DESCRIPTION

The outline of a ski slope bordered by trees with the words NAGANO & 1998 separated by the Olympic rings. The reverse has a textured edge with the Nagano emblem and legend THE XVIII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, / NAGANO 1998 in the center. The medals were struck by at least a couple different manufacturers lending to some slight variations in color. The medals were presented in a foam holder encased with a white cardboard sleeve.

THE GAMES

In 1998 the Winter Olympic Games returned to Japan after 26 years. Snowboarding and curling debuted as official sports and women’s ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic program. For the first time, the men’s ice hockey tournament was opened to all professionals. The inspired team from the Czech Republic scored a surprise victory. Björn Dählie won three gold medals in Nordic skiing to become the first winter athlete to earn eight career gold medals and twelve total medals. Tara Lipinski won the women’s figure skating title to become, at 15, the youngest champion in an individual event in the history of the Winter Olympics. The spirit of the Games was exemplified by Alpine skier Hermann Maier. Maier survived a spectacular fall in the downhill, recovered and earned gold medals in both the super-g and the giant slalom.