Intro:

David Chodounsky and Paula Moltzan won the slaloms in the Winter Games at Coronet Peak in New Zealand on Wednesday.

Script:

The men's and women's Winter Games slalom's took place at Coronet Peak race arena on Wednesday.

97 men and 67 women, representing 17 countries, competed on the Rocky Gully course which has been described as close to world cup level.

Competition was extremely tight in the fight for the men's title with just 0.08 seconds separating the top two.

But it was American David Chodounsky who came out on top.

Ranked 25th in the world, Chodounsky posted the fastest time in the first run - 44.19 seconds - but was beaten by Japanese racer Akira Sasaki in the second run.

Sasaki's second run was an impressive 40.15.

But that improvement wasn't quite enough with Chodounsky enjoying the fastest combined time - 1:25:24 - to Akira's 1:25:32.

Slovakian skier Adam Zampa, winner of the men's giant slalom, completed the podium places with his combined time of 1:25:61 after a spectacular finish.

The women's race proved to be just as close.

American Paula Moltzan was second after a first run time of 43.01 seconds.

But a competitive second run, which saw her really attack the course, gave her a combined time of 1:29:04 and with it, the gold medal.

Swiss skier Michelle Gisin had led the field after posting the fastest opening run time of 42.74 seconds, but she had to be content with second place overall.

Third place went to Megan McJames of the USA who produced a superb second run to move up from 13th place and take the bronze medal.