Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics |
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| Governing body | FIS |
| Events | 10 (men: 5; women: 5) |
| Games | |
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Snowboarding is a super cool sport you can see at the Winter Olympic Games. It first joined the Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Snowboarding was one of the new sports added around that time.
When it first started in 1998, there were four events: two for boys and two for girls. These events were the giant slalom, which is like a race downhill, and the half-pipe, where snowboarders do amazing tricks as they go from one side of a big U-shaped ramp to the other.
A Canadian snowboarder named Ross Rebagliati made history by winning the first-ever gold medal in men's giant slalom. For the 2002 Winter Olympics, the giant slalom event changed a bit and was called parallel giant slalom, where racers go head-to-head. In 2006, a new exciting event called snowboard cross was added. In this event, several snowboarders race down a course together, going over jumps and obstacles.
Later, for the 2014 Winter Olympics, two more events joined the fun: Slopestyle and parallel slalom. Slopestyle involves going down a course with different obstacles like jumps and rails, performing tricks. Parallel slalom was only in 2014. Then, for the 2018 Winter Olympics, another awesome event called big air was added, where snowboarders launch off a huge jump and do incredible aerial tricks.
Some amazing athletes have won many medals in Olympic snowboarding. Shaun White from the United States is a legend, winning three gold medals! Philipp Schoch from Switzerland, along with Chloe Kim and Seth Wescott from the United States, have each won two gold medals. Other great snowboarders like Karine Ruby from France and Americans Ross Powers and Danny Kass also won two medals. By the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics, snowboarders from 21 different countries had won medals.
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Olympic Snowboarding Events Over the Years
Snowboarding has grown a lot at the Olympics, with new events being added over time. Here's a look at the different events for men, women, and mixed teams.
Men's Events
| Event | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (parallel) giant slalom | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| half-pipe | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| snowboard cross | • | • | • | • | • | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| slopestyle | • | • | • | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| big air | • | • | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| parallel slalom | • | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total events | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Women's Events
| Event | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (parallel) giant slalom | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| half-pipe | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| snowboard cross | • | • | • | • | • | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| slopestyle | • | • | • | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| big air | • | • | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| parallel slalom | • | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total events | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Mixed Team Events
| Event | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| snowboard cross, team | • | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total events | 1 |
Note 1: The giant slalom event in 1998 was changed to parallel giant slalom starting in 2002.
Medal Table
This table shows which countries have won the most medals in Olympic snowboarding, up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
17 | 8 | 10 | 35 |
| 2 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
8 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) |
5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 4 |  Austria (AUT) |
5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 |  France (FRA) |
4 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| 6 |  Czech Republic (CZE) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 |  Russia (RUS) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 |  Germany (GER) |
1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 |  Japan (JPN) |
1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 10 |  Australia (AUS) |
1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 11 |  Italy (ITA) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 |  China (CHN) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 |  New Zealand (NZL) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 |  Netherlands (NED) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 |  Norway (NOR) |
0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 16 |  Slovenia (SLO) |
0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 17 |  Finland (FIN) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 18 |  Spain (ESP) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 |  Slovakia (SVK) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 South Korea (KOR) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden (SWE) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 22 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 23 |  Republic of China (ROC) (ROC) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (23 entries) | 51 | 51 | 51 | 153 | |
See also
In Spanish: Snowboard en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
- List of Olympic venues in snowboarding
