LATEST FROM BEIJING: Hossein Saveh Shemshaki becomes the first athlete in the Winter Olympics to return a positive doping test, Alessandro Haemmerle wins gold by narrow margins, and GB athletes begin to show fight.

In the Winter Olympics so far, team GB have had a medal drought, and the Skeleton might be their last hope.

GB has historically found success in the sport, with Gloucestershire local Lizzy Yarnold earning gold medals in the competition at the past two Winter Olympic games, 2014 and 2018. Team GB’s skeleton athletes for this year’s games will be Brogan Crowley, Laura Deas, Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt.

Alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki tested positive for an anabolic steroid on Monday, becoming the first to test positive for doping in this year’s Winter Olympics.

The Iranian 36-year-old returned what the BBC referred to as an “adverse analytical finding” in an out-of-competition test.

The ITA stated:  “The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with the World Anti-Doping Code and the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

“This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.”

In the men’s snowboard cross, British Olympian, Huw Nightingale placed fourth in his group.

But the real spectacle of the competition was a photo finish gold medal for Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle who quite literally won by a fraction of a second, narrowly beating out Canada’s Éliot Grondin.

In Women’s curling, Britain barely lost to Switzerland, losing only by a single point in the first round robin. They will look to face Sweden in session two of the round robin later today.

The British men’s curling squad managed to make it to the second round robin where they beat Italy 7-5.

The British representatives in Men’s Heat Skeleton finished 14^th and 16^th in the first run and 13^th and 17^th in the second run. It isn’t likely that Matt Weston nor Marcus Wyatt will be taking home a medal for team GB in this competition.

Brad Hall represented Britain well in bobsledding as well, however failed to challenge for a medal. He managed to place 12^th in both of the first two heats.

Although Britain are yet to win a medal, hopes are high with the skeleton competitions just around the corner, team GB should be due for a medal or two.