1. TAKING A CUE TO DEBUT: The hip, Generation-X sport of snowboarding earned medal-sport status for the 1998 Nagano Games. The mountain resort of Shiga Kogen normally doesn't allow snowboarding, but an exception was made in '98 and Mount Yakebitai was opened for the men's and women's Olympic giant slalom races as well as public snowboarding for an accompanying six-week stretch.
2. WORLD CHAMP OPTS OUT: Snowboarding got its Olympic feet wet without the star boarder called "The Legend." Norway's Terje Haakonsen, a three-time world champion in the halfpipe and early favorite to dominate at the 1998 Nagano Games, boycotted and labeled the International Olympic Committee as similar to the Mafia.
3. WOE, CANADA: Ross Rebagliati, the Canadian who won the men's giant slalom, became the sport's first Olympic gold medalist — and almost the sport's first gold medalist to have his medal stripped. Rebagliati, who tested positive for marijuana, claimed the results were caused by second-hand smoke, and a sports arbitration panel overruled the IOC's decision to take his gold medal away.
4. INAUGURAL WINNERS: Despite the antics and appeals of some Olympians and the poor weather conditions plaguing competition, four Olympic snowboarding champions were crowned at the 1998 Nagano Games. Rebagliati and France's Karine Ruby won the men's and women's giant slalom events in a blizzard, while Switzerland's Gian Simmen and Germany's Nicola Thost took the men's and women's gold in rain-soaked halfpipe competitions. The United States claimed a pair of bronze medals in the halfpipe — Ross Powers in the men's event and Shannon Dunn in the women's.
5. TALK ABOUT A "PARTY" LINE: Rebagliati's troubles didn't help snowboarding's start as an Olympic sport. The public's perception of a sport replete with party-happy rebels wasn't aided either by the expulsion of Austrian snowboarder Martin Freinademetz, who had his credentials revoked after a $4,000 switchboard was damaged during a rowdy hotel party during the 1998 Nagano Games.
