Editing 1998 Winter Olympics

{{Short description|Multi-sport event in Nagano, Japan}}
{{Redirect|Nagano 1998|the Winter Paralympics|1998 Winter Paralympics}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox Olympic games|1998|Winter|Olympics|
| image       = 1998 Winter Olympics logo.svg
| image_size  = 240
| caption     = Emblem of the 1998 Winter Olympics{{efn|The emblem represents a flower, with each petal representing an athlete practicing a different winter sport. It can also be seen as a snowflake, thus the name "Snowflower" was given to it.}}
| host_city   = [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]], Japan
| motto       = ''Coexistence with Nature''<br />([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: 自然との共存, ''Shizen to no Kyōzon'')
| nations     = 72
| athletes    = 2,176 (1,389 men, 787 women)
| events      = 68 in 7 [[Olympic sports|sports]] (14 disciplines)
| opening     = 7 February 1998
| closing     = 22 February 1998
| opened_by   = [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] [[Akihito]]
| cauldron    = [[Midori Ito]]
| stadium     = [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]]
| winter_prev = [[1994 Winter Olympics|Lillehammer 1994]]
| winter_next = [[2002 Winter Olympics|Salt Lake 2002]]
| summer_prev = [[1996 Summer Olympics|Atlanta 1996]]
| summer_next = [[2000 Summer Olympics|Sydney 2000]]
|closed_by=[[President of the International Olympic Committee|IOC President]] [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]]}}
{{1998 Winter Olympics}}
{{Location map+|Japan Nagano Prefecture|width=300|AlternativeMap=|alt=Map of the Nagano Olympics City and Towns.|float=right|caption=<span style="font-size:95%;">[[File:Olympic Rings.svg|48px|link=]] Map of the 1998 Nagano Olympics locations </span> |places=
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Nagano (city)|Nagano City]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat=36.648583 |long=138.194194 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=20}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Hakuba, Nagano|Hakuba]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat=36.698056 |long=137.861917 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=10}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Yamanouchi, Nagano|Yamanouchi]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat=36.744583 |long=138.412694 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=10}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Nozawaonsen, Nagano|Nozawa Onsen]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat=36.922778 |long=138.440556 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=10}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Karuizawa, Nagano|Karuizawa]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat= 36.348472 |long= 138.597028 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=10}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano Prefecture |label=[[Iizuna, Nagano|Iizuna]] |label_size=86 |position=top |lat= 36.754778 |long= 138.235528 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=10}}
}}
[[File:160501 Zenkoji Nagano Japan06s3.jpg|thumb|Main hall of [[Zenkō-ji]] in [[Nagano (city)|Nagano City]].]]
[[File:Jigokudani hotspring in Nagano Japan 001.jpg|thumb|[[Japanese macaque]] at [[Jigokudani Monkey Park|Jigokudani]] hotspring in [[Yamanouchi, Nagano|Yamanouchi]].]]

The '''1998 Winter Olympics''', officially known as the {{nihongo|'''XVIII Olympic Winter Games'''|第18回オリンピック冬季競技大会|Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai|lead=yes}} and commonly known as '''Nagano 1998''' ({{langx|ja|長野1998}}), were a winter [[multi-sport event]] held from 7&nbsp;to 22&nbsp;February 1998, mainly in [[Nagano, Nagano|Nagano]], [[Nagano Prefecture]], Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of [[Hakuba]], [[Karuizawa, Nagano|Karuizawa]], [[Nozawaonsen|Nozawa Onsen]], and [[Yamanouchi, Nagano|Yamanouchi]]. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the [[1940 Winter Olympics]] (which were later cancelled), as well as the [[1972 Winter Olympics]], but had been eliminated at the national level by [[Sapporo]] on both occasions.

The games hosted 2,176 athletes from 72 nations competing in 7&nbsp;sports and 68 events.<ref name=athletes_number>{{cite web|title=The Olympic Winter Games Factsheet|url=http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reference_documents_Factsheets/The_Olympic_Winter_Games.pdf|publisher=International Olympic Committee|access-date=5 August 2012}}</ref> The number of athletes and participating nations were a record at the time. The Games saw the introduction of [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|women's ice hockey]], [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|curling]] and [[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|snowboarding]]. [[National Hockey League]] players were allowed to participate in the [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|men's ice hockey]] for the first time. [[Azerbaijan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Azerbaijan]], [[Kenya at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Kenya]], [[Macedonia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Macedonia]], [[Uruguay at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Uruguay]], and [[Venezuela at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Venezuela]] made their debut at the Winter Olympics.

The athlete who won the most medals at these games was the [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russian]] [[Cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skier]] [[Larisa Lazutina]] who won five medals, including three gold. The [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] cross-country skier [[Bjørn Dæhlie]] won four medals, including three gold, which took his total Olympic medal total to 12, including eight gold, which is a record for Winter Olympics. [[Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Czech]] men's ice hockey team won the gold medal. In [[Ski Jumping]], [[Kazuyoshi Funaki]] won two gold medals and one silver for host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]]. The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] [[Figure skater]] [[Tara Lipinski]] became the youngest champion in Olympic history at the age of 15 years and 255 days. [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] dominated the medal table with 29 medals, including 12 gold. Germany was followed by Norway and Russia, who won 25 and 18 medals respectively. [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]], which finished fourth in the medal table with 15 medals, including six gold, had its most successful Winter Olympics up until that point.

The host was selected on 15&nbsp;June 1991, over [[Salt Lake City]], [[Östersund]], [[Jaca]] and [[Aosta]]. They were the third Olympic Games and second Winter Olympics to be held in Japan, after the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo and the [[1972 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sapporo]]. The games were succeeded by the [[1998 Winter Paralympics]] from 5&nbsp;to 14&nbsp;March. These were the final Winter Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]].

The hosting of the games improved transportation networks with the construction of the high-speed ''[[Shinkansen]]'', the Nagano Shinkansen, now the [[Hokuriku Shinkansen]], between [[Tokyo Station|Tokyo]] and [[Nagano Station]], via [[Ōmiya Station (Saitama)|Ōmiya]] and [[Takasaki Station|Takasaki]]. In addition, new highways were built, including the [[Nagano Expressway]] and the [[Jōshin-etsu Expressway]] and upgrades were made to existing roads.<ref name=transportation>{{cite web|title=Transport infrastructure provides lasting legacy of Nagano 1998|url=https://www.olympic.org/news/transport-infrastructure-provides-lasting-legacy-of-nagano-1998|publisher=International Olympic Committee|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref>

==Host city selection==
{{main|Bids for the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
In 1932, Japan won the rights to host the [[1940 Summer Olympics]] in [[Tokyo]]. At that time, organizers of the Summer Olympics had priority in choosing the venue for the Winter Olympics the same year.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=30}}</ref> Several Japanese cities, including Nagano, prepared a bid. Sapporo was chosen; however, the games never took place because of [[World War II]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=30}}</ref> In 1961, Nagano declared its intention to host the [[1968 Winter Olympics]] but lost to Sapporo, the winning Japanese bid, who lost to [[Grenoble]], [[France]], and Sapporo eventually won the right to host the [[1972 Winter Olympics]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=30}}</ref>

Japanese private sector organizations, in 1983, began publicly discussing a possible bid.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=31}}</ref> Two years later, in 1985, the Nagano Prefectural Assembly, decided to begin the process to bid, for its third time, for a Winter Olympics.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=31}}</ref> The bid committee was established in July 1986, they submitted their bid to the [[Japanese Olympic Committee]] (JOC) in November of the same year. Other Japanese cities that were bidding were [[Asahikawa]], [[Yamagata, Yamagata|Yamagata]], and [[Morioka]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=31}}</ref> 1 June 1988, the JOC selected Nagano in the first round of national voting, receiving 34 of 45 votes.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=32}}</ref> In 1989, the bid committee was reorganized, with the Japanese Prime Minister as head of the committee. The number of committee members was 511.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=32}}</ref>

On 12 February 1990, the bid delegation presented its candidature at the International Olympic Committee in [[Lausanne]] before Juan Antonio Samaranch.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=32}}</ref> Other candidate cities for the 1998 Olympics were [[Aosta]], [[Italy]]; [[Jaca]], [[Spain]]; [[Östersund]], [[Sweden]]; [[Salt Lake City]], [[United States of America|United States]], and [[Sochi]], [[Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]] (now [[Russia]]).<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=32}}</ref> The host city selection was held in [[Birmingham]], United Kingdom, on 15 June 1991, at the 97th [[List of IOC meetings|IOC session]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=34}}</ref> After the first round of voting, Nagano led, with Aosta and Salt Lake City tied for last. Aosta was eliminated in a run-off against Salt Lake City. After the second round of voting, Nagano led with Salt Lake City in second, and Jaca was eliminated. Following round 3, Nagano continued to lead, with Salt Lake City in second, and Östersund was eliminated. Finally, Nagano prevailed over Salt Lake City by just 4 votes in the fifth round of voting, becoming the third Japanese city to host the games after Tokyo in [[1964 Summer Olympics]] and Sapporo in 1972.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=35}}</ref> Nagano, at [[36th parallel north|36°N]], is the southernmost city in the [[Northern hemisphere]] to host the Winter Olympics ([[1960 Winter Olympics]] host [[Squaw Valley, Placer County, California|Squaw Valley, California]] is [[39th parallel north|39°N]]).<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=36}}</ref> In June 1995, Salt Lake was chosen as the host of the following [[2002 Winter Olympics]].

Following a [[2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal]] that occurred in the summer of 2000, [[Atlanta]], host of the [[1996 Summer Olympics]], [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]], and [[Sydney]], host of the [[2000 Summer Olympics]], were suspected of similar improprieties in bidding practices. Although nothing illegal was ever done, gifts to IOC members were considered morally dubious.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Longman |first1=Jere |title=Olympics; Leaders of Salt Lake Olympic Bid are Indicted in Bribery Scandal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/21/sports/olympics-leaders-of-salt-lake-olympic-bid-are-indicted-in-bribery-scandal.html |website=The New York Times |date=21 July 2000 |access-date=28 April 2019}}</ref> The Nagano Olympic bid committee spent approximately $14 million to entertain the 62 [[International Olympic Committee]] members and many of their companions. The precise figures are unknown since Nagano, after the IOC asked that the entertainment expenditures not be made public, destroyed the financial records, according to bid member [[Junichi Yamaguchi]].<ref>{{Citation
 | last1 =Jordan
 | first1 =Mary
 | last2 =Sullivan
 | first2 =Kevin
 | title =Nagano Burned Documents Tracing '98 Olympics Bid
 | newspaper =Washington Post
 | pages =A1
 | date =21 January 1999
| url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/daily/jan99/nagano21.htm
 | access-date =28 April 2021
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429032856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/daily/jan99/nagano21.htm
 | archive-date=29 April 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | last =Macintyre
 | first =Donald
 | title =Japan's Sullied Bid
 | newspaper =Time Magazine
 | date =1 February 1999
| url =http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053970,00.html
 | access-date =20 August 2016 }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|+ 1998 Winter Olympics bidding results<ref name=votes>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesbids.com/english/archives/past.shtml |title=Past Olympic host city election results |publisher=[[GamesBids]] |access-date=17 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124022022/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/past.html |archive-date=24 January 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2 | City
! rowspan=2 | Country
! colspan=5 style="background:silver;"| Round
|-
! style="background:silver;"| 1
! style="background:silver;"| Run-Off
! style="background:silver;"| 2
! style="background:silver;"| 3
! style="background:silver;"| 4
|-
|[[Nagano, Nagano|Nagano]] || {{flag|Japan|1870}} || style="text-align:center;"|'''21''' || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|'''30''' || style="text-align:center;"|'''36''' || style="text-align:center;"|'''46'''
|-
|[[Salt Lake City]] || {{flag|United States}} || style="text-align:center;"|15 || style="text-align:center;"|'''59''' || style="text-align:center;"|27 || style="text-align:center;"|29 || style="text-align:center;"|42
|-
|[[Östersund]] || {{flag|Sweden}} || style="text-align:center;"|18 || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|25 || style="text-align:center;"|23 || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
|[[Jaca]] || {{flag|Spain}} || style="text-align:center;"|19 || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|5 || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
|[[Aosta]] || {{flag|Italy}} || style="text-align:center;"|15 || style="text-align:center;"|29 || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|}

==Organization==
[[File:Furuhashi Hironoshin.JPG|thumb|[[Furuhashi Hironoshin]], past president of the [[Japanese Olympic Committee|JOC]]]]
Five months after the city was selected, the [[Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee]] (NAOC) was created. [[Eishiro Saito]], Chairman of [[Japan Business Federation]] (Keidanren) was selected as president of the committee. There were four Vice Presidents: [[Goro Yoshimura]], the Governor of Nagano Prefecture; [[Hironoshin Furuhashi]], president of the [[Japanese Olympic Committee]]; [[Yoshiaki Tsutsumi]], the president of the Ski Association of Japan; and [[Tasuku Tsukada]], the Mayor of Nagano City.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=43}}</ref> In addition, the Vice Minister of the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Home Affairs]], Tadashi Tsuda, served as director-general.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=43}}</ref> Tsuda was replaced by [[Makoto Kobayashi (Olympics)|Makoto Kobayashi]] in 1993.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=43}}</ref>

The organizing committee recognized three goals for the games, which they referred to as "Games from the Heart": promote youth participation, coexistence with nature, create a festival with peace and friendship at its centre.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=11}}</ref> To realize the first goal, a camp bringing together 217 young people from 51 countries was created, along with the program of "One school, one country" in Nagano Prefecture.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=11}}</ref> This program organized cultural exchanges with other countries. In addition, more than 100,000 tickets were reserved for children.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=11}}</ref> For the second point, the organizers attempted to minimize the impact on their nature and the local ecosystem.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=11}}</ref> Regarding the third point, an international truce organized by the [[United Nations]] in 1997 was adopted during the games.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=12}}</ref>
{{Blockquote
 |style = letterhead
 |title =
 |text = ''The Nagano Olympics Games are a link to the 21st century, inspiring our search for wisdom for the new ear, respect for the beauty and bounty of nature, furtherance of peace and goodwill. Friends worldwide are welcome to share, in the spirit of competition and fair play, the joys and glory of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games.''<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=30}}</ref>
 |source =
}}

In June 1998, four months after the Games, the NAOC presented a donation of US$1 million to the [[Olympic Museum]] in [[Lausanne]]. This value come of the revenue of tickets sales and another actions from the committee.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=61}}</ref> In October of the same year, NAOC also donated the 3-D high vision theater and some structures that were used in Nagano Olympic Villages to the Olympic Museum.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=61}}</ref>

In February 1999, one year after the Games, the IOC awarded the Nagano the [[Olympic Cup]], and presented the city a replica of the sculpture of stylized athletes raising the [[Olympic Flag]] by the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] artist Nag Arnoldi.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=341}}</ref>

===Economic aspects===
[[File:M-Wave northeast corner winter.jpg|thumb|[[M-Wave]]]]
The costs of construction and of the land of the Olympic venues totaled ¥106.6 billion,<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> approximately 914 million [[United States dollar|US dollars]]. Of this, the [[Government of Japan|Japanese national government]] spent ¥51.1 billion, the [[Nagano Prefecture|Nagano prefectural government]] spent ¥29.6 billion, and the cities and towns of Nagano, ¥23.4 billion; [[Hakuba]], ¥1 billion; and [[Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort|Nozawa Onsen]], ¥1.1 billion; shared the remaining ¥25.5 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> The most expensive venue was impressive [[M-Wave]], the indoor rink which hosted the long-track speed skating events. It cost near ¥34.8 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> The two ice hockey venues, [[Big Hat]] and [[Aqua Wing Arena]] cost ¥19.1 and ¥9.1 billion respectively.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> The [[White Ring (arena)]], which hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating cost ¥14.2 billion, the [[Spiral (bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton)|Spiral]], which hosted bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton, cost ¥10.1 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> Another ¥8.6 billion was spent on the [[Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium]], ¥7 billion for [[Snow Harp]] – the cross-country skiing venue, and ¥3 billion for the biathlon venue at [[Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref>

The organizing committee financed all costs, totaling ¥113.9 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref> It spent ¥99.4 billion for operational expenses, ¥21.6 billion for public relations, ¥20.7 billion for installations, ¥18.4 billion for telecommunications, ¥15.9 billion for running the competitions, and ¥14.4 billion for administration.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref> Television rights were worth ¥35.4 billion, and marketing earned ¥31.3 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref> Ticket sales were worth ¥10.5 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref> The total cost of the Nagano Games is estimated to have been US$15.25 billion (in 2015), of which the largest factor in the cost of the games was the extension of the [[shinkansen]] to Nagano. This compares, for example, with US$2.5 billion for the [[2002 Winter Olympics]], US$4.35 billion for the [[2006 Winter Olympics]], US$7.56 billion for the [[2010 Winter Olympics]], and US$51 billion for the [[2014 Winter Olympics]]<ref>{{Cite web|author=Baade, R.|author2=Matheson, V.|name-list-style=amp|url=http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/hcx/HC1605-Matheson-Baade_Olympics.pdf|title=Going for the gold: The economics of the Olympics|language=en|access-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216095023/http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/hcx/HC1605-Matheson-Baade_Olympics.pdf|archive-date=16 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Transportation===
[[File:E2 J6 Asama Karuizawa 19980218.jpg|thumb|A [[Nagano Shinkansen]] [[E2 Series Shinkansen|E2 Series]] "J" set in February 1998]]
[[File:Ueda-Roman Bridge 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Jōshin-etsu Expressway]] in [[Ueda, Nagano]].]]
[[File:浅川ループライン.JPG|thumb|Asagawa Loop Line to [[Iizuna Kogen Ski Area]] built in preparations for the Games]]
[[Nagano (city)|Nagano]] is situated at the [[Japanese Alps]] area and receives large snowfalls every year. These combined to make transportation an important challenge for the organizing committee. In addition, the Olympic Village was a distance of 7 kilometers from the center of the city, and sporting events were spread over five surrounding cities. The complicating matters were that many of the venues had one single road in-out, which limited possibilities and led to traffic jams.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=234}}</ref>

To improve access to Nagano, the government decided to link the prefecture with the high-speed ''[[shinkansen]]'' train network. Called Nagano Shinkansen (now the [[Hokuriku Shinkansen]]), it was inaugurated five months before the start of the Games. This reduced by half the travel time between [[Tokyo]] and Nagano, to 79 minutes for 221 kilometers.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=240}}</ref> The length of the track between [[Takasaki Station]] and [[Nagano Station]] is 125.7&nbsp;km, which includes 63.4&nbsp;km of tunnels. The high speed train network carried 655,000 passengers during the Games.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=309}}</ref>

Two highways, the [[Nagano Expressway]] and the [[Jōshin-etsu Expressway]], were also built in the Nagano region.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=301}}</ref> In May 1993, the 75.8-kilometer section of the Nagano Expressway was completed, and in October 1997, the 111.4 kilometer section of the Jōshin-etsu Expressway was completed.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=309}}</ref> In addition, another 114.9 kilometers of roads within [[Nagano Prefecture]] were improved.<ref name=transportation/>

Transportation systems for the Games ran for 33 days, from the opening of the Athletes Village until 3 days after the Paralympics closing ceremony, when the Village was  decommissioned from its functions. Approximately 64% of the athletes arrived between 1 and 6 February, and 74% left Nagano between 22 and 25 February.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=237}}</ref> Logistical operations were directed from the operational centre situated at the Organizing Committee headquarters. Two regional logistical minor hubs were created in [[Hakuba]] and [[Yamanouchi, Nagano|Yamanouchi]], as well as a traffic center for buses and cars in [[Karuizawa]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=235}}</ref> Originally it was expected that both athletes and media delegations would arrive entirely via [[Narita International Airport]], which did not happen given the high demand for plane tickets. So some delegations had to arrive via [[Kansai International Airport]] and [[Chubu Centrair International Airport]] in [[Nagoya]]<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=238}}</ref> The members of the IOC and the delegations who arrived in Narita traveled to Nagano via [[Shinkansen]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=236}}</ref>
To improve transportation for spectators, the number and hours of local trains were extended.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=236}}</ref> During the heaviest traffic days, more cars and buses were put in service and up to 68 parking areas, for 8,000 vehicles were at available for various Olympic delegations, and another 17 parking areas for 23,000 cars for spectators. Approximately 1,200 vehicles had navigation systems which transmitted their locations in a GPS system.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=248}}</ref>

As one of the principal aims of the Games was to respect nature, many vehicles were considered ecological or semi-ecological. In addition, there were more than 100 electric vehicles, hybrid mini-buses and other environmentally-friendly vehicles.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=247}}</ref>

===Marketing===
[[File:Stylized Nagao Olympics manhole cover with tactile paving.jpg|thumb|Stylized manhole cover displaying the Nagano Olympics emblem, with [[tactile paving]]]]
The [[emblem]] of the 1998 Winter Olympics consisted of a stylized snow flower with each petal representing an athlete participating in a winter sport. The figure could also represent a [[snowflake]], or a mountain flower, which refers to the importance of the natural environment to the city of Nagano. Similarly, [[Tokyo]] used [[cherry blossoms]] in its logo for its candidature for the [[2020 Summer Olympics]].

[[Landor Associates]] conceived the official mascots that were used by the communication team for the Games. They consisted of four owlets, [[Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki]], also called ''Snowlets''. The names were chosen from more than 47,000 suggestions. Four represents the number of years between each Olympic Games, and also represent the [[four elements]], fire, air, earth, and water.

The official poster for the Games was designed by the [[graphic designer]] Masuteru Aoba presented a [[thrush (bird)|thrush]] perched on ski poles with light in the background shining on snow-capped mountain peaks. Here, as with the emblem and the mascots, the importance of the natural environment in these Olympic Games and a desire to create harmony between athletes and the natural surroundings are shown. In addition to the official poster, a separate poster was created for the opening ceremony.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|pp=110–111}}</ref> Marketing for the games cost the organizing committee 5.9 billion yen.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref>

These Olympic Games were sponsored by 11 worldwide partners, 8 gold partners, and 18 official supports and suppliers. Marketing revenues for sponsoring or for the rights to use the emblems and mascots of the Games totaled 31.3 billion yen.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|pp=68–77}}</ref>

====Mascots====
{{Main|Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki}}
Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki, also known as the Snowlets, are the 1998 Winter Olympic mascots and are four snowy owls. They represent respectively fire (Sukki), air (Nokki), earth (Lekki) and water (Tsukki) and together they represent the four major islands of Japan.

====Sponsors of the 1998 Winter Olympics====
The development of Rights Packages were based on International Olympic Committee policy of offering exclusive rights to a limited number of companies, with one company allowed to purchase the rights for any single product or service category, and these were based on previous Games, with adaptations for the local market.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=72}}</ref> Sponsors were permitted to use the emblem and mascots as long as consent was obtained from the International Olympic Committee, [[Japanese Olympic Committee]], and the NAOC.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=72}}</ref> Hospitality packages for sponsors included priority for accommodations, tickets, and transportation services.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=73}}</ref> The Sponsor Hospitality Village, next to the [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]], welcomed 32,000 guests.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=73}}</ref>

To promote awareness of the sponsors, advertising was done in various media from 1995, and on banners and buses immediately before the games.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=73}}</ref> [[Dick Pound]] noted, during the Games, the excellence of the marketing program, citing the "''perfect example of how the private and public sectors can work together''".<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=73}}</ref>

The Games had 11 Worldwide Olympic Partners, eight Gold Sponsors and 18 Official Supporters and Suppliers.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=75}}</ref>

'''Worldwide Olympic Partners:'''
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[The Coca-Cola Company]]
* [[IBM]]
* [[John Hancock Financial]]
* [[Kodak]]
* [[McDonald's]]
* [[Panasonic]]
* [[Samsung Electronics]]
* [[Time Inc.]]
* [[United Parcel Service]]
* [[Visa Inc.]]
* [[Xerox]] ([[Fuji Xerox]])
{{div col end}}

'''Gold Sponsors:'''
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Amway]]
* Hachijuni Bank
* [[KDDI]]
* [[Kirin Company]]
* [[Mizuno Corporation]]
* [[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone]]
* [[Seiko]]
* [[Toyota]]
{{div col end}}

'''Official Supporters and Suppliers:'''
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Bridgestone]]
* [[Brother Industries]]
* [[:ja:コロナ (暖房器具)|Corona Corp.]]
* Hanamaruki Foods
* [[Hitachi Zosen Corporation]]
* [[Idemitsu Kosan]]
* [[Japan Agricultural Cooperatives]]
* [[Japan Airlines]]
* KOKUYO
* MAYEKAWA
* Marudai Foods
* [[Oji Paper Company]]
* Pia Corporation
* Sankosya Corporation
* [[Snow Brand Milk Products]]
* [[Tokio Marine]]
* [[Tokyo Gas]]
* [[Yamazaki Baking]]
{{div col end}}

===Ticket sales===
From 7 February 1997, the organizing committee put up for sale 1,286,000 tickets for the various competitions and ceremonies. The number of tickets sold was 1,149,615, which represented 89.4% of available tickets. Including people connected to the Games, the total number of spectators was 1,275,529. This number was slightly higher than in 1994 as a result of the greater availability of tickets. This reflected the total capacity of the arenas used, which were mostly larger than those used four years earlier but slightly lower than the [[1988 Winter Olympics]] in [[Calgary]]. Tickets sales were a success in the domestic market, as the Japanese people finished the process of purchase with a reservation list of 6 million. For the most popular events, a lottery system was used.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|pp=81–82}}</ref> In total, ticket sales raised 10.5 billion yen for the organizing committee.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=59}}</ref>

The [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|ice hockey]] matches represented 295,802 tickets sold, 26% of the total. Tickets sold for [[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|alpine skiing]] totaled 166,092; for [[Ski jumping at the 1998 Winter Olympics|ski jumping]], 96,000, and [[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|speed skating]], 93,000. For multiple sports, ski jumping, [[Nordic combined at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Nordic combined]], [[Freestyle skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|freestyle skiing]], all three skating disciplines, [[Bobsleigh at the 1998 Winter Olympics|bobsleigh]], and [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|curling]], as well as the ceremonies, all tickets were sold. By contrast, due the local demands and low interest only 56.6% of the 146,000 available tickets for [[Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|cross-country skiing]] were sold.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|pp=81–82}}</ref>

===Cost and cost overrun===
''The Oxford Olympics Study'' established the outturn cost of the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics at US$2.2 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 56% in real terms.<ref>{{Cite book|ssrn=2804554|title=The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games|last1=Flyvbjerg|first1=Bent|last2=Stewart|first2=Allison|last3=Budzier|first3=Alexander|publisher=Saïd Business School Working Papers (Oxford: University of Oxford)|year=2016|location=Oxford|pages=9–13}}</ref> This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) ''operational costs'' incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) ''direct capital costs'' incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are ''not'' included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Nagano 1998 compares with costs of US$2.5 billion and a cost overrun of 13% for Vancouver 2010, and costs of US$51<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/oct/09/sochi-2014-olympics-money-corruption |title=Sochi 2014: the costliest Olympics yet but where has all the money gone? |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=12 February 2014}}</ref> billion and a cost overrun of 289% for Sochi 2014, the latter being the most costly Olympics to date. Average cost for Winter Games since 1960 is US$3.1 billion, average cost overrun is 142%.

==Venues==
{{Location map+|Japan Nagano city|width=300|AlternativeMap=|alt=Map of the Nagano City Olympic Sites|float=right|caption=<span style="font-size:95%;">[[File:Olympic Rings.svg|60px|link=]] Map of the 1998 Nagano Olympic venues within Nagano City </span> |places=
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=[[Nagano Olympic Stadium]] |label_size=86 |position=bottom |lat= 36.57972 |long= 138.1655 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=12}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=[[Aqua Wing Arena|Aqua Wing]] |label_size=86 |position=right |lat= 36.660556 |long= 138.233056 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=6}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=[[Big Hat]] |label_size=86 |position= left |lat= 36.629722 |long= 138.195833 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=6}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=[[M-Wave]] |label_size=86 |position= right |lat= 36.640556 |long= 138.240319 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=6}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=[[White Ring (arena)|White Ring]] |label_size=86 |position= right |lat= 36.604722 |long= 138.206389 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=6}}
  {{Location map~ |Japan Nagano city |label=Olympic Village |label_size=86 |position=left |lat= 36.593763 |long= 138.147775 |mark=Steel pog.svg |marksize=6}}
}}
{{Main|Venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:M-Wave interior.jpg|thumb|M-Wave interior]]
[[File:Hakuba Happo-one Winter Resort.JPG|thumb|Hakuba Happo'one Resort]]
[[File:Nozawa Onsen 01.jpg|thumb|Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort]]
[[File:Yakebitai.JPG|thumb|Mount Yakebitai]]

===Sport sites===
During the 1998 Winter Olympics, a total of fourteen sports venues, all within [[Nagano Prefecture]], were used. Construction of these venues lasted 7 years between 1990 and 1997, with construction and land costs totaling ¥106.6 billion.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=184}}</ref> The most expensive venue constructed for the games was the [[M-Wave]] who hosted the speed skating events.This venue is in a distance from 5 kilometers from [[Nagano Station]]. Between March 1996 and November 1997, these sites were tested with 16 different World Championship events, World Cups, and another international competitions to allow the organizers to prepare for the running of the Games.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=162}}</ref>

Five new venues were used, localized all inside [[Nagano (city)|city of Nagano urban area]]. The project to build the Olympic Stadium and the 4 indoor arenas was planned even before the plans for the Olympic bid. However, these plans were accelerated soon after the submission of the proposal to the Japanese Olympic Committee, as the city had no infrastructure available for any type of event available. The [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]] is the main sporting venue of the south of city, is on nearby [[Shinonoi Station]], and approximately 9 kilometers from [[Nagano Station]]. Outside from their structure, the stadium, who resembles a [[cherry blossom]], one of main symbols of Japan.During the Games, the arena was exclusively used for the opening and closing ceremonies and, when added to the temporary infrastructure, its capacity reached 50.000.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=128}}</ref>

The [[Big Hat]] Arena was the [[ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|ice hockey]] main venue.is approximately located 2&nbsp;km from Nagano Station and have a capacity of 10,104 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=219}}</ref> Another arena, the 
[[Aqua Wing Arena]], the second ice hockey venue. Shaped like a wing, it had a capacity of 6000 during the Olympics. After the Games, it was modified into an public indoor swimming with a 25m pool.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=224}}</ref> Aqua Wing is approximately 5 kilometers from Nagano Station. Its closest stations are [[Kita-Nagano Station]] and [[Asahi Station (Nagano)|Asahi Station]]. M-Wave, the [[speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|speed skating]] venue, is the first indoor track speed skating venue in Japan. It was built to accommodate 10,000 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=213}}</ref> The venue, which gets its name from its M-shape, representing the surrounding mountains and harmonize with the skyline, is approximately 5 kilometers from Nagano Station. Finally, [[White Ring (arena)|White Ring]], with a maximum capacity of 7.351 spectators, was built for [[figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|figure skating]] and [[short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|short track speed skating]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=217}}</ref> White Ring, which is used as a public gymnasium, is approximately 6 kilometers from Nagano Station.

[[Hakuba, Nagano|Hakuba]] village is situated 50 kilometers west of the city of Nagano. Hakuba hosted three Olympics venues [[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Alpine skiing's]] downhill, super-G and combined were situated at [[Happo'one Resort]]. Three courses between altitudes of 840 meters and 1,765 meters were used, one for the men's, women's and combined for both men's and women's. The site had a capacity of 20,000 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=187}}</ref> [[Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium]] was the first ski jump built in Japan with parallel 90 and 120 K-point hills. The ski jumping stadium could accommodate 45,000 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=204}}</ref> [[Snow Harp]] Kamishiro was built for [[cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|cross country skiing and Nordic combined]]. It includes three tracks of 4.8, 4.8, and 7.8 kilometers.The stadium area is near 1.2 km2. In total, Snow Harp has 19 kilometers of tracks. Up to 20,000 spectators could be accommodated.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=201}}</ref>

[[Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort]], in the town of [[Nozawaonsen, Nagano|Nozawaonsen]], was site of [[biathlon at the 1998 Winter Olympics|biathlon]]. Nozawa is approximately 50 kilometers north of Nagano. At Nozawa Onsen, the stadium was built around six existing tracks. Two tracks, of 4 kilometers and 7 kilometers, were used for the Games. The stadium could accommodate 20,000 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=232}}</ref>

Two sites in the town of [[Yamanouchi, Nagano|Yamanouchi]], approximately 30 kilometers northeast of Nagano, were used. Giant slalom was held at [[Mount Yakebitai]] at [[Shiga Highlands|Shiga Kogen Resort]], at an altitude between 1,530 and 1,969 meters. The site could accommodate 20,000 spectators. Also in Shiga Kogen, at [[Mount Higashidate]], giant slalom events in Alpine skiing and snowboarding were held.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=192}}</ref> [[Kanbayashi Snowboard Park]] was the site of the [[snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|half pipe event in snowboarding]] . The track is 120 meters long and 15 meters wide, with walls of 3.5 meters. 10,000 spectators could be accommodated at Kanbayashi.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=201}}</ref>

The town of [[Iizuna, Nagano|Iizuna]], approximately 12 kilometers northwest of Nagano, was the site of [[Freestyle skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|freestyle skiing]] and [[Spiral (bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton)|bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton]] at [[Iizuna Kogen Ski Area]]. 8,000 spectators could watch the free style skiing on a course that 250 meters long and 12,000 could the jumps.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=207}}</ref> The Spiral, which held the sledding events, was the first artificially refrigerated track in Asia. It is 1700 meters long, with a difference in height of 114 meters and 15 turns. At the Spiral, approximately 40,000 [[sapling]]s, mainly [[beech]] and [[oak]], were planted two per square meter, as part of the environmental stewardship committed during the Winter Games. The site could accommodate 10,000 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=228}}</ref>

Finally, the town of [[Karuizawa]], approximately 80 kilometers in southwest of Nagano, hosted the [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|curling]] events at [[Kazakoshi Park Arena]]. The venue was built as a multi-purpose venue. Its ice surface is 60 meters by 30. Its maximum capacity is 1,924 spectators.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=234}}</ref> The same venue also hosted the [[Equestrian at the 1964 Summer Olympics|equestrian events]] at the [[1964 Summer Olympics]], thus becoming the first venue to host both the [[Summer Olympics]] and [[Winter Olympics]].

===Accommodation===
[[File:Asahi Danchi with M-Wave.jpg|thumb|Media Village at Asahi, with the [[M-Wave]] in the background]]
To accommodate the athletes and officials during the Games, the main [[Olympic Village]] was constructed in Imai district, this complex approximately 7 kilometers south of Nagano Station. Along with the construction of the village, [[Imai Station]] was opened in 1997. The responsibility for the construction of these buildings lay with the Nagano City, as a future public and low coast residential housing and was loaned to the organizing committee during the Games.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=240}}</ref> The main Village occupies an area that is 19 hectares, composed of 23 buildings with a total of 1,032 apartments.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=240}}</ref> Temporary infrastrure were also available during the Games. The Village was open for the Olympics from 24 January to 25 February 1998 and 1 to 19 March for the Paralympics, and accommodated nearby 4,000 people during the two events.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=238}}</ref> Several prominent people were recognized as faces of the Olympic Village, including the ''Honorary Mayor'' [[Yasuko Konoe]], ''Mayor'' [[Shozo Sasahara]], and ''Deputy Mayors'' [[Takanori Kono]], [[Hiroko Chiba]], and [[Shunichi Bobby Hirai]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=243}}</ref>

As the curling venue was in Karuizawa, 90 kilometers away, a satellite village was built in Karuizawa, 7 kilometers from the arena.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=250}}</ref> It was open from 4 to 16 February 1998. In addition, a section of the Shiga Kogen [[Prince Hotels|Resort]], 58 kilometers from the Olympic Village, was reserved for 180 snowboarders and officials.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=251}}</ref>

In addition to athletes and officials, members of the Olympic and Paralympic family and other personnel were housed in 900 hotels and another structures in Nagano and surrounding regions, which represented 234,207 nights between 24 January to 25 February 1998. The Olympic and Paralympic families stayed in the Kokusai 21 Hotel in downtown Nagano. In total, the Olympic and Paralympic families included 18,350 people. Finally, two media villages were built in the districts of [[Yanagimachi]], near Nagano Station, and Asahi, across the street from the M-Wave.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=258}}</ref>

==The Games==
===The Olympic torch relay===
{{Main|1998 Winter Olympics torch relay}}
[[File:Nagano torch.JPG|thumb|upright|The Nagano Olympic torch, displayed at the Olympic Museum in Nagano]]
The [[Olympic torch]] was lit by sunlight during the ceremony held [[Temple of Hera (Olympia)|Temple of Hera]] at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], [[Greece]] on 19 December 1997. [[Vassilis Dimitriadis]], a Greek alpine skier started the Greek leg towards [[Athens]] where the handover ceremony was held at the [[Panathenaic Stadium]].The flame burned from 27 to 30 December in the [[Ginza]] yard, and from 31 December to 4 January in the [[Yoyogi Park]].On the morning on that day the flame was split into three and taken by plane to three destinations: the [[Kantō]] route, starting from [[Hokkaido]]; the [[Pacific Ocean]] route, starting from [[Kagoshima]]; and the [[Sea of Japan]] route starting in [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].On 23 January evening, the three flames arrived on [[Nagano Prefecture]] after 120 stops. Finally, these three routes were unified in the city of Nagano in on the night of 6 February. The following day, after traveling through each district of the city, the relays simultaneously arrived at the central square where three former athletes passed the flames to three members of the organizing committee who lit a celebration cauldron gathering the flame into one. After that, the unified flame was used to light another torch held by [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]]. In the early hours of the 7 February morning, the final leg started and the flame travelled another 10 kilometers to the Olympic Stadium and the [[figure skater]] [[Midori Ito]] lit the cauldron at [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]] during the opening ceremonies.

The Olympic Flame Relay in Japan was sponsored by [[Coca-Cola]], lasted 33 days and travelled 1,162 kilometers. A group of 5.5 million people took part in relay activities. Over the distance of the relay, the flame was always followed by a group of six people: the torchbearer who carried the flame, some who accompanied the carrier, and four people in supporting roles, for a total of 6,901 people. In addition, each leg was followed by two groups of 11 vehicles and more than 20 people.

The torch was shaped like a traditional Japanese ''taimatsu'' torch. It was made of aluminum, was 55 centimeters long, and weighed 1.3 kilograms when it was assembled. The exterior of the torch was coloured silver, to represent winter. Runners wore blue and white uniforms mixing blue as the main colour of the look of the games and the white as snow. The runners' uniforms included logos for the Nagano Olympics and the Olympic Games, a logo of the relay, and of Coca-Cola.

===Participating National Olympic Committees===
72 nations participated in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games for a total of 2,176 athletes, of which 787 were female and 1,389 were male. With the addition of five countries and another 439 athletes since the [[1994 Winter Olympic Games]] at [[Lillehammer]], [[Norway]], these were the largest Winter Olympics ever at the time. The nations of [[Azerbaijan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Azerbaijan]], [[Kenya at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Kenya]], [[Macedonia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Macedonia]], [[Uruguay at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Uruguay]], and [[Venezuela at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Venezuela]] participated in their first Winter Olympic Games. [[Iran]] returned to the Winter games after a 22-year absence, and [[North Korea at the 1998 Winter Olympics|North Korea]], [[India at the 1998 Winter Olympics|India]] and [[Ireland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Ireland]] returned after 6 years. [[Yugoslavia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Yugoslavia]] appeared again as the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. Five countries, [[Fiji]], [[Mexico]], [[San Marino]], [[American Samoa]], and [[Senegal]], which were at the 1994 Games, did not participate in 1998.

The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|United States]] had the largest athlete delegation with 186, followed by host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]] with 156, [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] with 144, and [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] with 125. Despite the large number of participating delegations, 40 of the 72 delegations had less than 10 athletes, with 12 nations having one sole athlete. 15 nations had between 11 and 50 athletes, 11 nations had between 51 and 100 athletes, and six nations had more than 101 athletes. Nations that participated in the ice hockey tournaments generally had the largest athlete delegations. With the exception of [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norway]] and [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Switzerland]], all 12 national delegations with 60 or more athletes participated in either or both of the female or male ice hockey tournaments.

[[File:1998 Winter Olympic games countries.svg|thumb|center|upright=2.75|{{legend|#1e90ff|Participating for the first time.}}
{{legend|#00ff7f|Having previously participated.}}
{{legend|#ababab|Not participating.}}
Yellow circle is host city (Nagano)]]
[[File:1998 Winter Olympics team numbers.svg|thumb|center|upright=2.75|Countries by team size]]
<small>The number in parentheses represents the number of athletes participating in official events.<ref name="1998 Nagano Winter Games sr">{{cite web|title=1998 Nagano Winter Games|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1998/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417040452/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1998/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=sports-reference.com|language=en|access-date=27 September 2013}}</ref></small>

{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="width:100%;"
|-
! Participating [[:Category:Nations at the 1998 Winter Olympics|National Olympic Committees]]
|-
|
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagIOC|AND|1998 Winter|3}}
* {{flagIOC|ARG|1998 Winter|2}}
* {{flagIOC|ARM|1998 Winter|7}}
* {{flagIOC|AUS|1998 Winter|23}}
* {{flagIOC|AUT|1998 Winter|96}}
* {{flagIOC|AZE|1998 Winter|4}}
* {{flagIOC|BLR|1998 Winter|59}}
* {{flagIOC|BEL|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|BER|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|BIH|1998 Winter|8}}
* {{flagIOC|BRA|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|BUL|1998 Winter|19}}
* {{flagIOC|CAN|1998 Winter|144}}
* {{flagIOC|CHI|1998 Winter|3}}
* {{flagIOC|CHN|1998 Winter|55}}
* {{flagIOC|CRO|1998 Winter|6}}
* {{flagIOC|CYP|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|CZE|1998 Winter|60}}
* {{flagIOC|DEN|1998 Winter|12}}
* {{flagIOC|EST|1998 Winter|20}}
* {{flagIOC|FIN|1998 Winter|85}}
* {{flagIOC|FRA|1998 Winter|106}}
* {{flagIOC|GEO|1998 Winter|4}}
* {{flagIOC|GER|1998 Winter|125}}
* {{flagIOC|GBR|1998 Winter|34}}
* {{flagIOC|GRE|1998 Winter|13}}
* {{flagIOC|HUN|1998 Winter|17}}
* {{flagIOC|ISL|1998 Winter|7}}
* {{flagIOC|IND|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|IRI|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|IRL|1998 Winter|6}}
* {{flagIOC|ISR|1998 Winter|3}}
* {{flagIOC|ITA|1998 Winter|112}}
* {{flagIOC|JAM|1998 Winter|6}}
* {{flagIOC|JPN|1998 Winter|156}} '''(host)'''
* {{flagIOC|KAZ|1998 Winter|60}}
* {{flagIOC|KEN|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|PRK|1998 Winter|8}}
* {{flagIOC|KOR|1998 Winter|37}}
* {{flagIOC|KGZ|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|LAT|1998 Winter|29}}
* {{flagIOC|LIE|1998 Winter|8}}
* {{flagIOC|LTU|1998 Winter|7}}
* {{flagIOC|LUX|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|MKD|1998 Winter|3}}
* {{flagIOC|MDA|1998 Winter|2}}
* {{flagIOC|MON|1998 Winter|4}}
* {{flagIOC|MGL|1998 Winter|3}}
* {{flagIOC|NED|1998 Winter|22}}
* {{flagIOC|NZL|1998 Winter|8}}
* {{flagIOC|NOR|1998 Winter|76}}
* {{flagIOC|POL|1998 Winter|39}}
* {{flagIOC|POR|1998 Winter|2}}
* {{flagIOC|PUR|1998 Winter|6}}
* {{flagIOC|ROU|1998 Winter|16}}
* {{flagIOC|RUS|1998 Winter|122}}
* {{flagIOC|SVK|1998 Winter|37}}
* {{flagIOC|SLO|1998 Winter|34}}
* {{flagIOC|RSA|1998 Winter|2}}
* {{flagIOC|ESP|1998 Winter|12}}
* {{flagIOC|SWE|1998 Winter|99}}
* {{flagIOC|SUI|1998 Winter|69}}
* {{flagIOC|TPE|1998 Winter|7}}
* {{flagIOC|TRI|1998 Winter|2}}
* {{flagIOC|TUR|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|UKR|1998 Winter|56}}
* {{flagIOC|USA|1998 Winter|186}}
* {{flagIOC|URU|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|UZB|1998 Winter|4}}
* {{flagIOC|VEN|1998 Winter|1}}
* {{flagIOC|ISV|1998 Winter|7}}
* {{flagIOC|YUG|1998 Winter|2}}
{{div col end}}
|}

=== Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee ===
2,176 [[athlete]]s from 72 [[National Olympic Committee|NOCs]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! [[List of IOC country codes|IOC Letter Code]]
! Country
! Athletes
|-
| AND || {{flagIOC|AND|1998 Winter}} || 3
|-
| ARG || {{flagIOC|ARG|1998 Winter}} || 2
|-
| ARM || {{flagIOC|ARM|1998 Winter}} || 7
|-
| AUS || {{flagIOC|AUS|1998 Winter}} || 23
|-
| AUT || {{flagIOC|AUT|1998 Winter}} || 96
|-
| AZE || {{flagIOC|AZE|1998 Winter}} || 4
|-
| BLR || {{flagIOC|BLR|1998 Winter}} || 59
|-
| BEL || {{flagIOC|BEL|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| BER || {{flagIOC|BER|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| BIH || {{flagIOC|BIH|1998 Winter}} || 8
|-
| BRA || {{flagIOC|BRA|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| BUL || {{flagIOC|BUL|1998 Winter}} || 19
|-
| CAN || {{flagIOC|CAN|1998 Winter}} || 144
|-
| CHI || {{flagIOC|CHI|1998 Winter}} || 3
|-
| CHN || {{flagIOC|CHN|1998 Winter}} || 55
|-
| CRO || {{flagIOC|CRO|1998 Winter}} || 6
|-
| CYP || {{flagIOC|CYP|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| CZE || {{flagIOC|CZE|1998 Winter}} || 60
|-
| DEN || {{flagIOC|DEN|1998 Winter}} || 12
|-
| EST || {{flagIOC|EST|1998 Winter}} || 20
|-
| FIN || {{flagIOC|FIN|1998 Winter}} || 85
|-
| FRA || {{flagIOC|FRA|1998 Winter}} || 106
|-
| GEO || {{flagIOC|GEO|1998 Winter}} || 4
|-
| GER || {{flagIOC|GER|1998 Winter}} || 125
|-
| GBR || {{flagIOC|GBR|1998 Winter}} || 34
|-
| GRE || {{flagIOC|GRE|1998 Winter}} || 13
|-
| HUN || {{flagIOC|HUN|1998 Winter}} || 17
|-
| ISL || {{flagIOC|ISL|1998 Winter}} || 7
|-
| IND || {{flagIOC|IND|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| IRI || {{flagIOC|IRI|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| IRL || {{flagIOC|IRL|1998 Winter}} || 6
|-
| ISR || {{flagIOC|ISR|1998 Winter}} || 3
|-
| ITA || {{flagIOC|ITA|1998 Winter}} || 112
|-
| JAM || {{flagIOC|JAM|1998 Winter}} || 6
|-
| JPN || {{flagIOC|JPN|1998 Winter}} || 156
|-
| KAZ || {{flagIOC|KAZ|1998 Winter}} || 60
|-
| KEN || {{flagIOC|KEN|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| PRK || {{flagIOC|PRK|1998 Winter}} || 8
|-
| KOR || {{flagIOC|KOR|1998 Winter}} || 37
|-
| KGZ || {{flagIOC|KGZ|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| LAT || {{flagIOC|LAT|1998 Winter}} || 29
|-
| LIE || {{flagIOC|LIE|1998 Winter}} || 8
|-
| LTU || {{flagIOC|LTU|1998 Winter}} || 7
|-
| LUX || {{flagIOC|LUX|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| MKD || {{flagIOC|MKD|1998 Winter}} || 3
|-
| MDA || {{flagIOC|MDA|1998 Winter}} || 2
|-
| MON || {{flagIOC|MON|1998 Winter}} || 4
|-
| MGL || {{flagIOC|MGL|1998 Winter}} || 3
|-
| NED || {{flagIOC|NED|1998 Winter}} || 22
|-
| NZL || {{flagIOC|NZL|1998 Winter}} || 8
|-
| NOR || {{flagIOC|NOR|1998 Winter}} || 76
|-
| POL || {{flagIOC|POL|1998 Winter}} || 39
|-
| POR || {{flagIOC|POR|1998 Winter}} || 2
|-
| PUR || {{flagIOC|PUR|1998 Winter}} || 6
|-
| ROU || {{flagIOC|ROU|1998 Winter}} || 16
|-
| RUS || {{flagIOC|RUS|1998 Winter}} || 122
|-
| SVK || {{flagIOC|SVK|1998 Winter}} || 37
|-
| SLO || {{flagIOC|SLO|1998 Winter}} || 34
|-
| RSA || {{flagIOC|RSA|1998 Winter}} || 2
|-
| ESP || {{flagIOC|ESP|1998 Winter}} || 12
|-
| SWE || {{flagIOC|SWE|1998 Winter}} || 99
|-
| SUI || {{flagIOC|SUI|1998 Winter}} || 69
|-
| TPE || {{flagIOC|TPE|1998 Winter}} || 7
|-
| TRI || {{flagIOC|TRI|1998 Winter}} || 2
|-
| TUR || {{flagIOC|TUR|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| UKR || {{flagIOC|UKR|1998 Winter}} || 56
|-
| USA || {{flagIOC|USA|1998 Winter}} || 186
|-
| URU || {{flagIOC|URU|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| UZB || {{flagIOC|UZB|1998 Winter}} || 4
|-
| VEN || {{flagIOC|VEN|1998 Winter}} || 1
|-
| ISV || {{flagIOC|ISV|1998 Winter}} || 7
|-
| YUG || {{flagIOC|YUG|1998 Winter}} || 2
|}

===Calendar===
[[File:Nagano 1998-Russia vs Czech Republic.jpg|thumb|The men's [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|ice hockey]] gold medal game: Russia vs Czech Republic.]]

The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in a period of 15 days, from 7–22 February. The number of events increased from 61 at the [[1994 Winter Olympics]] to 68 in 1998. Two sports, [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|curling]] and [[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|snowboarding]] were added to the program, as was [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|women's ice hockey]]. This increased the number of sports to seven, and the number of disciplines to 14. The sporting program started and ended with men's ice hockey.The first matches started at 4:00 pm on 7 February featuring [[Kazakhstan men's national ice hockey team|Kazakhstan]] defeating [[Italy men's national ice hockey team|Italy]] 5–3, and [[Slovakia men's national ice hockey team|Slovakia]] tying [[Austria men's national ice hockey team|Austria]] 2–2. The final match was played on Sunday 22 February from 1:45 pm, and the [[Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team|Czech Republic]] defeated [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russia]] 1–0.The first final was held at the morning of day 8 in the [[Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Cross-country skiing]] .Due to adverse weather conditions, the schedule for multiple events were delayed or changed, including six [[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|alpine skiing]] events, snowboarding, and [[Biathlon at the 1998 Winter Olympics|biathlon]].

:''All dates are in [[Japan Standard Time]] ([[UTC+9]])''
<section begin="Calendar"/>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:90%;position:relative;"
|-
|style="width:2.5em; background:#00cc33; text-align:center"|'''OC'''||Opening ceremony
|style="width:2.5em; background:#3399ff; text-align:center"|●||Event competitions
|style="width:2.5em; background:#ffcc00; text-align:center"|'''1'''||Event finals
|style="width:2.5em; background:#FF8888; text-align:center"|'''CC'''||Closing ceremony
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:90%; line-height:1.25em;"
|-
! colspan=2|February 1998
!style="width:2.5em"|7th<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|8th<br/>Sun
!style="width:2.5em"|9th<br/>Mon
!style="width:2.5em"|10th<br/>Tue
!style="width:2.5em"|11th<br/>Wed
!style="width:2.5em"|12th<br/>Thu
!style="width:2.5em"|13th<br/>Fri
!style="width:2.5em"|14th<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|15th<br/>Sun
!style="width:2.5em"|16th<br/>Mon
!style="width:2.5em"|17th<br/>Tue
!style="width:2.5em"|18th<br/>Wed
!style="width:2.5em"|19th<br/>Thu
!style="width:2.5em"|20th<br/>Fri
!style="width:2.5em"|21st<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|22nd<br/>Sun
!Events
|-
| colspan=2|[[File:Olympic Rings Icon.svg|20px|alt=|link=]] Ceremonies ||style="background-color:#00cc33;text-align:center;"|'''OC'''|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||style="background-color:#FF8888;text-align:center;"|'''CC'''||{{n/a}}
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Alpine skiing pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Alpine skiing]]
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
<!--  T -->| '''10'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Biathlon pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Biathlon at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Biathlon]]
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
<!--  T -->| '''6'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Bobsleigh pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Bobsleigh at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Bobsleigh]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
<!--  T -->| '''2'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | {{nowrap|[[File:Cross country skiing pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Cross country skiing]]}}
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
<!--  T -->| '''10'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Curling pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Curling]]
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''2'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Figure skating pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Figure skating]]
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''4'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Freestyle skiing pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Freestyle skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Freestyle skiing]]
|
|style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
|
|
|style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
|
|
|
|style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
|
|style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
|
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''4'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Ice hockey pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Ice hockey]]
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
<!--  T -->| '''2'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Luge pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Luge at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Luge]]
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''3'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Nordic combined pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Nordic combined at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Nordic combined]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''2'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Short track speed skating pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Short track]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''3'''
|
<!--  T -->| '''6'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Ski jumping pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Ski jumping at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Ski jumping]]
|
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''3'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Snowboarding pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Snowboarding]]
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''2'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''4'''
|- align="center"
| colspan=2 align="left" | [[File:Speed skating pictogram.svg|20px]] [[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Speed skating]]
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#3399ff;"|●
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
| style="background-color:#ffcc00;"|'''1'''
|
|
<!--  T -->| '''10'''
|-
!colspan=2| Daily medal events !! !! 3 !! 3 !! 5 !! 7 !! 4 !! 3 !! 4 !! 6 !! 5 !! 6 !! 4 !! 5 !! 5 !! 6 !! 2 !! rowspan=2|68
|-
!colspan=2|Cumulative total !! !! 3 !! 6 !! 11 !! 18 !! 22 !! 25 !! 29 !! 35 !! 40 !! 46 !! 50 !! 55 !! 60 !! 66 !! 68
|-
! colspan=2|February 1998
!style="width:2.5em"|7th<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|8th<br/>Sun
!style="width:2.5em"|9th<br/>Mon
!style="width:2.5em"|10th<br/>Tue
!style="width:2.5em"|11th<br/>Wed
!style="width:2.5em"|12th<br/>Thu
!style="width:2.5em"|13th<br/>Fri
!style="width:2.5em"|14th<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|15th<br/>Sun
!style="width:2.5em"|16th<br/>Mon
!style="width:2.5em"|17th<br/>Tue
!style="width:2.5em"|18th<br/>Wed
!style="width:2.5em"|19th<br/>Thu
!style="width:2.5em"|20th<br/>Fri
!style="width:2.5em"|21st<br/>Sat
!style="width:2.5em"|22nd<br/>Sun
!Total events
|}<section end="Calendar"/>

===Ceremonies===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0407-022, Midori Ito.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Midori Ito]] (seen here in 1989) lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony.]]

====Opening ceremony====
{{main|1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony}}
The opening ceremony took place at the [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]], Nagano, Japan, on the late morning of 7&nbsp;February 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/nagano-1998|title=Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights|date=8 November 2017|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en|access-date=9 April 2019}}</ref> Japanese figure skater, [[Midori Ito]], the first female skater to land seven triple jumps in a free skating competition and also the first Asian world champion in 1989, and the silver medalist at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]], lit the cauldron during the ceremony.

[[Seiji Ozawa]], a Japanese [[Conducting|conductor]], directed an orchestra from five continents ([[Beijing]], [[Berlin]], [[Cape Town]], [[New York City]], and [[Sydney]] - and the crowd in the Nagano Olympic Stadium),<ref>{{Citation|author=Super Catman|title=1998 Nagano Olympic Opening Ceremony|date=28 January 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TizmVo2NN7g| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TizmVo2NN7g| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live|access-date=14 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to perform the fourth movement of [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Symphony No. 9]] (Ode to Joy).<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Strom |first=Stephanie |date=February 7, 1998 |title=THE XVIII WINTER GAMES: OPENING CEREMONIES; The Latest Sport? After a Worldwide Effort, Synchronized Singing Gets In |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/07/sports/xviii-winter-games-opening-ceremonies-latest-sport-after-worldwide-effort.html |access-date=August 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=the first time that images and sounds from around the globe were united in a simultaneous live performance.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Washingtonpost.com: A Warm Welcome at the Winter Olympics |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/olympics1998/nagano/articles/oly7.htm |date=1998-02-07 |last1=Frey |first1=Jennifer |last2=Sullivan |first2=Kevin |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> This was the first time a simultaneous international audio-visual performance had been achieved and was also the last time that the Olympics Opening ceremonies were held on a morning timeslot in the host city.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Citation |first= |title=The Opening Ceremony media guide : the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998 / NAOC |date=February 1998 |url=https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/78632/the-opening-ceremony-media-guide-the-xviii-olympic-winter-games-nagano-1998-naoc |publisher=The Organizing Committee for the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998. Nagano |language=English |access-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref>

In all, 2,302 athletes from 72 National Olympic Committees participated in the Games,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/18Olympics.pdf|title=Japan and the Olympics: Asia's First Olympic Host|website=Web Japan|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613134220/https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/18Olympics.pdf|archive-date=13 June 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> including 814 female athletes and 1488 male athletes. Both the number of participating delegations and the number of athletes participating in the competition were, at the time, the most ever hosted at the Winter Olympics.

====Medal ceremonies====
The version used at the time of the Olympic Charter, approved on September 5, 1997.

The Olympic Charter in force at that time determined that  (skating, ice hockey, and curling) were had to be at the event venues immediately after the finalsThe version used at the time of the Olympic Charter, approved on September 5, 1997. Determined that only award ceremonies for indoor events and those scheduled for the last day of competitions could be held immediately after the end of the respective events, while those relating to outdoor events would be held in two parts, the first carried out with the delivery of bouquets or gifts and the second on the same night with the delivery of medals in a public square.In Nagano, this plaza was localizated at the Nagano City Central Square, approximately midway between the city's main train stations:[[Nagano Station]] and [[Zenkō-ji]] Temple.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref><ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|pp=138–139}}</ref> For the medal ceremonies, a total 167,200 tickets were sold. National and international artists presented every evening at the place before the medal presentations.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref>
[[File:1998 Winter Olympics medals.JPG|left|upright=0.8|thumb|The silver, gold and bronze medals of Nagano 1998]]
The gold, silver, and bronze medals each measured 80&nbsp;mm in diameter and 9.7&nbsp;mm in thickness.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> The gold medals weighed 256&nbsp;[[Gram|g]], the silver 250&nbsp;g, and the bronze 230&nbsp;g.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> The medals were made using a traditional Japanese lacquerware technique known as {{Nihongo|漆器|shikki||}}, in which a brass core is imprinted with the design by layering gold powder onto the wet lacquer using a method called [[maki-e]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> On the front of the medals are borders of olive leaves, and in the center, a ''maki-e'' morning sun rises over a [[cloisonné]] emblem of the Nagano Olympics.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> On the reverse side, the snowflower emblem of the Games sits above a ''maki-e'' image of the mountains surrounding Nagano glowing in the morning sunrise.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> The initial lacquering was handcrafted by artisans from the town [[Kiso, Nagano (town)|Kiso, Nagano]], and the metals components were added at the [[Japan Mint|Mint Bureau]] of the [[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Japanese Ministry of Finance]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref>

In addition to the medals awarded to the athletes in each event, more than 19,000 commemorative medals were given to all athletes, officials, International Olympic Committee members, media personnel, volunteers and others. These medals, made by the Mint Bureau in cooperation with NAOC, were made from an [[alloy]] of 90% [[copper]] and 10% [[zinc]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=140}}</ref> As the Olympic Charter also determines, [[diplomas]], written in [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[French language|French]], and [[English language|English]], were given to the top eight finishers in each event, and every participant also received a commemorative diploma.<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=141}}</ref>

====Closing ceremony====
{{main|1998 Winter Olympics closing ceremony}}
The closing ceremonies, like those of the opening, took place in the [[Nagano Olympic Stadium]], with 50,000 tickets sold.[[Akihito]], the [[Emperor of Japan]] at the time, and his wife [[Empress Michiko]] were also present. After the athletes entered, hundreds of drums were beat and a traditional hose and lion dance was presented. During the [[Antwerp Ceremony]], [[Tasuku Tsukada]], then mayor of [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]] presented the [[Olympic Flag]] to [[Deedee Corradini]], then mayor of [[Salt Lake City]], the host of the [[2002 Winter Olympics]].After the handover of the flag, the then IOC president  [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]] declared the games closed. This was followed by a performance from the Japanese singer [[Anri]] when the Olympic Cauldron was extinguished. The ceremony ended with the words "{{lang|ja|Sayonara, Arigato}}" ("Goodbye, Thank you"), a major [[fireworks]] performance accompanied by a party with the song: "Ile Aiye" performed by Japanese pop group Agharta.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/olympics1998/nagano/articles/nagano23.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: Nagano Bids Olympic Games Farewell|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>

===Medal table===
[[File:1998 Winter Olympic Games medals map.png|thumb|400px|Countries participating at the 1998 Winter Olympics {{Legend|#ffc500|Winners of at least one gold medal}} {{Legend|Silver|Winners of at least one silver medal}} {{Legend|#cc9966|Winners of at least one bronze medal}} {{Legend|#d40000| Countries without a medal}} {{Legend|#ececec|Non-participating countries}}]]
{{main|1998 Winter Olympics medal table}}

In all, 24 of the 72 participating National Olympic Committees at these Games won at least one medal, as shown in the table below. A total of 15 countries won at least one gold medal and 18 nations won two or more medals. In total, 205 medals were distributed. [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] finished on top of the table with 29 medals, including 12 gold, nine silver, and eight bronze. Germany, which finished in third place in the medal standings at the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], won most of its medals in Alpine skiing, speed skating, and luge, in which it won all three gold medals. German female athletes won 22 of the country's 29 medals. [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norway]] finished again in second, with 25 medals, including nine won in cross-country skiing and five in biathlon. [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russia]], which finished atop the gold medals in 1994, finished in third in 1998, with 9 gold medals, including the five gold at the stake on the women's cross-country skiing.Result of the addition of new sports and events, [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] moved from a discret seventh in 1994 to fourth in 1998 with 6 gold medals, and the [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|United States]] remained again in fifth place.The [[Netherlands at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Netherlands]], which had a discreet campaign in 1994, ended the 1998 Games with the best performance in its history, winning half of the 10 events contested in speed skating and totaling more than a third of the medals up for grabs. Host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|The host country, Japan]] had a historic campaign. The country, which until then had only won 3 gold medals in the history of the Winter Games, finished the Games with 5.The japanese team also won 1 silver and 4 bronze medals, in a total of 10. [[Australia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Australia]] became the second country from the [[Southern Hemisphere]] to win a medal, a bronze in alpine skiing. Also, [[Denmark at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Denmark]] each won your first ever medal, the silver at women's curling. In addition, [[Bulgaria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Bulgaria]] and the [[Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Czech Republic]] each won their first gold medals at a Winter Olympics in women's biathlon and men's ice hockey respectively. Finally, [[Kazakhstan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Kazakhstan]] won its first medal from a female athlete.

{{Medals table
 | caption        =
 | host           = JPN
 | show_limit     =
 | remaining_text =
 | flag_template  = flagIOC
 | event          = 1998 Winter
 | team           =
 | gold_GER = 12 | silver_GER = 9 | bronze_GER = 8
 | gold_NOR = 10 | silver_NOR = 10 | bronze_NOR = 5
 | gold_RUS = 9 | silver_RUS = 6 | bronze_RUS = 3
 | gold_CAN = 6 | silver_CAN = 5 | bronze_CAN = 4
 | gold_USA = 6 | silver_USA = 3 | bronze_USA = 4
 | gold_NED = 5 | silver_NED = 4 | bronze_NED = 2
 | gold_JPN = 5 | silver_JPN = 1 | bronze_JPN = 4 | host_JPN = yes
 | gold_AUT = 3 | silver_AUT = 5 | bronze_AUT = 9
 | gold_KOR = 3 | silver_KOR = 1 | bronze_KOR = 2
 | gold_ITA = 2 | silver_ITA = 6 | bronze_ITA = 2
}}

===Podium sweeps===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Date
!Sport
!Event
!NOC
!Gold
!Silver
!Bronze
|-
|11 February
|[[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Speed skating]]
|[[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's 3000 metres|Women's 3,000 m]]
|{{flagIOC|GER|1998 Winter}}
|[[Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann]]
|[[Claudia Pechstein]]
|[[Anni Friesinger]]
|-
|13 February
|[[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Alpine skiing]]
|[[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's combined|Women's combined]]
|{{flagIOC|GER|1998 Winter}}
|[[Katja Seizinger]]
|[[Martina Ertl-Renz]]
|[[Hilde Gerg]]
|-
|17 February
|[[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Speed skating]]
|[[Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|Men's 10,000 metres]]
|{{flagIOC|NED|1998 Winter}}
|[[Gianni Romme]]
|[[Bob de Jong]]
|[[Rintje Ritsma]]
|}

==Sports==
=== Olympic Program ===
The 1998 Winter Olympics featured a record 68 medal events over 14 disciplines in seven sports. In relation to the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], seven new events were added to the Winter Olympic program. Officially absent since the [[1924 Winter Olympics]], curling returned to the  Olympic program (the sport was demonstrated in 1932,1988 and 1992)
with 2 events (one tournament for men and one for women). For the first time, an ice hockey tournament for women was included. Another change was the addition of another discipline in alpine skiing: snowboarding with 4 events.

===Biathlon===
{{main| Biathlon at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:Uschi disl 2006.jpg|thumb|[[Uschi Disl]] of Germany, won one gold, one silver, and one bronze in the biathlon.]]
The [[biathlon]] competitions took place at [[Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort]], north of Nagano City. The six events were the sprint, individual, and relay, for both men and women. In all, 183 athletes took part, including 96 men and 87 women from 32 countries. [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norway]] and [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] each won five medals, with [[Uschi Disl]] from the latter country winning one gold, one silver, and one bronze.

The first event was the women's 15&nbsp;km individual race that took place in falling snow on 9 February. The surprise gold medalist was [[Ekaterina Dafovska]] from [[Bulgaria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Bulgaria]], who had been ranked 51st at the previous [[Biathlon World Cup]]. Her gold medal was the first-ever Bulgarian gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Her time was 54:52.0, with only one target missed. [[Olena Petrova]] from [[Ukraine at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Ukraine]] won the silver, 17.8 seconds behind, and Uschi Disl won the bronze, 25.9 seconds behind Dafovska.

The first men's event, the 20&nbsp;km individual race, took place on 11 February. The [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] [[Halvard Hanevold]] missed his second-last target, but finished first in a time of 56:16.4. The [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italian]] [[Pieralberto Carrara]], who missed no targets, target, won the silver, 5.05 seconds behind. The [[Belarus at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Belarusian]] [[Alexei Aidarov]] was 30.1 seconds behind the Norwegian, and won the bronze.

===Bobsleigh===
{{main|Bobsleigh at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[bobsleigh]] competitions took place at [[Spiral (bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton)|the Spiral]], in [[Iizuna, Nagano|Iizuna]], just north of Nagano City. The Spiral course measured 1700 m in length, with fifteen curves, descended 113 m from start to finish, and included two short uphill sections. The two events were the two-man and four-man, for men only. Female competitors would begin competing in the [[Bobsleigh at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Two-woman|two woman]] events at the subsequent Winter Olympics, the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] in Salt Lake City.

In all, 156 athletes took part from 28 countries. The bobsleigh events resulted in two ties, for the two-man gold and for the four-man bronze. This was the first time in Olympic bobsleigh history that there were ties for the medal positions. [[Christoph Langen]] and [[Markus Zimmermann]] won bronze in the two-man competition and were part of the winning four-man team. In all, [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] win one gold and one bronze; [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italy]] and [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] also won one gold each when the two-man team. Six team in all won medals. The first time since the [[1968 Winter Olympics]] did more than four countries win bobsleigh medals. In addition, Germany and Switzerland were the only two countries to place two sleds in the top ten of either event.<ref name="bobsleigh sr">{{cite web|language=en|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1998/BOB/|title=Bobsleigh at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games|website=sports-reference.com|access-date=28 April 2019|archive-date=17 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417041409/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1998/BOB/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 1996 and 1997 [[IBSF World Championships (bobsleigh and skeleton)|Bobsleigh World Champions]] were teams from Germany and Italy respectively. However, [[Günther Huber]] and [[Antonio Tartaglia]] from Italy tied with the two-man team from Canada, [[Pierre Lueders]]: and [[Dave MacEachern]] for the gold medal, each with combined times of 3:37.24. No silver medal was awarded. The German team of Christoph Langen and Markus Zimmermann were 0.65 seconds behind, and were awarded the bronze.

In the four-man event, bad weather restricted the competition to three runs only. The German team of Christoph Langen, Markus Zimmermann, [[Marco Jakobs]] and [[Olaf Hampel]] completed the three runs in 2:39.41 for the gold medal. The Swiss team of [[Marcel Rohner (bobsleigh)|Marcel Rohner]], [[Markus Nüssli]], [[Markus Wasser]], and [[Beat Seitz]] finished second with a time of 2:40.01. Two teams, were awarded bronze medals after completing the three runs in 2:40.06. These were the team from Great Britain, made up of [[Sean Olsson]], [[Dean Ward (bobsleigh)|Dean Ward]], [[Courtney Rumbolt]], and [[Paul Attwood]]; and the team from France, composed of [[Bruno Mingeon]], [[Emmanuel Hostache]], [[Éric Le Chanony]], and [[Max Robert]].

===Curling===
{{main| Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[Curling]] was included in the program for the Nagano Olympics in 1993 following discussions that had begun in 1992. At the time, it was considered that curling was making its official Olympic debut following its appearance as a [[demonstration sport]] at the [[1932 Winter Olympics|1932]], [[1988 Winter Olympics|1988]], and [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]. At the Games in Nagano, both the men's and the women's curling tournament took place at [[Kazakoshi Park Arena]] in [[Karuizawa, Nagano]], 30 minutes by [[shinkansen|bullet train (''shinkansen'')]] south of Nagano City. Eight teams played a total of seven games in the round robin in both tournaments, with the four best teams going to the semifinals. [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] won gold in the women's competition and silver in the men's; [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Switzerland]] won the gold in the men's tournament.

In the men's tournament, the [[Mike Harris (curler)|Mike Harris]] team from Canada easily completed the [[round-robin tournament]] winning six of its seven games, only losing to the [[Eigil Ramsfjell]] team from Norway. In the semi-finals, the Canadian team defeated [[Tim Somerville|Tim Somerville's team]] from the [[United States of America|United States]] by a score of 7–1; and in the other semi-final, the team from [[Switzerland]] led by [[Patrick Hürlimann]] defeated Norway 8–7. In the gold medal game, Switzerland shocked Canada by winning 9–3. In the bronze medal game, Eigil Ramsfjell's team from Norway defeated Tim Somerville's USA team by a score of 9–4.

In the women's tournament, the [[Sandra Schmirler]] team from Canada and the [[Elisabet Gustafson]] team from Sweden easily completed the [[round-robin tournament]], with both teams winning six of their seven games. Canada only lost to the [[Dordi Nordby]] team from Norway, and Sweden's only loss was to Canada. In the semi-finals, the Canadian team defeated the team led by [[Kirsty Hay]] representing [[Team GB|team Great Britain]] by a score of 6–5; and in the other semi-final, the team from [[Denmark]] led by [[Helena Blach Lavrsen]] defeated Sweden 7–5. In the gold medal game, Canada defeated Denmark by a score of 7–5. In the bronze medal game, Elisabet Gustafso's team from Sweden defeated Kirsty Hay's GB team by a score of 10–6.

===Ice hockey===
{{main| Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[ice hockey]] matches took place at two purpose-built arenas in Nagano City, [[Big Hat]] and [[Aqua Wing Arena]]. The ice hockey events were significant for two reasons: the first Olympic ice hockey tournament for women and the participation of players from the [[NHL]], which scheduled its first ever mid-season break. The [[Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team|Czech Republic]] defeated [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russia]] in the gold medal game for the men's title, and the [[United States women's national ice hockey team|United States]] defeated [[Canada women's national ice hockey team|Canada]] in the gold medal game for the women's title.

The men's competition began on 7 February with eight teams playing in two groups of four, Group A and B, with each team playing three games. The winners of these two groups, [[Kazakhstan men's national ice hockey team|Kazakhstan]] and [[Belarus men's national ice hockey team|Belarus]], advanced to join Groups C and D, composed of the six highest ranked men's national ice hockey teams in the world. [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russia]], [[Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team|Czech Republic]], and [[Finland men's national ice hockey team|Finland]] were joined by Kazakhstan in Group C; [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]], [[Sweden men's national ice hockey team|Sweden]], and the [[United States men's national ice hockey team|United States]] were joined by Belarus in Group D. On 22 February, with 10,010 spectators in attendance at [[Big Hat]], the Czech Republic defeated Russia in the gold medal game, 1–0, with the lone goal of the match scored with 12 minutes remaining. Finland defeated Canada for the bronze medal by a score of 3–2.

The first [[IIHF Women's World Championship|women's ice hockey world championship]], a biennial tournament, took place in [[1990 IIHF Women's World Championship|1990]]. Discussions to include women's ice hockey at the 1998 games began in 1992, and it was decided to include them in the program in 1993. The tournament included six teams playing in a one-group round-robin tournament. The top two team advanced to the gold medal game, and the teams ranked third and fourth played in the bronze medal match. The favorites were the [[Canada women's national ice hockey team|Canadians]], who had won the three previous world championships, with the [[United States women's national ice hockey team|Americans]] finishing second each time. In the round-robin tournament, the Americans finished first, with the Canadians second. In the last round-robin game, the United States handily defeated Canada, 7–4, with the two teams scoring nine goals in the third period. In the gold medal match, with 8,626 fans in attendance at [[Big Hat]], the U.S. again defeated Canada, 3–1. Team [[Finland women's national ice hockey team|Finland]] defeated Team [[China women's national ice hockey team|China]] 4–1 for the bronze medal.

===Luge===
{{main| Luge at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:Rodel-Weltcup-2005-Oberhof-Hackl.jpg|thumb|[[Georg Hackl]], seen here during competition at [[Oberhof, Germany]] in 2005, won gold in the men's singles luge competition.]]
The [[luge]] competitions took place in [[Iizuna, Nagano]], at the [[Spiral (bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton)|Spiral]] (Nagano Bobsleigh-Luge Park), the first purpose-built permanent bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in [[Asia]]. In all, 24 nations took part in the luge events, with four countries, [[India at the 1998 Winter Olympics|India]], [[South Korea at the 1998 Winter Olympics|South Korea]], [[New Zealand at the 1998 Winter Olympics|New Zealand]], and [[Venezuela at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Venezuela]] making their Olympic debut in luge events. There were three events, men's single, women's single, and doubles. [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] won all three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|United States]] won one silver and one bronze. [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italy]] and [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austria]] rounded out the medal table.

The first event with 24 lugers was the men's singles. Each athlete completed four runs over two days, 8 and 9 February. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] athlete, [[Georg Hackl]], who had won gold at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] and [[1994 Winter Olympics]], had entered the competition winless in the 1997–1998 season. Hackl raced in a newly designed luge and aerodynamic shoes. Several team protested but these protests were rejected. Hackl dominated all four races, and finished with a time of 3:18.436, half a second ahead of the [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italian]] [[Armin Zöggeler]]. Zöggeler finished .154 seconds ahead of [[Jens Müller (luger)|Jens Müller]] of Germany, who had won gold at the [[1988 Winter Olympics]] when he competed for [[East Germany]].

On 10 and 11 February, the women's singles event took place, with each athlete completing four runs. In all, 29 athletes took part. The race for gold was very tight between two [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] athletes, [[Silke Kraushaar]] and [[Barbara Niedernhuber]], with Kraushaar winning by .002 seconds, with a total time of 3:23.779 – the smallest margin of victory ever at the Olympics. [[Angelika Neuner]] of [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austria]] won the bronze, 0.474 seconds behind the gold medalist.

The two-race doubles competition, which in theory were open to females, consisted of 17 male pairs. The event took place 13 February. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germans]] [[Stefan Krauße]] and [[Jan Behrendt]], who had competed together for 14 years, won the gold medal with a time of 1:41.105. Two [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] teams won silver and bronze, with [[Chris Thorpe]] and [[Gordy Sheer]] finishing .022 seconds behind the gold medalists and [[Brian Martin (luger)|Brian Martin]] and [[Mark Grimmette]] a further .09 seconds behind. The win by Krauße and Behrendt was their
four medal at the Olympics since they won silver at the [[1988 Winter Olympics]] when they competed for East Germany. This was the first time since the introduction of luge at the [[1964 Winter Olympics]] that athletes other than those from Austria, Germany, Italy, and the [[Soviet Union]] won medals.

===Skating===
====Figure skating====
{{main| Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[figure skating]] events took place at the [[White Ring (arena)]], an indoor arena built for the Games in Nagano City. Medals were awarded in four events: men's and women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The pairs event took place from 8–10 February, followed by the men's singles from 12 to 14 February, the ice dance from 13 to 16 February, and the women's singles from 18 to 20 February. The exhibition gala took place on 21 February. [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russia]] won five medals, including three gold and two silver. The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|USA]] won one gold and one silver. [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|France]] won two bronze medals. [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] won one silver, with [[China at the 1998 Winter Olympics|China]] and [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] each winning one bronze. [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] figure skater [[Tara Lipinski]] became the youngest competitor in Winter Olympics history to earn a gold medal in an individual event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/classic/s/Oly_moment_020112_Lipinski.html |title=Smallest American Olympian stands tall |date=19 November 2003 |last=Schwartz |first=Larry |access-date=20 November 2020 |website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

====Short track speed skating====
{{main| Short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
Six [[short track speed skating]] events took place at the [[White Ring (arena)]] from 17 to 21 February. A total of 18 nations were representing among the skaters. Four countries won medals. [[South Korea at the 1998 Winter Olympics|South Korea]] won six medals, including three gold. [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] won four medals, including two gold. Host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]] won one gold and one silver; and [[China at the 1998 Winter Olympics|China]] won five silver and one bronze medal.

The 14th ranked [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japanese]] skater [[Takafumi Nishitani]] beat the [[Olympic record]] in the 500m semi-finals. In the final, he led from the start and won the gold medal with a time of 42.862 seconds. The [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canadian]] [[Marc Gagnon]], who was in second place, fell with two laps remaining. The [[China at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Chinese]] skater [[An Yulong]] won the silver with a time of 43.022, 0.5 seconds of the Japanese skater [[Hitoshi Uematsu]]. In the 1000 meters, world record holder Marc Gagnon was disqualified for obstruction in the quarter-finals. The Chinese skater [[Li Jiajun]], who led for most of the final, was passed by the [[South Korea at the 1998 Winter Olympics|South Korean]] skater, [[Kim Dong-sung]], in the final corner. Kim won with a time of 1:32.375, 0.053 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. The Canadian [[Éric Bédard]] won the bronze, .223 seconds further behind. In the 5000m relays, world-title holders from [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italy]] led at the beginning of the relay but were passed by the Canadians, and fell. With about one-quarter of the race left, a Chinese skater fell, bringing down with him a South Korean skater, allowing the Canadians to easily win the gold, with a time of 7:06.075. The South Koreans were .701 seconds behind, with the Chinese finishing with the bronze a further 4 seconds back. The Japanese team won the B-Final with a time that was five seconds faster than the gold medalists.

In the women's 500m final, the [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canadian]] [[Isabelle Charest]] collided with the [[China at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Chinese]] [[Wang Chunlu]], and both fell. Charest was disqualified and Wang, angry, never finished the race.  The Canadian [[Annie Perreault]] won the gold with a time of 46.568 seconds, 0.059 seconds ahead of [[Yang Yang (S)]] of China. Because these were the only two to finish the race, the bronze medal went to the winner of the B-Final, the [[South Korea at the 1998 Winter Olympics|South Korean]] [[Chun Lee-kyung]]. In the 1000m race, the Chinese skater [[Yang Yang (A)]] led the race but was passed by the 500m bronze medalist, Chun, in the last straight away to the finish line. Chun won the race with a time of 1:42.776 seconds. Yang Yang (A) was disqualified for using her elbow to try to block Chun. Yang Yang (S) won the silver, 0.567 seconds behind the gold medalist from South Korea. [[Won Hye-kyung]], also of South Korea, won the bronze a further 0.18 seconds behind. In the 3000m relay, the Chinese team led for most of the race but the South Korean skater [[Kim Yun-mi (speed skater)|Kim Yun-mi]] passed Yang Yang (A) in the last changeover. Both teams beat the [[World Record]], with the South Koreans finishing with a time of 4:16.260, and the Chinese were 0.123 seconds behind. The Canadian team won bronze with a time of 4:21.205.

====Speed skating====
{{main| Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:Marianne Timmer (09-12-2007).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Marianne Timmer]] won two gold medals for the Netherlands in speed skating.]]
From 8–20 February 171 athletes from 25 countries took part in the long-track [[speed skating]] events that were held in Nagano City at [[M-Wave]], Japan's first indoor, long-track speed skating venue. In all, eight countries won medals. The [[Netherlands at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Netherlands]] won 11 medals, including five gold and four silver. [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]], host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]], and the [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|USA]] also won multiple medals. Twelve [[Olympic records]] and five [[World records]] were established at the Games on the ice at M-Wave. [[Gianni Romme]] and [[Marianne Timmer]], both of the Netherlands, each won two gold medals. The Nagano Olympics were the first where athletes wore [[clap skate]]s.

On the men's side, the world record holder in the men's 500m was the [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japanese]] skater [[Hiroyasu Shimizu]]. Shimizu was the smallest skater at the Games, 1.62m tall. The 500m was run over two races for the first time at these Games. Shimizu was fastest in both races becoming only the second ever Japanese to win a singles title at the Olympic Games. Finishing in second and third were the [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canadian]] skaters, [[Jeremy Wotherspoon]] and [[Kevin Overland]], who are 1.91m and 1.84 m tall, respectively. Shimizu's combined time was 1:11.35, 0.49 seconds ahead of Wotherspoon, and another 0.02 seconds ahead of Overland. The 1500m was won by [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] [[Ådne Søndrål]] with a [[world record]] time of 1:47.87. Søndrål was 0.26 and 0.65 seconds ahead of two [[Netherlands at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Dutch]] skaters, [[Ids Postma]], and [[Rintje Ritsma]]. In the 1000m, Postma won gold, with a time of 1:10.64, followed by another Dutch skater [[Jan Bos]], who was 0.07 seconds behind, and Shimizu who won the bronze with a time of 1:11.00. In the 5000m, the Dutch skater [[Gianni Romme]] won gold, with a world record time of 6:22.20, followed by Ritsma, who was 6.04 seconds behind, and Bart Veldkamp, representing [[Belgium at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Belgium]] who won the bronze with a time of 6:28.31. Finally, in the 10,000m, three Dutch skaters won medals. Romme won gold with a world record time, 15 seconds ahead of the world record, of 13:15.33, [[Bob de Jong]] won silver, and Ritsma won bronze.

On the women's side, the 500 m title was won by the Canadian [[Catriona Le May Doan]], the favorite, who beat or equalled the world record four times before the Games. Her teammate, [[Susan Auch]], finished second. Both were coached by Susan's brother, Derrick Auch. [[Tomomi Okazaki]], of host Japan, won the bronze medal. In the 1500m, [[Netherlands at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Dutch]] skater [[Marianne Timmer]] won gold with a world record time of 1:57.58. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] skater [[Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann|Gunda Niemann]] was second, 1.08 seconds behind, and the [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] skater [[Chris Witty]] won bronze with a time of 1:58.97. In the 1000m, Timmer won gold again, with a time of 1:16.51. Witty won silver, 0.26 seconds behind, and Le May Doan won bronze with a time of 1:17.37. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] skater [[Franziska Schenk]], one of the favorites, fell during the second lap. In the 3000m, German skaters won all three medals. Niemann won gold with a time of 4:07.29; Claudia Pechstein won silver, 1.18 seconds back; and [[Anni Friesinger-Postma|Anni Friesinger]] won bronze with a time of 4:09.44. Finally, in the 5000m, Pechstein won gold with a world record time of 6:59.61; Niemann was 0.04 seconds back for silver, and the [[Kazakhstan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Kazakh]] skater [[Lyudmila Prokasheva]] won bronze, with a time of 7:11.14. Prokasheva's medal was the first medal by a female Kazakh athlete at any Winter Olympics.

===Skiing===
====Alpine skiing====
{{main| Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Alpine]] skiing events took place at Hakuba Happoone Winter Resort in [[Hakuba, Nagano|Hakuba]] village, 50 kilometers west of Nagano City, and at [[Mount Higashidate]] in the [[Shiga Highlands]] in [[Yamanouchi, Nagano]], 30 kilometers northeast of Nagano City. In all, 249 athletes, 141 males and 108 females, from 49 countries, took part in the 10 Alpine skiing events, men's and women's downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined. [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austria]] won 11 medals, including three gold. [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] also won three gold, and six medals in total. Seven other countries also won medals, including [[Australia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Australia]], whose [[Zali Steggall]] won that countries first ever individual [[Winter Olympics]] medal. The most successful athletes at these Games were [[Katja Seizinger]] from Germany, who won two gold medals and one bronze; and [[Hermann Maier]], from Austria, who won two gold medals.

====Cross-country skiing====
{{main| Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:Bjørn Dæhlie 2011-01-26 001 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bjørn Dæhlie]], pictured in January 2011]]
The [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]] events took place at [[Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort]], in the town of [[Nozawaonsen, Nagano|Nozawaonsen]], approximately 50 kilometers north of Nagano. In all, 228 athletes, including 126 men and 102 women, from 37 countries took part. [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russia]] won eight medals, including all the women five gold medals, and [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norway]] won nine medals, including four gold medals. Six other countries also won medals, including [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finland]] with one gold and two bronze, and [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italy]] with two silver and two bronze. [[Larisa Lazutina]] from Russia won five medals, including three gold; and [[Bjørn Dæhlie]] from Norway won four medals, including three gold.

====Freestyle skiing====
{{main| Freestyle skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[freestyle skiing]] competition was held at the [[Iizuna Kogen Ski Area]], 12 kilometers north of Nagano, from 8 to 18 February. It was the third consecutive Games that freestyle skiing events took place. The four events, men's and women's moguls and aerials, involved 110 athletes from 25 countries . The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|United States]] won three gold medals. Host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]] won one gold medal. Athletes from [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finland]] won a silver and a bronze medal. Six other countries took home either one silver or one bronze medal.

In men's moguls, the [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] [[Jonny Moseley]] was first after the qualifications. Two cousins from [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finland]], [[Janne Lahtela]] and [[Sami Mustonen]], who had never medalled at the [[FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup]], were ranked second and third behind Moseley. Moseley easily won the final with a score of 26.93. Lahtela was .93 points behind, and Mustonen was another .24 points behind. The [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canadian]], [[Jean-Luc Brassard]], gold medalist from the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], finished in fourth. In men's aerials, the American [[Eric Bergoust]], who had fallen during training, overtook the other competitors with a score of 255.64 points. The [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Frenchmen]], [[Sébastien Foucras]], and the [[Belarus at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Belarusian]], [[Dmitri Dashinski]], were second and third. The Canadian, [[Nicolas Fontaine (skier)|Nicolas Fontaine]], [[1996–97 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup|world champion]] in 1997, only managed 10th place after falling on his second jump.

The [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japanese]] moguls skier, [[Tae Satoya]], 11th after qualifications, surprised everyone by winning the gold medal with a score of 25.06. She was the first female Japanese Olympic champion. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]], [[Tatjana Mittermayer]] scored 24.62 points and won the silver medal.  The [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]], [[Kari Traa]], won the bronze with a score of 24.09 points. In women's aerials, [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] [[Nikki Stone]] won the gold medal with a score of 193.00 points. The ex-gymnast, [[Xu Nannan]] from [[China at the 1998 Winter Olympics|China]] won silver with a score of 186.97, and [[Colette Brand]] from [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Switzerland]] won bronze with a score of 171.83.

====Nordic combined skiing====
{{main| Nordic combined at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[Nordic combined]] events were held at the [[Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium]] and the [[Snow Harp]], both in [[Hakuba, Nagano|Hakuba]] village, 50 kilometers west of Nagano City. In all, 53 athletes from 14 countries, took part in the two events, individual and team. [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norway]] won both gold medals. [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finland]] won both silver medals. [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|France]] and [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russia]] each won one of the bronze medals.

The first event was the individual competition that took place on 13 and 14 February. In all, there were 48 athletes. The silver medalist from the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], the [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] [[Bjarte Engen Vik]], was the [[1997–98 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup]] leader. At the Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium, Vik led after the first two jumps. He was followed by the [[Russia at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Russian]] [[Valeri Stoliarov]]. The following day, the skiers left, in order of the placement following the ski jump, along te 15 kilometer cross-country race at the Snow Harp. The race was skied in the rain. Vik led throughout and finished with a 27.5 second lead over second place. With three kilometers to the finish line, the [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finnish]] athlete, 18-year-old [[Samppa Lajunen]], who was sixth after the jumps, caught up with Stoliarov. The skied together until the stadium, and 60 meters from the finish line, Lajunen passed the Russian and picked up the silver medal 0.7 seconds ahead of Stoliarov who won the bronze. The fastest athlete on the course was the [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Swiss]] skier, [[Marco Zarucchi]], who was 43rd after the jumps, finished in 25th place.

Eleven nations took part in the team event on 19 and 20 February. At previous Olympics, the team event involved three athletes per team, with the completing a 3x10 kilometer relay. At Nagano, the team was enlarged to four athletes who completed a 4x5 kilometer relay. After the jumps, the team from Finland led by four seconds ahead of the [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austrians]], eight seconds ahead of the Norwegians, nine ahead of the [[Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Czechs]], and 29 seconds ahead of the [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japanese]]. The relay took place in rain. The Norwegians quickly took the lead and never looked back. The last Norwegian skier had the time to grab his country's flag with 500 meters from the finish line, and they won gold with more than one minute lead over the team from Finland. The [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|French]] team, sixth after the jumps, won the bronze medal ahead of the Austrians. The Japanese, gold medalists at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] and [[1994 Winter Olympics]] finished in fifth.

====Ski jumping====
[[File:FunakiKazuyoshiOkuryama2014.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kazuyoshi Funaki]] (pictured in 2014) won two gold medals and one silver for host Japan.]]
{{main| Ski jumping at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
The [[ski jumping]] competitions took place at the [[Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium]] in [[Hakuba, Nagano|Hakuba]] village, 50 kilometers west of Nagano City. In all, 68 athletes from 19 countries participated. For the first time, the top 30 jumpers qualified for the second round. Host [[Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Japan]] won the most medals, including two gold in the large hill and large hill team. [[Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Finland]], [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]], and [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austria]] rounded out the medal table. [[Kazuyoshi Funaki]] from [[Yoichi, Hokkaido]] in [[Japan]] won two gold and one silver for the host country.

The normal hill jumps took place on 11 February in front of 45,000 spectators. The Japanese, who had dominated the [[1997–98 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup]] season, were the favorites. With a jump of 91.5 meters, [[Masahiko Harada]] led after the first round ahead of the Finnish jumper, [[Jani Soininen]]
[[Kazuyoshi Funaki]], who was fourth after the first round, took the lead with a jump of 90.5 meters in the second round. After a delay caused by strong wind, Soininen took the lead with only Harada still to jump. A sidewind blew when Harada jumped, and only managed 84.5 meters to finish in fifth place overall. Soininen won gold with 234.5 points, Funaki was second with 233.5, and the Austrian [[Andreas Widhölzl]] finished third with 232.5 points.

On 15 February, the large hill jump competition took place. 60,000 spectators gathered at Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium. Normal hill bronze medalist Widhölzl led after the first round, ahead of the Japanese jumper [[Takanobu Okabe]], Jani Soininen et Funaki. In the second round, Funaki jumped 132.5 m, and, for the first time at the Olympics, received perfect points for his style. He jumped into first place and won the gold medal with 272.3 points overall. It was the first Japanese gold medal in ski jumping since the [[1972 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sapporo]]. Harada jumped next. Unfortunately, the measurement system was installed between 95 and 135 meters and his jump was beyond that. He was measured manually to be 136 meters. He also had good points but only managed to win the bronze medal with 258.3. meters. Soininen won the silver with a combined score of 260.8 points.

At the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], the Japanese team were the favorites but Harada jumped poorly, costing the Japanese the gold medal. Again, in 1998, the Japanese were the favorites. The team event took place on 17 February. The start was slowed by 30 minutes because of heavy falling snow. The first two Japanese jumpers, Okabe at [[Hiroya Saitō]], jumped Japan into first place. Harada completely missed his jump, jumping only 79.5 meters, and despite Funaki having a good jump, Japan drop from first to fourth after the first round behind Austria, Germany, and Norway. Okabe jumped 137 meters, which was an Olympic record. Saitō followed this with a good jump. Harada was next, and like Okabe, jumped 137 meters. The last jumper was Funaki who jumped 125 meters, and the Japanese team became Olympic champions with 933.0 points. The Germans won silver with 897.4 points, and the Austrians finished with 881.5 points for the bronze.

====Snowboarding====
{{main| Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics}}
[[File:Rachael Ashe Photo - Coffee with Ross Rebagliati - 8.JPG|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Ross Rebagliati]] (pictured in 2007) won the first-ever gold medal in men's giant slalom, before being disqualified, and then having his medal reinstated.]]
[[File:Nicola Thost.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Nicola Thost]] (pictured in 2015) won the gold medal in women's halfpipe.]]
In the decade leading up the games, snowboarding had become popular in both North America and Europe, as well as Japan, and as a result, in August 1994, the [[Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee|NAOC]] received a request from the IOC president Samaranch to consider including snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=56}}</ref> To reduce costs, NAOC asked the host community to cover a portion of the costs – the town Yamanouchi agreed – and [[International Ski Federation|FIS]] was expected to support financially as well.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=56}}</ref> In November 1995, the NAOC executive board agreed to add snowboarding, and this was approved by the IOC at their December meeting the following month in [[Karuizawa]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=56}}</ref> This was the first Winter Olympics with [[snowboarding]] events. The events took place at [[Mount Yakebitai]] and [[Kanbayashi Snowboard Park]] in [[Yamanouchi, Nagano]], 30 kilometers northeast of Nagano City, from 8 to 12 February. In all, 125 athletes from 22 countries participated in the men's and women's halfpipe and giant slalom. Athletes from [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Germany]] won two medals, including one gold. Athletes from [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Switzerland]], [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|France]], and [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canada]] also won gold medals.

In the men's giant slalom, the [[Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Canadian]] [[Jasey-Jay Anderson]] won the first race with a half-second lead ahead of Rebagliati. During the second race, the event was temporary delayed because of snow and fog. [[Ross Rebagliati]] finished with a combined time of 2:03.96, 0.02 seconds ahead of the [[Italy at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Italian]] [[Thomas Prugger]], and another 0.10 seconds ahead of the [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Swiss]] [[Ueli Kestenholz]]. Controversy occurred when three days after the men's giant slalom, the International Olympic Committee determined that gold medalist Rebagliati from Canada, was disqualified after testing positive for [[marijuana]].<ref group="b">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999b|p=52}}</ref> It was the first time in Olympic history that an athlete was disqualified for marijuana. The [[Canadian Olympic Committee]] lodged a protest and the case quickly went to the [[Court of Arbitration for Sport]] where it was ruled that because marijuana was not classified as a "banned" substance, the medal should be returned to the Canadian athlete. In the halfpipe, the gold medal went to the [[Switzerland at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Swiss]] [[Gian Simmen]], who had the highest score, 85.2, despite a heavy rain. The [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] [[Daniel Franck]] won the silver with a score of 82.4, and the [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] [[Ross Powers]] won the bronze with a score of 82.1.

The women's giant slalom was delayed one day because of a snowstorm. The big favorite, the [[France at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Frenchwoman]] [[Karine Ruby]] won the first race with almost two seconds ahead of her compatriot [[Isabelle Blanc]]. Ruby won the second race, with Blanc missing the last gate and falling. Ruby's combined time was 2:17.34. The [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] [[Heidi Renoth]] won the silver with a time of 2:19.17, and the [[Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Austrian]] [[Brigitte Köck]] won the bronze with a time of 2:19.42. In the halfpipe, the [[Norway at the 1998 Winter Olympics|Norwegian]] [[Stine Brun Kjeldaas]] won the qualification round. However, in the finals, the [[Germany at the 1998 Winter Olympics|German]] [[Nicola Thost]], a former gymnast, finished second in both legs, scored 74.6 points, which was enough for the gold medal. Stine Brun Kjeldaas finished fourth in the first leg and first in second, winning the silver with 74.2 points. The [[United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics|American]] [[Shannon Dunn-Downing]] won the first leg, but finished seventh in the second leg, leaving her with the bronze with a score of 72.8.

==Mascots==
{{main|Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki}}
The mascots of the 1998 Winter Olympics are four owls named Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki, also known as the Snowlets.

==Media==
[[File:Wakasato Municipal Cultural Hall.jpg|thumb|Wakasato Civic Cultural Center in June 2006]]
[[File:K%27sTown_Wakasato_Nagano_Japan.jpg|thumb|The former IBC was converted into a departament store]]
The Nagano Olympics were covered by more than 10,000 members of the media, including 8,329 accredited journalists, of which 2,586 were from newspaper media and 5,743 television and radio journalists. The Organizing Committee established a Main Press Center (MPC), over two buildings, and 17 annexes throughout the different sites. The [[International Broadcast Centre]] (IBC) was a temporary one-storey facility constructed on the grounds of a former textile mill in the immediate vicinity of the MPC and Big Hat.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=185}}</ref> A wide range of general services, such as a restaurants, cafeterias, banks, post offices and a medical clinics were available at the IBC.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=186}}</ref> The IBC was later converted into a departament store, ''K's Town Wakasato Store''.

The MBC, which is today the ''Wakasato Civic Cultural Center'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nagano-mwave.co.jp/wakasato_hall/language/en.php|title=About Wakasato Municipal Cultural Hall|language=en|access-date=28 April 2019}}</ref> was built beside [[Big Hat]], the main [[ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|ice hockey]] venue. The MBC had a surface area of 42,728 m<sup>2</sup>, with one principal room for 600 journalists of 1430m<sup>2</sup> and another of 5100m<sup>2</sup> that was rented by various press agencies.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=174}}</ref> The largest press offices at the Games were [[Kyodo News]], [[Associated Press]], [[Agence France-Presse]], [[Reuters]], and [[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=171}}</ref> The MBC also included a press conference room for 600 people.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=166}}</ref>

The host broadcaster for the Games, the Olympic Radio and Televisions Organization (ORTO'98) was established as a separate organization within NAOC, the organizing committee.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=188}}</ref> ORTO'98 was joint-venture created between [[NHK]], the Japanese public broadcaster, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and NAOC.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=188}}</ref> A total of 1647 staff worked 386 cameras at the various venues and events,<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=190}}</ref> with coverage increasing by 55% over the [[1994 Winter Olympics]] in [[Lillehammer]].<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=188}}</ref> The Games were broadcast in 160 countries, 40 more than in Lillehammer,<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=188}}</ref> and it was estimated that 10.7 billion viewers watched the Games over the 16-day period.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=188}}</ref> Some events were filmed and broadcast in [[Multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding|analog high-definition television]], with NHK broadcasting over 270 hours of coverage in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1998 |title=Television in the Olympic Games The New Era International Symposium Lausanne, 1998 |url=https://library.olympics.com/default/digitalCollection/DigitalCollectionAttachmentDownloadHandler.ashx?parentDocumentId=28057&documentId=156816&skipWatermark=true&skipCopyright=true |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>

Broadcasting rights totaled USD$513 million, which was a record for the Winter Olympics, and all contracts with 16 broadcasting rights' holders were record sums.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=71}}</ref> This money was split 60–40 between NAOC and the International Olympic Committee.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=71}}</ref> The [[United States|American]] broadcasting network, [[CBS]], paid 375 million US dollars, to air the Games in the United States. The 1998 Winter Olympics are the most recent Olympic Games to not air on [[NBC]] in the United States, as the current contract with [[NBC]] started in 1999.

===Broadcasting rights===
{{efn|The ordering of broadcasters in this section follows the ordering in the Official Report of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Vol. 1: Planning and Support.<ref group="a">{{harvsp|Hanazawa|1999a|p=71}}</ref>}}
* Asia – [[Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union|ABU]], [[Asia Television|ATV]]
* Brazil - Rede Globo, Rede Manchete, Rede Bandeirantes and Sportv
* Australia – [[Network Ten]]
* Canada – [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]
* Europe – [[European Broadcasting Union|EBU]]
* Jamaica – [[CVM Television|CVM TV]]
* Japan – NOJC
* Malaysia – [[Astro (television)|Astro]]
* New Zealand – [[TVNZ]]
* North Africa – [[African Union of Broadcasting|URTNA]]
* South Africa – [[South African Broadcasting Corporation|SABC]]
* South Korea – [[Korean Broadcasting System|KBS]]
* South America – [[Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana|OTI]]
* [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] – [[SuperSport (South African TV channel)|Supersport]]
* United Kingdom – [[BBC]]
* United States – [[CBS]]

==See also==
* [[1998 Winter Olympics flu epidemic]]
{{IOC seealso|games=1998 Winter Olympics}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Citations'''
* {{cite book|title= Official Report of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Vol. 1: Planning and Support|first =Nahomi|last=Hanazawa|translator=Norman Kong|editor=The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun|pages=319|location=Nagano (Japan) |year=1999a |publisher=NAOC |isbn=4784098259 |type=PDF |language=en |url=https://library.olympic.org/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/66018/the-xviii-olympic-winter-games-official-report-nagano-1998-the-organizing-committee-for-the-xviii-ol?_lg=en-GB#_ga=2.180058080.593715491.1556337607-881899984.1556337607 }}
{{Reflist|group=a|20em}}
* {{cite book|title= Official Report of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Vol. 2: Sixteen Days of Glory|first =Nahomi|last=Hanazawa|translator=Norman Kong|editor=The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun|pages=319|location=Nagano (Japan) |year=1999b |publisher=NAOC |isbn=4784098267 |type=PDF |language=en |url=https://library.olympic.org/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/66018/the-xviii-olympic-winter-games-official-report-nagano-1998-the-organizing-committee-for-the-xviii-ol?_lg=en-GB#_ga=2.180058080.593715491.1556337607-881899984.1556337607 }}
{{Reflist|group=b|20em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IOC games|games=1998 Winter Olympics}}
* {{cite book|author=The Organizing Committee for the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998|title=The XVIII Winter Olympic Games: Official Report|publisher=The Organizing Committee for the XVIII Olympic Winter Games|year=1998}} Downloadable PDF: [http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/Vol1_e.pdf Volume 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715160507/http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/Vol1_e.pdf |date=15 July 2012 }}, [http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/Vol2_e.pdf Volume 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707154542/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/Vol2_e.pdf |date=7 July 2010 }}, [http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/Vol3_e.pdf Volume 3], [http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/appendix_e.pdf Appendix] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707154746/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1998/appendix_e.pdf |date=7 July 2010 }}, retrieved on 17 January 2010.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040703071833/http://www.nagano.olympic.org/welcome/w_mascot_e.shtml 1998 Winter Olympics Official website]

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{{s-bef|before=[[1994 Winter Olympics|Lillehammer]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=XVIII Olympic Winter Games<br/>[[Nagano (city)|Nagano]]|years=1998}}
{{s-aft|after=[[2002 Winter Olympics|Salt Lake City]]}}
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