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It's never a particularly cheerful experience queuing in the rain for a train away from south west London after an England rugby international.

But many of us standing in a downpour at Twickenham station last Saturday had unexpected smiles on our faces. We'd just witnessed an England win against New Zealand. And not just that - an England try, too.

Just a couple of hours after Steve Borthwick's team had trudged down the tunnel, reflecting on - albeit one where they'd shown some true fighting spirit in defence - his female counterpart Catherine Spencer was leading her team in an ecstatic celebration of

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As a confirmed sporting failure of many years' standing, I spend most of my working life in awe of the people I get to meet and watch in action.

But are there any more impressive sports men and women than those who take part in the Winter Olympics? With less than 100 days to go until Vancouver 2010, I took an opportunity to meet a few of them for Thursday evening's Winter Olympics Special on 5 live.

Not only are they achieving massive feats of athletic achievement, but they're doing it on surfaces which are, let's face it, a bit slippy.

It's all very well trying to be faster, higher and stronger when the ground is secure beneath your feet, but what about when it's covered in snow or ice?

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I'm feeling rather smug about the clairvoyant skills of 5 live Sport's "And Another Thing" at the moment.

Last Thursday, we in our discussion about whether world champions in smaller sports get the credit they deserve - in comparison to the Jenson Buttons of this world.

And then five days later - she was named at the annual awards ceremony in London, thanks to votes from readers of the Sunday Times.

Chrissie for the third year running in her uniquely demanding discipline - which features a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon. And she broke a 17-year-old world record while she was at it, coming home in eight hours 54 minutes and two seconds.

That's right - she was in the water, on the bike, or pounding the streets for just short of nine hours. I sometimes struggle to stay awake for that long during the day.

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