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The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...
held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around
Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...
, Norway. Having lost the bid for the
1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...
to
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
in France, Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Games on 15 September 1988, two days before the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
opening ceremonies An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
at the 94th
IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...
in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea. Due to the calendar changes made in 1986, this was the only time that the
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
took place two years after the previous Winter Games, and the first to be held in a different year from the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
. This was the first Winter Olympics that took place in a year with the
Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
,
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
, and
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
. This was the second Olympic Games of any type hosted in Norway — the first being the
1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...
in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
— and the fourth Olympics overall to be held in a Nordic country, after the
1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden, and the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...
in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, Finland. Lillehammer is the northernmost city ever to host the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. Although Lillehammer was the main host city, some events were held in neighboring cities and counties, and the speed skating events were held in
Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
, some
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
matches were played in
Gjøvik Gjøvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Norway, Biri, Bybrua, ...
, and the
Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...
events were held in
Øyer Øyer is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tin ...
and
Ringebu is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vålebru (the village is also known as ''Ringebu''). The municipality ...
areas. Sixty-seven
National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
and 1,737 athletes participated in six
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
and sixty-one events. Fourteen countries made their Olympic debuts, of which nine were former
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
republics. The Games also saw the introduction of stricter and more rigid qualifying rules, reducing the number of under-performing participants. Six new events were introduced into the Olympic programme: new distances in
short-track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...
and aerials, and
speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
events were held indoors. Almost two million people spectated at the Games, which were the first to have the
Olympic Truce The Olympic Truce is a tradition originating from ancient Greece that dates back to 776 BC. A " truce" () was announced before and during the Olympic Games to ensure the host city state ( Elis) was not attacked and athletes and spectators could t ...
in effect. The Olympics were followed by the
1994 Winter Paralympics The 1994 Winter Paralympics (; ), the sixth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 10 to 19 March 1994.The Lillehammer Paralympics were the second time that the Games were held in Norway, after the 1980 Winter Paralym ...
from 10 to 19 March. Manuela Di Centa and Lyubov Yegorova dominated women's
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
, taking five and four medals for
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
respectively. A crowd of more than 100,000 saw Italy beat
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
by 0.4 seconds in the men's 4 × 10 km relay. Vreni Schneider won a complete set of medals for
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
in Alpine skiing, while Norway took a
podium sweep A podium sweep is where a team or nation comes in first, second and third, such as at the Olympics, and wins all available medals, which are recognized by a podium ceremony. The word sweep is commonly used in North American sports such as basebal ...
in the men's combined competition. In ladies' singles figure skating, 16-year-old Ukrainian
Oksana Baiul Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul-Farina (; born November 16, 1977) is a Ukrainian retired competitive figure skater. She is the 1993 world champion and the 1994 Olympic champion in ladies' singles. Baiul is the first Olympic Champion from Ukraine t ...
won gold, narrowly defeating
Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skating, figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 19 ...
, who won silver; this was the first Ukrainian medal at the Olympics in their first independent appearance. Johann Olav Koss won three speed skating golds for Norway, while 13-year-old Kim Yun-mi from South Korea became the youngest-ever Olympic gold medalist.
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
defeated
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in a dramatic
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
in the ice hockey final.
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
topped the medal table, winning 11 gold medals, while
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
collected the highest number of medals overall, with 26. The event also gained notoriety for the assault of Nancy Kerrigan.


Host city selection

The idea for an Olympic bid for Norway was born in 1981, when
Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...
in neighbouring
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
was defeated by
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to host the
1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...
. Along with the Norwegian government, the bid was also publicly encouraged and supported by the
Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...
, largely to help stimulate the economy of their inland counties. Lillehammer originally bid for the 1992 Games but came fourth in the voting, with the Games ultimately awarded to
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
, France. In 1986, at the 91st IOC Session in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, the IOC announced the intent to separate the Summer and Winter editions (which had been held in the same year since the inception of the Winter Olympics in 1924) after the 1992 Games. The two editions of the Olympics had alternated every two years during the four-year cycle. Lillehammer subsequently launched another bid, now for the 1994 Games, with some drastic modifications of the project, such as a new indoor speed skating venue and an additional ice hall in Lillehammer. Supplementary government guarantees and funds were secured for the new bid. Three other locations put in bids for the 1994 Games:
Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
(United States),
Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
(Sweden), and
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
(Bulgaria). Lillehammer was elected to host the 1994 Winter Games at the 94th IOC Session, held in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
on 15 September 1988, two days before the start of the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
. Until
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, the Lillehammer Games were the last Winter Olympics to be held in a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
, rather than centered in a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
.


Organization

The overall responsibility for the games was held by the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee, which was created on 14 November 1988 and led by Gerhard Heiberg.LOOC (I): 19 Between 1989 and 1993, the committee was reorganized several times with various subsidiaries. On 11 February 1993, it became a joint venture owned 51% by Lillehammer Municipality (as main stakeholder), 24.5% by the Government of Norway, and 24.5% by the
Norwegian Olympic Committee The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports ( NIF), commonly known as the Norwegian Sports Confederation () is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in Norway, ...
. This model was also used for the Lillehammer Paralympic Organizing Committee. The Norwegian government had issued a guarantee for the Games and also covered the expenses related to infrastructure. The total cost of the Games was 7.4 billion
Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
(NOK), of which NOK 0.95 billion was expended by the ministries, NOK 4.48 billion was for operations and event expenses, and NOK 1.67 billion was for investments. The Games had a revenue of NOK 2.71 billion, of which NOK 1.43 billion was from television rights, NOK 0.65 billion was from sponsors, and NOK 0.15 billion was from ticket sales. Production and execution of the broadcasting, which cost NOK 462 million, was a joint venture of the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
(NRK), the CTV (Canada) (CTV), and the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU) (the NRK is part of the collaboration of EBU members). NRK and EBU had 1,424 people working at the Olympics, while international broadcasters sent an additional 4,050 accredited broadcasting personnel. The transmission rights for the games were held by EBU in Europe,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
in Japan, CTV in Canada, the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU or APBU), formed in 1964, is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations. It currently has over 288 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching a potential audience of about 3 b ...
,
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
in Australia, as well as other broadcasters in other countries. The total transmission rights price was 350 million United States dollars, 310 million of which were paid only by CBS. This value was attributed in part to the Harding–Kerrigan affair. As of 2010, the viewership in the United States was still the highest ever for the Winter Olympics. NOK 460 million was used on information technology,LOOC (II): 5 with the main system running on an
IBM AS/400 The IBM AS/400 (Application System/400) is a family of midrange computers from IBM announced in June 1988 and released in August 1988. It was the successor to the System/36 and System/38 platforms, and ran the OS/400 operating system. Lower-cost b ...
. 3,500 media terminals were in use during the games based on the Info '94 system; it was the first Winter Olympics to have terminals installed abroad.
Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, and semiconductors. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969. Seiko is ...
delivered the time-keeping devices. Telecommunications were delivered by
Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...
, including signal transmission. This included a mobile radio network with nine base stations.


Cost and cost overrun

''The Oxford Olympics Study'' established the outturn cost of the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics at US$2.2 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 277% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) ''operational costs'' incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) ''direct capital costs'' incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are ''not'' included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Lillehammer 1994 compares with costs of US$2.5 billion and a cost overrun of 13% for Vancouver 2010, and costs of US$51 billion and a cost overrun of 289% for Sochi 2014, the latter being the most costly Olympics to date. Average cost for Winter Games since 1960 is US$3.1 billion, average cost overrun is 142%.


Events

There were 61 events contested in 6 sports (12 disciplines).


Opening ceremony

As the 1988 Winter Games, the Organizing Committee decided not to build a specific Olympic Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies and opted to conduct them at the ski jumping hill,
Lysgårdsbakken Lysgårdsbakken, officially known as Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena (), is a ski jumping hill in Lillehammer, Norway. It consists of a large hill, with a K-point of 123 and a hill size of 138, and a small hill with a K-point of 90 and a hill ...
. Artistic content presented a range of Norwegian and Nordic cultures, including elements such as
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
joik A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sápmi in Northern E ...
,
Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine skiing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only ...
, fiddlers and folk dancing, simulations of Norwegian traditional events, such as wedding processions, and the figure of vetter from
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
. After speeches by Heiberg and IOC president
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch ( Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh ...
, the Games were officially declared opened by
King Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...
. and the
Olympic Anthem The Olympic Hymn (, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with Demotic Greek lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of the Greek Deme ...
was performed by the lyrical singer,
Sissel Kyrkjebø Sissel Kyrkjebø (; born 24 June 1969), also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operati ...
. After, the
Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...
was to be carried down the ski jump before lighting the cauldron. Originally this task had rested upon Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl, but after he broke an arm in a practice jump, his back-up, Stein Gruben, received the honor. The cauldron was lit by Crown Prince Haakon Magnus. The
Olympic oath The Olympic Oath (distinct from the Olympic creed) is a solemn promise made by one athlete, judge or official, and one coach at the Opening Ceremony of each Olympic Games. Each oath taker is from the host nation and takes the oath on behalf of a ...
s were taken by
Vegard Ulvang Vegard Ulvang (born 10 October 1963) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier who won three Olympic gold medals, two silver, and one bronze. At the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, he took the ceremonial Olympic Oath on p ...
for the athletes and Kari Kåring for the officials.


Alpine skiing

Since the 1992 Games, the rules for combined changed, where the winner was determined by total time instead of points. The women's downhill was originally scheduled for
Hafjell Hafjell is a village and a ski resort in Norway, in the Øyer municipality in the county of Oppland. Hafjell hosted the alpine skiing events (giant slalom and slalom) at the 1994 Winter Olympics; the speed events were held at Kvitfjell, a regu ...
, but after protests due the hill difficulties it was moved to
Kvitfjell Kvitfjell () is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with snowmaking on 80% of the alpine pistes. Based near ...
, which also hosted the men's downhill and
super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...
. In the men's events, Germany's Markus Wasmeier won two disciplines,
giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...
and super-G, finishing ahead of the United States's Tommy Moe on the super-G. Moe won the downhill ahead of Norway's
Kjetil André Aamodt Kjetil André Aamodt (born 2 September 1971) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway, a champion in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is one of the most successful alpine ski racers from Norway. Biography Born ...
, who came in third in the super-G. Austria's
Thomas Stangassinger Thomas Stangassinger (born 15 September 1965) is an Austrian former alpine skier. Career Throughout the 1990s, he belonged to the international slalom elite. He won a silver medal in the World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm Saalba ...
won the slalom ahead of Italy's
Alberto Tomba Alberto Tomba Golden Collar of Sports Merit - Army Gold Cross of Merit (born 19 December 1966) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier ( slalom and giant slalom) in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 1 ...
. In the combined, Norway took a medal sweep, with
Lasse Kjus Lasse Kjus (born 14 January 1971) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway. He won the overall World Cup title twice, an Olympic gold medal, and several World Championships. His combined career total of 16 Olympic and World Champions ...
winning ahead of Aamodt and
Harald Christian Strand Nilsen Harald Christian Strand Nilsen (born 7 May 1971) is a retired Norwegian alpine skier. Born in Gjøvik, the all-rounder won no World Cup Races during his active career, but gained several podiums, especially in the 1994/95 season, where he en ...
. In the women's events, Switzerland's Vreni Schneider was the most successful, winning the slalom, taking silver in combined and taking bronze in
giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...
. The only other athlete to take multiple medals was Italy's
Isolde Kostner Isolde Kostner (born 20 March 1975) is an Italian former Alpine skiing, Alpine skier who won two bronze medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002 Winter Olympics. She was the It ...
, who took a third place in both downhill and
super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...
. The downhill was won by Germany's
Katja Seizinger Katja Seizinger (; born 10 May 1972) is a German former World Cup alpine ski racing champion. She is her country's most successful alpine skier. Biography Born in Datteln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Seizinger won three Olympic gold and two bronze ...
, super-G by the United States' Diann Roffe, the giant slalom by Italy's
Deborah Compagnoni Deborah Compagnoni Golden Collar of Sports Merit (born 4 June 1970) is an Italian former Alpine skier who won three gold medals at the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Biography Deborah Compagnoni was born in Bormio, northern Lombardy, and ...
, and the combined by Sweden's
Pernilla Wiberg Pernilla Wiberg (born 15 October 1970) is a Swedish former alpine ski racer and businesswoman. She competed on the World Cup circuit between 1990 and 2002, where she became one of the few all-event winners. Having won two Olympic gold medals, f ...
.


Biathlon

Russia and Germany split all the individual men's medals. In the 10 km sprint, Russia's
Sergei Tchepikov Sergei Vladimirovich Tchepikov (; born 30 January 1967) is a Russian politician and a former Soviet-Russian biathlete and cross-country skier who competed at six Winter Olympics, five in biathlon ( 1988, 1992, 1994, 2002 and 2006) and one in c ...
won ahead of
Ricco Groß Ricco Groß (also spelled Gross, born 22 August 1970) is a German former biathlete. He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships. Personal life He has been married to his wife Kathri ...
, both with a clean sheet. Bronze winner Sergei Tarasov won the 20 km individual ahead of Germany's Frank Luck and Sven Fischer. Germany easily revenged itself by winning the 4 × 7.5 km relay ahead of Russia and France. In the women's class, Canada's Myriam Bédard won both the individual events, finishing ahead of Belarus' Svetlana Paramygina on the 7.5 km sprint and ahead of France's
Anne Briand Anne Briand (born 2 June 1968 in Mulhouse) is a former France, French biathlon, biathlete. She belonged to the world's best biathletes in the early 1990s. At the 1992 Winter Olympics, 1992 Olympics in Albertville, the first time this competition ...
on the 15 km individual. In the 4 × 7.5 km relay, the format since 1992 was changed from three to four participants. Russia, with a clean sheet, won ahead of Germany, who made six misses, with France taking the bronze.


Bobsleigh

In two-man, Switzerland took the top two places, with Gustav Weder, Donat Acklin winning 0.05 seconds ahead of Reto Götschi and Guido Acklin, who were again 0.15 seconds ahead of Italy's Günther Huber and Stefano Ticci placing third. In four-man, Germany-II, consisting of Harald Czudaj, Karsten Brannasch,
Olaf Hampel Olaf Hampel (sometimes shown as Olav Hampel, born 1 November 1965) is a German bobsledder who competed during the 1990s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won gold medals in the four-man event in both 1994 and 1998. Hampel was also ...
and
Alexander Szelig Alexander Szelig (born 6 February 1966 in Werdau) is an East German-German bobsledder who competed in the early 1990s. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won a gold medal in the four-man event with teammates Harald Czudaj, Karste ...
, finished 0.06 seconds ahead of Switzerland-I and 0.23 ahead of Germany-I.


Cross-country skiing

Participants from five countries took all the medals of the ten events. Starting in 1994, the Olympics alternated which of the medium-distance and long-distance races had classical and freestyle. men's 4 × 10 km relay was watched by a crowd of nearly 150,000. Norway, Italy and Finland followed each other tightly for three and a half rounds, with the second and third exchange of the three talking place within 1.1 seconds of each other. Finland fell behind in the end, and Norwegian
Bjørn Dæhlie Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie (born 19 June 1967) is a Norwegian businessman and retired cross-country skier. From 1992 to 1999, Dæhlie won the Nordic World Cup six times, finishing second in 1994 and 1998. Dæhlie won a total of 29 medals in the Oly ...
and Italian Silvio Fauner battled to the end, with Italy beating Norway by 0.4 seconds. Dæhlie won the 10 km classical and 15 km freestyle pursuit, while taking silver in the 30 km freestyle. Kazakhstan's Vladimir Smirnov won the 50 km classical, in addition to silver in the 10 km and the 15 km. Norway's
Thomas Alsgaard Thomas Alsgaard (born 10 January 1972) is a Norwegian former professional cross-country skier. Alsgaard is regarded by many as the best performer of the freestyle technique (skating) in cross-country skiing and many of today's best skiers have st ...
won the 30 km, while Finland's
Mika Myllylä Mika Kristian Myllylä (12 September 1969 – 5 July 2011) was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed from 1992 to 2005. He won six medals at the Winter Olympics, earning one gold (1998: 30 km), one silver (1994: 50 km), and four b ...
took an individual silver and a bronze. Italy's Manuela Di Centa and Russia's Lyubov Yegorova dominated the women's events. They took five and four medals each, respectively, and between them winning all the races. Yegorova finished ahead of Di Centa on the 5 km classical and the 10 km pursuit, while Di Centa finished ahead of Yegorova on the 15 km freestyle, and also won the 30 km classical ahead of Norway's Marit Wold. Finland's
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (née Hämäläinen; born 10 September 1955) is a Finnish former cross-country skier. Career She was the big figure at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, winning all three individual cross-country skiing events (5, 10 and ...
took two bronze medals, in 5 km and 30 km. In the 4 × 5 km relay, Norway and Russia kept up with each other until the final stage, in which Anita Moen lost to Yegorova, with Italy finishing third. With Yegorova's sixth career gold, she was tied as the most-winning Winter Olympic participant.


Figure skating

On 6 January,
Tonya Harding Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater and boxer, and reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons w ...
's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly and his friend Shawn Eckardt, conspired with Shane Stant to club fellow female figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the knee. Both Harding and Kerrigan were selected for the Olympic team. After Harding admitted to helping to cover up the attack, the
United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...
initiated proceedings to remove her from the Olympic team, but Harding retained her place after threatening legal action. In the ladies' singles, Ukraine's
Oksana Baiul Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul-Farina (; born November 16, 1977) is a Ukrainian retired competitive figure skater. She is the 1993 world champion and the 1994 Olympic champion in ladies' singles. Baiul is the first Olympic Champion from Ukraine t ...
narrowly won ahead of Kerrigan and Chen Lu, with Harding finishing eighth. In the men's singles, Russia's
Alexei Urmanov Alexei Yevgenyevich Urmanov (; born 17 November 1973) is a Russian figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 1994 Olympic champion, the 1993 World bronze medalist, the 1997 European champion, the 1995–96 Champions Series Final ...
won ahead of Canada's
Elvis Stojko Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002). Persona ...
and France's
Philippe Candeloro Philippe Candeloro (born 17 February 1972) is a French former competitive Figure skating, figure skater. He is a two-time Figure skating at the Olympic Games, Olympic bronze medalist (1994, 1998), a two-time World Figure Skating Championships, Wo ...
. Relaxation of the rules led to several former stars returning, such as
ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...
1984 Champions Great Britain's
Jayne Torvill Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. She and her partner Christopher Dean are considered amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Wint ...
and
Christopher Dean Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal ...
, who took a bronze behind Russians
Oksana Grishuk Oksana (Pasha) Vladimirovna Grishuk (, ; born 17 March 1972) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. She is best known for her partnership with Evgeni Platov from 1989 to 1998. With Platov, she is a two-time Olympic champion (1994, 1998), ...
and Evgeny Platov, and Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin. In
pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...
, the Russians also took a double, with
Ekaterina Gordeeva Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva (; born 28 May 1971) is a Soviet and Russian figure skater. With her late husband Sergei Grinkov, she is the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion, a four-time World Champion (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), a th ...
and
Sergei Grinkov Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (; 4 February 1967 – 20 November 1995) was a Soviet and Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and a four-time World Champion (1986, 1987, 1989, ...
winning ahead of Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev.


Freestyle skiing

Aerials was added as a discipline, after it had been a
demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...
at the previous two games. Ski ballet, which had been a demonstration sport in 1992, was dropped. Canada dominated the men's events, with Jean-Luc Brassard winning the men's moguls ahead of Russian Sergey Shupletsov. In the men's aerials, Switzerlands's
Andreas Schönbächler Andreas Schönbächler (born 24 April 1966) is a Swiss freestyle skier and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in th ...
won ahead of Canada's Philippe LaRoche and Lloyd Langlois, with Canadians also claiming the fourth and sixth places. In the women's disciplines, Norway was the only nation to take two medals;
Stine Lise Hattestad Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg (born 30 April 1966) is a former Norwegian freestyle skier. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 1994 Olympics on Lillehammer and bronze from the Albertville Olympics. She also won the overall World Cup ...
won the moguls ahead of the United States' Liz McIntyre. In the aerials, Lina Cheryazova won, claiming Uzbekistan's only medal,LOOC (IV): 65 ahead of Sweden's Marie Lindgren and Norway's Hilde Synnøve Lid.


Ice hockey

Twelve teams participated in the ice hockey tournament, divided into two groups. Each played as a single round robin, with the four best advancing to the single elimination medal tournament. Group A saw Finland win all five matches, while the host nation lost all theirs. Also Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia advanced from the group, all with three victories. Group B was won by Slovakia ahead of Canada, Sweden and the United States. The quarter-finals saw the Czech Republic, the United States, Germany and Slovakia eliminated. In the semi-finals, Canada beat Finland 5–3, while Sweden beat Russia 4–3. After the final period of the final, the match was a 2–2 tie, resulting in a shoot-out. After six shots, it was tied 2–2 until Sweden's
Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...
beat Corey Hirsch, making the Swedes win after
Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a skilled and fast-skating offensive player, he played in the NHL for the Mig ...
missed his shot. This led to
Tomas Jonsson Alf Tomas Jonsson (born 12 April 1960) is a former ice hockey player from Sweden. He is assistant coach for the Danish national ice hockey team. Jonsson was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft in t ...
,
Håkan Loob Håkan Per Loob (born 3 July 1960) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player for Färjestad BK of the Elitserien and the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the head of European Scouting for the Calgary Flames af ...
and
Mats Näslund Mats Torsten Näslund (born 31 October 1959), nicknamed "Le Petit Viking", is a Swedish former ice hockey player. He played as a left winger. Despite his small size at only five feet and seven inches, Näslund is best known for being one of th ...
becoming the first three members of the
Triple Gold Club The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Ice hockey at the Olympic Games, Olympic Games gold medal, a Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship t ...
.


Luge

Italy, Germany and Austria collected all the medals in the luge events. Germany's
Georg Hackl Georg Hackl (; born 9 September 1966), often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as ''Hackl-Schorsch'' or as the ''Speeding Weißwurst'', a reference to what h ...
won the men's singles, making him the first to defend an Olympic title in the event in thirty years. He finished ahead of Austria's Markus Prock and Italy's
Armin Zöggeler Armin Zöggeler OMRI (born 4 January 1974) is a retired Italian luger and double Olympic champion. He is one of the most successful men in the sport, nicknamed ''Il Cannibale'' ("The Cannibal"), for his notable series of victories, or ''The Iceb ...
. In the doubles, the two Italian teams finished on top, with Kurt Brugger and
Wilfried Huber Wilfried Huber (born 15 November 1970 in Bruneck, South Tyrol) is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1985 to 2010. Together with Kurt Brugger, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer ...
winning ahead of Hansjörg Raffl and Norbert Huber. In the women's singles, Italy's Gerda Weissensteiner won ahead of Germany's Susi Erdmann and Austria's Andrea Tagwerker. The own debuts was start Nedžad Lomigora from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marco Feder from Liechtenstein, Sminon J. Payne from Bermuda, Paul Hix from United Kingdom, Josef Svarek from Slovakia, Roger White from Australia.


Nordic combined

Although the events were the same, since the 1992 Games there was a rule change so that instead of jumping three times and taking the points for the best two, the competitors only jumped twice. In the individual normal hill/15 km, Japan's Kenji Ogiwara had only lost a single event in the season's
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
, but came in sixth on the hill, which was won by Norway's Fred Børre Lundberg. He won the event after finishing eight-best in the skiing, ahead of Japan's Takanori Kono, Norway's Bjarte Engen Vik and Ogiwara in fourth. In the team normal hill/3 x 10 km, Japan finished first, third and fifth among the jumpers, giving them a 5:07 minute lead over Norway and finishing 4:49 minutes ahead. Switzerland took the bronze.


Short track speed skating

Short track speed skating was dominated by
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, who won four of the six events. After the discipline's debut in 1992, 1994 featured two new events, the men's 500 meters and the women's 1000 meters. South Korea's Chae Ji-Hoon won the men's 500 meters, while taking silver on the 1000 meters behind countryman Kim Ki-Hoon, who defended his 1992 gold. The bronze was won by Canada's
Marc Gagnon Marc Gagnon (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian former short track speed skating, short track speed skater. He is a four-time World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, Overall World Champion for 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, and winner of three O ...
, who won the B final. In the A final, countryman Derrick Campbell was obstructed by Great Britain's Nicky Gooch, who was disqualified. Campbell got up and started celebrating his bronze medal, when he discovered he had not completed the race. In the men's 5000 meter relay, South Korea did not enter after a fall in the sole qualifying event, which took place in March 1993. Canada fell during the final, which saw Italy take a clear victory ahead of the United States, who were marginally ahead of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The United States' Eric Flaim became the first to take Olympic medals in both short track and long track speed skating, while Australia took its first Winter Olympic medal ever. Six people took the individual medals in the women's events, with the United States' Cathy Turner defending her 1992 gold on the 500 meters and South Korea's Chun Lee-Kyung taking the gold in 1000 meters. South Korea won the 3000 meter relay with a team of four girls under 19. At 13, Kim Yoon-Mi became the world's youngest Olympic gold medalist.


Ski jumping

Norway won three of the six individual medals, with Norway's Espen Bredesen winning the normal hill ahead of Norway's
Lasse Ottesen Lasse Ottesen (born 8 April 1974) is a Norwegian former ski jumper who competed from 1991 to 2002. Career He grew up in the little hamlet of Aurskog in eastern Norway and represented the local sports club Aurskog-Finstadbru SK. His biggest s ...
and Germany's
Dieter Thoma Dieter Thoma (born 19 October 1969) is a West German/German former ski jumper. Career During that time he was the second best German ski jumper after Jens Weißflog. Thoma was not the first known ski jumper in the family: his uncle Georg Thom ...
. In the large hill, Germany's
Jens Weißflog Jens Weißflog (; born 21 July 1964) is an East German and later German former ski jumper. He is one of the best and most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport. He is a two time olympic and nordic world ski champion; also overall ...
won ahead of Bredesen and Austria's Andreas Goldberger. In the large hill team, the 1994 Games introduced new rules whereby all four jumps in each round counted, and not just the best three. Neither Norway nor Finland, who between them had won all but one former Olympic team jump, managed to collect a medal. The event became a duel between Germany and Japan, with only a point separating them after the first round of jumps.
Masahiko Harada (born 9 May 1968) is a Japanese former ski jumper. He is best remembered for a meltdown at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, which cost the Japanese national team a victory, and his subsequent redemption at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Na ...
had the last jump, and would secure a gold if he managed 105 meters but lost his 'cool' mistiming his leap and landed at 97.5 meters, giving the gold to the Germans.


Speed skating

In 1989, the International Skating Union mandated that, from the 1994 Olympics onwards, speed skating events would be held indoors to avoid interference from wind and weather conditions in the competitions. The 1994 Games also introduced a new system of qualification rules, limiting the number of participants in the men's 5000 meters and women's 3000 meters to 32, and only allowing the 16 best in each of these events to participate in the men's 10000 meters and the women's 5000 meters. Norway's Johann Olav Koss took three golds, in the men's 1,500 meters, 5000 meters and 10000 meters. In the latter two, he finished ahead of fellow countryman Kjell Storelid. The men's 500 meters was won by Russia's Aleksandr Golubev ahead of fellow countryman Sergey Klevchenya, while the men's 1000 meters was won by American
Dan Jansen Daniel Erwin Jansen (born June 17, 1965) is a retired American speed skater. A multiple world champion in sprint and perennial favorite at the Winter Olympics, he broke a ten-year Olympic jinx when he won a gold medal in his final race, which ...
. For women, American Bonnie Blair defended her two 1992 golds in 500 meters and 1000 meters. Austria's
Emese Hunyady Emese Hunyady (born 4 March 1966) is a former Hungarian-Austrian speed skater. At age ten, Hunyady participated at the 1977 Hungarian Sprint Championships for Juniors, finishing sixth. Representing Hungary, she had her first international com ...
won the
1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...
ahead of Russia's
Svetlana Bazhanova Svetlana Valeryevna Bazhanova () (born 1 December 1972) is a former speed skater. Svetlana Bazhanova married Vadim Sayutin, a fellow speed skater in 1994. Personal records To put these personal records in perspective, the ''WR'' column lists ...
and Germany's Gunda Niemann. However, Bazhanova took gold ahead of Nemeth-Hunyady on the 3000 meters, with Germany's
Claudia Pechstein Claudia Pechstein (born 22 February 1972) is a retired German speed skater. She has won five Olympic gold medals. With a total of nine Olympic medals, five gold, two silver, and two bronze, she was previously the most successful Olympic speed ...
in third. Pechstein would go on to win the 5000 meters ahead of Niemann.


Closing ceremony

At the closing ceremonies, also held at Lysgårdsbakken, all spectators were handed a flashlight with the inscription "Remember Sarajevo"—the host of the
1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...
which was at worst moment of the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
, the
Siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...
. The first entrants on the stage were
Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and filmmaker. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, whom she date ...
and
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...
, followed by the athletes' precession. After the Olympic flag had been transferred to Nagano mayor Tasuka Tsukada, speeches were held by Lillehammer mayor Audun Tron, Heiberg and Samaranch. The latter used his speech to remind about Sarajevo's situation, before giving Heiberg IOC's gold medal. Artistic presentations followed with many of the themes from the opening ceremony.At the 15-minute presentation as the next host city, Nagano was presented to world as a modern
Yama-uba , yamamba, and yamanba are variations on the name of a ''yōkai'' found in Japanese folklore. Mostly said to resemble women, yamauba may be depicted as predatory monsters or benevolent beings. Appearance Depending on the text and translator, th ...
, also the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
mascots, the Snowlets, was also presented on a public eye for the first time. Of the 2,200 people performing in the opening and closing ceremonies, only 50 were professionals.


Venues

The games were spread out over ten venues in five
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in two
counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
,
Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...
and
Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...
.
Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...
, with 25,000 inhabitants, and
Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
and
Gjøvik Gjøvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Norway, Biri, Bybrua, ...
, both with 27,000 inhabitants, are all situated on the lake
Mjøsa Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway and the fourth deepest in Norway and Europe. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the river Gudbrandsdalslågen flowing in from the north; the ...
. Gjøvik and Hamar are located south of Lillehammer. Hunderfossen is located north of Lillehammer, but lies within the municipality. Øyer and Ringebu, both with just under 5,000 inhabitants, are located north of Lillehammer, in the valley
Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and the lake ...
. Lillehammer had four venues, Hamar had two venues, while Hunderfossen, Gjøvik, Øyer and Ringebu had one venue each. In Lillehammer,
Lysgårdsbakken Lysgårdsbakken, officially known as Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena (), is a ski jumping hill in Lillehammer, Norway. It consists of a large hill, with a K-point of 123 and a hill size of 138, and a small hill with a K-point of 90 and a hill ...
features twin
ski jumping hill A ski jumping hill is a sports venue used for ski jumping. They vary in size from temporary handmade snow structures to permanent competition venues. At the top is an in-run where the jumper runs down to generate sufficient speed, before reaching ...
s. The large hill has a hill size of 138 and a critical point of 120, while the normal hill has a hill size of 100 and a critical point of 90. The hill has capacity for 35,000 spectators and hosted, in addition to the ski jumping events, the opening and closing ceremonies. Birkebeineren Skistadion featured cross-country skiing and biathlon, with the stadium itself having a capacity for 31,000 spectators during cross-country skiing and 13,500 during biathlon. In addition, spectators could watch from along the tracks. Kanthugen Freestyle Arena featured a capacity for 15,000 spectators. All the outdoor skiing arenas had free areas, which saw up to 25,000 extra spectators at the team jump and 75,000 extra spectators at the 50 km.
Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...
is located at
Hunderfossen Hunderfossen is a village in Fåberg in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the west shore of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about north of the Lillehammer (town), town of Lillehammer. The small village features the Hunderfos ...
. It had a capacity for 10,000 spectators and is the only bobsleigh and luge track in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
. Ice hockey was played at two venues, in
Håkons Hall Håkons Hall, sometimes anglicized as Håkon Hall and Haakons Hall, is an arena located at Stampesletta in Lillehammer, Norway. With a spectator capacity of 11,500 people, it is the largest handball and ice hockey venue in the country. Håkons ...
in Lillehammer and Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall in Gjøvik. Håkons Hall has a capacity for 10,500 spectators, and also features the Norwegian Olympic Museum. The Cavern Hall is built as a man-made cave and had a capacity for 5,300 spectators. Skating events took place at two venues in Hamar.
Vikingskipet Vikingskipet ("The Viking Ship"), officially known as Hamar Olympic Hall (), is an indoor Multi-purpose stadium, multi-use sport and event venue in Hamar, Norway. It was built as the speed skating rink for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and has sinc ...
had a capacity for 10,600 spectators and featured speed skating events, while figure skating and short-track speed skating were held at
Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre CC Amfi, also known as Nordlyshallen ("The Northern Light Hall"), is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway. It is mostly used for ice hockey and is the home arena of Storhamar Hockey. It has also been used for short track speed skating, figure ...
. Alpine skiing was split between two ski resorts:
Hafjell Hafjell is a village and a ski resort in Norway, in the Øyer municipality in the county of Oppland. Hafjell hosted the alpine skiing events (giant slalom and slalom) at the 1994 Winter Olympics; the speed events were held at Kvitfjell, a regu ...
in Øyer and
Kvitfjell Kvitfjell () is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with snowmaking on 80% of the alpine pistes. Based near ...
in Ringebu. The former was used for the slalom and giant slalom, while the latter hosted downhill and super-G. Spectators relied heavily on the use of buses and trains for transportation. Downtown Lillehammer and the axis between Lillehammer and Oslo were the most limiting areas, and the
Norwegian State Railways Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...
ran up to 22 trains per day between Oslo and Lillehammer. Trains were also used northwards towards
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
, while other areas were served by bus. All the venues were located along railway lines, making use of spectators walking from the stations to the venues to limit road congestion, although special services were available for disabled people. Shuttle buses were established between venues and also connected to
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
facilities.


Participating National Olympic Committees

A record 67 nations participated in the 1994 Winter Olympics. These Games were the first to implement stricter qualifying standards that prevented low-performing athletes from competing without meeting minimum requirements. As a consequence, eleven "warm-weather countries" that signed up to take part in the Games were mostly absent because very few of their athletes succeeded in qualifying; the number of African athletes fell from nineteen in 1992 to three in 1994. These rules were, however, not applied to bobsled events, enabling the
U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...
,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
to compete in that sport. On 25 October 1993, the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
urged its members to observe the
Olympic truce The Olympic Truce is a tradition originating from ancient Greece that dates back to 776 BC. A " truce" () was announced before and during the Olympic Games to ensure the host city state ( Elis) was not attacked and athletes and spectators could t ...
, lasting from seven days before the start of the Games until seven days after the close, making the Lillehammer Olympics the first to observe the truce. The IOC appealed for a truce in the ongoing
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
and the
Siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...
, the city that had hosted the
1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...
. The former Soviet republics of
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
,
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
participated as independent nations. This was the first time since the
1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
that
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
competed independently at the Olympic Games. Athletes of these countries previously competed in the Winter Olympics as part of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
team until 1991. The
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
participated for the first time, after the break-up of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
in 1993.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
made their Olympic debut, following their independence from
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
in 1992; the composition of their four-man bob team was one Croat, two Bosniaks and a Serb, mirroring the ethnic diversity of the country. This was also
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's first appearance at the Winter Olympics and a member of the
European Olympic Committees The European Olympic Committees (EOC; ) is an organisation based in Rome, Italy, consisting of 50 National Olympic Committees from the continent of Europe.EOC members include transcontinental countries Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian ...
.
American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
participated for the first time, as did Trinidad and Tobago.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

1,737
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
s from 67 NOCs


Calendar

:''All dates are in
Central European Time Central European Time (CET) is a standard time of Central, and parts of Western Europe, which is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The UTC offset, time offset from UTC can be written as UTC+01:00. It is used in most parts of Eur ...
(
UTC+1 +01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time * West Africa Time * Western European Summer Time **Brit ...
)''


Medal table

Russia won the most golds, while Norway won the most medals overall. The following table presents the top ten nations, sorted by gold medals, with the host nation highlighted.


Podium sweeps


Notes


References


External links

* *
The program of the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics
* * * * * {{Authority control Winter Olympics, 1994 Olympic Games in Norway Winter Olympics, 1994 Winter Olympics by year Sport in Lillehammer Winter multi-sport events in Norway February 1994 sports events in Europe