Host city | Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan |
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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]
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]
In total seven venues were used at the 1998 Winter Olympics around four cities and towns.[4]
Main article: 1998 Winter Paralympics medal table |
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 |
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]
Parabbit | |
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Mascot of the 1998 Winter Paralympics (Nagano) |
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. A vote held by students to decide on the name, resulted in Parabbit getting 3,408 votes.[6]
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]