Tara Lipinski became the youngest woman to win the figure skating gold medal.

The Winter Games returned to Japan after 26 years, but Nagano was pummeled by snow, sleet, rain and even a minor earthquake during the 17 days of competition. The weather caused a scheduling nightmare -- organizers had to cram the men's super G, women's downhill and women's combined downhill into one day—the first tripleheader in Olympic Alpine history. Snowboarding and curling debuted as official sports and women's ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic program. The men's ice hockey tournament was opened to all professionals for the first time and was won by the Czech Republic. The spirit of the Games was exemplified by Alpine skier Hermann Maier, who survived a horrifying spill during the men's downhill that spun him airborne and sent him crashing through two retaining fences. He recovered and just days later won golds in the super G and the giant slalom.

Highlights

At 15 years, eight months and 10 days, Tara Lipinski became the youngest woman to win the figure skating gold medal.

Bonnie Blair of the United States won her second and third gold medals in the 500- and 1,000-meter speedskating events. She won her first gold medal in 1988.

Denmark claimed its first winter medal, in curling -- quite a feat for a nation that doesn't have a functioning curling rink.

Norwegian cross-country skier Bjorn Daehlie won three gold medals, giving him eight for his career.

The host nation, Japan, led by ski jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki, won more golds in 16 days than it had won in 70 years at the Winter Olympics.

Five world and 11 Olympic records were set in 11 speed skating events, mostly because of the so-called clap skate and the drag-reducing rubber strips sewn onto the skater's uniform.

Attendance	Male Athletes	Female Athletes	Most-Medaled	U.S. Rank
72 nations	1,488	814	Germany (29)	Fifth (tied)

Source: Knight-Ridder/Tribune