1998 Winter Paralympics
 | |
| Location | Nagano, 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 | |
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 in Asia. 571 athletes competed in Nagano; as 2022 it remains the highest number of athletes competing at any Winter Paralympics.[1]
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]
- M-Wave – opening/closing ceremonies, ice sledge racing
- Aqua Wing Arena – ice sledge hockey
- Happo'one Resort: Alpine skiing (Downhill and Super-G)
- Snow Harp, Kamishiro: Cross-country skiing
- Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort: Biathlon
- 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) | |
| Creator | Sadahiko Kojima |
| Significance | A white rabbit resembling the Games logo |
The 1998 Winter Paralympics Mascot was Parabbit. Parabbit is a white rabbit with one green and one red ear. Parabbit was chosen to complement the logo of the 1998 Winter Paralympics.[6] It was created by Sadahiko Kojima.[7] A nationwide competition was held among students to decide on the name, which drew 10,057 entries suggesting 3,408 different names.[8]
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.
- ^ "Olympic Museum-Nagano 1998, Parabbit, the Paralympic Games' mascot". Musée Olympique. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games". National Paralympic Heritage Trust. 7 March 1994. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
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