Venezuela at the 1998 Winter Olympics but never won a medal at the Winter Olympics. These Winter Olympics were held from 7–22 February 1998; a total of 2,176 athletes represented 72 National Olympic Committees. The only athlete Venezuela sent to Nagano was a luger, Iginia Boccalandro. She was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Iginia Boccalandro was 36 years old at the time of the Nagano Olympics, and was making her Olympic debut. Before the Games, the Salt Lake City, Utah resident claimed that "I'm too old and fat"; she said her real goal was the 2002 Winter Olympics, by which time she would have
Bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics a remarkable similarity. There were two rounds of voting at the session that decided which city would host the games. In the first round, Pyeongchang received 36 votes while Sochi received 34 votes. Salzburg was eliminated carrying only 25 votes. In the second round of voting Pyeongchang garnered 47 votes but Sochi carried most of the votes originally cast for Salzburg and garnered 51 votes, winning the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics Seven applicant cities presented bids to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics (formally known as "XXII Olympic Winter Games" and