[1] A total of 2,176 athletes representing 72 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games in 68 events across 14 disciplines.
[2] The discipline of snowboarding made its debut, with four events contested, two for men and two for women.
[4] At the time, it was believed that curling made its debut as a medal event, having been a demonstration sport three times at the 1932, 1988, and 1992 Winter Olympics;[5] however, in 2006, the International Olympic Committee ruled that the 1924 Olympic tournament in Chamonix, France, had been an official medal event,[6] retroactively making the Nagano tournament the second time curling has been contested for official medals.
[8][9] Bulgaria and the Czech Republic won their first Winter Olympic gold medals in Nagano.
[12] Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie won four medals, including three golds.