Steve Mesler savoured Winter Olympics ecstasy as he celebrated winning the four-man bobsleigh gold at Vancouver's Whistler Park.

Lining up alongside fellow crewmen Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen and Curtis Tomasevicz, the 31-year-old from Buffalo overcame the German 1 team by 0.38 seconds over four rounds to ensure USA's first four-man bobsleigh gold in 62 years in a total time of 3: 24:36.

Admitting to "enjoying the mix of fear and adrenaline" that he gets on a daily basis when bobsledding, Mesler was competing in his third Winter Olympics, finished seventh in Turin in 2006. The former decathlete is believed to be the first Jewish Winter Olympics gold medallist since Sarah Hughes won figure skating gold for the USA in Salt Lake City, 2002.

Israeli skiier Michael Rehnzin finished 35th in the men's slalom, which was an improvement on his 55th place in the giant slalom earlier in the competition. The Israeli skier was five seconds off the gold medal.

Rehnzin's coach Stanley Rubenstein said: "Mikhail had a very good race. He was only nine seconds off the winners, which is a very good result.

Efraim Zinger, Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Israel, expressed satisfaction with the country's performance in Vancouver.

Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky finished 10th in the ice skating. Zinger said: "Our athletes performed according to our expectations. I was very pleased by the Zaretskys. Performing to Israeli-Jewish music, they received a very warm welcome from the crowd and the Jewish community in Vancouver. It was a wonderful experience."