List of 1998 Winter Olympics medal winners

A man, standing, wearing a ski cap.
Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway (pictured here in 2011) won four medals in cross-country skiing in Nagano.

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Nagano, Japan, from 7 to 22 February 1998.[1] A total of 2,176 athletes representing 72 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games in 68 events across 14 disciplines.[2]

The discipline of snowboarding made its debut, with four events contested, two for men and two for women.[3] Additionally, the Olympic program saw the addition of a women's tournament in ice hockey, the first time that women had participated in that sport in Olympic history.[4] At the time, it was believed that curling made its debut as a medal event, having been a demonstration sport three times at the 1932, 1988, and 1992 Winter Olympics;[5] however, in 2006, the International Olympic Committee ruled that the 1924 Olympic tournament in Chamonix, France, had been an official medal event,[6] retroactively making the Nagano tournament the second time curling has been contested for official medals.[5]

Germany won the most medals, with 29, and the most gold medals, with 12. Norway finished second in both tallies, with 10 gold medals and 25 medals of all colors. Of the 72 NOCs to participate at Nagano, 24 won at least one medal, 15 of those won at least one gold medal.[7] Denmark, participating in a Winter Olympic Games for the ninth time, won its first-ever medal at a Winter Olympics.[8][9] Bulgaria and the Czech Republic won their first Winter Olympic gold medals in Nagano. The Czech Republic had previously won two gold medals as part of Czechoslovakia,[10] and Bulgaria had won a bronze medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics.[11]

Larisa Lazutina of Russia won five medals, the most of any competitor; she won three golds, a silver, and a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, winning a medal in every women's event in her sport.[12] Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie won four medals, including three golds. A further nine competitors earned three medals apiece, with forty-seven total individuals winning multiple medals.[13]

  1. ^ The Organizing Committee for the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998 (1998). The XVIII Olympic Winter Games Official Report – Volume I (PDF). Nagano, Japan: LA84 Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  3. ^ Litsky, Frank (1 February 1998). "Nagano '98; Snowboarding". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  4. ^ Walker, Teresa (5 January 2018). "Canadian women know what's expected in hockey". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Curling at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Scotland Wins an Olympic Gold... 82 Years Later". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 23 January 2006. p. 16.
  7. ^ "1998 Medal Count". CNN Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Denmark and the Olympic Games". denmark.dk. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Denmark". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  10. ^ Druzin, Randi (23 February 1998). "The XVIII Winter Games: Ice Hockey; In Prague, 70,000 Fans Gather to Savor Moment". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bulgaria". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  12. ^ Grasso, John; Mallon, Bill (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement (5th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 331. ISBN 978-1442248595.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference SR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).