Olympic champ heads NZ Winter Games field

Sweden's Olympic slalom champion Anja Paerson heads a quality field contesting the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games in Otago next month.

More than 800 competitors from over 20 countries, including a host of Olympians, world champions and national champions, are confirmed for the games from August 21-30.

The event, the southern hemisphere's largest winter sports event, will be held at several venues around the Otago region in August.

The biennial games will take place at Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona, Snow Farm, Naseby and Dunedin.

Paerson will be joined by 2006 Olympic cross-country sprint gold medal winner Chandra Crawford from Canada and Japan's former skier-X world champion Hiroomi Takizawa.

Australian halfpipe snowboarders Nathan Johnstone - the current world No 2 - and Holly Crawford who finished runner-up in this year's world championships in Korea are also confirmed starters.

Winter Games NZ chief executive Arthur Klap said the strength and depth of competitors showed the importance of the Games for athletes ahead of next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Other world class athletes competing include three of Germany's top four snowboard-X riders, Canada's top-ranked female skiers in slalom, giant slalom and Super G, and four-time Winter Olympian Patrik Jaerbyn from the Swedish ski team, which also includes current national champions Andre Myhrer and Kajsa Kling.

China is sending a large snowboard halfpipe contingent that includes current women's world number one, Jiayu Liu.

Heading the New Zealand team is top freeskier and Winter X-Games medalist Jossi Wells, snowboarder James Hamilton, adaptive skier and Paralympian Adam Hall and cross-country skier Katherine Calder .

- NZPA