Team GB Bobsleigh Dream CRUSHED! Can They Recover?!

Team GB's four-man bobsleigh team faces an uphill battle to snag an Olympic medal. After two heats at the Cortina track, they currently sit in seventh place, a position that's not exactly where they'd hoped to be after a chaotic day of racing.

Team GB Bobsleigh Dream CRUSHED! Can They Recover?...

Following a disappointing 12th place finish in the two-man event, all eyes were on pilot Brad Hall and his crew to deliver in the four-man. And for a moment, it looked promising. Hall blazed down the track in the first run, clocking a fantastic 54.39 seconds, putting them in a solid third place. You could see the potential, the raw speed that many believe makes this team a real medal contender. However, the second run was a completely different story.

The team dropped four places after a sluggish second attempt, leaving Hall visibly frustrated. I saw the footage – the disappointment was etched on his face. They now trail the bronze medal position by a frustratingly narrow 0.23 seconds heading into Sunday's decisive heats. "I'm a bit lost for words to be honest," Hall told BBC Sport, a sentiment I'm sure many British fans share.

The German teams, as expected, are dominating. They currently hold the top three positions, with Johannes Lochner, fresh off his two-man gold, leading the charge with an overall time of 1:48:61. They're a well-oiled machine, and Team GB will need something special to break into that top three.

Adding to the drama, the competition at Cortina was significantly delayed after a frightening crash involving the Austrian team during the second heat. One of the athletes required lengthy on-ice treatment before being stretchered off the track. Greg Crackett from Team GB reported that Austrian pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was taken to the hospital but thankfully, he was conscious and "seemed to be alright." These crashes serve as a stark reminder of the risks involved in this sport – it's not for the faint of heart. France and Trinidad and Tobago, piloted by Harrogate-born Axel Brown, also crashed, but thankfully, both crews were able to walk away.

Hall, a decorated pilot with a silver medal at the World Championships, is determined to bring home a medal with his four-man team, something Team GB hasn't achieved in Olympic bobsleigh since Sochi 2014. Training in Cortina has been inconsistent, but that blistering first run showed they have the speed. Now they just need to find that consistency and avoid any costly mistakes in the final two runs. It’s all to play for, and Sunday is going to be a nail-biter.

Meanwhile, the medal-deciding runs for the two-woman event take place later on Saturday, with Team GB's Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson sitting in 21st place at the halfway point.

For those in the UK, you can catch live streams and highlights on BBC iPlayer, updates on BBC Radio 5 Live, and live text commentary and video highlights on the BBC Sport website and app.