The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002, were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due schedule impediments the football tournament started two days before the opening ceremonies.
Marit Bjørgen is a former Norwegian cross-country skier. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories. Bjørgen is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup history, with 29 victories. She headed the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning five medals, including three gold. A five-time Olympian, her five Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games brought her total number of medals up to a record 15, the most by any athlete in Winter Olympics history.
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. Approximately 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 302 events in 28 sports.
2009 Asian Martial Arts Games, the 1st and only Asian Martial Arts Games in history were a pancontinential martial arts multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 1 to 9 August 2009 with 9 events contested. Due to Political crisis in Thailand And 2009 Swine Flu, the Bangkok Asian Martial Arts Games Organizing Committee (BAMAGOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Thailand decided that Asian Martial Arts Games moved from the original schedule of 25 April to 3 May to 1 to 9 August. Four years later, the event merged with another Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) event – Asian Indoor Games to form the larger Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Republic of Korea has competed at every celebration of the Asian Games except the 1951 Asian Games, including hosting the Summer Games in 1986, 2002, and 2014 and the Winter Games in 1999.
China participated at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, sending its largest delegation at a Winter Olympics with 94 athletes. China had its best ever Winter Olympics medal finish, winning five gold medals and eleven in total, finishing seventh in the medal standings.
India is a member of the South Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and has participated in the Asian Games since their inception in 1951. The Indian Olympic Association, established in 1927, and recognised in the same year by the International Olympic Committee, is the National Olympic Committee for India.
Japan has competed at the Asian Games since their inception in 1951, held in New Delhi, India. The National Olympic Committee of Japan, Japanese Olympic Committee, is responsible for organizing Japan's participation in the Asian Games. The Committee was established in 1911 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1912; it is also the oldest Asian National Olympic Committee. Japan has a distinguished achievement among all Asian sport teams, being the only one to have won at least 20 gold medals at every Asian Games.
Hong Kong first competed at the Asian Games in 1954.
Vietnam first competed at the Asian Games in 1954 in Manila, Philippines as State of Vietnam. After the partition of Vietnam, South Vietnam participated from 1958 to 1970. North Vietnam and South Vietnam merged in 1976 and the reunified Vietnam team started competing from 1982 onward. In total, Vietnamese athletes have won 17 gold medals and 180 medals overall at the Asian Games.
The 2002 Asian Games was a multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Busan was the second South Korean city to host the Games, after Seoul in 1986. A total of 6,572 athletes—4,605 men and 1,967 women—from 44 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 38 sports divided into 419 events. The number of competing athletes was higher than the 1998 Asian Games, in which 6,544 athletes from 41 NOCs participated. It was the first time in the history of the Asian Games that all 44 member nations of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) participated in the Games. Afghanistan returned after the fall of the Taliban government in the midst of ongoing war; East Timor, newest member of the OCA made its debut; and North Korea competed for the first time in an international sporting event hosted by South Korea. Both nations marched together at the opening ceremony with a Korean Unification Flag depicting the Korean Peninsula as United Korea.
The 2017 Asian Winter Games was the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were hosted in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled for 2015, however, in the Olympic Council of Asia's general assembly in Singapore on 3 July 2009, the committee decided to move the Games to one year before the Winter Olympics moving forward. The games began on 19 February with the opening ceremony and ended with the closing ceremony on 26 February.
The 1998 Asian Games was a multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to December 20, 1998. A total of 6,544 athletes from 41 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 376 events in 36 sports. This edition of the Games marked the addition of three sports—squash, rugby union and cue sports—to the list of Asian Games sports; squash was included after seven years of lobbying by the Asian Squash Federation.
The 1974 Asian Games was a multi-sport event held in Tehran, Iran from September 1, 1974, to September 16, 1974. This was the first time that Asian Games were celebrated in any Middle East country. A total of 3,010 athletes selected from 25 Asian National Olympic Committees participated in 16 sports divided into 202 events. The number of participating countries was the greatest in Asian Games history, eighteen nations competed in Bangkok, host of the 1970 Asian Games. Fencing, gymnastics (artistic) and women's basketball were included for the first time; while sailing—which made its debut in the previous Asian Games—was not included, however since 1978, sailing is a part of the Asian Games sports.
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), conducted a state-sanctioned doping programme on athletes in the 1980s and 1990s. The majority of revelations of Chinese doping have focused on swimmers and track and field athletes, such as Ma Junren's Ma Family Army (馬家軍).
Navab Nassirshalal is an Iranian retired weightlifter who won a gold medal in the men's 105 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He began weightlifting at the age of 15 and has also won a bronze medal in the 94 kg class snatch at the 2007 Asian Weightlifting Championships, silver in the 94 kg clean and jerk and bronze overall at the 2009 edition, and gold in the 105 kg category in 2012.
The 2013 Asian Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the biennial athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, India between 3–7 July. Around 522 athletes from 42 nations competed at the event. It was the first time since 1989 that India had hosted the championships.
Chinese Taipei is scheduled to compete in the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo and Obihiro, Japan from February 19 to 26. Chinese Taipei is scheduled to compete in all five sports. The Chinese Taipei delegation consists of 41 athletes and 30 officials. This marks the nation's largest ever Asian Winter Games team in terms of athletes and officials sent.
