Rather than excitement at the bottom of his second run, Hall looked distraught thinking that the fall had cost him gold. When he saw his name flash up in the gold medal position his devastation turned to disbelief and elation.

The second run was almost disaster but such was his time gap on the field he was able to recover and still win with a total elapsed time of 1:45.40

German Gerad Schonfelder was .57 of a second further back for the silver medal and Australian Cameron Rahles-Rahbula took the bronze.

Jon Turnbull, Chef de Mission, described Hall's gold medal performance as "mind-blowing."

"It got a bit sketchy on his second run but fortunately his first run was enough to make it happen. It's just fantastic."

Turnbull is pleased with how Hall has handled the pressure of being one of the top athletes and the expectations that go along with being one of the race favourites.

"He's the ultimate professional with his preparation and he has been rewarded."

Hall had said after the first run he was not getting carried away, despite his excellent first effort.

"It was good. The conditions have been really tough, mentally and physically," he said.

"It's a two-run race. It's not just one race, so after the first run it doesn't mean anything."

It's hard to imagine the joy one would go through as a parent watching your child, who wasn't expected to walk, take Gold in Ski Racing. Adam's parents are bursting with pride.

"All his hard work has paid off," said his mother Gayle. "We are so proud!"

New Zealand last won a medal at a Paralympics Winter Games in 2002 at Salt Lake City.

tags: olympic, paralympic, slalom, adam, hall, cameron, rahles, rahbula

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