Matts Olsson, of Sweden, on his way to winning the men's
giant slalom during day six of the Winter Games at Coronet
Peak, near Queenstown, yesterday. Photo by Getty Images.
Sweden's Matts Olsson delivered a spectacular second run
to beat Swedish World Cup team-mate Hans Olsson and win the
Winter Games giant slalom at Coronet Peak yesterday.
Matts Olsson was seventh-fastest in the first run in 54.53sec
but went all out in the second to record the fastest time of
52.45sec to win in a combined time of 1min 46.98sec.
He headed off Hans Olsson (no relation), who had been
third-fastest in the first run and finished second overall in
1min 47.16sec, just pipping American Jimmy Cochran (1min
47.19sec).
Twenty-year-old Matts Olsson is a member of the Swedish World
Cup team and is ranked 63 in the world in giant slalom.
He said he was excited about winning the Winter Games title.
"I am very happy to be the first winner.
"I didn't ski so well in the first run but I was better in
the second.
"It was good to do a race like this.
"It's good for my World Cup preparation," he said.
He said it was a tough race.
"It was a difficult course in difficult conditions.
"It feels really good.
"I didn't think I'd do it, but it was really fun."
Olsson hoped yesterday's win would help in his selection for
the Winter Olympics.
He said Coronet Peak was perfect training for his upcoming
races.
Top seed Andre Myhrer, of Sweden, clocked the fastest first
run in 53.68sec yesterday but failed to finish the second.
The leading New Zealander was 16-year-old Nick Prebble, of
Christchurch, a member of the national development team.
He finished in 26th place in 1min 53.47sec, improving his
world ranking.
Top-ranked New Zealander Ben Griffin, of Ohakune, did not
finish the first run, while Olympic hopeful Tim Cafe, of
Queenstown, completed his first run in 55.88sec but went out
in the second.
"I was almost at the bottom but went off balance in one of
the turns and before I knew it I was out.
"It's a bit of a shame," Cafe said.
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