Snowboarding’s Olympic debut – Nagano 1998 Olympic Games

Men’s and women’s snowboarding made their Olympic debuts at the Nagano Games in 1998 with giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. The discipline proved an instant success and returned to Salt Lake City four years later. Gian Simmen from Switzerland won the first Olympic snowboarding gold medal in the men’s halfpipe event, with Daniel Franck from Norway and Ross Powers from the USA taking silver and bronze, respectively. Find more about snowboarding: www.olympic.org