Four years later, competing in her home country during the 1998 Games in Nagano, she won her only medal, a bronze, when she placed third in the 500 meter event with a time of 38:55.

At 38 years old, she was the oldest female member of the Japanese team, and was selected to bear the flag of Japan during the opening ceremony.

[2] She was not the first female flag bearer for Japan in the winter games as erroneously reported by a Canadian TV commentator and on Yahoo!

[3]) In addition to her Olympic career, Okazaki has skated successfully in a number of world championship events.

She has won 11 Speed Skating World Cup races in 500 meter events, and has a personal best time in that distance of 37.73.