1998 Olympics

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

Nagano

The 18th Winter Games included a record 2,177 athletes from 72 countries and marked the Olympics first trip to Asia in 26 years.

Nagano was pummeled by snow, sleet, rain and even a minor earthquake during the Games. The weather caused countless delays and rescheduling got so bad that organizers had to cram the men's super G, women's downhill, and women's combined downhill into one day—the first tripleheader in Olympic Alpine history.

Germany won the most medals (29) for the second time in its third Winter Games as a unified team. The team from host Japan surpassed expectations, winning more gold medals (five) and total medals (10) than any previous Japanese team. And the United States tied its previous best (1994), by winning 13 medals.

Austria's Hermann Maier provided the Games' most enduring image. A horrifying spill during the men's downhill spun him airborne like a rag-doll and sent him crashing through two retaining fences. Amazingly, he recovered to win two gold medals within the next six days.

For the third straight Winter Games a woman won the most medals. Russia's Larissa Lazutina medaled in all five cross-country events, earning three golds, a silver and a bronze. Cross-country veteran Bjorn Dählie, of Norway, won four medals, thus becoming the winningest Winter Games athlete ever with eight career gold medals and 12 overall.

U.S. figure skater Tara Lipinski, 15, became the youngest woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Games, and turned pro two months later. The U.S. won the first women's hockey gold medal, while the U.S. men's team—which included pros for the first time—drew ire for its disappointing sixth-place finish and room-trashing antics. The Czech Republic, which (as Czechoslovakia) had won seven Olympic hockey medals, but no golds, was a surprise winner, upsetting Russia 1-0 in the men's hockey final.

Curling and snowboarding also made their Olympic debuts in Nagano.

Top 10 Standings

National medal standings are not recognized by the IOC. The unofficial point totals are based on 3 points for a gold medal, 2 for a silver and 1 for a bronze. Total medals are in parentheses.

  GoldSilverBronzePoints
1Germany (29)129862
2Norway (25)1010555
3Russia (18)96342
4Canada (15)65432
5Austria (17)35928
 United States (13)63428
7Netherlands (11)54225
8Japan (10)51421
9Finland (12)24620
 Italy (10)26220

Leading Medal Winners

Number of individual medals won on the left; gold, silver and bronze breakdown to the right.

Men

No SportG-S-B
4Bjorn Dählie, NORX-country3-1-0
3Kazuyoshi Funaki, JPNSki Jumping2-1-0
3Rintje Ritsma, NEDSp. Skating0-1-2
3Mika Myllylae, FINX-country1-0-2
2Gianni Romme, NEDSp. Skating2-0-0
2Thomas Alsgaard, NORX-country2-0-0
2Hermann Maier, AUTAlpine2-0-0
2Bjarte Engen Vik, NORNordic Comb.2-0-0
2Ids Postma, NEDSp. Skating1-1-0
2Jani Soininen, FINSki Jumping1-1-0
2Erling Jevne, NORX-country1-1-0
2Ole Bjoerndalen, NORBiathlon1-1-0
2Halvard Hanevold, NORBiathlon1-1-0
2Kim Dong Sung, KORST Sp. Skating1-1-0
2Christoph Langen, GERBobsled1-0-1
2Markus Zimmerman, GERBobsled1-0-1
2Eric Bedard, CANST Sp. Skating1-0-1
2Masahiko Harada, JPNSki Jumping1-0-1
2Hiroyasu Shimizu, JPNSp. Skating1-0-1
2Lasse Kjus, NORAlpine0-2-0
2Samppa Lajunen, FINNordic Comb.0-2-0
2Silvio Fauner, ITAX-country0-1-1
2Li Jiajun, CHNST Sp. Skating0-1-1
2An Yulong, CHNST Sp. Skating0-1-1
2Andreas Widhoelzl, AUTSki Jumping0-0-2

Women

No SportG-S-B
5Larissa Lazutina, RUSX-country3-1-1
3Olga Danilova, RUSX-country2-1-0
3Katja Seizinger, GERAlpine2-0-1
3Lee-Kyung Chun, KORST Sp. Skating2-0-1
3G. Niemann-Stirnemann, GERSp. Skating1-2-0
3Ursula Disl, GERBiathlon1-1-1
3Yang S. Yang, CHNST Sp. Skating0-3-0
2Marianne Timmer, NEDSp. Skating2-0-0
2Galina Kukleva, RUSBiathlon1-1-0
2Deborah Compagnoni, ITAAlpine1-1-0
2Claudia Pechstein, GERSp. Skating1-1-0
2Hilde Gerg, GERAlpine1-0-1
2Catriona LeMay Doan, CANSp. Skating1-0-1
2Katrin Apel, GERBiathlon1-0-1
2Annie Perreault, CANST Sp. Skating1-0-1
2Katerina Neumannova, CZRX-country0-1-1
2Bente Martinsen, NORX-country0-1-1
2Anita Moen-Guidon, NORX-country0-1-1
2Chris Witty, USASp. Skating0-1-1
2Stefania Belmondo, ITAX-country0-1-1
2Alexandra Meissnitzer, AUTAlpine0-1-1

Alpine Skiing

Men

Event  Time
DownhillJean-Luc Cretier, FRA1:50.11
SlalomHans-Petter Buraas, NOR1:49.31
Giant SlalomHermann Maier, AUT2:38.51
Super GHermann Maier, AUT1:34.82
CombinedMario Reiter, AUT3:08.06

Women

Event  Time
DownhillKatja Seizinger, GER1:28.89
SlalomHilde Gerg, GER1:32.40
Giant SlalomDeborah Compagnoni, ITA2:50.59
Super GPicabo Street, USA1:18.02
CombinedKatja Seizinger, GER2:40.74

Biathlon

Men

Event  MTTime
10kmOle Einar Bjoerndalen, NOR027:16.2
20kmHalvard Hanevold, NOR156:16.4
4x7.5km relayGermany61:21:36.2

Women

Event  MTTime
7.5kmGalina Koukleva, RUS123:08.0
15kmEkaterina Dafovska, BUL154:52.0
4x7.5km relayGermany111:40:13.6

Bobsled

Event  Time
2-ManItaly I (Günther Huber &
Antonio Tartaglia)
3:37.24
 Canada I (Pierre Leuders &
Dave McEachern)
3:37.24
4-ManGER II (Christoph Langen, Markus Zimmermann, Marco Jakobs, Olaf Hampel)2:39.41

Curling

Round Robin Standings

MEN

(Overall records in parentheses)

 GmW-L-TPFPA
Canada76-1-05732
Switzerland75-2-04428
Norway75-2-04235
United States73-4-03446
Note: Japan (3-4-0), Sweden (3-4-0), Britain (2-5-0), and Germany (1-6-0) were eliminated.

Semifinals

Canada 7United States 1
Switzerland 8 Norway 7

Bronze Medal

Norway 9United States 4

Gold Medal

Switzerland 9Canada 3

WOMEN

 GmW-L-TPFPA
Canada76-1-05134
Sweden76-1-05432
Denmark75-2-04634
Britain74-3-03844
Note: Japan (2-5-0), Norway (2-5-0), United States (2-5-0), and Germany (1-6-0) were eliminated.

Semifinals

Canada 6Britain 5
Denmark 7Sweden 5

Bronze Medal

Sweden 10Britain 6

Gold Medal

Canada 7Denmark 5

Figure Skating

Event  FP
MenIlia Kulik, RUS1.5
WomenTara Lipinski, USA2.0
PairsOksana Kazakova & Artur Dmitriev, RUS1.5
DancePasha Grishuk & Yevgeny Platov, RUS2.0

Freestyle Skiing

Men

Event  Pts
AerialsEric Bergoust, USA255.64
MogulsJonny Moseley, USA26.93

Women

Event  Pts
AerialsNikki Stone, USA193.00
MogulsTae Satoya, JPN25.06

Ice Hockey

Final Round Standings

MEN

(Overall records in parentheses)

Group CGmW-L-TPtsGFGA
Russia33-0-06156
Czech Republic32-1-04124
Finland31-2-02119
Kazakhstan (2-4-0)30-3-00625
Group DGmW-L-TPtsGFGA
Canada33-0-06123
Sweden32-1-04117
United States31-2-02810
Belarus (2-3-1)30-3-00415
Note: Kazakhstan and Belarus reached the final round by winning preliminary Group A and Group B, respectively.

Quarterfinals

Czech Republic 4United States 1
Russia 4Belarus 1
Canada 4Kazakhstan 1
Finland 2Sweden 1

Semifinals

Czech Republic 2Canada 1
(Czech Republic wins shootout, 1-0)
Russia 7Finland 4

Bronze Medal

Finland 3Canada 2

Gold Medal

Czech Republic 1Russia 0

WOMEN

 GmW-L-TPtsGFGA
United States66-0-012368
Canada64-2-082915
Finland64-2-083111
China62-4-041119
Sweden51-4-021021
Japan50-5-00245

Bronze Medal

Finland 4China 1

Gold Medal

United States 3Canada 1

Luge

Men

Event  Time
SinglesGeorg Hackl, GER3:18.436
DoublesStefan Krausse & Jan Behrendt, GER1:41.105

Women

Event  Time
SinglesSilke Kraushaar, GER3:23.779

Nordic Skiing

Men

Cross Country

Event  Time
10km Bjorn Dählie, NOR27:24.5
15km Thomas Alsgaard, NOR1:07:01.7
30km Mika Myllylae, FIN1:33:55.8
50km Bjorn Dählie, NOR2:05:08.2
4x10km NOR (Sivertsen, Jevne, Dählie, Alsgaard)1:40:55.7

Ski Jumping

Event Pts
90mJani Soininen, FIN234.5
120mKazuyoshi Funaki, JPN272.3
Team (120m)JPN (Takanobu, Hiroya, Masahiko, Kazuyoshi)933.0

Nordic Combined

Event Pts
Indiv.Bjarte Engen Vik, NOR41:21.1
TeamNOR (Skard, Braaten, Vik, Lundberg)54:11.5

Women

Cross Country

Event  Time
5km Larissa Lazutina, RUS17:37.9
10km Larissa Lazutina, RUS46:06.9
15km Olga Danilova, RUS46:55.4
30km Julija Tchepalova, RUS1:22:01.5
4x5km RUS (Gavryliouk, Danilova, Valbe, Lazutina)55:13.5

Speed Skating

Men

Long Track

Event  Time 
500mHiroyasu Shimizu, JPN71.35 
1000mIds Postma, NED1:10.64OR
1500mAadne Sondral, NOR1:47.87WR
5000mGianni Romme, NED6:22.20WR
10,000mGianni Romme, NED13:15.33WR

Short Track

Event  Time 
500mTakafumi Nishitani, JPN42.862 
1000mDong-Sung Kim, KOR1:32.375 
5000m relayCanada7:06.075 

Women

Long Track

Event  Time  
500mCatriona Lemay-Doan, CAN76.60 
1000mMarianne Timmer, NED1:16.51OR
1500mMarianne Timmer, NED1:57.58WR
3000mGunda Niemann-Stirnemann, GER4:07.29OR
5000mClaudia Pechstein, GER6:59.61WR

Short Track

Event  Time  
500mAnnie Perreault, CAN46.568 
1000mLee-Kyung Chun, KOR1:42.776 
3000m RelaySouth Korea4:16.260WR

Snowboarding

Men

Event  Time
Giant SlalomRoss Rebagliati, CAN2:03.96
HalfpipeGian Simmen, SWI85.2 pts

Women

Event  Time
Giant SlalomKarine Ruby, FRA2:17.34
HalfpipeNicola Thost, GER74.6 pts

Salt Lake City, 2002

 By hosting the 19th Winter Games, Utah, an Indian word meaning “home on mountain top,” joins California, Georgia, Missouri and New York as the only U.S. states to host the Olympics. The 2002 Games will mark the end of Salt Lake City's long quest to host the games, a story that included failed bids in 1972, 1976 and 1998.

Located in north-central Utah at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City and the surrounding towns of Heber City, Ogden, Park City and West Valley City have a combined population of 1.5 million, making it the largest urban area ever to host the Winter Games.

 The sports program at Salt Lake City will be the largest in history. There will be 78 events—10 more than Nagano—occuring at five city (indoor) and five mountain (oudoor) facilities.

Here is a preview of what events have been added:

Skeleton: a Swiss sledding event similar to the luge, the men's event was last held in 1948 while the women's event is making its Olympic debut.

Bobsled: women's competition in the two-person discipline.

Biathlon: men's 12.5km pursuit and a women's 10km pursuit.

Cross Country: men's and women's sprint free.

Nordic Combined: an individual sprint event that consists of ski jumping from the large hill and a 7.5km cross-country race.

Short Track Speed Skating: men's and women's 1500m event.

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