US Winter Olympian and X-Games gold medallist Nate Holland today won the men’s snowboarding Gravity X event at the inaugural Coca-Cola Cardrona Games, while Wanaka’s own Winter Olympian Juliane Bray won the women’s event.

In the ski category of the Gravity X, Canadian Winter Olympian Trennon Paynter took the men’s title while Australia’s Janina Kuzma won the event for the women.

Gravity X is an exciting, high-speed race amongst skiers and snowboarders, who push their skills to get to the bottom of the course with the fastest time. About 50 riders took on the course at Cardrona Alpine Resort, which consisted of a series of rolls, continuous bank-roll combinations, flat hip jumps, finishing with a massive step-down road-gap jump.

Conditions were ideal for the Gravity X event, which signalled the beginning of the three-day Cardrona Games.

“It was a really great start to the competition,” sales and marketing manager Bruce McGechan said. “Conditions were perfect for a Gravity X event, and it was great to have such a world-class international field competing today.”

Holland said he was pleased with his consistent, smooth runs during the competition: “It was a great course – it flowed really well and it was rhythmical.”

Crowds gathered yesterday afternoon to watch American Chris Brown perform a 70ft step-up jump as well as jumping over a small building during the impressive snowmobile big air demonstrations. Moto FMX riders also wowed the crowd with their performance. These demonstrations are the first of their kind on New Zealand slopes.

The Coca-Cola Cardrona Games continues tomorrow with the double halfpipe event, followed by the slopestyle event on Saturday September 9, which concludes the Games. Riders are sure to impress the crowds with their tricks, rotations and big air over the next two days.

Snowmobile and Moto FMX big air demonstrations take place at the end of each day’s competition. Salmonella Dub DJ Sound System will be playing live each day of the competition.

Check out the pics!