Paralympics: Opening buzz over, Hall chases medal

Adam Hall, of Otago, will chase his first medal this morning, to go with the "huge buzz" he got from leading the New Zealand team into the Winter Paralympics on Saturday.

Hall (22) carried the New Zealand flag in the opening ceremony in Vancouver ahead of his sole team-mate, fellow skier, Peter Williams (26), of Auckland.

"The boys enjoyed the opening and had big smiles from ear to ear," New Zealand chef de mission Jon Turnbull said.

"For Adam to carry the flag was a huge buzz for him.

I think the biggest part for us all was the moment you walk in and hear your nation and see the flag.

"It was also a big highlight when the flame and cauldron was lit and [we heard] the stories behind those who carried the torch.

It created the most impact."

Hall, who has spina bifida, is the first of the two New Zealanders to compete, with the super G set to start at 7.30am today (NZ time), weather permitting.

There has been heavy snow around Vancouver and some events may be rescheduled.

The skier, raised in Outram and based in Wanaka, is rated a genuine medal chance in his four events in the LW1 category.

He had a best finish of 41st at the Turin Paralympics four years ago but he has since made rapid improvement.

He reached a ranking of No 2 in the world in adaptive slalom skiing, and was twice named the New Zealand snowsports athlete of the year.

"All of the hard work in the build-up means nothing now. It's all up to performance under pressure now," Turnbull said.