Sochi 2014: Penultimate day of the Sochi Games: final spurt for the medals

Today in Sochi, seven sets of medals will be contested in the 30 km ski race (women), ski slalom (men), biathlon relay (men), snowboarding (male and female parallel slalom) and in speed skating (men's and women's team race) as yet more athletes compete for Olympic glory. At the sliding center bobsleigh fours will also compete and on the ice of Bolshoy Ice Dome, there will be a battle for the bronze medal in the men's hockey tournament.

In the cross-country at Laura, the Vancouver champion, Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk will again be aiming for the podium having already taken gold at Sochi in the 10 km classical style race. Kowalczyk will compete with other Sochi medal winners – the Norwegian Marit Bjoergen, Therese Yohaug and Heidi Weng and Swede Charlotte Kalla.

At the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center, champion and World Cup winner Marcel Hirschertakes to the slopes as the favorite in the slalom. The young Austrian will be confronted by the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, as well as Frenchman Alexis Pentyuro and German Felix Neureuther.

The main contender for the medal in the Sochi farewell biathlon start is the Norwegian team, which includes double Olympic champions Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen. The Norwegians' attempt to increase their "gold reserves" may be impeded by the French, who are led by Martin Fourcade, as well as the Russian biathletes, who took the bronze medal in Vancouver.

In the men's snowboarding, competing for medals will be the Swiss boarder Simon Schoch, the Austrian Benjamin Karl, and Vic Wilde, competing for Russia, who has already brought gold to the national team. In the women's team, the contenders for medals along with Russia's Ekaterina Tudegesheva and Alena Zavarzina are Yulia Duymovits from Austria and Julia Patricia Kummer from Switzerland.

The Russian women speed skaters are continuing the fight for medals in the team race. After their victory over the Canadian team, the Polish team now awaits. The second women's pair in the semi-final is Japan against the Netherlands. In the men's final A, the Netherlands will meet South Korea, and in final B, Canada will be up against Poland.

In the bobsleigh fours, the last program on the bobsleigh track at Sanki, the Russian team led by Alexander Zubkov are with a chance of winning a second gold medal after the victory in the pairs competition. The US, German and Canadian teams are also aiming to top the podium.

In the evening, the defeated teams from Friday's hockey semifinals will meet at the Bolshoy stadium: Finland and the USA. The Finns have a chance of winning their third consecutive Olympic medal, and the Americans, who took silver in Vancouver, will want to keep their place on the Olympic podium.