For three days the Dunedin Ice Stadium has been the stage for the International Figure Skating competition at the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games and tonight the 2,000 strong crowd did not want the spectacular show on ice to end.

They were blown away by the supreme performance of the Senior Men's gold medal winner Kensuke Nakaniwa of Japan whose final score was 86 points ahead of his closest rival Min Seok Seo from Korea. Nakaniwa thrilled the crowd with a majestic routine full of dramatic tension and incredible skill and discipline.

His fellow teammates, Akiko Suzuki and Mari Suzuki gave equally breathtaking performances in the Senior Women's event to take out gold and silver respectively. The enthusiastic crowd could really not believe how privileged they were to witness in New Zealand such a high standard of skating and were moved by the grace and beauty of the Japanese performances.

However while the Japanese excelled in the senior events it was Korea who topped the medal table at the competition with four golds, two silver and a bronze.

New Zealand skater Cameron Hemms from West Auckland skated a personal best today to take out the bronze in the Junior Men's event. His performance was a huge improvement on his recent form at the Australian National Champs last week where he was place 8th. Hems says this competition has really lifted his performance. "The event has been really exciting, I've learnt a lot just watching the Koreans and Japanese and for me today has been the first step up to a new level."

New Zealand's other medal in the competition was won yesterday by Madelaine Parker in the Novice event.

Australia's team of 13 skaters won one silver and four bronze medals.

Both New Zealand and Australia skating officials are unanimous about the value of ice skaters competing at international level in their own backyard. Australia's Team Leader Sue Cobden said, "It's been fantastic particularly for the Novices, it builds on their experience, and its lifted most our skaters performances, it's been a great experience."

Sandra Williamson Ledley, the President of the New Zealand Ice Skating Association said the international event at the Winter Games has been an outstanding success. " It has been brilliant for the sport and I believe, as an event, will only ever get bigger."

The full list of medal winners is: Senior Women: Gold -Akiko Suzuki (JPN), Silver -Mari Suzuki (JPN), Bronze - Na Young Kim (KOR). Senior Men: Gold - Kensuke Nakaniwa (JPN), Silver - Min Seok So (KOR), Bronze - Andrew Dodds (AUS). Junior Women: Gold - Hyeon Jeong Kim (KOR), Silver - Jaimee Hobbs (AUS), Bronze - Chantelle Kerry (AUS). Junior Men: Gold - Min Seok Kim (KOR), Silver - Ryucichi Kihara (JPN), Bronze - Cameron Hems (NZL). Novice Women: Gold - So Youn Park (KOR), Silver - Madelaine Park (NZL), Bronze - Taylor Dean (AUS). Novice Men: Gold - Dong Won Lee (KOR), Silver - Oliver Porter (AUS), Bronze - Harley Dahlstrom (AUS).