Nagano on the Net:
The 1998 Winter Olympics
by Wm. Auckerman
Websurfing may never be an official Olympic event, but the World Wide Web adds an exciting and captivating new dimension to traditional Olympic Games coverage.
For 16 days in February, world attention will focus on Nagano, site of Japan's 2nd Winter Olympic Games. From Feb. 7 through 22, there will be 68 competitions in 7 sporting events. If you want greater depth than is available from the sports commentators on TV, and more immediacy than is offered by a daily newspaper or weekly magazine, we offer the following collection of medalist websites (plus some other worthy competitors) to get you started.
CJ's Medalist Sites
http://www.nagano.olympic.org/home_e.html
The official website of the Nagano Olympics, sponsored by the Organizing Committee for the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, Nagano 1998 (NAOC), and IBM. Powered by an IBM RS/6000, this website was reportedly getting over 500,000 hits per day in late December; during the Games, when NAOC is providing up-to-date, official results and information, accesses will likely surpass a half-million per hour. Put this "everything you ever wanted to know about the Nagano Olympics" website at the top of your "virtuolympics" bookmark list. Gold.
http://www.winterolympics.com/
Overwhelming might be an apt description of this CBS Sports- Line website devoted to the XVIII Winter Olympic Games. For up-to-the- minute and in-depth coverage (albeit with an American team bias) of the events, the results, and human interest features, this will be the place to browse. The site includes a Medal Count page, background information about Nagano (including a video tour), Olympics merchandise (An Olympics mousepad is only $5.98.), a brief history of the Winter Olympics all the way back to first games in 1924, and much, much, much more. Silver.
http://www.usatoday.com/olympics/w98front.htm
The USA Today Winter Olympic Games website. Also a good, solid news source, with feature articles, schedules, and much more, but it can't quite match either the depth or breadth of the CBS SportsLine website. Bronze.
Other strong contenders
http://www.shinmai.co.jp/oly-eng/olympic.htm
Why not add a dash of local flavor to your Olympic experience? This website offers English-language Olympic news and feature articles from Kyodo News, a day-by-day program schedule, and detailed information on individual events. The "From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow" icon links to a collection of Olympics-related news articles from site sponsor, The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun.
http://sports.eb.com/winter/index.html
For a British perspective, check out the Sporting Record: The Winter Games website from Encyclopedia Britannica. The four main sections are The Games, The Events, The Athletes, and The Record (results of previous Winter Games).
http://www.olympic.org/games/nagano/
The Nagano Games portion of the official International Olympic Committee (IOC) website. There wasn't a whole lot of content here as of early January, and what there was had a very "official" (read "stodgy") feel. Site of the online version of the Olympic Museum (http://www.olympic.org/museum/index.html).
http://somerset.nando.net/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/oly/feat/oly.html
Solid Olympics-related news stories, updated daily, from the McClatchy Newspapers' Nando.net. Good, but as of early January, not as extensive or interesting as the CBS SportsLine or USA Today websites.
http://www.bekkoame.or.jp/~khori/latest/nl.html
A good basic "home news" page. As of early January the content was pretty sparse, but like the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun site, this one is good for getting a local flavor.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~mmdg/Almanac/
The Olympic Almanac. A interesting collection of information, such as a short Olympic FAQ, but in early January the homepage (with basic information about the Nagano Olympics) had not been updated since September.
http://finland.co.jp/nagano/index-e.html
The official "Finland in Nagano" website, focusing on Finland's Olympic team and promoting Finland and Finnish businesses. During the Games, there will be a real-time, onsite weather camera.
http://www.fino.org/indexbbb.htm
Interested in collecting Olympic coins and medals? This is The Olympic Numismatic Village section of the Federation Internationale Numismatique Olympique.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/
For planning travel around Japan, a good place to start is the Japan National Tourist Organization's website. And a good starting point for information about traveling to and staying in Nagano for the Winter Olympic Games is http://www.jnto.go.jp/08events/sports/08frame.html.
http://www.ssctnet.or.jp/zui/no-olympic/english/
Equal time for the opposition? This is the website of the Anti-Olympics People's Network. The gigantic homepage headline is "The Real Story of the Nagano Olympics: Big Money and Environmental Disaster." There are six "theme" pages, including one exposing "Olympic Facism."
The Olympics after Nagano
The following sites are devoted to upcoming Olympics Games. You might not use them much now, but keep them bookmarked and you'll be able to easily find them as the time approaches.
http://www.sydney.olympic.org/
The webpage of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games;
devoted to the 2000 Summer Games to be held in Sydney, Australia.
http://www.slc2002.org/home.html
The webpage of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee; devoted to the 2002 Winter Games to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
http://www.olympic.org/games/athens/
A section of the official IOC website devoted to the 2004 Summer Olympics, to be held in Athens, Greece.
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