobsleigh practice run ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 6 February 2014 Jamie Nicholls has qualified for Saturday's Snowboard style finals on the opening day of competition
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Winter Olympics 2014: The best images from Sochi 5 February 2014 The Olympic Rings are seen in water droplets
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