Tajikistan at the 2002 Winter Olympics Tajikistan at the 2002 Winter Olympics Tajikistan sent a delegation to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States, held 8–24 February 2002. This was Tajikistan's first time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The country sent one representative, alpine skier Andrey Drygin. He failed to finish either of his events. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan (NOC) was first recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993, and Tajikistan made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. The nation was making its Winter Olympic Games debut in these Salt
Winter Olympic Games war, the 1944 Games, originally scheduled for Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled. St. Moritz was selected to host the first post-war Games in 1948. Switzerland's neutrality had protected the town during World War II, and most of the venues were in place from the 1928 Games, which made St. Moritz a logical choice. It became the first city to host a Winter Olympics twice. Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland, but athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited. Controversy erupted when two hockey teams from the United States arrived, both claiming to be the legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The