Fiji at the 2002 Winter Olympics first entered the Olympic competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The nation did not enter a Winter Olympic Games until Calgary in 1988. Fiji also participated in the 1994 Winter Olympics, making the Salt Lake City Games the nation's third Winter Olympics appearance. The 2002 Fijian delegation consisted of a single alpine skier, Laurence Thoms. He was also the Fijian flagbearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. , this was the most recent time Fiji has participated in a Winter Games. At a New Year's Eve party in 1998, a group of Fijians had discussed how
Winter Olympic Games medal in a second medal ceremony held later in the Games. Australian Steven Bradbury became the first gold medallist from the southern hemisphere when he won the 1,000 metre short-track speed skating event. The Italian city of Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. It was the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games. South Korean athletes won 10 medals, including 6 gold in the short-track speed skating events. Sun-Yu Jin won three gold medals while her teammate Hyun-Soo Ahn won three gold medals and a bronze. In the women's Cross-Country team pursuit Canadian Sara Renner broke one