LONDON -- Fabrice Muamba still faces "a long period of recovery" from his on-field cardiac arrest despite a surprisingly strong improvement since his collapse, according to the family of the stricken midfielder. . Muambas father and fiancee released a statement on Friday in which they thanked fans, football figures and medical staff for their support since Saturday, when Muamba collapsed just before halftime of Boltons FA Cup quarterfinal at Tottenham. The former England under-21 international is still at London Chest Hospital, where he was taken from Spurs White Hart Lane stadium. "Even though Fabrice has made great progress over the last couple of days, he is still in intensive care and still has a long period of recovery ahead," Marcel Muamba and Shauna Magunda said. "He has asked that you please keep him in your prayers." Players across Europe have worn T-shirts expressing their support for Muamba. European champion Barcelona is among the clubs to have made the gesture, while FIFA President Sepp Blatter has spoken with Boltons chairman and asked to be kept informed of Muambas progress. "We have been overwhelmed by all the kind messages we have received," the statement said. "The support we have had from the fans -- not just from Bolton but football supporters around the world -- has given us so much strength. "We have been particularly touched by the support from the football community globally." Muamba has spoken to visitors at his bed side but it is too early to say if he will ever play professionally again. Medics tried to revive Muamba for 48 minutes before he arrived at the east London hospital. Bolton team doctor Jonathan Tobin said it then took another 30 minutes, after 15 shocks from a defibrillator, before the players heart started beating again. The cause of the cardiac arrest has not been discovered. 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Olympic champion Britain claimed the first gold medal at Melbournes Hisense Arena, edging out defending champ Australia in what many expect to be a preview of the London Olympic gold-medal race. Edward Clancy, Peter Kennaugh, Steven Burke and Geraint Thomas led from the start to finish in a new world mark of 3 minutes, 53.KITZBUEHEL, Austria -- Defending overall champion Marcel Hirscher posted the fastest time in the first run of a World Cup slalom in heavy snow Friday. The Austrian opened the race in 56.92 seconds. Felix Neureuther of Germany was 0.38 behind to become the only racer within a second of the lead. Luca Aerni of Switzerland, who started 27th, finished 1.36 behind in third, closely followed by Fritz Dopfer of Germany and Alexis Pinturault of France, who won the slalom in Wengen last week. "Visibilty was obviously bad," said Hirscher, who wiped his goggles immediately after crossing the finish line. Michael Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in 17th place. Mario Matt of Austria skied out in the first run, which means Hirscher will remain in the lead of the slalom standings regardless the outcome of the second run. Hirscher is aiming to become the first slalom skier to win back-to-back crystal globes since Thomas Sykora in 1997 and 98. Its the final slalom before nations have to name their Alpine skiing teams for the Sochi Olympics. After days of mild weather, course workers salted the piste in order to harden up the surface, but the fresh snow made for difficult conditions. Furthermore, the unusual placing of some gates by Croatian coach Ante Kostelic made racing even hharder. jerseys from china. . "On such a tough course the field gets torn apart," Hirscher said. Kostelic, the father of former overall champions Ivica and Janica, has made a name for setting challenging courses. A year ago in Kitzbuehel, the jury rejected a course set by Kostelic, deeming it as "unskiable." The course wasnt that extraordinary this time, though Neureuther said it was "by far the most difficult slalom in Kitzbuehel I have ever done." "Visibility is brutal, the course setting is extreme, and the piste is bad," the German said. "Its extreme but we are the best ski racers so we have to adapt to these conditions. I managed that quite well in the first run. I think nobody feels really well today." Nolan Kasper of the United States lost a pole when he tried to clean his goggles during the final part of his run. He still completed the final gates and came 3.34 seconds behind in 25th place. "Its definitely tough, its one or two gates in a row that get a lot of splashback," Kasper said. "Its not the snow falling, its the snow from the gate. Thats why I tried to wipe my goggles and dropped my pole. I am probably not going to do that next run." The second run will be held under floodlights later Friday. ' ' '