1998 Winter Paralympics

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]

VII Paralympic Winter Games
LocationNagano, Japan
MottoFureai and Inspiration
(Japanese: ふれあいと感)
Nations32
Athletes571
Events122 in 4 sports
Opening5 March
Closing14 March
Opened by
Cauldron
Naoya Maruyama
StadiumM-Wave
Winter
Summer
1998 Winter Olympics

Sports

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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]

Venues

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

Medal table

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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 entries)1069595296

Participants

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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

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Parabbit
 
Mascot of the 1998 Winter Paralympics (Nagano)
CreatorSadahiko Kojima
SignificanceA 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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "Winter Games Overview". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Nagano 1998". International Paralympic Committee. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Nagano 1998". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Schedule of the Nagano Paralympics". Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Nagano 1998 - ParticipantNumbers".
  6. ^ "Nagano 1998 Paralympic Mascot Parabbit - Photos & History". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Olympic Museum-Nagano 1998, Parabbit, the Paralympic Games' mascot". Musée Olympique. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games". National Paralympic Heritage Trust. 7 March 1994. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
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Preceded by Winter Paralympics
Nagano

VII Paralympic Winter Games (1998)
Succeeded by