1998 Winter Olympics national flag bearers

During the Parade of Nations section of the 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena. The flag from each team was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country. Unlike the usual practice, the parade of nations was organized according to the English alphabet instead of host nation's language, Japanese. Greece leads the parade followed by Andorra. Had the parade followed the Japanese characters, Greece would have followed by Iceland, and Russia would have been the penultimate country before Japan. One sumo wrestler and one yukiko (lit. snow children) which bears a country name sign marched before each delegation. Some of famous sumo wrestlers such as Takanonami and Wakanohana accompanied the teams.[1] The yukikos also took part in several other segments in the ceremony.

Order Nation Flag bearer Sport
1  Greece (GRE) Vasilios Dimitriadis Alpine skiing
2  Andorra (AND) Victor Gómez Alpine skiing
3  Argentina (ARG) Carola Calello Alpine skiing
4  Armenia (ARM) Alla Mikayelyan Cross-country skiing
5  Australia (AUS) Richard Nizielski Short track speed skating
6  Austria (AUT) Emese Hunyady Speed skating
7  Azerbaijan (AZE) Yuliya Vorobyova Figure skating
8  Belarus (BLR) Aleksandr Popov Biathlon
9  Belgium (BEL) Conrad Alleblas Chef de Mission
10  Bermuda (BER) John Hoskins Chef de Mission
11  Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) Mario Franjić Bobsleigh
12  Brazil (BRA) Marcelo Apovian Alpine skiing
13  Bulgaria (BUL) Lyubomir Popov Alpine skiing
14  Canada (CAN) Jean-Luc Brassard Freestyle skiing
15  Chile (CHI) Duncan Grob Alpine skiing
16  China (CHN) Zhao Hongbo Figure skating
17  Croatia (CRO) Janica Kostelić Alpine skiing
18  Cyprus (CYP) Andreas Vasili Alpine skiing
19  Czech Republic (CZE) Lubomír Buchta Cross-country skiing
20  Denmark (DEN) Helena Blach Lavrsen Curling
21  Estonia (EST) Kalju Ojaste Biathlon
22  Finland (FIN) Janne Ahonen Ski jumping
23  Macedonia (MKD) Gjoko Dineski Cross-country skiing
24  France (FRA) Philippe Candeloro Figure skating
25  Georgia (GEO) Sofia Akhmeteli Alpine skiing
26  Germany (GER) Jochen Behle Cross-country skiing
27  Great Britain (GBR) Mike Dixon Biathlon
28  Hungary (HUN) Krisztina Egyed Speed skating
29  Iceland (ISL) Theódóra Mathiesen Alpine skiing
30  India (IND) Shiva Keshavan Luge
31  Iran (IRI) Hassan Shemshaki Alpine skiing
32  Ireland (IRL) Terry McHugh Bobsleigh
33  Israel (ISR) Michael Shmerkin Figure skating
34  Italy (ITA) Gerda Weissensteiner Luge
35  Jamaica (JAM) Ricky McIntosh Bobsleigh
36  Kazakhstan (KAZ) Vladimir Smirnov Cross-country skiing
37  Kenya (KEN) Philip Boit Cross-country skiing
38  South Korea (KOR) Hur Seung-Wook Alpine skiing
39  Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) Aleksandr Tropnikov Biathlon
40  Latvia (LAT) Sandis Prūsis Bobsleigh
41  Liechtenstein (LIE) Tamara Schädler Alpine skiing
42  Lithuania (LTU) Povilas Vanagas Figure skating
43  Luxembourg (LUX) Patrick Schmit Figure skating
44  Moldova (MDA) Ion Bucsa Biathlon
45  Monaco (MON) Gilbert Bessi Bobsleigh
46  Mongolia (MGL) Boldyn Sansarbileg Short track speed skating
47  Netherlands (NED) Carla Zijlstra Speed skating
48  New Zealand (NZL) Peter Henry Bobsleigh
49  Norway (NOR) Espen Bredesen Ski jumping
50  Dem. People's Republic of Korea (PRK) Yun Chol Short track speed skating
51  Poland (POL) Jan Ziemianin Biathlon
52  Portugal (POR) Mafalda Pereira Freestyle skiing
53  Puerto Rico (PUR) José Ferrer Bobsleigh
54  Romania (ROM) Mihaela Dascălu Speed skating
55  Russia (RUS) Aleksey Prokurorov Cross-country skiing
56  Slovakia (SVK) Ivan Bátory Cross-country skiing
57  Slovenia (SLO) Primož Peterka Ski jumping
58  South Africa (RSA) Shirene Human Figure skating
59  Spain (ESP) Juan Jesús Gutiérrez Cross-country skiing
60  Sweden (SWE) Torgny Mogren Cross-country skiing
61  Switzerland (SUI) Guido Acklin Bobsleigh
62  Chinese Taipei (TPE) Sun Kuang-Ming Bobsleigh
63  Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) Curtis Harry Bobsleigh
64  Turkey (TUR) Arif Alaftargil Alpine skiing
65  Ukraine (UKR) Andriy Deryzemlya Biathlon
66  United States (USA) Eric Flaim Short track speed skating
67  Uruguay (URU) Gabriel Hottegindre Alpine skiing
68  Uzbekistan (UZB) Komil Urunbayev Alpine skiing
69  Venezuela (VEN) Iginia Boccalandro Luge
70  Virgin Islands (ISV) Paul Zar Bobsleigh
71  Yugoslavia (YUG) Marko Đorđević Alpine skiing
72  Japan (JPN) Hiroyasu Shimizu Speed skating

References

  1. "Akebono to perform 'dohyo-iri' at Olympic opening". shinmai.co.jp. January 28, 1998. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External Links

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