LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Winter Olympic Games
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In 1998 the Winter Olympic Games returned to Japan after 26 years. Snowboarding debuted as an official discipline. Curling was returned to the Olympic Winter programme this time with a tournament for both men and women. For the first time, the men's ice hockey tournament was opened to all professionals and women's ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic programme. The inspired team from the Czech Republic scored a surprise victory. Bjorn Dahlie won three gold medals in Nordic skiing to become the first winter athlete to earn eight career olympic gold medals and twelve total medals.
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The Winter Olympic Games had opened its doors to professional athletes and in 1998, the NHL opened its doors to the Olympics. The game’s premier professional hockey league interrupted its schedule in 1998, 2002 and 2006 to allow the best players in the world to take part in the Winter Olympics. Following a disappointing fourth place finish in Nagano, Japan in 1998, Canada put an end to a fifty year drought in Salt Lake City, UT, USA, bringing gold back to Canada following a 5-2 win over the USA in the gold medal game. The Canadians were unsuccessful in their attempt to win back-to-back gold medals in 2006, finishing 7th in Turin, Italy.
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Before the Winter Olympic Games, the so-called NO-TAV demonstrators were viewed as one of the more serious threats to the international sporting event. Olympic organizers feared protesters would seize on the Games to call attention to their cause.
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Though the television viewership of the Winter Olympics was lower than in years previous, NBC's Winter Olympics website set online traffic records, reaching another milestone in the evolving ways that people receive information, writes The Chicago Tribune (via MediaBuyerPlanner). NBC Olympic president Gary Zenkel said, "There's a shift in behavior, and people now are looking to this site for coverage and they're consuming the video in ever increasing numbers."
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There are many exciting sports to watch at the Winter Olympic Games. Extensive sports coverage was available via the Internet and traditional media sources. The various competitions were held from February 7, 1998 to February 21, 1998. A quick overview of the some of the sporting events that were featured at the Olympic Games is presented here. There are many great other sources of information that can expand on what is provided here.
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The Olympic Flame at TurinThe 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy, with the opening ceremony at the Stadio Olimpico. The opening ceremonies were the last ones for a Winter Olympics to be held outdoors until at least the 2014 Winter Olympics because those for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held indoors.
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