Cyprus at the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1980. At the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics, no Cypriot athlete had ever won a medal. They would win their first medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. This was their seventh appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held from 8–24 February 2002; a total of 2,399 athletes representing 77 National Olympic Committees took part. The only athlete sent by Cyprus to Salt Lake City was an alpine skier, Theodoros Christodoulou. He was the flag bearer for both the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. Theodoros Christodoulou was 24 years old at the
Winter Olympic Games consecutive ice hockey gold medal. In 1980 the Winter Olympics returned to Lake Placid, which had hosted the 1932 Games. The first boycott of a Winter Olympics took place at these Games, when Taiwan refused to participate after an edict by the IOC mandated that they change their name and national anthem. This was an attempt by the IOC to accommodate China, who wished to compete using the same name and anthem as those used by Taiwan. As a result, China participated for the first time since 1952. American speed-skater Eric Heiden set either an Olympic or World record in