1998 Winter Paralympics

The 1998 Winter Paralympics (第七回パラリンピック冬季競技大会, Dai Shichi-kai Pararinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai), the seventh Winter Paralympics, were held alongside the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan from 5 to 14 March 1998. They were the first Paralympic Winter Games to be held outside Europe. 571 athletes competed in Nagano; it still remains the highest number of athletes competing at any Winter Paralympics.[1]

VII Paralympic Winter Games
Host cityNagano, Japan
MottoGames from the Heart
(Japanese: 心からの大会)
Nations32
Athletes571
Events122 in 4 sports
Opening5 March
Closing14 March
Opened by
Cauldron
Naoya Maruyama
StadiumM-Wave
Winter
Lillehammer 1994 Salt Lake 2002
Summer
Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000

Sports

The games consisted of 34 events in four 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]

Venues

In total 7 venues were used at the 1998 Winter Olympics around 4 cities and towns.[4]

Nagano

Hakuba

Nozawaonsen

Yamanouchi

Medal table

The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (Japan) is highlighted.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Norway1891340
2 Germany14171344
3 United States1381334
4 Japan*12161341
5 Russia1210931
6 Switzerland105823
7 Spain8008
8 Austria7161134
9 Finland75719
10 France59822
Totals (10 nations)1069595296

Participants

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]

Mascot

Parabbit
Mascot of the 1998 Winter Paralympics (Nagano)

The 1998 Winter Paralympics Mascot was Parabbit.

Opening Ceremony

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

References

Preceded by
Lillehammer
Winter Paralympics
Nagano

VII Paralympic Winter Games (1998)
Succeeded by
Salt Lake City
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