Japan Nagano
XVIII Winter International Olympic Games
7 – 22 February 1998
2176 athletes (787 women and 1389 men) of 72 nations competed at these Games. 68 sets of medals had been played for in 14 sports. Azerbaijan, Kenya, Macedonia, Uruguay, and Venezuela made their debut at these Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympics saw the introduction of snowboarding and women’s ice hockey as official sports. Canadian athlete Ross Rebagliati and French female athlete Karine Ruby became the first champions in men’s and women’s giant slalom (snowboarding) respectively. The first champions in men’s halfpipe and women’s halfpipe became Swiss athlete Gian Simmen, and German female athlete Nicola Thost respectively.
WINNER MEDALS
The Nagano Winter Olympic winner medals (totally 68 sets) are really unique artwork. The central part of the medal contains slightly less gold than usual. It is explained by the effort of the designers to demonstrate national art traditions. To this end, they placed lacquer miniature pictures done individually by famous artists from the Kiso region in the center of the medals. The pictures show the Olympic emblem and mountains in the background. The medals are made by combined Japanese and Western technologies using the metalwork techniques traditional in Nagano.
The winner medal has been created by 39-year-old designer Takeshi Ito. The lacquer miniature pictures are made by the Maki-e technique, i.e. embossed gilding of almost dry lacquer surfaces. The idea of the Japanese lacquer miniature picture artists was to create such medals that would slightly differ from each other, since all of them were hand-made by different craftsmen. Therefore each of the medals would be as unique as the victory at the Olympics.
The metal parts were minted at Japanese Mint. The medals are suspended from a yellow-edged blue ribbon passed through a metal lug.
OBVERSE: the official emblem of the Winter Olympics remindful of the mild rising sun surrounded by olive branches.
REVERSE: the emblem of the Games in Maki-e with the sun rising over the Shinshu mountains. A pictogram underneath made by the precision metalwork technique depicts the discipline concerned.
COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS
The commemorative medals are made of bronze. The key element of their design is the Winter Olympic official logo.
OBVERSE: the inscription in English “Nagano”, with the stylized forest landscape in the background. The Olympic rings are shown over the year of celebration “1998” in the center of the medal.
REVERSE: the official logo of the Winter Olympics and inscription “The XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998” on the plain surface.
GOLD WINNER MEDAL (FIRST PRIZE)
COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL
The Olympics saw the introduction of snowboarding and women’s ice hockey as official sports. Canadian athlete Ross Rebagliati and French female athlete Karine Ruby became the first champions in men’s and women’s giant slalom (snowboarding) respectively. The first champions in men’s halfpipe and women’s halfpipe became Swiss athlete Gian Simmen, and German female athlete Nicola Thost respectively.
WINNER MEDALS
The Nagano Winter Olympic winner medals (totally 68 sets) are really unique artwork. The central part of the medal contains slightly less gold than usual. It is explained by the effort of the designers to demonstrate national art traditions. To this end, they placed lacquer miniature pictures done individually by famous artists from the Kiso region in the center of the medals. The pictures show the Olympic emblem and mountains in the background. The medals are made by combined Japanese and Western technologies using the metalwork techniques traditional in Nagano.
The winner medal has been created by 39-year-old designer Takeshi Ito. The lacquer miniature pictures are made by the Maki-e technique, i.e. embossed gilding of almost dry lacquer surfaces. The idea of the Japanese lacquer miniature picture artists was to create such medals that would slightly differ from each other, since all of them were hand-made by different craftsmen. Therefore each of the medals would be as unique as the victory at the Olympics.
The metal parts were minted at Japanese Mint. The medals are suspended from a yellow-edged blue ribbon passed through a metal lug.
OBVERSE: the official emblem of the Winter Olympics remindful of the mild rising sun surrounded by olive branches.
REVERSE: the emblem of the Games in Maki-e with the sun rising over the Shinshu mountains. A pictogram underneath made by the precision metalwork technique depicts the discipline concerned.
COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS
The commemorative medals are made of bronze. The key element of their design is the Winter Olympic official logo.
OBVERSE: the inscription in English “Nagano”, with the stylized forest landscape in the background. The Olympic rings are shown over the year of celebration “1998” in the center of the medal.
REVERSE: the official logo of the Winter Olympics and inscription “The XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998” on the plain surface.
GOLD WINNER MEDAL (FIRST PRIZE)
| Metal | Silver-gilt |
| Diameter | 80 mm |
| Thickness | 7 mm |
| Weight | 260 g |
| Designer | Takeshi Ito |
| Mint | Kiso Kurashi Craft Center |
COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL
| Metal | Bronze |
| Diameter | 60 mm |
| Thickness | 7.1 mm |
| Weight | 137 g |
| Designer | - |
| Mint | - |
Bronze commemorative medal
Gold winner medal, first prize
Olympic Prize Winner Diploma
Olympic relay torch