The 1998 Winter Paralympics (Japanese: 1998年冬季パラリンピック, Hepburn: 1998-Nen Tōki Pararinpikku), the seventh Paralympic Winter Games, were held alongside the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan from 5 to 14 March 1998. They were the first Paralympic Winter Games to be held outside Europe. 571 athletes competed in Nagano; as 2022 it remains the highest number of athletes competing at any Winter Paralympics.[1]
 | |
| Host city | Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan |
|---|---|
| Motto | Fureai and Inspiration (Japanese: ふれあいと感) |
| Nations | 32 |
| Athletes | 571 |
| Events | 122 in 4 sports |
| Opening | 5 March |
| Closing | 14 March |
| Opened by | |
| Cauldron | Naoya Maruyama |
| Stadium | M-Wave |
Winter Summer
1998 Winter Olympics | |
Sports edit
The games consisted of 122 events in five sports: alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey, ice sledge racing, and Nordic skiing. The sport of Nordic skiing comprised two disciplines, the biathlon and cross-country skiing.[2][3]
Alpine skiing
Sledge hockey
Ice sledge racing- Nordic skiing
Venues edit
In total seven venues were used at the 1998 Winter Olympics around four cities and towns.[4]
Nagano City edit
- M-Wave – opening/closing ceremonies, ice sledge racing
- Aqua Wing Arena – ice sledge hockey
Hakuba edit
- Happo'one Resort: Alpine skiing (Downhill and Super-G)
- Snow Harp, Kamishiro: Cross-country skiing
Nozawaonsen edit
- Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort: Biathlon
Yamanouchi edit
- Mount Higashidate: Alpine skiing (giant slalom)
- Mount Yakebitai, Shiga Kogen Resort: Alpine skiing (slalom)
Medal table edit
The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (Japan) is highlighted.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norway | 18 | 9 | 13 | 40 |
| 2 |  Germany | 14 | 17 | 13 | 44 |
| 3 |  United States | 13 | 8 | 13 | 34 |
| 4 |  Japan* | 12 | 16 | 13 | 41 |
| 5 |  Russia | 12 | 10 | 9 | 31 |
| 6 |  Switzerland | 10 | 5 | 8 | 23 |
| 7 |  Spain | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |  Austria | 7 | 16 | 11 | 34 |
| 9 |  Finland | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 10 |  France | 5 | 9 | 8 | 22 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 106 | 95 | 95 | 296 | |
Participants edit
Thirty-one National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) entered athletes at the 1998 Winter Paralympics. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants from each NPC.[5]
Armenia (8)
Australia (4)
Austria (34)
Belarus (5)
Bulgaria (3)
Canada (33)
Czech Republic (6)
Denmark (3)
Estonia (15)
Finland (21)
France (25)
Germany (40)
Great Britain (21)
Iran (2)
Italy (21)
Japan (67)
Kazakhstan (1)
South Korea (4)
Netherlands (3)
New Zealand (5)
Norway (43)
Poland (26)
Russia (35)
Slovakia (18)
Slovenia (1)
South Africa (1)
Spain (14)
Sweden (24)
Switzerland (19)
Ukraine (11)
United States (49)
Mascot edit
| Parabbit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mascot of the 1998 Winter Paralympics (Nagano) |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023) |
The 1998 Winter Paralympics Mascot was Parabbit. Parabbit is a white rabbit with one green and one red ear. Parabbit was chosen to compliment the logo of the 1998 winter Paralympics. A vote held by students to decide on the name, resulted in Parabbit getting 3,408 votes.[6]
Opening ceremony edit
The theme of the Opening Ceremony was Hope, and inspired by a painting by George Frederic Watts. The theme also signifies it was the first Winter Paralympics held in Asia and the last Paralympics of the 20th century.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Winter Games Overview". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ "Nagano 1998". International Paralympic Committee. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009.
- ^ a b "Nagano 1998". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ "Schedule of the Nagano Paralympics". Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Nagano 1998 - ParticipantNumbers".
- ^ "Nagano 1998 Paralympic Mascot Parabbit - Photos & History". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
External links edit
- International Paralympic Committee
- The event at SVT's open archive (in Swedish)
- The event at Nagano Shinano Mainich Shimbun Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine