The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Nagano 1998, was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions.
Jason Carl Gardener, is a retired British sprint athlete. A fast starter from the blocks, he won an Olympic gold medal leading off Great Britain in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2004 Olympic Games, and is also the 2004 World Indoor Champion, and a four-time European Indoor champion, at 60 metres.
Manuela Georgieva Maleeva is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the WTA Tour between 1982 and 1994. Through her marriage, Maleeva began representing Switzerland officially from January 1990 until her retirement in February 1994.
Manuel "Manolo" Martínez Gutiérrez is a retired Spanish shot putter. Nicknamed the "Gentle Giant", his personal best throw outdoors is 21.47 metres and he has an indoor best of 21.26 m. These marks are the Spanish national records for the event. His international career lasted from 1992 to 2011 and he earned national selection on 84 occasions – the most by any Spanish athlete.
Edoardo Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960.
Saulius Štombergas is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be a great team leader, as he managed to play very well under pressure, and at the end of games. He was also known for his 3-point shooting ability.
Didier Cuche is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland.
Marie-Theres Nadig is a retired Swiss alpine skier.
Claudinei Quirino da Silva is a retired Brazilian sprinter who competed primarily in 200 metres.
Per Ivar Moe is a former speed skater from Norway.
Cédric Grand is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from 1997 to 2010. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event at Turin in 2006. He was born in Geneva.
Brigita Bukovec is a retired Slovenian hurdler who won an Olympic silver medal in 1996. During the Olympics she set a personal best time with 12.59 seconds.
Andreas Glyniadakis is a Greek former professional basketball player. During his pro club career, at a height of 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall, Glyniadakis played at the center position. His pro club playing career started in 1997, and ended in 2020.
Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo, commonly known as either Juan Carlos Navarro or J. C. Navarro, is a Spanish former professional basketball player. During his playing career, at a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played at the shooting guard position. On March 14, 2014, he was named a EuroLeague Basketball Legend. He is the current team manager of FC Barcelona Bàsquet.
Viktor Röthlin is a Swiss former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon.
Georges Miez was a Swiss gymnast. He competed at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, winning a total of four gold, three silver and one bronze medals. Miez was the most successful athlete of the 1928 Games, whereas in 1932 he was the only medalist for Switzerland. Miez also won three medals at the 1934 World Championships.
Mujinga Kambundji is a Swiss sprinter. She won the bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2019 World Championships. Kambundji is the 60 metres 2022 World indoor champion, becoming the joint fourth-fastest woman of all time in the event, after earning a bronze in 2018. She is a three-time European Championships medallist, with gold for the 200 m and silver for the 100 m in 2022, and bronze for the 100 m in 2016. At the European Indoor Championships, she earned gold in the 60 m in 2023 and bronze in 2017.
Switzerland made its Paralympic Games début at the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, and has participated in every edition of the Summer Paralympics. It also took part in the inaugural Winter Paralympics in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, and has competed in every edition of the Winter Games.
Angela Ballard is an Australian Paralympic athlete who competes in T53 wheelchair sprint events. She became a paraplegic at age 7 due to a car accident.
The women's 200 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 30 September to 2 October 2019.
